What Do you think of Orrin Hatch as President ?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

31. Sigh. Everyone here needs to understand just how our Constitution works.

There is NO, I repeat, NO provision for an election outside of the normal cycle. To say: there is no precedence but could it be done displays a genuine ignorance of how our system works.

It really is important to understand this. And even if Trump resigns or is removed from office, there will NOT be a new election. Vice President Pence will become our new President, and a new VP will be selected.

To review, for all of you not old enough to remember Watergate: Spiro Agnew was forced to resign because he'd been caught red-handed accepting bribes and the like. We all (those of us who were adults back then) had understood quite clearly that in 1972 Agnew was seen as Nixon's impeachment insurance. Unfortunately for Dick Nixon, Agnew's corruption was so profound that it wasn't all that hard to get rid of him. So then Gerald Ford, a genuinely squeaky-clean Congressman, became Vice President. Which absolutely cleared the way for Nixon to be impeached. Except that he resigned instead.

Right now, Pence does not seem to have sufficient liabilities to remove him from office, and even if that were to happen, I can't imagine an equivalent of Ford out there to move into the Oval Office.

If Trump leaves office (impeached, resigns, whatever) Pence will become President. Period. Some loyal right-wing Republican will become the new VP, and we can only hope that in 2018 the country will elect vast numbers of Democrats at all levels.

Me? I won't be holding my breath.