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To: Wolfstar
You are correct and here is why:

The United States Constitution expressly establishes the exclusive qualifications for congressional office, sets the specific length of terms for Members of the House and for Senators, and places the authority within each House of Congress to judge the elections and qualifications of, and to discipline and remove, its own Members. These provisions of the United States Constitution, with respect to federal officials, have supremacy over State laws and provisions, and State laws in conflict with such constitutional provisions have been found by the courts in the past to be invalid. Although the language of some State recall laws might be broad enough to include Members of Congress, or might even explicitly include such federal officers, such statutes would not appear to be effective in overriding the provisions of the United States Constitution with regard to terms of office, elections and removal of Members.

As to removal by recall, the United States Constitution does not provide for nor authorize the recall of United States officers such as Senators, Representatives, or the President or Vice President, and thus no Member of Congress has ever been recalled in the history of the United States. The recall of Members was considered during the time of the drafting of the federal Constitution in 1787, but no such provisions were included in the final version sent to the States for ratification, and the specific drafting and ratifying debates indicate an express understanding of the Framers and ratifiers that no right or power to recall a Senator or Representative from the United States Congress exists under the Constitution. Although the Supreme Court has not needed to directly address the subject of recall of Members of Congress, other Supreme Court decisions, as well as the weight of other judicial and administrative decisions, rulings and opinions, indicate that the right to remove a Member of Congress before the expiration of his or her constitutionally established term of office is one which resides exclusively in each House of Congress as established in the expulsion clause of the United States Constitution.

11 posted on 07/19/2007 12:37:34 PM PDT by Red_Devil 232 (VietVet - USMC All Ready On The Right? All Ready On The Left? All Ready On The Firing Line!)
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To: Red_Devil 232

You should email that to Rep. Walberg and/or his staff.


14 posted on 07/19/2007 1:06:17 PM PDT by Tatze (I'm in a state of taglinelessness!)
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To: Red_Devil 232

Thanks for your excellent and thorough explanation of the Constitutional issues involved in recalling members of Congress.


20 posted on 07/19/2007 3:18:18 PM PDT by Wolfstar (If ye break faith with us who die, We shall not sleep, though poppies grow in Flanders fields.)
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