Posted on 09/14/2018 4:43:07 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Are you rooting hard for President Trump to be impeached and removed from office? Or, as the anonymous New York Times op-ed last week discussed, hoping there will be an invocation of the (completely unrealistic) 25th Amendment? Or better yet, for him to hang his head in shame and resign?
If so, you’re certainly not alone, as every passing day there is new reason to doubt Trump’s competence and evidence linking him to criminal behavior is piling up. But there’s a huge risk: If Trump vacates the office, we could face almost 10 years of President Mike Pence. Is that something you really want?
After all, Pence is a true believer right-wing conservative. He is virulently anti-abortion and anti-gay rights and has a long history of slashing government programs. He once even had a talk radio show that he himself described as “Rush Limbaugh on decaf.”
Anyone with basic knowledge of the U.S. presidency and Constitution is probably a bit puzzled by the possibility of Pence serving 10 years, given the two-term (eight-year) limit.
Originally, there were no term limits for the presidency, but for a century and a half those who held the office followed George Washington’s model of serving only two terms. Until, that is, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected four times in a row. He and his supporters argued that his continued service was needed during extraordinary times (World War II). After FDR died just months into his fourth term, the issue of term limits for the president became a national priority.
As a result, in 1951, the Constitution was amended. The 22nd Amendment now limits the president to two four-year terms: “No person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice.”
How could Pence get around this limit and serve a possible 10 years total? The 22nd Amendment has something akin to small print. If someone becomes president by filling a vacancy in the office (such as when the president is impeached, resigns or dies) – but does so for less than two years – that person can run for office two more times, not just once.
In other words, if Pence became president anytime after noon on January 20th, 2019, he would be allowed to run for two more terms.
Of course, this is not a terribly likely scenario. But, as January 20th approaches, it’s not completely far-fetched either. Consider this. It is looking increasingly likely that the Democrats will take back the House this November 6th and maybe even the Senate (though that’s much less likely). The new Democratic-controlled Congress begins service on January 3rd. All it takes to impeach a president in the House is a majority vote. Given all that we know about President Trump, the House might act quickly and then send the impeachment to the Senate, which needs a two-thirds vote to remove the president – a much taller order.
Even under the most optimistic Democratic scenarios, the party will not have a two-thirds majority in the Senate. But maybe by this point, if there is in fact a big blue wave in November, enough Republican senators will have gotten the message that Trump is toxic. Or maybe other Republicans, after a big defeat in November, will look at Pence and see a stable (read: boring), staunch conservative who can redeem the Republican Party after the chaos of Trump. So, enough Republican Senators join the Democrats to get to two-thirds, removing Trump from office.
Or it could happen much quicker than that. Fearing bruising congressional investigations or even an imminent indictment, he could decide it’s smarter to resign, like President Nixon did, rather than suffer the consequences of a public airing of all that Special Counsel Robert Mueller – or even prosecutors in the Southern District of New York – have been gathering.
If he were to leave office in either of these ways, it would be entirely possible that Pence would just be a placeholder and the Democrats would take over after the 2020 election, like Gerald Ford after Nixon resigned. But it’s also possible that the country would feel massive relief from someone who, no matter what you think of Pence’s politics, is not Donald Trump. Would that translate into Pence winning national elections? Who knows, but it is certainly within the realm of possibility that, just by virtue of not being Trump, Pence could get a huge boost.
If that were to happen, we could be facing Pence running for president twice after completing Trump’s first term and ultimately serving in the office for up to 10 years. When you read the fine print of the Constitution, that’s perfectly acceptable.
So, for those of us clamoring for Trump to be removed from office or resign in disgrace, we really have to be careful what we wish for.
Pence is the primary reason I voted for Trump. Not only did I want a fighter, I wanted a backup that would be just as tough and committed. I actually figure all this impeachment stuff is nonsense. Pence would probably be a lot more deadly to the left than Trump is.
More mental masturbation from the stoned rollers. They wish!
The Lefties aren’t even considering the possibility that millions decide to bypass the ballot box and directly elect or un-elect their politicians...
I don't think there will be an impeachment, but it won't be because Democrats fear Pence.
Conservatives will not be able make gains until that is done.
Job Two is dealing with the Lefty judge-presidents of the Federal kangaroo courts.
I think the left has this fantasy similar to the rights fantasy that Obama was going to be removed. Neither fantasy will come to fruition but the left is certainly much more vocal about their fantasy.
When Trump wins in 2020 the suicide rate may jump through the roof.
That’s going to be the least of their problems if Trump were ever to face impeachment.
“himself described as “Rush Limbaugh on decaf.””
You see, to me this isn’t good enough.
I want a president who is Rush on 3 cups of espresso.
Careful, that’s what they said about Quayle.
Pence is not just sniper insurance. Pence is a good man, and a perfect - I mean PERFECT - choice to fulfill the roles of Vice President.
I am thankful everyday that he is where he is. If it Trump was looking for sniper insurance, he would have brought in Guiliani.
😀👍🏻👊🏻🇺🇸
I guess Mike Pence was pretty much the pick of the litter of the modern GOP.
-—..., as every passing day there is new reason to doubt Trump’s competence and evidence linking him to criminal behavior is piling up.-—
The author, David S. Cohen, is full of sheet. None of that is even close to being accurate.
Maybe it is HIS competence that should be in question.
Oh Geez, you do not know Pence. Your post makes me laugh. He is a push over. Sorry he isn’t tough.
He ain’t no Trump.
By the way. I am a Hoosier.
They think he’s failing? Really? He’s getting done exactly what we elected him to do and he’s doing it post haste. He’s on track to being re-elected. In other words, we’re WINNING! and I’m no where near tired of it.
Now we need to make sure he keeps congress in the midterms.
Let them fools pine for Venezuela.
The RATs should be worried instead that Republicans are going to get a filabuster proof Senate.
Do they think that we'll bother voting after they prove to us that it doesn't matter whether we win, or not?
There's millions of us, and less than 300 of the would-be tyrants...
This a-hole says that Trump needs to leave office not because he’s right wing, but because he is somehow insane.
But Pence CAN NOT be president because he’s right wing.
These people are complete idiots.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.