# Joe Biden doesn't make it 4 years: who is Kamala's Veep? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 20, 2021, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-biden-doesnt-make-it-4-years-who-is-kamalas-veep/930939 "2021-01-20T06:32:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-biden-doesnt-make-it-4-years-who-is-kamalas-veep/930939/21 "2021-01-21T15:16:29Z")
I think Buttigieg would be a great fit. Midwestern, extremely intelligent, vet, religious, young, and will be getting federal-level experience at Transportation. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-biden-doesnt-make-it-4-years-who-is-kamalas-veep/930939/22 "2021-01-21T15:30:12Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > _What_ “lefty proclivities”? Only in the current United States could Kamala Harris possibly be considered a “lefty.” It’s just plain sad that a mildly liberal centrist could be considered a “lefty.” _Biden_ was branded a socialist. Maybe it’s time we stop worrying about how actual leftist candidates will be perceived, seeing as how centrists will be called ultra-liberals anyway. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-biden-doesnt-make-it-4-years-who-is-kamalas-veep/930939/23 "2021-01-21T16:54:36Z")
So one of the Castro brothers then? ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-biden-doesnt-make-it-4-years-who-is-kamalas-veep/930939/24 "2021-01-21T17:36:28Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Maybe it’s time we stop worrying about how actual leftist candidates will be perceived, seeing as how centrists will be called ultra-liberals anyway. I couldn’t agree more. To do anything else is to kowtow to the Republicans and permit them to set the agenda. And if they’re going to call Joe Biden, otherwise known as “the senator from MBNA,” a socialist, well, words have lost all meaning anyway. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-biden-doesnt-make-it-4-years-who-is-kamalas-veep/930939/25 "2021-01-21T18:36:48Z")
> [@bump](#): > > So one of the Castro brothers then? > [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > I think Buttigieg would be a great fit. Those would be plausibly in the list. Y’know, come to think of it in our only previous case of a pinch-hitting VP since the 25th was passed, we saw Nelson Rockefeller be the replacement to finish out the term, but Ford then chose Bob Dole as running mate to seek a full term on his own right. So “best to get through Congress to replace as VP to finish this term” may not be necessarily the same as “best handpicked running mate for a full-on race in 2024”. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-biden-doesnt-make-it-4-years-who-is-kamalas-veep/930939/26 "2021-01-21T18:37:48Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > This is the problem with Warren for the next two years – her replacement would be named by a Republican governor, giving control of the Senate back to Mitch McConnel. Same would apply to Sanders. On the plus side, by virtue of that fact either one would probably get near unanimous Republican support! > > Another thing to consider is that a replacement VP nominee needs to get a majority vote in the Senate AND the House (unlike other nominees who only face the Senate). With Republicans in excellent position to take back the House in two years, and a substantial majority of their House caucus having voted to deny Biden’s electors, ANY Harris nominee for VP could face a tough time after the midterms. So thanks to Senators Kerry & Kennedy, the replacement Senator would only be in office for 5 months or so, until MA holds a special election for a permanent (to end of term) replacement. And actually, even before the midterms a replacement VP would need at least 1 Republican Senator to vote for them. If Harris becomes President, the Senate goes to 50-50 without a VP to break ties. The 20th amendment calls for a majority, so you’d need 51 votes to pass. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-biden-doesnt-make-it-4-years-who-is-kamalas-veep/930939/27 "2021-01-22T17:18:25Z")
If the house were to be Republican, I can see the speaker deciding that it might be best to leave the position open. Of all the names mentioned, Buttigieg is the one that appeals to me the best. Especially if his cabinet record is positive. Like getting a new rail tunnel under the Hudson. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-biden-doesnt-make-it-4-years-who-is-kamalas-veep/930939/28 "2021-01-22T18:21:05Z")
It will be a white or hispanic guy ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-biden-doesnt-make-it-4-years-who-is-kamalas-veep/930939/29 "2021-02-21T16:00:05Z")
A little bump for this topic: During the Senate trials, Jamie Raskin and Stacey Plaskett have emerged as stars. Perhaps one of them would be a viable choice. With regard to Saintly Loser’s remarks on Andrew Cuomo: > [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > That will (I hope) never happen. I’m a New Yorker who’s been following his career since he was Attorney General of New York (even before that, actually, since he was at HUD), > > He cannot stand up to the kind of vetting he’d undergo as a vice-presidential nominee. He simply can’t. He is perhaps not personally corrupt, but he has, shall we say, a high tolerance for corruption among his close associates. This latest scandal with the under-reporting of Covid nursing-home deaths wouldn’t help either. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-biden-doesnt-make-it-4-years-who-is-kamalas-veep/930939/30 "2021-02-21T18:05:01Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > During the Senate trials, Jamie Raskin and Stacey Plaskett have emerged as stars. Perhaps one of them would be a viable choice. Plaskett would certainly be interesting. Virgin Islanders are U.S. Citizens, but they aren’t allowed to vote for President and Vice President. So she wouldn’t be able to vote in her own election. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-biden-doesnt-make-it-4-years-who-is-kamalas-veep/930939/31 "2021-02-21T18:13:12Z")
