Posted on 06/16/2011 8:54:37 PM PDT by Second Amendment First
So, who wants to be a lame-duck freshman?
That was the reaction from political insiders on Thursday when asked what would become of Representative Anthony D. Weiner’s Congressional district, which covers Brooklyn and Queens.
After all, with New York State set to lose two House seats because of the 2010 census, many believe that Mr. Weiner’s territory, the Ninth Congressional District, will be carved up to benefit Democratic incumbents in adjoining districts.
If so, then whoever wins a special election this fall would quite likely get to call himself or herself a member of Congress for a little more than a year. And no more than that, because the expectation is that the winner — assuming it is a Democrat, since the district is strongly Democratic — would probably not challenge the neighboring incumbents.
“There is very little precedent that I can think of that someone is agreeing to be both a placeholder and not to seek that office if they get districted out,” said Scott Levenson, a Democratic consultant.
Then, joking about a celebrity who has been said to be interested in running for elected office in New York, he added: “Maybe this is finally Alec Baldwin’s opportunity.”
According to election officials, a special election could occur as early August, and as late as the general election in November, depending on the discretion of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who is responsible for setting a date. Whoever wins would then serve out the rest of Mr. Weiner’s term, through 2012.
Asked about the timetable, Josh Vlasto, a Cuomo spokesman, said, “The governor will take the appropriate steps to ensure New Yorkers in the Ninth District are fairly represented in C
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
More like lame-dick status.
“If so, then whoever wins a special election this fall would quite likely get to call himself or herself a member of Congress for a little more than a year.”
Is it long enough to get the bennies for life when they are done?
Found this at http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/congresspay.htm
Here’s more from the same source:
“Members of Congress are not eligible for a pension until they reach the age of 50, but only if they’ve completed 20 years of service. Members are eligible at any age after completing 25 years of service or after they reach the age of 62. Please also note that Members of Congress have to serve at least 5 years to even receive a pension.”
That's easy. There is only person one who could follow in his place.
...
Pee Wee Herman.
.
That is not as bad as I thought it might be.
Weiner’s successor: More like a ruptured duck.
This is partly why the Democrats favor economic downturns (besides Obama hating America and wanting to destroy her), to force people to move into the cities looking for work. Once settled there they are likely to become democrats or out numbered enough with their count in the census still helping the democrats.
You generally have to serve 5 years to get benefits.
If any Republicans truly wanted to enact term limits this would be a simple way to do it.
The Congressional pension encourages Congresscritters to stay around as long as possible. There is no constitutional reason why Congresscritters should be entitled to any pension. Simply enact new pension rules providing that any Congresscritter who serves more than three consecutive terms forfeits all pension benefits.
The Congresscritters would scatter like roaches.
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