Biden Camp Says No Dispute With Reid on Veep Attendance at Senate Dems’ Meetings
EmailVice President-elect Joe Biden will be forbidden by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid from attending Senate Democratic Caucus meetings, Reid said in an interview with the Las Vegas Sun set to run Sunday at 2 a.m., as excerpted by Politico’s Mike Allen.
"Absolutely not," responded Reid when asked if Biden would be allowed to attend these meetings.
But Biden spokesperson Elizabeth Alexander notes that Biden had "no intention" of going to the meetings anyway and there is no conflict at all between him and Reid.
"Vice President-elect Biden had no intention of continuing this practice started by Vice President Cheney of regularly attending internal legislative branch meetings," she told ABC News. "He firmly believes in restoring the Office of the vice president to its historical role. He and Sen. Reid see eye to eye on this."
- Jake Tapper & Matt Jaffe
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It’s like Reid is moralizing and chastising a person for smoking who is a non smoker. Biden made it clear during the debates with Palin that the vice presidential didn’t belong in the legislative, while poor Gov. Palin was totally lost on one of the better of Gwen Ifel’s (phonetic spelling, I think) questions. Perhaps Reid has problems with longer term memory of the political, which seems to be pretty rampant.
Posted by: kat | December 6, 2008, 2:41 pm 2:41 pm
So now you guys are creating stories out of thin air? THIN AIR? What in the world would make a reporter ask that question? and what in the world would make you report it? I always thought spokespersons held a useless position. After this year, I stand corrected on that assumptions. If people like Biden had to spend all there time warding off such silly inquiries, they truly wouldn’t get any work done.
While you are at it, would you like to ask the 500,000+ people who lost their jobs in November if they intend to attend their [ex-)companies’ upcoming meetings? It really is a very important question and the public needs the answer.
Posted by: Question | December 6, 2008, 2:56 pm 2:56 pm
Mr Biden and Mr Obama, gave up their Senate seats of their own free will.
They are not sworn in as a public offical until Jan. So until then, I guess they can plan what to do after that date.
Posted by: seah | December 6, 2008, 3:14 pm 3:14 pm
Biden was being a gentleman towards Reid, as he’s been repeatedly towards Palin. His response during the vice presidential debate was unequivocal, and shot up those silly graph lines high into the approval areas.
This is a small portion of what was said. I don’t ordinarily use direct quotes, but it deserves quoting again: “The idea that he’s a part of the Legislative Branch is a bizarre notion invented by Cheney to aggrandize the power of a unitary executive and look where it has gotten us. It has been very dangerous.”
Posted by: kat | December 6, 2008, 3:52 pm 3:52 pm
seah, I don’t think Biden has resigned his seat, he is simply following through with what he said prior to his election.
Posted by: JR | December 6, 2008, 4:16 pm 4:16 pm
Sorry Concerned, but that was Palin’s mistake of the Constitution. Biden doesn’t know what doesn’t exist, except in Palin’s little mind.
Posted by: JR | December 6, 2008, 4:18 pm 4:18 pm
Concerned in OH
This article is not about “presiding over the Senate,” so what is your point? Just a random attack?
Posted by: jock59801 | December 6, 2008, 4:28 pm 4:28 pm
Concerned- FYI, the Constitution provides safeguards from the executive and legislative overlapping, and the senate is part of the legislative banch. Biden isn’t even the vice president yet, and if he were to take it on himself to preside over the senate then he would in effect, be overthrowing the Constitution. I think he mentioned specifically, during the debate, that Article 1 of the Constitution separates the two branches. Why do I feel like I’m teaching a fourth grade class? I hope I don’t I don’t lapse into giving grades like George Stephanopolous.
Posted by: kat | December 6, 2008, 4:53 pm 4:53 pm
First off, it’s another goofy Tapper story and it’s about goofy Reid.
Posted by: Mike | December 6, 2008, 5:21 pm 5:21 pm
So….
Reid isn’t going to let Biden do something that Biden wasn’t planning on doing….
Nice story Jake.
Posted by: blakec | December 6, 2008, 5:34 pm 5:34 pm
The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.
The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.
Boy sure looks to me like he presides over the senate.
As president of the senate it is his job to preside over the senate though the only time he has a vote is to break a tie
If you look back in history you will find that it was common practice for the vice president to be at almost every session of the senate it is really only recant that they have not been there.
Posted by: tim | December 6, 2008, 6:06 pm 6:06 pm
isnt it funny that reid said biden is “forbidden” to attend although biden had no intentions of going there and wants to “return the vice presidency to its historic role”??!! why would he need to “forbid” him to attend if they already see eye to eye on this… lol ahhh those crazy politicians.
Posted by: tim | December 6, 2008, 7:53 pm 7:53 pm
We can count on Biden to return the VP position to its traditional 20th century role and to carry out that role seriously. He will have both a general and a specific advisory role to President Obama–as it should be. This is a non-issue.
Posted by: David in San Diego | December 6, 2008, 9:04 pm 9:04 pm
“Ironically, the Constitution defines the VP role as a legislative one.”
Concerned – How Cheneyesque! The Constitution calls for a separation of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
Posted by: kat | December 6, 2008, 11:02 pm 11:02 pm
Reid is a big time windbag, which is actually a non-party distinction.
Posted by: charlie brown | December 8, 2008, 4:24 am 4:24 am
‘There you go again Joe ‘Don’t ‘Make Dirty Harry’s Day!’
V.P.-Elect Biden should check with Sarah Palin and get her version of the V.P.’s role in the Senate – I think she believes that the V.P. heads the Senate.
Posted by: 818 | December 8, 2008, 3:54 pm 3:54 pm