VP Presiding over the Senate
In last night's debate Palin claimed that as VP she would "preside over the Senate." This got quite a reaction from Biden, who noted that the VP only presides over the Senate when casting a tie-breaking vote, after which the conversation quickly moved on. Ominously, I thought she was arguing for some expanded role for VP power to preside over the day to day matters of the Senate. Such a move would basically gut the power of the Senate and effectively turn us into a bisvirate, er bishominate. Am I wrong?
posted by Paul @ 9:59 AM
2 Comments:
A vague but deeply creepy moment. I thought it her worst response of the night. Whatever she meant in terms of specific responsibilities, she was clearly calling for the VP to be MORE powerful, as if SHE deserved that. Not a good argument for someone totally unfit for the job to make, especially in post-Cheney America.
Given the rules of the Senate, the presiding officer has little actual power. A floor leader with skillz (LBJ) can get things moving in a certain direction, but just sitting in the chair? Even Cheney would have done much less damage there.
Post a Comment
<< Home