Jamie Raskin would be a pretty good pick and we’d reliably vote in another Dem as his replacement here in Maryland. I would also approve of Katie Porter in the spot. Yeah, that means two women in the top spots of the executive branch but demographic trends are making the days of voting against women _ovah_. I’m totally here for the future political matriarchy. ---
**Author:** ![DeadTreasSecretaries](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deadtreassecretaries/32/4817_2.png) [@DeadTreasSecretaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadTreasSecretaries)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-biden-doesnt-make-it-4-years-who-is-kamalas-veep/930939/32 "2021-02-21T18:14:00Z")
I doubt any of the people who have achieved media fame during any of the impeachment stuff have a shot at VP. The Democrats are going to have to prepare to run against someone like Tom Cotton and trying to revive memories of Trump is going to be less important than being able to campaign on all the economic stuff as well as being able to command the spotlight during all the nonsense that becomes an issue in presidential campaigns. If I had to guess I’d say Buttigieg is the most likely because he’s been in the spotlight in a presidential campaign but won’t endanger the Dems legislative majorities. And sadly I don’t think the party is willing to give that much influence to a justice democrat-endorsed candidate like Porter (although I really wish they would). She is absolutely the type of person they should be putting in front of people as far as relating to regular people and talking about how the dems can help them economically. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-biden-doesnt-make-it-4-years-who-is-kamalas-veep/930939/33 "2021-02-21T18:19:17Z")
Thinking about this more, I’m not sure if Plaskett would be eligible for the Vice Presidency. The Constitutional requirement is that a VP has to be eligible to become President, and a President has to be a U.S. citizen (check), at least 35 years old (check), and “been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.” It’s that last one that I’m sure would generate furious debate. Does being a resident of the USVI (an unincorporated territory) make one a resident “within the United States”? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-biden-doesnt-make-it-4-years-who-is-kamalas-veep/930939/34 "2021-02-21T19:04:11Z")
I would argue that if Federal law applies within the USVI (and it does) then she has lived “within the United States.” Per wiki: _In the chapter of U.S. federal law on immigration and nationality, the term “United States” (used in a geographical sense) is defined, unless otherwise specified, as “the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands”._ ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-biden-doesnt-make-it-4-years-who-is-kamalas-veep/930939/35 "2021-02-21T19:26:10Z")
Oh, it would be debated. That particular provision is specific to immigration and nationality so it would not necessarily be seen as _automatically_ applicable to the residence qualification for presidential election purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-biden-doesnt-make-it-4-years-who-is-kamalas-veep/930939/36 "2021-02-21T22:20:15Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > I think Warren would have a shot. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Duckworth in a more prominent role than Senator within the next decade or so, so while unlikely, I think she’s a possibility. I don’t know who Harris would pick, but VP Warren would be very nice. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2021, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-biden-doesnt-make-it-4-years-who-is-kamalas-veep/930939/37 "2021-02-22T00:15:09Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > VP Warren would be very nice. Indeed. I was hoping for President Warren, but that was not to be. Would she challenge Harris for the nomination in 2024 (should Biden not run for any reason)? I don’t know. But – I don’t think Massachusetts term-limits their governor, who is currently Charlie Baker, a pretty popular Republican. If he chooses to run again when his term is up in 2022, and wins re-election, Massachusetts will still have a Republican governor. If Senator Warren resigns her seat to take another office, he’ll appoint her replacement to finish her term. That’s one thing if Warren were to be elected president. But not worth surrendering a Senate seat to the Republicans for the vice presidency. She’s far more valuable in the Senate than she would be as vice president. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2021, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-biden-doesnt-make-it-4-years-who-is-kamalas-veep/930939/38 "2021-02-22T00:17:20Z")
Harris would want Newsom, god save us. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2021, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-biden-doesnt-make-it-4-years-who-is-kamalas-veep/930939/39 "2021-02-22T00:19:13Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > With Republicans in excellent position to take back the House in two years,… Not at all, their house isnt in order, they are divided, and they are hemorrhaging members. Not to mention, the Dems have seen some roads to success, and will likely pass a voting right act before then. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2021, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-biden-doesnt-make-it-4-years-who-is-kamalas-veep/930939/40 "2021-02-22T00:21:26Z")
We have explained why that would be a distaster. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-biden-doesnt-make-it-4-years-who-is-kamalas-veep/930939.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-biden-doesnt-make-it-4-years-who-is-kamalas-veep/930939.md?page=3)