A large majority of Democrats say that they want a new President—and that they’re so desperate they’d take just about anyone, including Vice President Mike Pence.
According to a Predictwise/PollFish/Buzzfeed poll released Thursday morning, a whopping 62% of Democrats think “Pence would be 100% better.”
Although the poll seems to be self-directed—users took the survey from an “in-app” program that records their sentiment on various issues—the Dems who voted to replace President Trump with President Pence are in good company among their party elite, and the Hollywood activist set.
Former Obama speechwriter-turned-snarky anti-Trump Twitter activist, Jon Favreau told Buzzfeed that he’d be happy for the change. “I’d sleep easier with almost any other human being as president than Donald Trump,” he said. He added that he’d be more comfortable that Pence “wouldn’t start a nuclear war” because a “Breitbart lunatic floated a conspiracy.”
Another top-level Dem staffer told the same news site that while Pence would likely pass an agenda completely unpalatable to most progressives (Pence is staunchly anti-abortion and has hinted that he opposes gay rights), he wouldn’t press for “nuclear war, the end of NATO and an unholy alliance with Russia.” Yet another said Pence’s top quality is that he’s “not evil.”
Avengers director Joss Whedon, who was an outspoken member of the anti-Trump “resistance” until he suggested that Speaker Paul Ryan should be gored to death by a rhinoceros, noted that, “Would I prefer he were president instead of the quivering, Tang-sweating, praise-eating, Putin-smooching, laser-pointer-chasing man-brat we have now? Yes.”
“Pence is unethical, but he’s quantifiable. He’s opposable,” Whedon addded. “Like a thumb.
This is, of course, without Pence in the Oval Office. As a number of conservative-leaning Twitter users pointed out, the appeal of Pence is limited, because of how far Pence is currently removed from any actual power. Once Pence had the “pen and the phone” solidly in hand, Democrats would be singing a different tune.
Pence has also been blithely able to stand above the fray, particularly the anxiety that gripped the Trump White House this weekend over Obama-era wiretaps. Pence refused to speak on the matter on Thursday, deflecting a radio station’s questions back to Trump’s infrastructure agenda.
On Russia, Pence has even been the victim; Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn was booted from his post after it became clear he’d lied to the VP about his contacts with the Russian ambassador.
As President, though, Pence wouldn’t be immune from criticism—and certainly not from the opposition party.
