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In anop-ed last week, A Partisan Impeachment, A Profile in Courage, Vice President Mike PenceMichael (Mike) Richard PenceSchumer urges declassification of letter from Pence aide Majority of voters don't believe new info will be revealed in Senate trial Republican group calls for 'President Pence' amid impeachment trial MORE appealed to Senate Democrats to vote to acquit President TrumpDonald John TrumpSchiff pleads to Senate GOP: 'Right matters. And the truth matters.' Anita Hill to Iowa crowd: 'Statute of limitations' for Biden apology is 'up' Sen. Van Hollen releases documents from GAO investigation MORE of abuse of power and obstruction charges.He based his appeal on the 1868 Senate trial of the impeached President Andrew Johnson, which resulted in an acquittal by the slimmest margin possible, a single senators vote.

Pence has no more of a grip on American history than does Trump, who once claimed that Andrew Jackson, who died in1845, was really angry about the Civil War, which began in 1861.

In Pences telling, President Johnson, the Democratic vice-president who became president when Lincoln was assassinated, was a victim.Pence claims that Johnson only wanted to bring the Southern states back into the fold as soon as possible but fell prey to Republicans in Congress bent on vengeance against the South.So the Republicans hatched a plot sounds like a familiar refrain to remove Johnson by impeaching him.

Spare no pity for Andrew Johnson.He was a rigid dictatorialracist who is regarded byhistoriansas one of the worst presidents in American history.In a historical whitewash, Pence mentions opaquely that Johnson vetoed several pieces of Reconstruction legislation.

In fact Johnson obstinately fought tooth and nail againstlawsintended to provide economic opportunity and legal equality to the newly freed slaves, includingthe Freedmen's Bureau Bill, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Fourteenth Amendment, many of which had to be passed over his veto.According to onehistorian,other than slavery Johnson sought the return of the prewar social and economic system.He rightly shares the blame for nearly a century of legalized racial oppression that ended only with the civil rights movement.Pence displayed especially poortaste in publishing his op-ed just before Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The alleged courageous hero in Pences narrative isSen. Edmund G. Ross (R-Kan.), without whose vote of acquittal Johnson would have been convicted and removed from office.Ross was determined to render a fair judgment, resisting his own party stampede, says Pence, who cites Ross as an example that Senate Democrats should follow.

Ross was no moral paragon.Opportunism had more to do with his vote than political courage.He had been appointed just two years earlier to fill the term of a Kansas senator who had committed suicide.As a temporary placeholder, Ross had no political future unless he could secure ample patronage for his Kansas supporters.With a Democratic president, that prospect was slim.Then along came the Senate trial of Andrew Johnson, who had been impeached for violating a law that forbid him from firing Cabinet officers without congressional approval.

Just hours after Ross cast his historic vote to acquit Johnson, he was spotted by a congressman entering the White House grounds.There goes the rascal to get his pay, the congressman half-jokingly said to a friend.

It was no joke.Three weeks later, Ross sent a letter to President Johnson, marked Private, which reminded the president of their earlier interview on the topic of patronage.The letter described a patronage appointment that would benefit Ross politically.Johnson made that appointment and subsequently granted a number of other presidential favors to Ross.

Historian Charles A. Jellison, who researched the connection between Rosssvoteand Johnsons patronage favors, wrote that, Rosss conduct, viewed from any angle and in any light, appears to have been somewhat less then exemplary . . . [it] is hardly the stuff of which real heroes are made.

Lets hope senators sitting as a court of impeachment look elsewhere for inspiration than Edmund Ross.

Gregory J.Wallancewas a federal prosecutor during the Carter and Reagan administrations. He is the author most recently of The Woman Who Fought An Empire: Sarah Aaronsohn and Her Nili Spy Ring. Follow him on Twitter at @gregorywallance.

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Mike Pence invoked a racist president and a scoundrel senator to defend Trump did he even know it? - The Hill

The 901 is your morning blend of Memphis news and commentary

Good morning from Memphis, and a belated happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Lots has happened since Friday, including word aboutthe closure of Mister B's in Germantown.But before getting to that ...

Director of Interpretation, Collections and Education Noelle Trent leads Vice President Mike Pence on a tour of the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis on Sunday.(Photo: Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal)

Ahead of his boss's impeachment trial today, Vice President Mike Pence paid homage to a hero of his, Martin Luther King Jr., on Sunday near where he was killed in Memphis.

