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It wasn't hard to see why Joe Biden has been a Senator and never really in charge of anything on his own.  He came across as someone, who did little more than rehearse a role for public performance.

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If scientists were able to determine, beyond doubt, that the sky were actually going to fall on Monday, Oct. 6, Congress would pass legislation containing tax breaks for lobster fisherman in Maine and glue manufacturers in Paducah. It's just what they do.


The Senate version of the financial bailout bill — an emergency measure designed (we thought) to keep the world economy from tumbling into a deep recession — has been ornamented with special favors. Glancing through this bill, you find that Puerto Rican and Virgin Islands rum makers get a tax break, as do certain commercial fisherman and others who were affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989. Makers of wooden arrows for children's toys are remembered, along with rural schools. There's a duty suspension on wool products, and television production companies get a break on expensing rules. Mental illnesses (including substance abuse) are to receive parity with other disorders in private insurance coverage, and geothermal heat pump systems will get favorable tax treatment. An estimated 24 million middle-class households would be relieved from paying the Alternative Minimum Tax (originally aimed at millionaires). It goes on and on.


Some conservative Republicans dug their heels in on the House bailout bill — which was, gulp, relatively clean compared with this. Now a 100-page bill has become a 450-page monstrosity tarted up with special favors for this one and that one. Did they just walk through Senate offices scooping up old bills and throwing them into the word processor? Some of these provisions may be perfectly good ideas. But isn't the Senate supposed to be the world's greatest deliberative body? Isn't it supposed to hold hearings and debate these things instead of bundling them all up in a "must pass" emergency bill?

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Brad and Bozo remind me of what Reece told the young naive Sarah Connor about the Terminator in the original movie:

"It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity. Or remorse. Or fear. And it absolutely will not stop--EVER!"

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Passing that bill was pure, unadulterated corruption. There's not a single Mr. Smith in Washington.

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video

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Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. appeared to incorrectly outline the constitutional role of the job he's seeking in Thursday's debate.

In attacking Vice President Dick Cheney, Mr. Biden said the vice president's only role is to support the president and to preside over the Senate "only in a time when in fact there's a tie vote. The Constitution is explicit."

The Constitution, though, actually says the vice president is always president of the Senate and legal scholars say he has the right to preside at any time. Early vice presidents, such as Thomas Jefferson, actively exercised that role, the vice president still keeps offices at the Capitol, and scholars say it wasn't until the middle of the 20th century that the vice president had an office at the executive office building.

The president pro tempore, usually the senior senator from the majority party, takes over only when the vice president is absent. In recent practice, as the vice president has taken a bigger role in the executive, that's meant the Senate operates almost all of the time without the vice president in the chair.

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"I'm thankful the Constitution would allow a bit more authority given to the vice president if that vice president so chose to exert it in working with the Senate and making sure that we are supportive of the president's policies and making sure too that our president understands what our strengths are," she said

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In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.

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The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.

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The framers also devoted scant attention to the vice president's duties, providing only that he "shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be evenly divided" (Article I, section 3). In practice, the number of times vice presidents have exercised this right has varied greatly. John Adams holds the record at 29 votes, followed closely by John C. Calhoun with 28. Since the 1870s, however, no vice president has cast as many as 10 tie-breaking votes. While vice presidents have used their votes chiefly on legislative issues, they have also broken ties on the election of Senate officers, as well as on the appointment of committees in 1881 when the parties were evenly represented in the Senate.

The vice president's other constitutionally mandated duty was to receive from the states the tally of electoral ballots cast for president and vice president and to open the certificates "in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives," so that the total votes could be counted (Article II, section 1). Only a few happy vice presidents — John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Van Buren, and George Bush — had the pleasure of announcing their own election as president. Many more were chagrined to announce the choice of some rival for the office.

Several framers ultimately refused to sign the Constitution, in part because they viewed the vice president's legislative role as a violation of the separation of powers doctrine. Elbridge Gerry, who would later serve as vice president, declared that the framers "might as well put the President himself as head of the legislature." Others thought the office unnecessary but agreed with Connecticut delegate Roger Sherman that "if the vice-President were not to be President of the Senate, he would be without employment, and some member [of the Senate, acting as presiding officer] must be deprived of his vote."

Under the original code of Senate rules, the presiding officer exercised great power over the conduct of the body's proceedings. Rule XVI provided that "every question of order shall be decided by the President [of the Senate], without debate; but if there be a doubt in his mind, he may call for a sense of the Senate." Thus, contrary to later practice, the presiding officer was the sole judge of proper procedure and his rulings could not be turned aside by the full Senate without his assent.

The first two vice presidents, Adams and Jefferson, did much to shape the nature of the office, setting precedents that were followed by others. During most of the nineteenth century, the degree of influence and the role played within the Senate depended chiefly on the personality and inclinations of the individual involved. Some had great parliamentary skill and presided well, while others found the task boring, were incapable of maintaining order, or chose to spend most of their time away from Washington, leaving the duty to a president pro tempore. Some made an effort to preside fairly, while others used their position to promote the political agenda of the administration.

During the twentieth century, the role of the vice president has evolved into more of an executive branch position. Now, the vice president is usually seen as an integral part of a president's administration and presides over the Senate only on ceremonial occasions or when a tie-breaking vote may be needed. Yet, even though the nature of the job has changed, it is still greatly affected by the personality and skills of the individual incumbent.

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I don't remember what Palin said about the Vice Presidency, but ... Sarah Palin is correct.

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I don't remember what Palin said about the Vice Presidency, but ... Sarah Palin is correct.

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Wow Markle .....

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How can you expect anyone to engage you in intelligent conversation.....

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Originally posted by Markle:

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How can you expect anyone to engage you in intelligent conversation.....

This thread has become nothing but a platform for knee-jerk partisan screeds, with predictable quotes from right-wing websites, right-wing radio, right-wing TV, right-wing books, right-wing articles, right-wing etc., not to be taken seriously. I have no expectation of "intelligent conversation" here anymore. I'll just deal with it on its own level.
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