This week, for Victory Girls, I will be reviewing “The Shadow President, The Truth About Mike Pence”. We will talk about the truthiness of this book in a bit. First let me tell you a bit about the authors. It takes two, doncha know.

Photo of Michael D’Antonio, Photo Credit: CNN No Copyright Infringement Intended

Michael D’Antonio, a CNN commentator, is the author of a book about Donald Trump while Trump was still the GOP front runner. The book is either “The Truth About Trump” or “Never Enough, Donald Trump and The Pursuit of Success”. I found both books, published the same day in 2015. I assume that this/these book(s) are much like the one I just read. Filled with rumor, innuendo and Freshman Psych 101, mostly gleaned from anyone he ever bested at anything.

Photo of Peter Eisner, Courtesy of Peter Eisner No Copyright Infringement Intended

The second author, Peter Eisner, is a veteran war correspondent and the author of four books. The fourth book was “The Italian Letter: The Forgery That Started The Iraq War”.

It seems that these writers are not fond of anyone to the right of Kamala Harris. You know, the Senator who showed her ugly at the Kavanaugh Confirmation. Oof. Anyhoo.

Now, we have a little background on the authors of this, pardon the expression, biography. It took me six days to read the 277 pages of “The Shadow President”. I kept having to stop to Google things. Things like:

Catholic Church doctrine, Calvinism, Evangelical Christianity and Biblical Predestination

Apparently, everything I learned about religion growing up in the Southern Baptist Church is wrong. Also, everything I learned in 15 hours of religion classes at Sacred Heart University is wrong. Just check out this sneering paragraph from page 11:

Believers who assume that God chooses winners and losers before they are born typically cite a verse from the Bible’s book of Jeremiah: “For I know the plans I have for you’, declares the Lord, ‘Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'” The verse is Pence’s favorite bit of scripture and it is written on a plaque he hung over the fireplace in the vice president’s residence in Washington. Depending on the day, he could look at it and take solace in the fact that God had plans for him to prevail after a momentary setback or find support for his belief that a given triumph fulfilled His plan. Either way, he comes out on top without bearing much responsibility.”

Wow. Here I thought this was one of those “Do not fear and go boldly into the world” type verses. I really need to go back to Sunday School.

On page 12, we learn that Donald Trump was urged by Mike Pence to declare May 3, 2018 a “National Day of Prayer”:

This initiative stemmed from the belief promoted by Pence and other conservatives that religious freedom was under attack from the Left.

Ooh. How sinister of Mike Pence. Except that Harry Truman had it signed into law in 1952 and Ronald Reagan declared the first Thursday in May to be the “National Day of Prayer”.

Peter Eisner and Michael D’Antonio offer us a view of Christianity that is alien to everything I have ever heard or read before on page 121:

In this version of American Christianity, a super-natural relationship with Jesus is primary, and individuals choose their own moral codes. (Deep concern for common morals and ethics is, in this view, a negative practice called legalism. Legalism is bad because it promotes such behavior as humility or charity while ignoring the notion that a profession of belief, offered at any point, outweighs all the good or evil that a person ever does.”

If anyone who reads this has ever heard of that before, please, please, set me straight.

There are other instances such as Christians only like Israel because the State will bring on the end times (page 237) and Christians are free to tell “righteous lies” (page 262).

By the way, each chapter starts with a Bible verse fragment that does not at all mean what the authors mean it to mean.

Indiana Nice and The Horrible, No Good Very Bad Tribalism of Midwesterners and Southerners and Those Ignorant Hicks in New Hampshire

Well, I always heard the phrase Midwestern Nice, but Indiana Nice (page 64) is a thing and does not mean what I thought it meant. I always thought Midwestern Nice meant that people go out of their way not to be rude. According to the authors, Indiana Nice means that people will be kind to you while they stick a shiv between your shoulders.

Then, there is the tribalism of Mike Pence’s shout outs at campaign stops (page 253):

In Ohio, he saluted the Buckeyes. On February 2, 2018, in a visit to Pittsburgh, he declared, “It’s great to be back in the Keystone State!”

Horror of horrors. Mike Pence mentioned New Hampshire “The Granite State” six times. Although for dripping condescension they way they make fun of “Hoosier” pride is galling. Some of us have pride in our state. I say, “Go Vols”.

Mike Pence, according to “The Shadow President”, is not only Indiana Nice, but filled with fake humility. Again, on page 254, Pence is compared to Dickens’ fictional Uriah Heep. Throughout the book, the authors sneer as Pence’s straight arrow behavior and humility.

All The Usual Suspects

Hail! Hail! The gang is all here. Of course, the traditional evil groups are here: The Club for Growth, the NRA and Focus on the Family. Naturally, Rush Limbaugh, the Koch Brothers, the DeVos family and Dinesh D’Souza make an appearance.

Long dead Republican consultant Lee Atwater is slimed by the authors also. I still miss him and his smashmouth brand of politics.

The book is called “The Shadow President”. There is even a chapter titled “The Shadow President”. In the Trump Derangement syndrome addled brains of the authors, Pence has his people in place and is just one impeachment conviction away from his lifelong dream. You can tell by the malevolent Photoshopping of Pence’s face on the cover of the book.

Should You Read This Book?

No. Not just no, but Hell NO! According to these, ahem, authors, Mike Pence is not only malevolent, but diabolical, venal and nefarious. Mike Pence is a Christo-fascist who longs for a “fictional America” page 253.

Please read and share this review. Make it worth my while for having read this calumny.

Feature Photo: Toni S. Williams