437 private links
mopani Retired Professor
11 hours ago
I predict that, unlike Joe Biden in 2017, she will not show up.
BTW, has this happened before, were a failed Presidential candidate was required to certify the election victory of their opponent? If so I would like to run a comparison.
ECoolidge19 mopani
11 hours ago
Yes it has. The year 2000. Al Gore against George Bush Jr. Gore was Clinton's VP
Retired Professor mopani
8 hours ago
Although that most recently happened in 2000, 1968 is the closest analogy. Humphrey was LBJ's VP, and he bypassed the primaries to get the nomination at the convention after LBJ unexpectedly dropped out at the end of March, due to his overwhelming unpopularity caused by the Vietnam war. Humphrey wound up with the nomination by default after RFK's assassination in June (does any of this kind of rhyme with current events?).
After Humphrey lost to Nixon in November, LBJ spared Humphrey the embarrassment of having to certify his own loss on January 6, 1969, by sending him out of the country on some contrived diplomatic mission. Thus, the Constitutional duty of opening and counting the electoral votes fell to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Richard Russell of Georgia, who was indubitably the greatest U.S. Senator of the 20th Century. Uncle Dick may have secretly enjoyed it. Although he was a lifetime [conservative, Southern] Democrat, he also had an excellent working relationship with Nixon, going back to the latter's own tenure in the Senate twenty years earlier.
Were Trump to win next week (please, Lord!), the same scenario would be repeating itself, and VP Harris would have the delightful duty of certifying her opponent's election. I think Biden will want to rub her nose in it, so he won't let her off the hook like LBJ did for Humphrey. However, even if she renigs reneges on her Constitutional duty, the certification process will still go forward, presided over by the President Pro Tempore, who I assume at that point will be Sen. Grassley of Iowa.
This current election is crazy, but I could make the case that 1968 was even crazier. Go read up on it and LMK what you think.