TNT Agent X's Constitutional Misstep

By Douglas V. Gibbs

TNT has a new television program, Agent X.  The basic gist is that according to the main characters, there is a missing section to the Constitution that only those who have the need to know, know.  It is found in Article II, Section 5, an unknown section, that gives the Vice President authority regarding some kind of secret agent to use as necessary against threats that must be handled in such a manner.  Interesting concept.  I lasted about twenty minutes before my boredom with the show got the best of me.

When the new V.P. is asking questions about this unknown authority she has, one of the questions posed to her by the person instructing her is, "Have you ever wondered why the Founding Fathers gave the V.P. few tasks?"

The problem is that not only does the show give the federal government more power than originally intended by the Founding Fathers, but the thing about the V.P. having only a few tasks is dead wrong.  The V.P. has many tasks, but they don't do them anymore.  The biggest of all of those tasks is the V.P.'s role as President of the Senate.  Though we have a Separation of Powers, the executive branch's one "in" when it comes to the Legislative Branch came through the V.P.'s role as President of the Senate.

As the leader of the Senate, the V.P. used to, and is expected to, be at all sessions, fighting the good fight, slamming the gavel, and trying to sway the Senators to head in a direction promoted by the executive.  However, aside for when there is a tie, the V.P. has no vote as President of the Senate.

Few tasks?  President of the Senate, especially before the 17th Amendment when the Senators represented the States, was supposed to be a very busy task for the Vice President.

Agent X failed to recognize that little historical tidbit about the V.P. being President of the Senate.

Oh, and the V.P. Character with the hairdo and all looks suspiciously a lot like Hillary.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary