1) Did Pence have the Constitutional authority to do that? I don't know. My guess is no, but I have no idea. Presumably, the Supreme Court would have chimed in (despite having punted all other opportunities to chime in on the 2020 election irregularities).

Earlier in this thread, I was going back and forth with hoolstoptheheels about what role courts play. So, my question would be that if Pence did that, and the Supreme Court declined to take the case that the Dems surely would have filed (or ruled in Pence's favor), then what? Does that mean what Pence did was okay? I doubt hoolstoptheheels would say so, but yet he also says that courts' words are the final say. Personally, I am glad that Pence did not try to do what Trump asked, but if he had and the Supreme Court had backed him or punted, then who's to say it was a coup?

2) Primarily, I don't think it would have been a coup because Pence's actions would not have installed Trump as president. To me, a coup is when somebody or some group seizes power without going through a political process -- i.e., a military or bureaucratic takeover. Whatever else was going on, the challenges in congress were definitionally a political process.

Had Pence done what Trump asked, Trump would not automatically have been president. There would have been further discussion in the legislative branches at both the state and federal level about how to deal with the state elections that were invalid due to being conducted illegally or unconstitutionally. The courts likely would also have gotten involved. Who knows how that would have played out, but I don't view it as someone seizing power.

I'm glad all that didn't happen. Biden "won" and gets to be president, but he's ineffective and will continue to be ineffective because there's such a cloud over his legitimacy. A weak Biden is a better outcome, IMO, than what could have happened had Pence pulled the trigger and things escalated further.

The fault here lies entirely with the Dem efforts at the state level to violate election law. They created this Constitutional crisis, not Trump, Pence or any other Rep. The latter's choice was to lie down and take it, or to fight it. They chose to fight it up to a point and then threw in the towel.

Regarding the Russia Hoax, there was never any evidence -- ZERO -- that Donald Trump had colluded in any way with the Russians or anyone else to steal or subvert the 2016 election. There was plenty of evidence that Hillary Clinton and her campaign (plus the media, BIRM) had done so, but none that Trump had done so. The only evidence cited/used to justify the years-long Mueller investigation was sourced from Dem political oppo research AND THE FBI/DOJ KNEW IT. It was absolutely a coup attempt. I have no idea what actual Trump/Russia collusion would have looked like -- this isn't my fantasy world.

[Post edited by Los Angeles Hoo at 10/11/2021 8:30PM]