Our Katherine Burgess, Sam Hardiman and Laura Testino chronicled Pence'strip, which took him to the National Civil Rights Museum's Lorraine Motel where King was shot and killedon April 4, 1968and then to Raleigh's Holy City Church of God in Christ, where the historically black denomination's leaderspraised Pence's faith and values.

The church's warm welcome of Pence drew criticism from some, including our columnist Tonyaa Weathersbee, whosaw its members as being too polite. And while Pence touted the administration's focus on equality of opportunity, others including protesters outside objected to the inequality of outcomes, especially for minorities.

And that's the perfect segue into the Rev. Earle Fisher's latest controversial piece for The New Tri-State Defenderabout how the MLK "Day of Service" isa sham. The many local nonprofits that use the day to promote volunteerism probably disagree. Attacking a day of service is the exact wrong way to go about this, but Fisher makes good points. Among them is the need to move beyond cosmetic fixes and get at structural issues:

Community service only requires a sacrifice of our time. And when you are white, rich or privileged time is usually on your side. Time is not on [ex-convicted offender] Gregs side. In fact, Greg is trying to reconfigure his life to make up for time hes lost.

Of course, volunteerism cannot solve poverty. Or issues with reintegrating ex-offenders back into society. Or a million other structural issues. And no one says it can. AndMemphis is clearly making progress in addressing some of these deep-rooted issues, includingramping up funding for prekindergarten and public transit. But Fisher is exactly rightto call on Memphis to go deeper. Memphis is in dire need of solutions.

But solving these issueswill take both time and money. And more than that, it will take vision the kind of vision that King had, that rallied people around a belief that every person isinherently worthy of protection and investment and respect.

To that end, you should read this subscribers-only story on one of Memphis' deeper problems withhomelessnessfrom our Sarah Macaraeg. Read the story, thenread her follow-up piece aboutsome of the ways you can take action.

Speaking of MLK Day:The University of Memphis will soon take possession of the notes for King's famous "We Shall Overcome" speech, our Laura Testino reports.Also, NBC featured Shelby County School students in its MLK Day coverage. Watch here:

The Germantown institution that is Mister B'srestaurant quietly ended its 44-year run in December, although the owner is looking for a buyer, our Jennifer Chandler reports.

The owner, Theresa Baker-Penninger, cited her health issues as the reason for the closure, but said she wants to see the restaurant to keep operating, like it always has:

On Wednesday, the 100-seat restaurant looked just like it normally does before opening for dinner. Baker-Penninger is hopeful that she will sell the business.

I have several offers on the table, she said. But I am being particular. I want to make sure the person who buys it does not change anything.

What's next forBaker-Penninger? Maybe an art gallery, Jennifer goes on to write.

Want to meet some of the faces behind our bylines? Well, here's your chance:The Commercial Appeal brings its community town hall series to Cordova this Thursday.

Find all of the details here, but here are the basics:

The forum, held in partnership with Hope Church, starts at 6 p.m. and ends at 7:15 p.m. Starting at 5 p.m., a social hour will precede the forum. It will be held in Hope's Big Room (at Entrance 6). Parking is available throughout the church's lot. There is no cost to attend.

The purpose of the meeting is for Commercial Appeal staffers to meet Hope Church members and Cordova residents and discuss community issues.

Hope to see you there!

Last week, our Bob Mehr checked in with Memphian Evvie McKinney, who won the first season of FOX's singing competition show "The Four." The big news? She recently signed with Motowns Gospel label and Capitols CMG publishing company.

We'll fade out today with one of her covers, "God Only Knows," originally by the Christian group King & Country...

Like The Fadeout?The 901's Spotify playlist has all of the available featuredsongs from local artists.

Columnist Ryan Poe writes The 901, a running commentary on all things Memphis. Reachhim at poe@commercialappeal.com and on Twitter @ryanpoe.

Want to support local journalism? ACommercial Appeal subscriptiongives you unlimited access to stories and columns. You also get the ability to tap into news from the USA TODAY Network's 109 local sites across the country.

