In the current issue of the NYU Journal of Legislation and Public Policy, Roy E. Brownell II has the article The Independence of the Vice Presidency (17 N.Y.U. J. L. & Pub. Pol'y 297 (2014)). From the introduction:
Public portrayal of the Vice President’s standing in relation to the President suffers from a trio of shortcomings. One is that the Vice President is often characterized, either explicitly or implicitly, as lacking independence from the President. The Vice President is widely viewed as ready and willing to do all that the President asks, whenever he asks it; the prototypical “company man.” As a result, it is often assumed the Vice President must do his bidding. However, such assertions confuse political prudence with constitutional prescription. This article will emphasize that, as a constitutional matter, the Vice President is independent from the President and can and does take actions and public positions that are contrary to the latter’s wishes.
A second problem in discussions of presidential-vice presidential relations is that, while some authorities properly note the Vice President’s independence, they fail to analyze this trait in any detail. It has been largely left as an unexamined assumption. This article will attempt to fill this void and review closely the legal sources of, and justifications behind, vice presidential independence.
Finally, many of the same authorities who recognize the Vice President as constitutionally independent believe this characteristic is little more than a theoretical proposition. They contend that vice presidential autonomy as a practical matter is, or at least has recently become, a dead letter. These scholars end up in the same place as those who question or reject entirely the office’s independence. Thus, there is a rough consensus that the Vice President lacks autonomy, be it either constitutional or practical. This article cuts against the grain and argues that the Vice President is independent in both respects.
(Thanks to Seth Barrett Tillman for the pointer).
Posted at 6:07 AM