While I certainly don’t agree with his fear of Palin premise, the VP doesn’t run the Senate. Ask John Adams. The VP has no power whatsoever except that breaking a tie vote. The VP is the executive branch and that’s been decided and is as clear as crystal.
However, her point was much more, “I will be active and work for the Executive Branch with the Senate” answer than saying the VP was “in charge of the Senate”.
You might want to read your Constitution. The VP presides over the Senate and that is why there is no President of the Senate - just a President Pro Tem. He also break ties but has no regular vote. Palin was right !!!!
"The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided."
"The Vice President of the United States is designated by the Constitution as the President of the Senate. The Vice President holds a tie breaking vote in the Senate and does not usually preside over the Senate. Since its conception, the role of casting a tie-breaking vote in the Senate has been exercised 242 times. The Vice President of the United States with the most tie breaking votes is John Adams with 29. If there is no sitting Vice President then the President pro tempore of the United States Senate or "President pro tem" serves as President of the Senate. The President pro tem also serves in this role in the Vice President's absence, or if the Vice President assumes the office of President of the United States. In practice, freshman senators are traditionally assigned the role of presiding over the Senate in order to learn Senate procedure."
The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the office of President of the United States.
Here is the part of article one that lays out the duties of the VP, who is considered part of the legislative branch unless absent or actually running the office of President in case of Death or incapacitation of the President. The VP presides over the senate as President, only voting to break a tie.
Palin is correct the dems are wrong.
The Vice-President is the President of the Senate.
He/she does cast the deciding vote if need be.
Traditionally, there hasn’t been a role outside this scope, to my knowledge. I am not convinced there couldn’t be.
There would seem to be a limiting factor to this, due to the separation of powers. It is intriguing to me none the less, that the majority party leader in the Senate is not referred to as the President of the Senate. He is simply the majority leader.
The Vice-President/President of the Senate is described as being the head of the Senate.
I am not making arguments here. I’m only expressing the inner workings as I understand them, and I am not sure that I do completely understand them.
It would take a body of legal scholars to flesh this out. It wouldn’t surprise me if they didn’t agree at the conclusion.