Posted on 07/18/2010 4:54:05 PM PDT by Libloather
W.Va. special election for U.S. Senate seat in doubt
July 18, 2010
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A special election is now in doubt for the seat held by the late U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd.
Pending legislation would put the seat on the Nov. 2 ballot following an Aug. 28 primary. But the Legislature recessed Sunday without acting on it.
State officials had questioned whether they could follow the necessary election timetable if a bill wasn’t passed by Sunday. Gov. Joe Manchin’s office says it believes the special election can still go forward if a bill passes Monday.
Without the legislation, the governor may still declare a special election. The other option would be to allow his temporary appointee, Carte Goodwin, to hold the seat until 2012.
(Excerpt) Read more at herald-mail.com ...
Doesn’t there state constitution mandate a special election?
Anyone with half a brain knew within a few hours of the passing of old Byrd that there would not be an election for the seat this fall.
Article I, Sec 5:
Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members
WHEELING - It took two tries Saturday for the West Virginia House of Delegates to pass legislation setting a Nov. 2 date for state voters to elect their next U.S. senator.
But as of late Saturday, the House and Senate remained at odds over when that legislation becomes effective, and the need for a special primary election next month. Private discussions continued late Saturday night among state officials to attempt to resolve the differences.
The state Senate on Friday passed a bill establishing a Nov. 2 date - the day of the regular general election - for a special election to fill the seat previously occupied by U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va. The bill also calls for a special election on Aug. 28.
On Saturday, House members debated their version of the legislation, which cancels the primary election if only one candidate were to file for their party. The West Virginia Secretary of State's Office estimates the cost of the primary election at $5.9 million. The House initially rejected the bill by a vote of 42 in favor, 45 against and 13 not voting. Then after a two-hour recess, members reconsidered the legislation - passing it with 50 in favor, 34 against and 16 not voting.
http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/539858.html?nav=515
Yes, the fix is in. This Carte Goodwin is a hand puppet
of Jay Rockefeller. Goodwin will vote exactly as his
boss Jay tells him, and that will be exactly as
Obama wants. The Goodwin family is a bunch of
hillbilly mafia. This is the absolute worst outcome
of this whole Senatorial affair. Clearing up the
ambiguity in the law could have been done months
or years ago, but it wasn’t for a reason. A free
and open election would have put a Democrat seat
up for a possible loss. So this whole affair was
manufactured as to keep a very important Senate
seat safe for the corrupt Democrats. Liberals
can only be trusted to be what they are; vile,
evil, corrupt, anti-American with an unquenchable
craving for stolen power over other humans.
A day of reckoning is coming.
Smart move - he must have gotten some polling - 2010 is going to be a REALLY BAD year.
the stupid party will let the socialist do that.
I hope the voters say No on this. It isn’t up to Obama and Company nor the Congress to decide this; it’s up to the voters.
Their election laws in place are specific about the replacement procedure. The time line has passed by their current laws to hold a primary and general election this year. Thus the appt would be until the 2012 election which is also the time the normal seat would be up for election. The legislature is trying to amend the procedure by allowing for a primary followed by the general election in Nov of this year. I expect they’ll get it worked out.
Governor Manchin wants Bryd’s seat. The reality is he is going to be a lot less popular after the 2011 legislative session. He’s trying to get out while his poll numbers are still high.
No way the RATs would lose. Even though WV went for McNut in 08, the GOP failed to win a single state-wide office.
I’ve always wondered about that. If a congresscritter is newly elected, they wouldn’t be a member, yet, would they ?
Technically, they do not become a member until the House recognizes them as a member once the new Congress convenes on January 5. And yes, technically, Nancy Pelosi could get the rest of the Democrats to refuse to seat any new Republicans. They have done it in the past and got away with it. Nothing is to stop them from doing it again en masse (except for Amendment II and the Fourth Branch of government, perhaps).
The coal industry owns Manchin, owns the WV political class, and owns that senate seat.
As there was just the smallest chance that a politician not hand picked by the coal industry could win the seat in a primary and general election is reason enough to suspend democratic processes in the state of West Virginia.
A few days before Byrd’s death, one of the WVa papers ran an article on Manchin’s desire to run for that Senate seat. He would likely win it. He cannot run for another governor’s term. He can’t appoint himself.
Leaving it empty would make sense given his intent.
Read the history of Congress after the War of Yankee Agression. The Confederate states were considered “states in rebellion” and where not seated for the 13th, 14th & 15th Amendments until after they had been ratified. MS did not ratify the 13th until 1995.
There is a major shift going on in West Virginia.
Mollohan (D) lost -there were some that said that would
never happen. Nick Rahall (D) is in trouble and will
probably lose his seat to Spike Maynard. Obama and
the liberals are despised in West Virginia. Unionism
is at an all time low with only the teachers union
and they are losing power by the day. George Bush
won WV twice. Capito kick Bob Byrd’s nurse’s arse,
without breaking a sweat. With a registration of
2:1 Demo to Repub the right conservative candidate
can and do win. Spike is running in southern WV
where the registration is close to 8:1 (D to R)
yet is polling very well. We ain’t all dumb
hillbillies, we are going to suprise a lot of
folks. Gerrymandering hurts us but we are working
through it. Change is coming in November.
Mollohan only lost the primary. Oliverio, who defeated him, will win in Nov.
Spike Maynard, a life-long Rat who quit his job as a judge in a snit over losing a primary in 08, switched parties just last Nov. He is nothing but an opportunist taking advantage of the inept WVGOP.
We ain’t all dumb hillbillies,...
I never said or implied that.
Mollohan is gone, check.
Rahall will be gone, check.
Sam Nunn was a life long RAT but more
conservative than 70% of the Repubs
serving in the Senate right now.
There are a very few conservative
RATS, Spike is one of them.
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