September 30, 2024
In about 24 hours we’re going to be watching Senator JD Vance and Governor Tim Walz face off in the first and only vice president debate.
But does it really matter?
Well – that’s up to you – obviously.
But since one of these guys is going to be the next vice president of the United States — I thought now would be a good time to refresh your memory about what the v-p actually does.
Now – this might shock you – but according to the United States constitution – the vice president’s role day to day is – technically nothing. The Vice President holds no real day to day power. The constitution lays out two jobs the vice president must perform. One – the vice president is responsible to step in if for some reason the president is removed from office or becomes incapacitated – which we have seen many times in the past notably when President Kenney was assassinated, then vice president Lyndon B. Johnson became the president and when then President Richard Nixon resigned….then VP Gerald Ford took over. The other constitutional duty the Vice President has is to be the President of the United States senate. The Vice President as president of the Senate is responsible for the ceremonial role of overseeing the certification of the electoral college votes after the presidential election and as president of the senate will step in and cast a vote to break a tie when it comes to certain pieces of legislation.
Constitutionally – that’s it. That’s the only the power the Vice President has. To put it simply – the Vice President does not bring main character energy. The VP is part of the supporting cast .. Does that make sense?
That doesn’t mean vice presidents hide out. No. In modern times – we’ve seen vice presidents make speeches, go to events and carry out projects on behalf of the president. The VP serves as a cheerleader – for lack of a better word — for the president, his policies and his administration. Vice presidents do not get to have their own platforms. Their platform – whether they like it or not is the president’s platform and it is the vice president’s job to sell that platform across the country to the American people. We’ve also seen vice presidents recently serve as advisors to the president when he makes key decisions.
So back to this debate. If the v-p really has no day-to-day power – who cares what these guys have to say tomorrow night …right?
Eeeehh…not really. It is a fact that historically, a VP pick has very little impact when it comes to how a voter votes. Like – traditionally a voter is not going to say I’m not gonna vote for candidate a because he or she picked a VP candidate I hate. That’s not really how it has traditionally worked. But the 2024 election is breaking all kinds of political norms. Because this race is soooooo close – anything could impact the way a voter decides to cast a ballot….and it’s possible Vance and Walz’s performances tomorrow night may change a voter’s mind.
