Palin Claims Vice President "In Charge Of The U.S. Senate"

Think Progress:

Yesterday, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) sat for an interview with KUSA, an NBC affiliate in Colorado. In response to a question sent to the network by a third grader at a local elementary school about what the Vice President does, Palin erroneously argued that the Vice President is "in charge of the United States Senate":

Q: Brandon Garcia wants to know, "What does the Vice President do?"

PALIN: That's something that Piper would ask me! ... [T]hey're in charge of the U.S. Senate so if they want to they can really get in there with the senators and make a lot of good policy changes that will make life better for Brandon and his family and his classroom.

Read the whole story: Think Progress

Comments

[mesut]

Perhaps someone should simply say "Gov Palin, that is not correct" to some of the dumb answers coming from her mouth. Instead, people cheer giving Palin the idea she is right on so many fronts, This is really not laughable anymore. I'm just glad it's almost over.

[neuron]

She thinks she's ready for the world stage.
She looks more like she's ready for the Muppett Chorus Line.

[hortonhearsawho]

Mrs. Piggy begs do differ....

[hortonhearsawho]

and poor kermit the frog is catching hell now.

[haval2]

Give her a break...the 5th time might be the charm! maybe they have cliff notes on it.

[CammyV]

Ignorance, or delusions of grandeur?

[hortonhearsawho]

That white stuff we see at her place. Snow?

[bigsioux]

She was giving a third grade level response to a third grader's question. She measured up well. Just don't let the fifth graders get at her though.

[veganphoto]

you don't change the truth when you're explaining something to a kid. well not democrats anyways.

[JulieSA]

---Biden, predicting crisis by late May: "Watch, we’re gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy (Obama). I can give you at least four or five scenarios from where it might originate,” he said to supporters, mentioning the Middle East and Russia as possibilities. “And he’s gonna need help. And the kind of help he’s gonna need is, he’s gonna need you - not financially to help him - we’re gonna need you to use your influence, your influence within the community, to stand with him. Because it’s not gonna be apparent initially, it’s not gonna be apparent that we’re right.”
--Biden: "...a three letter word: J-O-B-S!"
--Biden told Jon Stewart, "John McCain is a personal friend, a great friend, and I would be honored to run with or against John McCain, because I think the country would be better off — be well off no matter who ...," where Stewart cut him off.
-

[JulieSA]

Biden says US will face an international crisis within six months after Obama is elected, because bad guys will want to test Obama.

[JulieSA]

-Biden repeatedly insisted that Hillary Clinton would've probably been a better choice for Obama.
--Biden publicly opposed the AIG bailout, not realizing his running mate was for it
--Biden called Palin Alaska's "Lieutenant Governor".
--Biden accidentaly introduced his running mate as "Barack America".
--Biden, while trying to win votes in hotly contested Ohio, taunted Ohioans by announcing that Delaware's team could "kick" the Ohio State football team's, uh, posterior.
--Biden publicly promised to ban "clean" coal after his running mate promised to invest heavily in it.
--Biden told an endearing three-sentence summary supposedly about his own life, but it was taken nearly word-for-word from British politician Neil Kinnock.
--Biden claimed his helicopter was "forced down" in enemy territory, but it was later learned that the flight was only postponed because of weather.
--Biden looked at Missouri state senator Chuck Graham--seated in front of him--and demanded that he "Stand up!" without noticing that he was in a wheelchair.
--Biden called Obama "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean...to run for President," insulting Shirley Chisholm, Jesse Jackson, Carol Braun, and Al Sharpton.
--Biden insulted certain immigrants in Delaware by claiming, "You cannot go to a 7/11 or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I’m not joking."
--Biden angrily challenged a sincere questioner by insisting, "My IQ higher than yours!"

[rmetz74]

You don't like Biden. We get it.

The thing is, unlike Palin, he's been around long enough for people to draw their own conclusions about him. Everyone knows he sticks his foot in his mouth - the thing is, most people appreciate someone TOO honest more than someone not honest enough. nevermind the pesky little detail that no one, even McCain, can attack him on the basis of inexperience. Even Republicans don't think Palin is ready to be President. That's a bigger problem than verbal diarrhea.

[JulieSA]

--Biden on poor D.C. school performance compared to Iowa: "There's less than 1 percent of the population of Iowa that is African American. There is probably less than 4 or 5 percent that is, are minorities. What is it in Washington? So look, it goes back to what you start off with, what you're dealing with."
--Biden, unaware that Hoover was President in 1929, many years before TV was invented: “When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn’t just talk about the princes of greed. He said, ‘look, here’s what happened."'
--Biden slammed an Obama ad that mocked McCain for being "computer illiterate" without mentioning that it is McCain's war injuries that inhibit him from using a keyboard. "I thought that (the ad) was terrible, by the way," Biden said. Asked why it was done, he said: "I didn't know we did it, and if I had anything to do with it, we'd have never done it."

[keepemhonest]

Julie .... There was an international crisis when Russia went at Georgia .... McCain FAILED that test ... Obama passed ... international crisis is nothing new ... we had a domestic crisis and McCain FAILED while Obama passed the test.

