Can someone please remind me why, exactly, Manafort chose Dense to be VP?

[diva77]

[Hekate]

1. I have never heard a reason -- but I sure hope Mueller knows.

[diva77]

2. So do I!!!! Can't be good!!!!

[diva77]

3. Could it be that he made a deal with Pence to get a pardon from him in exchange for the office?

[KT2000]

4. Good question

that deserves an answer.

[dalton99a]

5. To swing the Industrial Midwest with a right-wing Christian VP candidate who was known to the GOP

rank-and-file and approved by the Koch brothers

[diva77]

7. yet the right wing Christian voters seem so enamored of Dump -- how do they reconcile the

disparity in behavior between Dump and Dense? Did Dense really help swing that vote?

[JI7]

6. not sure but i think Pence has a brother or some other family connection

to russia related thing.

[diva77]

8. I remember reading about that; could be part of it

[Lucinda]

11. I remember reading that too

[Grasswire2]

9. He's a Christian Dominionist.

And somebody writing Trump speeches is using code words to that sect/cult. "Fire and fury" etc. They believe that Trump will deliver the Rapture during his term using the world's most powerful military. They freaking anointed him in the Oval Office. Erik Prince is another Dominionist. Scary stuff.

[diva77]

10. Ah, thanks for the reminder and for resolving why Dump is popular with evangelicals. Pew research

estimates that 26 % US population identifies as evangelical Christian - didn't realize it was such a high number

[Grasswire2]

13. well, the Dominionists are a "special" breed.

Sarah Palin is one, and her creepy minister father.

[NanceGreggs]

12. Pence was the perfect pick for VP ...

… and Manafort recognized that.

Pence on the ticket would seal the deal with Evangelicals, and calm the nerves of hold-out voters who wanted to see some good ol’ “Christian values” in the WH they didn’t think Trump could deliver on his own.

Pence had to demonstrate certain qualities that Manafort knew would be required going forward: a willingness to be obsequious to Trump, never defy him, flatter him at every opportunity, and not be overly curious about what he saw/heard going on around him at any point in time.

As we’ve seen, Pence has played his role extremely well, and Manafort has been proven right in his choice.

THE question at this point is: Did Manafort promote Pence as VP because he’d be the perfect look-the-other-way guy, or because he would be a willing accomplice?

[diva77]

17. He lies so easily in interviews, hard to think of him as anything but a willing accomplice.

yah, he has played his role extremely well - can't help but think of the water bottle mimic episode:

I'll bet this public milquetoast is privately crossing off the days on his calendar 'til he takes over.

[Achilleaze]

28. Someone who "claims" to be a "Christian" yet lies as easily as Pence

is most definitely up to evil shit, which has become the hallmark of the latter day KGOP anti-American republican party.

[Horse with no Name]

24. This. N/T

[dchill]

14. Pence is Putie's choice, not Paulie's.

[diva77]

20. do you think it's for the reasons stated in this thread?

[dchill]

21. What I think is that no Christian Dominionist is a true...

believer in anything but power over all. Authority is their conceit. Not different at all from oligarchs. I also believe that Pents, like most Republicans, is in thrall to Russia, willingly or otherwise. Lastly, Pents strikes me as a serious enough quirk to have fallen into a Russian baited trap.

So, yeah, basically, for reasons stated in this thread.

[Princess Turandot]

15. To bring in right-wing evangelicals' votes is the most likely reason...

...as an offset to the reality of Trump's 'sinful' behavior.

No matter how many high-profile evangelicals tepidly mouth their "God forgives, no matter what" mantra* when asked about Trump's transgressions, I suspect that more than a few of them were put off by him during the campaign. Getting one of 'their own' on the ticket had to been an irresistible voting attraction.

*I could swear that those old nuns taught us that forgiveness requires contrition. Conservative Evangelicals seem to treat Jesus as a 'get out of sin for free' card.

[Kablooie]

16. The same reason as the banker who wanted to run the army.

Pence bought the position.

That's what I believe will come out at some point.

[diva77]

18. Entirely conceivable - If true, I wonder where he got the money?

[RhodeIslandOne]

19. Gave Trump his "religious" coverage

Diehard evangelicals would pass on their misgivings on Trump to vote for a bible thumping wacko like Pence.

And Pence knows this the closest he’d ever get to the White House with so many sinful infidels in America who don’t hate gays and abortion.

[global1]

22. Has Pence Been Interviewed By Mueller's Team?.....

Seems to me that he should be.

[Horse with no Name]

23. To bring the crazed religious zealots to the fold n/t

[mahina]

25. Because he's no threat to Chump, brings the wingers, and looks like an aged Ken doll.

Because he’s dumb as a shoe and won’t make waves.

[duforsure]

26. Could it be

Manafort was told by putin to choose him because they already had him compromised too? I also think that was why Tillerson and Flynn and Manafort was all put into their positions .

[Freddie]

27. I recall it was down to Pence or Chris Christie

Of the 2, I imagine Pence was considered more palatable to anyone not from Jersey.

[irisblue]

29. Pence has state executive experience as Indiana Gov

& congressional experience & contacts. The hellbeast didn't have that. Kasich sure wasn't going to take the job & Christie was ( hoping) for the AG job. Pence has republican instutional memory.

[Vinca]

30. I think they used him as "cover" to give the ticket a touch of normalcy, but it's evolved

into Pence being the loyal manservant who may end up going down with the ship. There's no way Pence didn't know this shit was going on.