Posted on 06/28/2010 7:19:02 AM PDT by Maelstorm
With the death early Monday of Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D), West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin III (D) must select an interim replacement for a legend who many in the state and elsewhere consider one of a kind.
A quirk in West Virginia's laws appears to state that the replacement will likely hold the seat for the remainder of the late senator's record ninth term, through 2012; therefore, Byrd's death would not impact the partisan makeup of the chamber, nor would it directly impact the pending 2010 elections. However, there is some ambiguity in the law that has left some election experts questioning the what should happen with the seat.
State law mandates that, if a Senate vacancy occurs more than 2 1/2 years before the term is up, a special election be held to fill the seat. There were exactly two years, six months and five days left in Byrd's term when he died.
(Excerpt) Read more at voices.washingtonpost.com ...
RIP: Robert Byrd “I’m the Oldest Thing Around Here”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocWuPkNLla4
There are still mentions of Cheney having been at the helm of Halliburton years after he left, but somehow the newspapers don’t see fit to remind the public of Byrd’s past association with the KKK.
He will think about it for a month,then say,whoops,deadline is passed and put his own guy in till 2012.
That is just so silly.......the law and democrats.
So it depend on the meaning of the 'one/half' of this definition?
Seems, even with a leap year; there is no abiguity!
This is not about the Democrats. Manchin’s hand can be pressed on this. He lives in a state that is going red by greater and greater margins. The message from Republcians and Independents should be “Follow the law. Let us Vote!”
Yep the Crats will do contortions to avoid following the law.
The Dems will do whatever is necessary to have their appointee serve until 2012.
There’s really no point in debating it, imo.
It would be a miracle if we have a special election for this, imo.
The Dems will “deem” Senator Byrd to be still alive until the 4th of July..................
But depending on what sort of replacement the governor picks, Byrd's death could have a huge impact on the Obama agenda for the remainder of this Senate term.
Byrd was pretty solid against amnesty and open borders legislation and amendments, and also against Cap and Trade. Those are the two huge issues still hanging out there before the end of the Congress.
Byrd's death at this time might actually help Obama and the Dims before we can elect a new Congress. But maybe the governor will appoint someone who will represent WV views on those two issues.
It is very well worth debating this. This seat if a special election is held can be a GOP pickup and a conservative one at that. It is well worth fighting for. We do not want to wait till 2012 and then have to run against someone like Gov. Joe Manchin which will make the seat harder to pick up.
It will be a mistake to let this seat go down without a fight because once it goes red it will stay red.
I hope it works out better for West Virginians than it has for the fine folks of NY20 who don’t have a representative because according to Gov Patterson elections are “too expensive”. From a so-called “Democrat” no less!
And then there’s the Robert Toricelle Democrat-abuse-of-state-constitution debacle that allowed another fossil Lautenberg to get to the Senate. Doug Forrester (R) should have won that.
Governor Manchin covets this seat, so he will do whatever best positions him to get it. He could wait six days, declare the seat vacant and appoint himself. If the law does not allow that, he could appoint his mother, wife, cousin to the seat and then run in the special election. He will be hard to beat in a special election.
Well, you have to understand that to a DemocRat, Halliburton is far more evil than the Ku Klux Klan.
Luckily, the Lord believes that a person with sincere remorse for past actions can be forgiven and born anew.
For the rest of us, it’s hard to believe a leopard can change its spots.
Ooops Typo!! The “fine folks of NY29” who endure taxation without representation. 29th District.
Check this out:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/findyourreps.xpd?state=NY
The map shows 29 Districts, but lists only 28 representatives! Wonder why the Dems don’t want to put it to a vote?
But good lord 9 senate terms?................this country was not built to have life time politicians.
People like Byrd, Lugar and McCain will only leave the senate feet first. We have forsaken who we are by allowing these people to serve until they are room temperature.
You hit the nail on the head. As a West Virginian, I believe Gov Manchin will appoint his wife, and then he, himself, will run in the election.
He started this process when he appointed his wife to the WV Board of Education.
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.