Posted: 7/6/2006 2:19:45 PM EDT
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www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/14979651.htm Judge rules DeLay stays on ballot KELLEY SHANNON Associated Press AUSTIN - A judge's ruling Thursday that indicted former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay must remain on the November election ballot keeps the political parties fighting and voters guessing in the bizarre congressional race. DeLay, who resigned from Congress June 9 and is awaiting trial on money laundering charges, remains the Republican nominee for the 22nd Congressional District seat - for now. Republicans plan to appeal to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. But if Democrats prevail, he could be the GOP name on the ballot on Election Day, even though he quit Congress, moved to Virginia and abandoned his active campaign for the suburban Houston seat. Former U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson is the Democratic nominee. If the GOP ultimately wins and is allowed to replace DeLay on the ballot, Republican precinct chairmen in the four counties that make up the congressional district would select a GOP replacement for DeLay. DeLay's daughter, Dani DeLay Ferro, issued a prepared statement Thursday on behalf of her father saying that he looks forward to a correct decision by the appeals court. "As a resident of Virginia, he cannot lawfully be on the ballot in November. It is unfortunate that the voters of the 22nd District of Texas are the ones who bear the brunt of Judge Sparks' ill-advised decision, but it is highly likely that it will be overturned and the voters will have a Texas 22 Republican on the ballot who will defeat Nick Lampson," the statement said. Democrats want to keep DeLay and his legal troubles in voters' minds as the Nov. 7 election approaches. He faces money laundering and conspiracy charges connected to the financing of Texas legislative campaigns in 2002 with alleged illegal corporate money. Democratic Party lawyers argued that it couldn't be shown conclusively whether DeLay would be an "inhabitant" of Texas - as required by the U.S. Constitution - on Election Day. They argued he could be living in Texas then and eligible to serve. He still owns - and his wife, Christine, still lives in - his Sugar Land house. U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks agreed, saying DeLay might come back to Texas. "DeLay was chosen as the Republican nominee by the voters in the Republican primary, and he is still eligible to be the party's nominee," wrote Sparks, a Democrat appointed by Republican former President George H.W. Bush. "I think his ruling throws elections into chaos because it would prevent states from having reasonable procedures to determine the eligibility for candidates for federal office prior to the election," GOP attorney Jim Bopp said. Democrats praised the ruling. "This is a strong opinion enforcing the rule of law over the abuses of DeLayism," said Cris Feldman, an attorney for the Democratic Party. Sparks ruled Texas Republican Party chairwoman Tina Benkiser was wrong to declare DeLay "ineligible" for the election and said that the Texas Secretary of State cannot certify any GOP candidate other than DeLay to appear on the ballot. The judge said DeLay cannot be removed from the ballot unless he withdraws as a candidate. If he did withdraw, he could not be replaced on the ballot and the GOP spot would be empty. Sparks indicated he wasn't buying the Republicans' argument. "After the smoke clears, it appears the real issue in this case is whether the Republican Party can avoid DeLay's de facto withdrawal from the race by declaring him ineligible for the general election in order to replace him with another Republican candidate on the general election ballot," Sparks wrote. The lineup of candidates for that spot includes: David Wallace, mayor of DeLay's hometown of Sugar Land; Houston City Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs; Sugar Land lawyer Tom Campbell, whom DeLay defeated in the March 7 primary; state Sen. Mike Jackson of La Porte; and state Reps. Charlie Howard of Sugar Land and Robert Talton of Pasadena. Lampson spokesman Mike Malaise said his candidate is keeping up aggressive campaigning. "Now he's on the ballot, now he's off the ballot," Malaise said. "We're just campaigning as if we have an opponent." Texas Democratic Party chairman Boyd Richie said it helps Lampson to have DeLay on the ballot. "With Tom DeLay on the ballot his opportunities to be successful are even greater because Tom DeLay has become the poster boy for corruption and cronyism," Richie said. And what if DeLay is on the ballot and wins, even without really running? "If he wins, he wins," Richie said. Deadlines have passed for an independent candidate to get on the ballot. Bopp said he hoped to have the ballot question decided by the federal appeals court by the end of July so that the party can move forward. "We certainly hope that the court would resolve the case this month, and we're going to take every step that would result in that," he said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Well, this is gonna suck. I really hope the Demonrats don't get DeLay's seat. |
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Here in Missouri we had an idiot liberal named Carnahan running for office, and he croaked in a plane crash. The libs in the major cities still voted for him, so he won, and the lib governor appointed his widow to the spot. What a nightmare for us. The libs have seen this type of thing work to their advantage before, so I'm sure they'll continue trying to make it work for them this time. |
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