Read or Share this story: https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/local/the-901/2020/01/21/vp-mike-pence-stirs-controversy-visit-memphis-mlk-day-901/4528492002/

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The 901: VP Mike Pence stirs controversy with visit to Memphis - Commercial Appeal

President John F. Kennedy's grandson Jack Schlossberg rejected Vice President Mike Pence's comments in a Wall Street Journal op-ed as a "total perversion of JFK's legacy and the meaning of courage."

In the Thursday piece, Pence referenced the former president's praise of party-breaking lawmakers to urge Senate Democrats to oppose the impeachment proceedings facing President Donald Trump.

"Who, among the Senate Democrats, will stand up to the passions of their party this time?" Pence wrote. "Who will stand up against 'legislative mob rule' and for the rule of law? Who will be the 2020 Profile in Courage?"

Pence points to a part of Kennedy's 1957 book, "Profiles in Courage," which lauds Republican Sen. Edmund Ross, who broke with his party to issue the deciding vote to acquit President Andrew Johnson in the first American impeachment.

Schlossberg, a Harvard Law School student who sits on the Profiles in Courage Award committee, which recognizes outstanding public officials, wrote that he took a "special interest" in commenting on Pence's connection.

Schlossberg wrote on Twitter Saturday that Pence "is right to celebrate Ross, a public servant who, foreseeing his own defeated, nonetheless summoned the courage to vote his conscience, and put the national interest above his own."

"But let's not be confused," Schlossberg added.

Trump "was impeached because he did the exact opposite he put his own interests ahead of our country's national security and, in the process, broke federal law," he wrote in the following tweet.

In defending the president on the basis of party, Schlossberg added that "Pence and Congressional Republicans have also failed the test of courage."

"Rather than risk their career or endure personal reprisal, they excuse the President's and others' admitted wrongdoing and disgraceful behavior," Schlossberg wrote.

Pence's op-ed came after months of the White House responding to the impeachment inquiry by brushing off allegations from House Democrats. On Saturday, Trump's legal team issued its first formal response to the articles of impeachment, calling them a "dangerous attack on the right of the American people to freely choose their President."

Trump is currently facing two charges: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. As the proceedings move to the Republican-controlled Senate in a trial set to begin next week, the debate over the charges have come down to party lines that can likely expect more fiery responses from the president and his allies.

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JFK's grandson called a Pence op-ed on impeachment a 'perversion of JFK's legacy' - Business Insider

Bishop Vincent Matthews Jr., a conservative African American preacher with the Church of God in Christ denomination, recently called Vice President Mike Pence one of the most persecuted Christians in America.

That tells us two things: Matthews cant help but suck up to this administration and Matthews has no idea what persecuted means.

The real clincher? This happened during a service honoring Martin Luther King Jr..

Mathews comments, which Pence alluded to as part of an overly generous introduction, came during a visit from the vice president at the Holy City Church of God in Christ in Raleigh, Tennessee. During the visit Pence hailed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as one of the heroes of his youth and highlighted ways in which the Trump administration has been good for African Americans.

He must have said that somewhere in between the recollections of Trump calling neo-Nazis very fine people, referring to African nations as shithole countries, and becoming the patron saint of white supremacists.

Mathews justified his comments by saying Pence actually believes the Bible. They hate him for believing the Bible.

Thats obviously a lie. (Barack Obama believed the Bible, too, even if Republicans refuse to accept that.) Pence is criticized for his policy preferences, his covering for Trumps actions, and his blatant hypocrisy when it comes to the Christian mandate to care for the least of these.

Thats not persecution. Those are consequences. Even the Bible calls for necessary rebuke when needed.

It requires a great deal of cognitive dissonance to say that Jesus would approve of separating refugee families (when He was one), cutting SNAP benefits (when He fed the poor for free), and making healthcare inaccessible for the most vulnerable (when He healed people without sending them a bill). But that dissonance has never been an issue for Trumps most fervent supporters.

Thats what happens when you worship power while using the Bible to throw people off the scent.

(Screenshot via YouTube)

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Black Preacher: Mike Pence Is One of the Most Persecuted Christians in America - Friendly Atheist - Patheos

Since his selection as Donald Trumps running mate, many people believe that Mike PenceMichael (Mike) Richard PenceTrump, Pence visit MLK memorial JFK's grandson calls Pence op-ed a 'total perversion' of Kennedy's legacy Sunday shows preview: Lawmakers gear up for Senate impeachment trial MORE has been mired in the throes of PTSD in this case, an acronym for President TrumpDonald John TrumpSanders apologizes to Biden for supporter's op-ed Jayapal: 'We will end up with another Trump' if the US doesn't elect progressive Democrats: McConnell impeachment trial rules a 'cover up,' 'national disgrace' MORE Stress Disorder.

