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Posted on 10/04/2002 5:52:57 AM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
With the San Angelo Colts’ baseball diamond as a backdrop and flanked by two red, white and blue campaign signs, Republican Rob Beckham announced the Democrats had thrown a foul ball.
At issue is the New Jersey Supreme Court’s 7-0 ruling to allow Democrats to replace the lagging Sen. Robert Torricelli with former Sen. Frank Lautenberg on the Nov. 5 ballot for U.S. Senate.
Beckham, vying for the 17th Congressional District against incumbent U.S. Rep. Charlie Stenholm, held a press conference Thursday to air his grievances.
“They are not following the rules,” he said “It’s power at the polls not power at any cost.”
While the New Jersey deadline for replacing a candidate passed more than two weeks ago, the Democrats successfully argued that the democratic process is founded on a two-party system and it would be unfair for their declared candidate not to be listed.
However, Beckham regards it as tampering with the political process. He said the Republican candidate Douglas Forrester has spent money and effort in the past eight months campaigning against Torricelli and shouldn’t have to face a new opponent. He recently wrote a letter to Stenholm asking him to admonish his fellow party leaders.
“Stenholm always touts his leadership in the Democratic Party, and he needs to stand up to the injustice,” he said.
Jeff Meador, campaign manager for Stenholm, referred to when Beckham previously wanted the U.S. representative to support President Bush’s judicial nominee Priscilla Owens.
“When Mr. Beckham didn’t understand that only the U.S. Senate and not the House of Representatives deals with judicial nominations, many people wondered whether or not he had failed his high school government class,” Meador said. “Now it appears he failed geography too.”
“Charlie Stenholm is running for Congress here in Texas, and he’s interested in the issues that West Texans face on a daily basis,” he said. “So should Mr. Beckham.”
However, the approximately 25 people attending Beckham’s press conference supported his position.
“This opens the door to voluntary withdrawal and gives either party, facing a disadvantage, an opportunity to switch candidates,” said one man at the gathering.
The Lautenberg-Torricelli switch is reminiscent of the Republican’s move in the New Jersey governor’s race last year.
With acting Gov. Donald DiFranceso facing an ethics controversy, the GOP leadership persuaded him to withdraw from the primary and replaced him with former U.S. Rep. Robert Franks on the ballot. The GOP, which controlled the legislature, passed legislation delaying the primary three weeks to give Franks time to campaign.
Franks won the primary but lost the election.
But, Beckham said, if in the current instance the tables were turned, he would stand up to his party.
PLEASE HELP ME TAKE BACK THE SENATE!
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