This is not about Vice President Pence, who four years ago rose to the occasion and did his duty when a mob sought to violently disrupt the peaceful transfer of power—the hallmark of democracy.
Somehow, the instigator has, yet again, evaded the consequences of his actions and a plurality of the American people has decided January 6 was not a big deal. So be it. Others have written on this. I can only echo their sadness and frustration
I will stick to my small patch: near the center of the January 6 was the vice presidency.
Ministerial Duties
The Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022, describes the role of the President of the Senate (which is the vice president):
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the role of the President of the Senate while presiding over the joint meeting shall be limited to performing solely ministerial duties.
The term “ministerial” refers to service, helping. It can refer to public roles, such as a cabinet minister or administrator. But it can also refer to clergy, and there is something clerical in the formal powers of the vice president. Like religious leaders, vice presidents appear to have significant formal powers, but in fact those powers are in fact ceremonial.
I am a religious person who engages in my tradition’s ceremonies, I do believe in them. I do not however expect that these activities will bring about worldly change in a practical manner. Belief that these activities will have measurable, temporal effects is not worship or prayer. This is magic, which is dangerous stuff. A thing does not need to be real (in a concrete sense) to be dangerous.
When people are deep believers in this sort of magic, they are in a place of desperation. Things are breaking down.

The insurrectionists of January 6 were not simply seeking to overturn the election de facto. They had an argument de jure, a theory of the case, that the VP was empowered to overturn the election. The insurrectionist belief that somehow this minor, ceremonial function of the vice president was somehow powerful is a similar kind of belief in magic.
The Formal Powers of the Vice President
I study vice presidents because they provide an interesting lens to understand U.S. politics. The formal powers of the vice president are probably the least interesting aspect of the office. The most significant formal of these powers is as President of the Senate. (The Vice President is also a statutory member of the Smithsonian Board of Regents, I am unaware of any VP doing much with this role—although the possibilities intrigue.)
From the very beginning, the Senate made it clear that the VP could preside, but not lead. John Adams was put in his place by the first few Senates—which dubbed Adams “His Rotundity.” Lyndon Johnson, who had been an iron-fisted Majority Leader, sought to continue his reign over the Senate as VP. The Senate declined to honor Johnson’s demand. Other VPs who sought to lead the Senate had similar experiences. (There have been times when presiding over the Senate has been significant, but they are rare.)
This has not prevented people from believing that the Vice President could use their authority to end the filibuster. Another bit of magical thinking.
The 25th amendment, in which the VP and cabinet notify Congressional leadership of presidential disability is another example. It is intended for use in the face of serious presidential illness (coma, stroke, etc.) It is not intended as a method of overthrowing a president who is disliked. That has not prevented people from dreaming about it.
Finally, there is the high-profile, but again pro forma, vice presidential role of breaking ties in the Senate. Unless the VP wants to become persona non grata with the president, they vote the way the president wants. But when ties are coming up often, it is a sign that the Senate is having difficulty getting its business done. Harris set the record for vice presidents breaking Senate ties. The previous record was held by John Calhoun. Calhoun served nearly two terms (he resigned to run for Senate) under two different presidents. Calhoun was in open conflict with both Presidents John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson. His time in office saw the breakdown of the patrician politics of the founders, the Nullification Crisis (in which South Carolina toyed with succession), and the general madness of the Jacksonian Age.
I started my dissertation in the aughts, when Dick Cheney’s service sparked talk of “the Imperial Vice Presidency.” The modern vice presidency, established under Carter and Mondale, was sparked in part by the resignations of a corrupt president and vice president in close proximity.
All of this is to say that when, as a nation (not me personally) we talk a lot about vice presidents, it is because our polity is not in a good place.
VP as Backup QB
I began by talking about the vice president as high priest. I’ll finish with a different metaphor, the VP as backup quarterback:
He is the most popular guy in town, beloved and flawless, a magic pill who could solve everything if only the coach would just come to his senses.
When we focus so much on the backup, we are wishing for magic—for something that is true, to not be otherwise. In America today, we are desperate for magic.