That is not to say that the vice president does not strongly support the president. He most certainly does. Its just that Pence also seems to have a terminal case of whiplash as he snaps his head around time and again to witness the next shoe dropping, about or from the president.

Pence is the poster child of a reserved, traditional, button-down politician. Trump at times appears to consider these traits a weakness, counter to the persona he needs to push to protect his name, policies and legacy against the entrenched elites in the mainstream media and political parties who have sought to take him down since day one.

Connected Republicans in Washington and in Indiana Pences home state, where he was governor and a U.S. House member have told me that they wonder if the never-ending drip, drip, drip of current events combined with this contrast in style, temperament and judgment between the two leaders is wearing down the vice president.

The fact is, no vice president in recent memory has had to deal with the daily uncertainty that swirls around Pence: the impeachment of his boss, the barrage of investigations, the accusations against Trump and partisan investigations.

And those on the left, in the Never Trump world, still openly salivate at the thought of somehow removing the president via the 25th Amendment. Were that political pipe dream ever to come about, Pence would become our 46th president.

Except, add to the mix ofthese challenging scenarios the fact that there is open talk among some Republicans that unless Pence is replaced by someone else of stature such as frequently mentioned former U.N. Ambassador Nikki HaleyNimrata (Nikki) HaleyIs Mike Pence preparing to resign, assume the presidency, or both? Judd Apatow urges Georgia voters to get rid of Doug Collins after 'terrorists' comment Nikki Haley: Democratic leadership, 2020 Dems are the only people mourning Soleimani death MORE Trump may well be the last Republican president for the foreseeable future.

Aside from that stinging rebuke from within the entrenched GOP establishment, you have the lefts continual attacks upon Pence some of them truly despicable, involving his faith, his family and personal life.

Through that darkening fog of chaos, criticism and uncertainty, the process of presidential succession flashes like a neon sign on steroids. Its a process that duty and reality have forced Pence to focus upon.

The U.S. Constitution spells it out simply in Article II, Section 1, Clause 6: In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President.

Leaving aside that his boss is only the third U.S. president to face an impeachment trial, Pence undoubtedly knew long before that burst of partisan revenge that nine vice presidents have been elevated to the Office of President because of a presidents death or resignation. From the start, Pence, like any vice president, had only one real job: For the good of the nation, he must be prepared to step into the presidency immediately. That is Politics 101.

Now, Pence is navigating something dramatically removed from the basics a world where meetings behind closed doors, whispered conversations, promised new positions and suspect loyalties are the norm. Its an atmosphere youd expect to find created by murder mystery author Agatha Christie or Italian diplomat Niccolo Machiavelli more so than our Founding Fathers.

For three years, Pence also has served as president of the Senate, and he knows all about those closed-door meetings, whispered conversations and changing loyalties. More than that, he understands that precisely because of his roles, he is far from an impartial observer. Pence is one heartbeat or one conviction away from the presidency and realizes that, like it or not, he is standing at the edge of making history.

Several years ago, I had the honor of meeting then-Gov. Pence at a private home in Florida, where we spoke at some length over a cup of coffee. He came across as advertised: kind, respectful, dignified, decent and highly informed.

The clich tells us that nice guys finish last. Mike Pence is indeed a nice guy, yet one who knows how to survive the often brutal political arena. With the Senate trial and more cracks appearing and then being patched in the foundation of solidarity beneath Trump Pence knows that more whispered conversations are taking place.

Some are wondering whether all of this will cause Pence to decline to serve as vice president in a second Trump term. They believe Pence has no chance to be elected president on his own and that, sometime after the Senate trial, he will opt for a private sector life of normalcy, family and faith. Should that be the case, who could fault him?

Douglas MacKinnon, a political and communications consultant, was a writer in the White House for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and former special assistant for policy and communications at the Pentagon during the last three years of the Bush administration.

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Is Mike Pence preparing to resign, assume the presidency, or both? | TheHill - The Hill