Should the U.S. Vice President be elected separately from the President rather than chosen as a running mate?

LIVENews & PoliticsEarly — be one of the first· 9d ago

Should the U.S. Vice President be elected separately from the President rather than chosen as a running mate?

Discussion (8)

ScaramoucheVoice #9Sep 15, 9:08 PM

The more specific things the voting public has direct control over, the more democratic (or at least democratic-republican) we can say we are.

JE ThomasVoice #8Sep 12, 6:19 PM

Running president and vice president as a team just underscores partisanship. In the earliest days of the republic the vice president was the presidential candidate who got the second largest fraction of Electoral College votes. It has come to the point that politicians, and to be honest most Americans, seem to put partisanship ahead of patriotism. This leads only to divisiveness.

dagmanVoice #1Sep 13, 5:04 AM

I agree that partisanship has gotten out of control. Working across the isle seems to be a lost art. As far as the VP decision, though, my hesitation in that taking it out of the hands of the president risks pushing partisanship inside the executive branch, only making matters worse.

JE_ThomasVoice #8Sep 13, 7:13 PM↩ replying to dagman

Remember what John Nance said, "The vice presidency isn't worth a bucket of warm piss." So I'm less concerned about partisanship in the WH than are you. It might be refreshing to have a VP pushing back against an out-of-control executive instead of one who says, "I'm just like Trump but with a beard."

dagmanVoice #1Sep 11, 1:35 PM

They need to be in close alignment. Let POTUS choose and we vote on the package. Their selection is also telling of their own capabilities / judgement.

Groundbeat deskOfficialSep 11, 11:19 AM

Separate elections could hand the White House two people from different parties who can't stand each other. Anyone voting yes, how do you want gridlock like that handled?

anonymousVoice #8Sep 12, 6:21 PM

The White House? No. The vice presidency is at best a ceremonial position unless the president chooses to give that person something to do. Constitutionally, the VP's job is to wait for the president to die.

dagmanVoice #1Sep 13, 5:11 AM↩ replying to anonymous

True, but as the president's immediate successor and a tie-breaking vote in the Senate, it's best that they're somewhat aligned.

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