No Runny Eggs

The repository of one hard-boiled egg from the south suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (and the occassional guest-blogger). The ramblings within may or may not offend, shock and awe you, but they are what I (or my guest-bloggers) think.

Senate Dems prepared to use one part of the Constitution to invalidate another

by @ 14:10 on November 27, 2008. Filed under Politics - Minnesota, Politics - National.

(H/T – Dad29)

Scott at Power Line reports that the Al Franken campaign, with the blessing of Senate Democratic (and Majority) leader Harry Reid, is contemplating taking their case to count absentee ballots rejected on Election Day thwart a legal election victory by Norm Coleman to the Senate. Their “justification” is that Article I Section 5 of the Constitution gives the power to judge the elections and returns of Senate candidates exclusively to the Senate:

Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members,….

Never mind that the decision by the Minnesota Canvassing Board to reject those ballots in accordance with Minnesota law is wholly consistent with the 17th Amendment:

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years…. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.

This wouldn’t be the first time the ‘Rats have denied the winner of a Senatorial election his seat in order to expand a majority. John Fund recalls that, in 1975, despite already having 60 seats plus another member who caucused with them, they refused to seat New Hampshire Republican Louis Wyman, who beat Democrat John Durkin by 2 votes. The seat sat vacant until August, with 6 failed attempts to break a filibuster to vote in the Democrat. The two candidates agreed on a special election, former Senator Norris Colton returned in a caretaker role while the campaign went on, and Durkin won the rematch.

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