Autorank/Scoop: The People’s House is now the Speaker’s House

[althecat]

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0608/S00372.htm

Democracy Denied: Meet the New Boss

Pre-Certification Swearing in by Hastert
Terminates All State Legal Authority Over Elections
The People’s House is now the Speaker’s House.

“If they can do that, they can do anything. Why even have an election?
They could just swear in whoever they want because the election need not be final.”
Paul Lehto, Attorney for Plaintiffs Aug. 25, 2006

Michael Collins
Scoop Independent News
Washington, DC
Parts 1 & 2 of this "Scoop" Exclusive

San Diego Superior Court Judge Yuri Hofmann rendered his decision in the election challenge in California’s 50th Congressional District. He dismissed the request for a recount and for discovery of the facts of the Busby-Bilbray election stating specifically that "Once the House asserts exclusive jurisdiction and selects a candidate, the court no longer has jurisdiction" (emphasis added). The judge argued that the June 13 swearing in alone was sufficient to establish Bilbray’s “election.” The event had the power to take away any and all citizen rights and immediately rescind authority over their own elections.

Requests for a recount resulting from major problems with the election were deemed insufficient and the rights of voters to due process were all cast aside in deference to Speaker Hastert or any future Speaker. The induction of Republican Bilbray was just seven days after the election and a full 17 days before the election was officially certified by the San Diego Registrar.

The plaintiffs lost their suit for an election contest and recount in this one congressional district. However, by bringing suit, they achieved an outcome that clearly proves the arguments expressed across the political spectrum from conservative legal scholar Bruce Fein to former Vice President Al Gore. In unambiguous terms, they and others decry the rapid descent of the United States into a state of tyranny which only affirms our long nightmare for democracy. Politicians can now manipulate, alter, and nullify elections if those politicians are the Speaker of the House or capable of influencing the Speaker. Arbitrary, centralized rule starts with the control of vote counting. It is now clear who controls vote counting and it is not the citizens of the United States of America. The People’s House is now the Speaker’s House.

Speaker Dennis Hastert swore in Republican Brian Bilbray even though there were requests for a recount and numerous public protests about the legitimacy of the outcome. According to the San Diego Registrar of Voters, as of June 15th, there were in fact still 2,500 votes to be counted. Evidence reportedly captured from the Registrar’s internet site indicates that on June 13, induction day, there were 12,500 votes uncounted. The San Diego Registrar did not officially certify this election until June 30th. Even when the election was certified, nearly 50% of the votes had not been assigned to the appropriate precincts.

The information on uncounted and misallocated ballots followed the discovery that the California Secretary of State’s office, headed by Republican Bruce McPherson, allegedly provided confirmation that Bilbray had in fact been “elected.”

Chamber Action (Digest) U.S. House of Representatives: Page H3798
Oath of Office--Fiftieth Congressional District of California: Representative-elect Brian P. Bilbray presented himself in the well of the House and was administered the Oath of Office by the Speaker. Earlier the Clerk of the House transmitted a facsimile copy of the unofficial returns of the Special Election held on June 6, 2006 from Ms. Susan Lapsley, Assistant Secretary of State for Elections, California Secretary of State Office, indicating that the Honorable Brian P. Bilbray was elected Representative in Congress for the Fiftieth Congressional District of California. (June 13, 2006)

If this official did in fact provide such confirmation, a key question must be answered. On what basis was an official stamp of approval given to the election by McPherson’s office since results were not made official until June 30? Does the California Secretary of State now have the ultimate power to deem elections final, regardless of the status of those elections? To be more precise, does the Secretary of State now have the power to override citizen protests, challenges and strongly expressed concerns for purely partisan benefit? McPherson is a Republican appointed to this office by the current Governor of California.

The special election generated immediate controversy when it was discovered that election officials had taken home voting machines for overnight stays. The supposed rationale or pretense for these maneuverings was to expedite the convenient delivery of the machines to precincts on election day.

Citizens were furious for a number of reasons. To begin with, these machines have documented security problems which render them vulnerable to hacking and thereby enable the possibility that “malicious code” can be introduced to alter vote counting. In addition, the voting machines were not supervised in these homes nor were they clearly signed in and out. Remarkably, some voting machines even failed to make it from poll worker homes to the precincts on election day.

