Maybe Democrats Should Have Considered "Plan C"

WASHINGTON - Nov. 10, 2024 - PRLog -- Given Kamala Harris' rout in both electoral and popular votes, perhaps Democrats should at the very least considered the widely discussed "Plan C" under which Joe Biden would remain on the ticket running for President, with Barack Obama as his running mate for vice president, but with the promise that Biden would step down once inaugurated to permit the very popular Obama to assume the presidency.

Several law professors who analyzed both the 22nd Amendment and the 12th Amendment to the Constitution independently concluded that Obama's service for two terms as president did not bar him from running for vice president, nor from assuming the presidency upon the death or resignation of President Biden, notes public interest law professor John Banzhaf.

These experts include law professors Dan Coenen, Michael Dorf (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/08/06...), Bruce Peabody (https://www.google.com/url?esrc=s&q=&rct=j&sa...), three former White House lawyers (https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/19/AR2006101901572.html), and a recent analysis published on the popular legal website AboveTheLaw (https://abovethelaw.com/2024/06/what-about-joe-biden-and-barack-obama-for-a-ticket/).  Professor Banzhaf's detailed constitutional analysis is spelled out in detail here (https://vermontdailychronicle.com/banzhaf-obama-for-vice-president/).  In summary it concludes that:

While the 22nd Amendment may bar Obama from "being elected" to the office of president again, it obviously and by its clear language doesn't prohibit him from being elected as a vice president, and subsequently becoming president by succession without ever being elected to the presidency again.  Similarly, regarding the deliberately narrow language of the the 12th Amendment, Barack Obama is not now "ineligible to the office of President" and therefore ineligible to run for Vice-President, because he is only ineligible to be "elected" to the office of the president, not to attain the office by succession.

Regarding the disaster for the Democrats who lost the presidency and the Senate, it now seems that Harris, whose her poll numbers and approval rating were even lower than Biden's, and whose policies and true priorities - given that she was once rated as the most liberal member of the Senate - weren't clear to many voters, was a weaker candidate than Obama who was much more popular and with whom voters were very familiar.

Instead, former President Barack Obama would have become the Democrat's candidate for vice president; a tactic many experts have concluded is constitutional.

Biden would then announce, before the election, that he will step down shortly after the election, allowing Obama to assume the role of President.

Agreeing to resign shortly after his inauguration would also allow Biden to pardon his son Hunter if necessary to protect him from risks to his life and physical safety if he is sentenced to prison, despite his earlier promise not to do so,

http://banzhaf.net/   jbanzhaf3ATgmail.com   @profbanzhaf