Just ask Gen. Powell who said, "Obama shows intellectual vigor and has a, a definitive way of doing business that would serve us well. Obama displays a steadiness, an intellectual curiosity, a depth of knowledge and an approach to looking at problems.

Obama speaks authoritatively. He speaks with great insight into the challenges we're facing of a military and political and economic nature. And he is surrounding himself, I'm confident, with people who'll be able to give him the expertise."

[jpsd]

Problem is according to the Senate website, Palin is correct:

http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Vice_President.htm

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.

[ralph10]

Yea she was responding to that law. Puhleeeze!!!!!

[JoeQCitizen]

Yeah, she probably was responding to that law. It's not that hard. She's governor of a state with a small populace. So was Bill Clinton. Granted, she's been governor for a short time, she is still a governor. She didn't win a beauty contest, she won a governor's race. Surely someone that has been elected governor has enough savvy to at least Google her job responsibilities when nominated to run for her party as Vice President of the United States. This is simple, remember? A third grader should know this, right? You know, that law, THAT LAW.

[keepemhonest]

Jpsd: Nice try, but .... that dog don't hunt.


The wording you quote simply explains that in the event of a tie the tie breaker vote is the VP.

The other part you copied refers to the Senate MAJORITY LEADER ... Quote: " the presiding officer - [majority leader] was the SOLE judge of proper procedure and his ruling could NOT be turned aside by the full Senate without his assent."

Read more carefully ...

I seriously doubt Constitutional scholars would agree with Sarah Palin ...

[jpsd]

Get off the dog and read the website. "in charge" is an accurate description

[rmetz74]

You left out the part about how that stopped being true in the twentieth century. How convenient.

"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."

[rmetz74]

Saying that's "according to the Senate website" is a tad misleading.

It's quoted from a historical study of the Senate, not from any government document. The passage you quote describes what the VP did back in the days when the candidate who lost automatically became VP, and only white men could vote. Lots of thing shave changed for the better since then.

If you're in favor of Palin taking us back to that era, you have a much bigger case to make.

[babybelle]

I thought she was a "Quick Study "
lol lolo lol lol

[MPCarr]

More important:

Biden proclaims Obama will be tested by our enemies within the first 6 months of our administration.

[Noogie]

What Biden did NOT mention, because it is not relevant, is that John McCain would also be tested within the first six months if he were elected.

[ralph10]

And New England was predicted to win the Super Bowl. So what!

[Harrier]

She is being eaten alive. Every time she talks she pisses off more and more of her own party. She is a gift for the Democrats.

[All57States]

3 letter word J-O-B-S

[Goldylover]

Perhaps a civic test should be a required before holding office. Maybe then we wouldn't have W and Dick.

[isis]

Between this and the fake ACORN scandal which pretends that a private group can register voters (not just give them forms--there is a big difference) you've got to wonder if they know what's going on at all.

[Pinkmarbles]

HUH??? Fake! They are being investigated in 12 states! They WERE giving out forms. They gave ONE GUY 73!! Oh, and Obama's bunch paid A.C.O.R.N. over $800,000 to do this. Nice try but again you FAIL!!!

[innerpeace]

Part of what is being investigated is these people ripping off ACORN by registering Mickey Mouse and not just ACORN, itself.

[jelly450]

Yes they have been investigated, because of these bulls#$ claims BUT they have NOT BEEN FOUND GUILTY.

Go peddle your bs on FOX, there are too many informed people here.

[reliant1]

The investigation is into the employees of ACORN - who cheated ACORN out of wages and it was ACORN who gave the elections official the bad forms.

No one will get to vote and affect the election based on the idiots ACORN hired and who falsified forms so they could get paid more.

ACORN should be made responsible for covering the expenses to the county for the extra work their employees caused and those employees should be prosecuted for their wrong doing.

Worry about the individual voters who thought they were being registered but weren't or who had their forms thrown away if they were DEMS. Voter suppression is a far larger and far more devastating crime and can actually affect the outcome of a race. Which is why those who perpetrate such crimes are now going to prison.

[bdl0715]

ACORN was the victim in this case. They paid volunteers to registe voters and the volunteers falisied the forms. ACORN did nothing wrong. They are the ones that reported the problem to the authorities.

[knowhelpnow]

This sounds like you know as much about our country as she does giving out forms even if it was 73 doesn't say anything he may have picked them up for a nursing home or a social network. Registering is different then voting, when you register you provide enough information to support your right to vote and even then it is crossed against other information at a later time. I would have to say it is a much better way then the caging the GOP does, sends out letters to people who are fighting overseas that can't be forwarded to them and then these people are cut off the list to vote and now they want to do it again to all the people they think will vote Democrat that have lost their homes. I think that for voting for a President that it should be a federal thing that could be done at 18 years old and last a lifetime, and the states can do their own registering for state things when someone moves out of a certain district or moves to another state another thing I think would help is if that voting for President be a national holiday this would shorten the lines a lot because most people can't take the day off just to vote so while the day is not to busy after working hours the waiting in lines is horrible..

[VladdyTrout]

But in all fairness, after the last eight years, does the Constitution still matter?

Sarcasm.