Torricelli News Conference 5 pm EST LIVE THREAD

[alisasny]

Opine away : )

[Political Junkie Too]

I don't think you can take it that narrowly. They only moved the goalpost because it was an unopposed primary. Primaries are bounded by the party anyway, so it makes sense to give a single party the chance to run alternative candidates for the selection process.

I don't know that the court would have ruled the same way for the general election, since there are other qualified candidates on the ballot. It wouldn't be a case of limiting the choice to one as it would be in the primary, which is by definition a narrowing process.

Just my opinion.

-PJ

[mwl1]

Yes, his point essentially is very insulting to all voters... you cannot be trusted... we the RATS know what is best for you... Forrester should be all over this point. People in NJ do not want to be treated contemptuously.

[CharacterCounts]

Can the Gov appoint someone and name the election day as Nov 2004? Yes! (by that tortured reading).

I don't agree. If a special election were called, Any citizen who qualifies to run would be eleigible to run. Since the deadline for getting on the ballot has passed (48 days) the governor could not call a special election that soon.

[marajade]

Democracy will have died the day the opinion is penned.

[Political Junkie Too]

"Because he was losing and we want to win." There's NO legal precedent for that.

If they create a new precedent, can "let them keep voting until they get it right" be far behind?

-PJ

[mwl1]

I will credit the RATS with one accomplishment today: they changed the subject from Iraq.

[IMRight]

Not only that, but Torch said as much in his speech. There's no way for him (or the Gov) to claim that this is anything but political. If he had stepped down because he had "dishonored the office" he'd have a better chance, but he came right out and said he probably wouldn't win and he wanted a Dem senate!

[Torie]

Yup, all of the above could happen, and the Dem would serve until Jan 3, 2003, at which time his term would expire, and he would be replaces by Forrester, who won the other election for the term commencing Jan 3, 2002, in which the vote against him was split between The Torch, who was still on the ballot, Bruce Spingsteen (ow whomever), who was a write in, and some ersatz Dem who was really a GOP ringer, who also ran a write in compaign campaigning on left wing issues, and got a few more votes.

[marajade]

Well at least they aren't talking about Florida though...

[CharacterCounts]

This will be the case the dems rely on. Whether it will stand the test of a higher court is definitely uncertain.

[marajade]

You gotta wonder why they didn't tell him to hit the road before the primaries. They must of known this stuff would come.

[Howlin]

Exactly! Think of the precedent this would set! Why, as I stated earlier, Erskine Bowles is 13 points behind in North Carolina; will HE now withdraw and somebody else run in his place?

This is not only a travesty, it's an insult to our collective intelligence; but the Democrats think THIS low of us. It's sickeing.

I'd like to know what the people of New Jersey are saying about this.

[mongrel]

The key is in the Republican reaction or the ability of the Democrats to manufacture a reaction. Look at the Demos playbook from a few days ago: Daschle took a line from deep inside the Washington Post to charge Bush with "politicizing" the debate on Iraq. It didn't matter if the quote was out of context, the important thing was that Republicans be talking about the right of Democrats to oppose the war and that the spotlight would be on the other Republicans who were against "free speech." Thus that's all the blathering we're hearing in recent days.

Same thing with Torricelli. Do something to create outrage among Republicans, do it right before the nightly news cycle so there's no Republican reaction, and spin the reaction before the next morning and the next night.

They perfected the playbook with Clinton's Monicagate, and haven't stopped using it since.

[CharacterCounts]

Democracy will have died the day the opinion is penned.

This is New jersey, the center of political corruption, afterall.

[Political Junkie Too]

They perfected the playbook with Clinton's Monicagate, and haven't stopped using it since.

They haven't stopped using it, but hopefully the public is tired of it (and onto it) after four years.

-PJ

[PogySailor]

THIS is Gore's legacy. From now on, in every election, someone is going to be running to court.

Yes. When I heard the pundits talking about the 51 day law, I thought back to Election 2000 and how limits specifically mentioned in Florida law were cast aside. If they were brazen enough to try and change laws AFTER the election occurred, they wouldn't hesitate to try before hand.

[Howlin]

he stood there and whined about "what ever happened to a country that knew how to forgive?"

I found it very interesting that he made that remark after HE had said "Forrester doesn't deserve to the in the United States Senate."

[marajade]

Well obviously the people of NJ doesn't think Toricelli deserves to be a senator either...

[A Citizen Reporter]

Forrester is to be on Hannity and Colmes in an upcoming segment....evidently.

[marajade]

Report what he says... Some of us have husbands who insist on watching Monday Night Football...