November 1, 2008
BRIGHT RIGHTS:
The Downfall of Faux Conservatism (George Will, 10/30/08, Washington Post)
From the invasion of Iraq to the selection of Sarah Palin, carelessness has characterized recent episodes of faux conservatism. Tuesday's probable repudiation of the Republican Party will punish characteristics displayed in the campaign's closing days.Some polls show that Palin has become an even heavier weight in John McCain's saddle than his association with George W. Bush. Did McCain, who seems to think that Palin's never having attended a "Georgetown cocktail party" is sufficient qualification for the vice presidency, lift an eyebrow when she said that vice presidents "are in charge of the United States Senate"?
She may have been tailoring her narrative to her audience of third-graders, who do not know that vice presidents have no constitutional function in the Senate other than to cast tie-breaking votes. But does she know that when Lyndon Johnson, transformed by the 1960 election from Senate majority leader into vice president, ventured to the Capitol to attend the Democratic senators' weekly policy luncheon, the new majority leader, Montana's Mike Mansfield, supported by his caucus, barred him because his presence would be a derogation of the Senate's autonomy?
The Founders' Constitution: Article 1, Section 3, Clauses 4 and 5
The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.
Let's review: Mr. Will understands why she declined to mention Constitutional specifics to an audience of third-graders, but then follows up with some bit of political trivia and scolds her for not knowing it. And he thinks that opposition to Ms. Palin has nothing to do with intellectual snobbery?