On the dismissal of the Chris McDaniel challenge in Mississippi

Hotair ^ | 08/30/2014 | Jazz Shaw

[SeekAndFind]

The news came out yesterday afternoon that yet another blow had been dealt to Chris McDaniel’s ongoing challenge to his runoff election against Thad Cochran. The ruling seemed to bear very little – if any – relevance to questions about voting improprieties at the ballot box, and everything to do with some paperwork.

A Mississippi judge has tossed out state Sen. Chris McDaniel’s challenge to that state’s June 24 GOP primary runoff results, ending another chapter in one of the most bitterly contested U.S. Senate primaries in recent memory and bringing longtime Sen. Thad Cochran one step closer to another term in Washington.

Special Judge Hollis McGehee ruled that McDaniel waited too long to file his challenge with state Republican Party. McDaniel filed the challenge 41 days after the election; McGehee said that under state law the challenge had to be filed within 20 days.

Some people are inevitably going to blame the judge – fair enough given the reputation of the political situation at times. But even some of the harshest critics of the decision had originally applauded the choice of McGehee.

Was he bought off? True conservatives and supporters of Chris McDaniel had high hopes when the state supreme court named Judge Hollis McGehee to oversee the court challenge. And judging from his remarks during the case’s first hearing, he seemed to be an honest judge interested in doing what was right. Being a minister and man of God, how could we have expected any less from him? He indicated his intention to decide the case based on the will of the voters and that even if Cochran were elected in November he had the power to unseat him if he were not the legitimate nominee.

Truth be told, you’d be handing even the most even handed judge a tough job in finding in McDaniel’s favor if the opposition opened up with a claim that state law demanded a challenge be filed within 20 days and you’d not done it until more than twice that time had passed. Of course, this is another area where both Team McDaniel and some of his supporters around the country have disagreed. It seems that the law in question is worded in a way which could be interpreted as only applying to county election challenges. But the Cochran team immediately countered by citing a 1959 state supreme court decision arguing to the contrary.

The section of state law on county election challenges says the first step, filing a case with the party’s executive committee, must be done within 20 days of the election. A following section on statewide and district challenges does not contain the deadline language.

But the high court in its 1959 ruling on a Democratic district attorney primary said the code sections were part of a single act passed by the Legislature. It ruled that it would “be senseless” to assume that deadline, aimed to keep general elections on track, would not apply to races for all other offices.

The court said the two sections are “in pari materia,” which I believe is Latin for, look at the whole thing together, dummy.

Give how quickly the clock is running out and the lack of any substantive support in the courts thus far, it’s hard to see where McDaniel goes from here, short of finding a way to appeal directly to the US Supreme Court. And once there, it’s not entirely clear what the new argument would be or how Mississippi would proceed even if SCOTUS found in McDaniel’s favor. Would there be yet another election? And if so, they would have to determine who would be eligible to vote in it, given that the main crux of the argument at this stage is based on residents illegally voting in both the original Democrat primary and then a second time in the runoff. The other option is to simply declare McDaniel the winner absent another vote, but I’ve yet to find anyone citing a precedent in Mississippi for such a move.

McDaniel is supposed to make an announcement about the next steps – if any – next week. But it’s really looking like the available options may have been exhausted.

[trebb]

If I lived in Mississippi could not vote for Thad.

I live in MS and will not vote for Thad - to do so would be to submit to betrayal.

[Patton@Bastogne]

.


You nailed it perfectly.

As Ronald Reagan would say ... "Assign Thad Cochran to the dustbin of political history".


In Clearwater/St. Pete Florida our "Thad Cochran" is GOP-E David Jolly.

David Jolly announced a few weeks ago that he favors "sodomite marriage" ... to the SHOCK of the Conservatives that voted for his sorry @ss.

I'll be voting for the "Dimocrat" to send David Jolly (forever) back to a "real job" at home (imagine that) ...


.

[houeto]

A Traitor is of far higher priority than is an enemy.

Shout it from the rooftops!

A Traitor is of far higher priority than is an enemy!!!

[houeto]

Thanks for the ping. To Hell with Thad Cochran!

[Din Maker]

He should immediately follow the senator from Alaska’s lead and announce a write-in campaign. Screw the corrupt GOPe!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mississippi does NOT count write-in votes...BUT, if all of his supporters did a write-in for him, that would show the world why Thad Cochran lost to a Conservative Democrat. Without McDaniel’s supporters voting for him, I don’t see how Cochran wins.

[Din Maker]

TO ALL TRUE CONSERVATIVES IN MISSISSIPPI:

On November 4th, do not forget what That Cochran and Haley Barbour did to Chris McDaniel and the Tea Party.

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER FORGET!

[Lurking Libertarian]

Then McDaniel files his challenge in state court and the Cochran camp finds a case decided in 1959 that states election challenges must be filed within 20 days even though the election laws were completely rewritten later and the 20 day requirement was never mentioned.

