Does the vice presidency matter?
“Of course it does,” would be the expected reply from average Americans, though, as Jesse Waters’s nightly Fox News show regularly reveals, the gal and guy on the street probably can’t even name who the V.P. is, much less elaborate on what she does. Every four years the establishment media devotes hours to a presidential nominee’s deliberations on a running mate, but once that singled-out person reaches office, they typically disappear like so many prairie dogs down a myriad of unmarked dirt holes.
There may be an occasional story – or a rare interview – with the president’s political other half, but let’s face it, the main avenue for a vice president to make a name for him or herself is by royally screwing up or saying something stupid at an inopportune moment, or by criticizing the lead guy in some opaque manner. Current Vice President Kamala Harris excels at generating such unfortunate coverage just by being Kamala Harris – who else could mistake North Korea for South Korea or so willingly make a donkey of herself by cackling about stuff that most people don’t consider funny?
“I haven’t been to Europe either, so what’s your point?” Kamala replied when asked by NBC’s Lester Holt why she hadn’t visited the southern border despite being appointed by senile Joe to be his immigration czar. (Note: Kamala skipped the border again last week during a visit to Arizona.)
The vice presidency is possibly the only major political office that everyone votes for yet very, very few actually care much about. But if used in an appropriate way, the selection of a vice president by a presidential contender can be very expedient, indeed.
Just last week, none other than Colorado Republican Rep. (and budding star?) Lauren Boebert offered one possible use for the vice presidency in its present form. In a piece titled “Kamala Harris is Biden's impeachment 'insurance,' Boebert says”, Cami Mondeaux wrote at the Washington Examiner:
“As President Joe Biden faces scrutiny over his handling of classified documents, he has at least one piece of leverage that could shield him from facing impeachment inquiries, according to Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) — and that’s Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Although House Republicans may be itching to impeach Biden, many are hesitant to do so because of their negative view of Harris, Boebert told Fox News [last week].
“’Kamala Harris is Biden’s shrewd insurance policy,’ Boebert said. ‘Joe Biden has failed the American people, and he’s keeping some members from calling for impeachment by having a historically unpopular vice president. … Both have failed to faithfully uphold and execute the law, and both should be held fully accountable,’ Boebert said.”
That’s it! The answer to the eternal question of why senile Joe Biden chose the caustic and unaccomplished Kamala Harris over other swimmers in the small pool of potential 2020 number two applicants (namely those who were both African-American and born biologically female) is, “She’s so pathetic that no one would ever want to impeach me when one or more of my long list of impeachable offenses bubbles to the surface.”
But Boebert is correct in stating Republicans would be hesitant to remove bumbling senile Joe Biden from the main stage because his follow-up act is a real loser. I once had a military friend caution me about haphazardly taking out foreign dictators, no matter how awful they may appear – because whatever comes after, he warned, might be even worse.
There’s always fear of the unknown because, well, it’s the unknown. Everyone knows Kamala Harris and how hopelessly ludicrous she is, but what would her policies be like? Would she be more independent than senile Joe, who seems like he’s controlled by whoever is handing him his daily coloring book? And, who would Harris appoint to important offices? Could the nominees possibly be more offensive than the ones Biden sent to the senate for confirmation?
The answers: Don’t know; probably; scary to contemplate, and… yes, though it’s impossible to figure who might be more atrocious than Merrick Garland, Alejandro Mayorkas and Pete Buttigieg. But anyone could argue that all Democrats are equally awful, because they all subscribe to the same tether-less “woke” belief system.
Which brings me back to the question at the outset, “Does the vice presidency matter?”
One can’t help but surmise the founding fathers purposely designed the American executive the way they did for a reason. Under the Constitution, the vice president has precious few duties and previous holders of the office have complained endlessly about feeling worthless – and powerless – among national politicians who had lesser titles but much more responsibility than they did.
“Cactus Jack” Garner, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s first veep, once declared the vice presidency wasn’t worth “a bucket of warm spit”. Modern vice presidents, perhaps starting with Jimmy Carter’s number two, Walter Mondale, were allegedly given more to do under presidents such as Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
As has been replayed a lot lately, Barack Obama didn’t exactly hold his own vice president – senile Joe Biden – in high esteem, telling, “Don’t underestimate Joe’s ability to f**k things up.”
Basically speaking, as vice president, you’re a “heartbeat away” from going from nonstop navel grousing to all the duties in the world. Literally. Yet so few vice presidents seem like they’d be good replacements for the top dog should the worst happen. Most vice presidents weren’t vetted by the voters through a stringent primary process. Donald Trump’s vice president, Mike Pence, had never even run for president. Neither did George W. Bush’s right-hand man, Dick Cheney.
There is no set of requirements for choosing a vice president other than said person must qualify under the same constitutional prerequisites for being president. The bar is pretty low, since the number of natural born American citizens 35 years of age or older who’ve resided in the U.S. for at least 14 years must be in the tens of millions.
I’d venture to guess there are tens of thousands of homeless men and women in California alone who qualify for the job – and a high percentage (99%?) of them would have more common sense than Kamala Harris possesses, tent or no tent.
Who knows, maybe senile Joe himself figured he could tap a homeless person as an “insurance policy” against future impeachment and discovered Kamala living under a bridge right next to DNC headquarters. Stranger things have happened, right?
It’s safe to say all previous major party presidential nominees have undergone intense searches for potential running mates who would add to the appeal of their ticket. Again, using Trump as an example, the New Yorker sought someone who would unify the Republican Party while also being well-regarded by its base, made up of skeptical conservatives. Pence “fit the suit”, so to speak, and Trump offered him the opportunity.
Like with the GOP, Democrats seek a human being who will appeal to the party base alright, but any liberal could do so by claiming to be a member of any number of demographically important categories. These days, white males need not apply unless they have some noticeable detachment from “normal” white maleness, such as Bernie Sanders being Jewish and an avowed socialist or Pete Buttigieg being gay and married to a man.
Since Republicans like Lauren Boebert candidly concede they would shy away from impeaching senile Joe no matter what he does, here’s thinking future v.p. selection criteria for Democrat nominees will include un-electability as a prime marketing point. There are a ton of liberals who fit this “no way” description, which means loons like Elizabeth Warren and Tom Steyer will be given serious examinations the next time around.
Why call State Farm when you need this kind of political “insurance policy”? There are lots and lots of potential preventers of impeachment in Democrat-land. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez could fulfill that role for many decades to come. The Democrat “bench” is full of kooks, outcasts and weirdos who would never get voted in to the presidency, but who could still ably serve as vice president in an administration.
So yes, the vice presidency does matter, but for reasons not everyone would normally consider. Kamala Harris is a joke and an embarrassment, but she also fills a vital role within Democrat politics. She’s just the type of “insurance policy” against impeachment that all future party presidential nominees will demand. This is a new trend – in Kamala’s example, it’s a no-brainer!
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