[TxBec]

sounds like what I got out of it.

[sanchmo]

New Jersey Democrats have made their choice. It's not the Republican's problem that they deliberately chose a criminal:

1999 - Berek Don, a former chairman of the Bergen County Republican Party, pleads guilty to illegally steering $11,000 from David Chang to Torricelli's campaign fund. Lawrence Penna, former chairman of a defunct Hackensack brokerage, pleads guilty to illegally funneling $20,000 to Torricelli's campaign. Carmine Alampi, a former law partner of Don's, pleads guilty to aiding and abetting $2,000 of Don's donations.
http://www.bergen.com/page.php?level_3_id=7&page=5148030

2000 - Charles Koo, president of an Englewood Cliffs company, pleads guilty to funneling $20,000 of Chang's money to Torricelli's campaign. Chang pleads guilty to steering $53,700 in illegal contributions to Torricelli's campaign. Audrey Yu, a donor to Torricelli and an aide to Chang, pleads guilty to conspiring to obstruct justice by preparing a false document during the investigation. French businessman Philippe Hababou pleads guilty to donating foreign funds, reimbursing some donors, and paying tens of thousands of dollars in Torricelli campaign expenses.
http://www.bergen.com/page.php?level_3_id=7&page=5148030

May 2002 - David Chang sentenced to 18 months in prison for obstruction of justice and campaign finance violations related to illegal gifts to Torricelli during the 1996 senate campaign.
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?level_3_id=19&page=3839565

June 4, 2002 - New Jersey Democrats overwhelmingly select incument Senator Robert Torricelli as their candidate to continue on with his seat, despite charges of ethical violations during his first six-year term.
June 30, 2002 - The Senate Ethics Committee reprimands Torricelli, who is "severely admonished" for accepting gifts from Chang. Torricelli takes the floor of a nearly empty Senate chamber and says: "I agree with the committee's conclusions, fully accept their findings, and take full responsibility. ... I want to apologize to the people of New Jersey."
http://www.bergen.com/page.php?level_3_id=7&page=5148030

July 2002 - An independent poll shows the incumbent Senatorial candidate Torricelli leading challenger Forrester by 20 points.
http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/06/05/state.primaries/

Mid-Sept 2002 - polls show Torricelli behind by rougly 5 points.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/759291/posts

End-Sept 2002 - polls show Torricelli behind by roughly 13 points.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/760203/posts

Sept 30 2002 - Torricelli drops out of the race, citing as his reason that he doesn't want the Democrats to lose control of the Senate.

[Registered]

You forgot, "BEAM ME UP MR. SPEAKER!!"

[gov_bean_ counter]

The Democrats in NJ have chosen, and they chose poorly.

[Robe]

Yup!, that about sums it up.

[Cyber Liberty]

"...they will go before the New Jersey Supreme Court ..."

Minor correction: The Crook said at his press conference yesterday that his lawyers were going to the US Supreme Court, not the NJ Supreme court.

I think it's an important distinction because we can reasonably expect the SCOTUS to throw this back in the 'Crap's faces, after we've heard so much about their reluctance to screw with election laws during elections.

[Southack]

"We will go to court to give them that choice. Earth to Democrats! They did have the choice, and they weren’t choosing you. You chose to remove that selection from the voters yourselves. The Democratic party took away the voters choice..."

Not technically. Not legally. You see, voters still have a choice. In fact, they have an unlimited choice to vote for anyone from any party.

It's called the Write-In vote. It's legal. It's already on the New Jersey ballots that have been printed and mailed, and it is by WRITE IN vote that current Senator Strom Thurmond won one of his early elections.

Ergo, no "choice" has been denied to anyone.

[Mo1]

VOTE THE RATS OUT!!

DONATE TODAY. SUPPORT FREE REPUBLIC

Donate Here By Secure Server

Or mail checks to
FreeRepublic , LLC
PO BOX 9771
FRESNO, CA 93794

or you can use

PayPal at Jimrob@psnw.com
STOP BY AND BUMP THE FUNDRAISER THREAD

[IVote2]

Let me rephrase their position.

The Democrats bought this seat, it is their seat, been their seat, should remain their seat.

It is their Senate, they owned it for years, they "won" it back, should remain their Senate.

The voters selected Torricelli. Unfortunately he had to withdraw. He can't allow an unfit person to be in office, so he and his liberal buddies are totally justified in making sure that they keep this seat. Whatever has to be done to keep it, as long as it is a Democrat holding it,is legal, ethical, appropriate, and even if it isn't it will be fine because Democrat liberals are born to rule.

(/sarcasm off)

[Gothmog]

Perhaps an easy way to explain to people the false argument about voters being denied a choice:

The "Dem Corruptors" football team is playing the "GOP Champions" on the Dem field, where they have a distinct advantage and have not lost for many years.

By the end of the 3rd quarter, the Dem Corruptors are down 20-10. The Dem Corrutors call a time out and appeal to the refs to stop the game and let them bring in a whole new team, the Dem Cheaters, to finish the game because -- and only because -- the Dem Corruptors are too tired and fear they will lose.

When the GOP Champions complain, the Dem Corrupters (and the announcers in the booth) argue that the paying fans (voters) will be cheated out of the rest of the game if a new team is not allowed to take the field.

The NFL would never allow this, Pee Wee footbal would not allow this. Explained in a simple way, the GOP should be able to steal back the 'fairness' issue. Otherwise, they will be portrayed by the Dems and the media as 'meanies' who have to go to the courts to prevent voter choice.

The voters do have a choice -- Torricelli -- it's just that nobody likes that choice.

[pikachu]

Big Question: If 'the Torch' has the majority of the vote in the election, will/would he take the seat??

[Rook]

This is pitiful! The pure arrogance of the
Dumbocratic party.Telling the people they own the United States Senate.Is that Democracy? What kind of soviet
styled system do they want to force us to live in?

[m1911]

Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I think that there may be a trap here. Since they were headed for a loss anyway, maybe the Toricelli campaign decided to try the "noble hero falls on his sword" trick, hoping the Republicans would "force" them to leave Toricelli on the ballot after he clears his name by "taking one for the team". Party line voters who were ready to jump because of his corruption would be the targets - and the ones most likely to vote for him just to "f with those nasty Republicans".

[CharacterCounts]

The Democratic party didn't remove any choice. The voters of New Jersey still have a choice between two viable living candidates: Torricelli and Forester. This argument isn't about whether or not the voters will have a choice but whether or not the Democratic party can change the choice available to the voters.

That is the only issue.

[Northeast]

BUMP

For the early evening Freepers in the east.