Former MSNBC anchor David Shuster has provided fresh grist for political rumor mill by tweeting out late yesterday that Democrats may hold an emergency meeting to discuss the possiblity of replacing Hillary Clinton as their nominee, according to LifeZette:
In the wake of Hillary Clinton’s Sunday collapse at a 9/11 memorial ceremony, Democrat leaders are asking: “What if … ?” “What if she hasn’t been candid and is a lot sicker than they thought?” “What if it becomes apparent that she is too weak to campaign vigorously?”
“What if we have to reconsider her nomination because she chooses to step aside?”
Clarification from dem operatives @HillaryClinton pneumonia: Expect emergency DNC meeting to CONSIDER replacement. #HillarysHealth
— David Shuster (@DavidShuster) September 11, 2016
If Hillary were forced out or elected to drop out, the question that emerges is who her replacement would be and how the Democratic Party would go about choosing her replacement. Paste magazine notes the existence of language in the Democratic National Committee’s Charter & Bylaws to cover that contingency:
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
Special meetings of the National Committee may be held upon the call of the Chairperson with the approval of the Executive Committee with reasonable notice to the members, and no action may be taken at such a special meeting unless such proposed action was included in the notice of the special meeting. The foregoing notwithstanding, a special meeting to fill a vacancy on the National ticket shall be held on the call of the Chairperson, who shall set the date for such meeting in accordance with the procedural rules provided for in Article Two, Section 8(d) of these Bylaws.
One of the names being bandied about as a potential replacement is crazy Joe Biden, which would make for a very interesting election.