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climbingbetty22
Apr 5, 2006, 12:34 AM
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So I only caught part of the news story...but Senator Tom Delay resigned today, claiming that his seat was too precious for the Rupublicans to give up. Then I had to go to the bathroom, so I missed the middle of the news article, but while I was gone, the thought struck me...if this means that a new Senator is appointed from the Rupublican party and is then exempt from having to be re-elected in the next race this could mean that Republicans will start resigning left and right in order to keep their majority in Congress and effectively block Democrats from being elected.
I then returned from the bathroom to catch the end of the new article where it was speculated that during the summer and early fall, many more Republicans will follow Delay's example. I understand that given the public opinion about the success of the war and the President's current job approval rating, the Republicans face a real threat of being voted out and losing control of Congress. But if what I postulated above is true as to their motivation for pulling this stunt, this would mean that they are effectively subverting the system and taking away the American people's right to vote and have a say in who represents them in the making of public policy.
So, my question to the more political savvy of you, is, can they do this? Can a Congressman who is appointed to a seat in Congress following a resignation be exempt from going through the re-election process in the next election??? :? :(
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curt
Apr 5, 2006, 1:52 AM
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In reply to: So I only caught part of the news story...but Senator Tom Delay resigned today, claiming that his seat was too precious for the Rupublicans to give up.
DeLay is/was a member of the House of Representatives, as opposed to being a Senator.
In reply to: So, my question to the more political savvy of you, is, can they do this? Can a Congressman who is appointed to a seat in Congress following a resignation be exempt from going through the re-election process in the next election??? :? :(
No.
Curt
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gene723
Apr 5, 2006, 1:13 PM
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pretty interesting suggestion CB but I don't think they would be able to circumvent the rules for election that easily (hmmm..actually I don't even know what the rules are). :shock:
I think what is interesting about Delay though is that he was an ardent defender of not letting them end life support for Terry Shivo (can't spell) even though he was for letting his own father go in the same situation.
Also, through the crimes which he is being indicted on now, he was able to help win more seats for the Republicans by redistricting.
:boring:
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wjca
Apr 5, 2006, 1:25 PM
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In claiming that his seat was too precious for the Republicans to give up, he meant that if he stayed on and ran for relection, he would be running against a democrat and would surely lose. If he resigns, the next election for his seat (whether is be a normal election or a special election to immediately fill the vacancy), will now be between the democrat Delay would have ran against, and some other republican that actually stands better than a snowball's chance of winning.
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j_ung
Apr 5, 2006, 1:34 PM
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My understanding is that, in Texas, the Governor appoints replacements for resigning representatives. The replacement will have to win the next scheduled election to keep the seat.
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wjca
Apr 5, 2006, 1:50 PM
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In reply to: My understanding is that, in Texas, the Governor appoints replacements for resigning representatives. The replacement will have to win the next scheduled election to keep the seat.
I wasn't sure if the Governor appointed a replacement or declared a special election to fill the spot until the next scheduled election for that seat.
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crankinv9
Apr 5, 2006, 3:50 PM
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Delay is doing this so he can use his campaign monies for his legal defense,also(not sure about this) he will likely keep his pensions from the congress if he is convicted after resigning
he is blaming the liberals for his decision to resign, I didn't know the lefties had that kind of power but we need to get rid of a few more wingnuts if that is true
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phaedrus
Apr 6, 2006, 4:24 AM
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In reply to: In reply to: Delay is doing this so he can use his campaign monies for his legal defense,also(not sure about this) he will likely keep his pensions from the congress if he is convicted after resigning All true. But the long and short of it is this: a corrupt politician will no longer be in congress, and that's happy news. Now if we could just do that to rest of the bums...
Hmm... that'd leave Capiol Hill pretty empty, no matter WHAT side of the political wall you're on....
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curt
Apr 6, 2006, 4:32 AM
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In reply to: In reply to: My understanding is that, in Texas, the Governor appoints replacements for resigning representatives. The replacement will have to win the next scheduled election to keep the seat. I wasn't sure if the Governor appointed a replacement or declared a special election to fill the spot until the next scheduled election for that seat.
My understanding is that, in Texas, there will either be a special election--or DeLay's seat will remain vacant until the next regular election (in November) is held. Any TX legal experts out there?
Curt
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