What amazes me is how the AP always forget to mention his party affiliation. And he is always the last page of the A section (Slimes'). A-l-w-a-y-s.
Posted on 08/30/2002 8:06:11 AM PDT by PJ-Comix
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) - Former Rep. James A. Traficant Jr. will stay on the Nov. 5 election ballot, even though he has been expelled from the House and is housed in federal prison, elections officials said Wednesday.
|
|
The Trumbull County Board of Elections said it won't act to remove the expelled congressman from the ballot.
Prosecutor Dennis Watkins told the board it didn't have the authority to remove Traficant because the U.S. Constitution grants citizens the right to vote for and elect whomever they choose.
The only limits set by the Constitution for House members are that they be at least 25 years old, U.S. citizens and an inhabitant of the state from which they are elected.
Watkins said Traficant could be considered an Ohio resident because his wife lives there and his stay in a Pennsylvania prison is involuntary confinement.
Traficant, 61, was expelled from the House last month and sentenced to eight years in prison for bribery, racketeering and tax evasion. The nine-term congressman is an inmate at the minimum-security Allenwood federal prison in White Deer, Pa.
He petitioned to be on the ballot as an independent in Ohio's recently redrawn 17th District and vowed to run from jail.
I think it's within the realm of possibility. Time to add OH-17 to my House race watch-list. :)
How much of the vote do you think Traficant will net? Fifteen percent?
James Traficant (BEAM ME UP!), OH-17, has a BETTER ring to it. Plus even if by some miracle she did win, she would be beaten by the Demmycrats in the next election while Traficant would have that seat for life as an Independent.
Fifty PLUS percent.
TRAFICANT knows why the ECONOMY is TANKING -PRINCIPLE OF FAILURE TO YIELD
Tape-Recorded Conversation between James Traficant and Richard Detor (Morford Corruption)
The Traficant Zone (Featuring Rod Serling)
Rep. James Traficant's One-Minute Speeches, 1997
James Traficant's One-Minute Speeches, 1998
James Traficant's One-Minute Speeches, 1999
I don't know about that! Wasn't Traficant's district sufficiently cut up in redistricting that many of his former constituents are no longer there? I can't see these new people voting for him.
Traficant wouldn't actually be able to cast votes from prison, would he?
Ohio. Former Representative James Traficant may be in jail, sans toupe, yet he's still running for reelection. While he has little chance of winning, his candidacy could draw blue-collar votes away from the Democratic nominee, state Senator Tim Ryan, and tip the election to Republican state Representative Ann Womer Benjamin.
At this point, Ryan, who defeated Representative Tom Sawyer of Akron in the primary, holds the lead. A Ryan victory would be a Democratic gain, because Traficant, Democrat in name, voted for Republican Dennis Hastert for House Speaker last year.
Another hot Ohio race: The seat vacated by longtime Dayton Democrat Tony Hall, who was appointed to a U.N. post by President Bush. Republican Mike Turner, a former Dayton mayor, is a strong candidate in a marginally Democratic district.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.