I am a lawyer, but not a Mississippi lawyer, so take this with as many grains of salt as you wish. But the usual rule is that if a court interprets a statute one way, and the Legislature later amends the statute and doesn't change the relevant language, it is assumed that they meant to ratify the court's interpretation of the statute.

Mississippi election law appears to be a mess, with vague (and sometimes internally-inconsistent) statutes and with dubious court decisions, but McDaniel was the Chairman of the Election Law committee of the state senate, so he bears some part of the blame for that situation. And while the 20-day deadline comes from a Mississippi Supreme Court decision, not from the clear language of the statute, so does the rule against crossover voting, upon which McDaniel based his entire election challenge. Live by precedent, die by precedent.

[WKB]

Not sure what I AM going to do (write in, 3rd party, stay home) but I am 100% sure what I will not be doing.

[Lurking Libertarian]

Thanks for the Hat Tip.

FRegards,
Elliot (”L.L.”)

[KGeorge]

I don’t think it’s spite. But I don’t get how helping even 1 democrat get elected is to America’s advantage. These people are to-the-wall, bat guano crazy & getting worse every day.

People can call you anything they want. It doesn’t make it true.

I’d rather see a shooting war than have 1 more 2006 & I don’t want that (a war) At. All. It’s time to (at least) stop the damage.
I don’t see America surviving if the democrats aren’t ousted PDQ.

[DiogenesLamp]

But I don’t get how helping even 1 democrat get elected is to America’s advantage. These people are to-the-wall, bat guano crazy & getting worse every day.

Do you remember Arlen Specter? Knowing what I know now, I would have traded him for a Democrat any day of the week.

Traitors on our side are worse than enemies on the other side.

[Din Maker]

Good for you, but, don’t stay home. Write-in Chris McDaniel (even tho they won’t count write-in votes) so they will know why Cochran got defeated by the Conservative Democrat, Travis Childers who is Pro-Life, Pro-Second Amendment and ANTI-same/sex marriage.

[Din Maker]

But I don’t get how helping even 1 democrat get elected is to America’s advantage.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I understand what you are saying, but, Cochran’s Dem opponent in MS is a Conservative Dem who is Pro-Life, Pro-Second and ANTI-same/sex marriage. That’s why a lot of Conservatives, who are hated and despised by Thad Cochran and Haley Barbour, are comfortable voting for a Democrat in MS in November. It might not be to America’s advantage in the short run, but, to try and “right” the GOP will be to America’s advantage in the long run. I know you’ll make the decision that is best for you.

Blessings!

[KGeorge]

Din Maker- God Bless you, too! (I don’t know who the democrat candidate for Mississippi is, but I bet you he knows which side his bread’s buttered on. He’s got the left. McDaniel’s out of the way. Now all he needs is conservatives to fall for his line of bs) I’m not sure the GOP *can* be righted. I’m afraid we’re fiddling while (America) burns.

Diogenes- Things changed- I would say sea-changed, after Spector left.

Maybe I just know democrats too well to ever be able to bring myself to vote for one again. They will lie, cheat, steal- do anything & everything to get or retain power. And once they get it, well, we’re living it.
I had an orchestra circle seat when the dems took the House & Senate in 2007. It chilled me to the bone & they hadn’t even done *anything* yet.
I would sooner make a “deal” with the devil.

[Din Maker]

They (Democrats) will lie, cheat, steal- do anything & everything to get or retain power.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Wow! I knew that Karl Rove, Thad Cochran and Haley Barbour were Democrats.

[KGeorge]

Thaaat’s my point. People can *say* anything; call themselves anything they want- claim anything they want. Doesn’t make it true.

[ConservativeMind]

McDaniel had to wait ten days for the GOP to deny him his request. That request, to name McDaniel the true winner, had to come after the results were certified.

McDaniel did everything by the book the right way with the follow up after the election.

As for the nursing home thing—it wasn’t McDaniel’s people and Chris said it was a bad thing to have done.

What are you? You certainly aren’t a conservative with a brain.

[ConservativeMind]

We are encouraging close, conservative friends in Mississippi to now vote for the Democrat against Cochran.

GOP, take this one up your butt!

[taildragger]

I would rather burn it down than let those backstabbers have it.

I've noticed Sarah has not been as politically active as she was during the primaries, that might speak to the fact they have gamed us, or it is a busy summer in Alaska.

But I am having this debate with R's and Conservative friends. I can't vote for the toadies anymore. I have been told I am ahead of the curve, you are and many other here are as well. The EGOP is in for a big surprise this fall. They are not going to win like they thought they would. We have had enough and will not pull the lever for Tweedledum (R) instead of Tweedledee (D). We won't pull the lever at all.

We may in fact be this Mouse this fall telling K-Street, Rove, Barbour, RSRC, the E-GOP and so many others, Up-Yours....

[Din Maker]

Re: Your post number 98: Bless you in your endeavors to get people to vote for the conservative Democrat in Mississippi in November. I wish you great success. I’m thinking about driving over to Mississippi from Texas in October and helping the Childer’s campaign. If the Tea Party lets Cochran and Barbour get away with this they are finished.