NYT Says JD Vance Disqualified Himself from Being VP

It is that time of the year when the pundits crawl out from under their rocks to offer their two cents to try discredit Republicans from being in office.

The latest shot was fired by Matthew A. Seligman, a partner at Stris & Maher LLP and a fellow at the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School.

He published an op-ed in The New York Times claiming that Vance should be disqualified as VP by his own hand.

Disqualified

Seligman is attacking Vance for his position that he would have done the complete opposite of what Vice President Pence did when it came time to certify the election.

He wrote, “Unlike Mike Pence, Mr. Vance has made clear that he is willing to cater to Mr. Trump’s obsession with the myth that his victory in the 2020 presidential election was stolen, and that on Jan. 6 Vice President Pence refused to exercise his constitutional powers to prevent that theft.

“Unwavering commitment to those two lies served as critical qualifications for Mr. Vance to be selected as Mr. Trump’s running mate. In the 2024 election, that dedication must also disqualify Mr. Vance from ever holding the office he now seeks.”

Here is the thing, though… The vice president does not have the powers to do what Trump claimed he had to do, and what he wanted Pence to do, so Vance would not be able to do this even if he wanted to.

The VP's role in certifying the election is that of a master of ceremonies, if you will.

The 12^th Amendment outlines these duties: "The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted.”

Nowhere in the 12^th Amendment does it authorize the president of the Senate, the VP, to halt that counting for any reason or to challenge the counting of the certificates. It simply does not say that and anyone that says it does is either a liar or they don’t know the Constitution.

Is this reason enough to disqualify Vance as a VP?

Misinterpreting the Constitution aside, can an argument be made that he is saying that he believes the election should have been investigated to ensure all votes were legal and the results were authentic?

I am not going to chime in my opinion on this one, as I think I have made myself quite clear where I stand on Pence and the request to stop the certification of the election.

Whether Vance is qualified or disqualified on this front is for you to decide.