This obvious breach of security rendered the election void, it was argued. In addition, plaintiffs pointed out that the vote counting was done in secret since the computerized vote tabulation is not open to serious inspection by citizens or even election officials. The innermost workings are controlled by computer code that by agreement cannot be reviewed by election officials or citizens. Thus, the ability to view vote counting was in no way available. This is a right preferred by 92% of voters according to a new Zogby Survey.

Yesterday, attorney Lehto took an optimistic stance when he commented on the role of the public in taking back control of their elections.

The shutdown of any possibility of a court based investigation of the CA50 race could not be in more stark contrast to the 92% support for election transparency in the Zogby poll. The contrast between the two sides now could not be clearer. The question of the moment is whether and to what extent the 92% can discover its own supermajority status, or to what extent they continue to be deceived, deluded and distracted by illusions of their own powerlessness.

By dismissing this case, the judge leaves a legacy which sets a precedent for the surrender of responsibility for free, fair, and clean elections at the state and local levels by deferring to the arbitrary decisions of any Speaker of the House of Representatives. Using the judge’s logic, even cases of verified miscounts or election fraud would have no weight once the Speaker invokes his or her customary power of induction.

“Tuesday, August 29, 2006 marks the day when every county in Californian lost the certain ability to monitor and manage elections. That function has been out-sourced to Washington, DC. It provides an unfortunate example for the rest of the country regarding the true conduct of elections and election law.

N.B. Court Decision and Attorney Paul Lehto comments on the decision ,
Collection of Filings and Documents on CA 50th District Challenge

Copyright: This material may be reproduce in part or whole with attribution to the author and a link to “Scoop” Independent News.

END

FROM: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0608/S00372.htm

[EFerrari]

1. K&R

[liam_laddie]

2. K & R

Another chunk of democracy bitten away...I fear, and expect, that the streets will
become the court of public opinion, sooner rather than later. The Founding Fathers
are beyond disbelief.

[autorank]

8. How about this line from the Jusge - "sElection" is now out front

""Once the House asserts exclusive jurisdiction and selects a candidate," From the article and the North County Times, Judge Yuri Hoffman.

"selects" Give me a break. We've enshrined Bush v. Gore in a way that is turly disgusting to
the founding fathers. I'm in one of the states of the founding father's and I'll tell you that when you see this or that named after Jefferson, Madison, or Mason, it does cause you to pause and think...how low we've come to have a government based on the rapacious philolosphy of the neoconservatives. That's why I reference Bruce Fein AND Al Gore. Fein was a Reagan appointee in the Justice Department and he's all over * and company calling them on their dictatorial ways.

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060213/editors

Contemporary experts as diverse as Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University and one of the foremost scholars of the conflict between the demands of national security and the Constitution, and Bruce Fein, a key player in Ronald Reagan's Justice Department, have identified the Bush Administration's wiretapping as a dangerous assault on our basic freedoms. Turley says, "What the President ordered in this case was a crime." Fein adds that Bush is claiming "more power than King George III had at the time of the Revolution, in asserting the theory that anything the President thinks is helpful to fighting the war against terrorism he can do."

Time to stand up and call them what they are - tyrants.

[Me.]

3. STINKS!

K & R

*shadow government* (more than ever)

[autorank]

9. They're coming out of the shadows...

The vampire no longer fears the sun, operates freely among the common men...what a sorry
state of affairs we've got here. The Speaker spoke, therefore it's over. Give me a break,
but I doubt I'll get it;)

[Me.]

11. I'm Curious

As to what F. Busby thinks of all this. Also, is she running again this fall against him and if she is, will she make an issue of this?

*shadow government*

[autorank]

18. This is just my opinion but it's illustrative.

She has not come out in favor of the recount and she's not opposed it. She's got an agenda item that's more important to her, I speculate, and that's the general election. The Democrats are deathly afraid of being labeled "sore losers." This is much like Hackett's special election loss to Jean Schmidt.

I wrote about that http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0508/S00186.htm">here - "Deja Vu All Over Again" and it was a fascinating race, in many ways. He had a very Strong case against an Ohio county with a real record of lying about vote counting and one with a problematic reputation (the lying was in Warren County which claimed that they were subject to a National Security alert on election day 2004 and, therefore ,could not allow the public and press to watch the vote counting - the "evacuated" the counting area. The FBI and anyone else asked said, "nope, no alert to Warren County." At any rate, he chose not to challenge. At least sic DUers gave him a copy of my article, many more citizens pushed him to challenge but he had plans (a vacation to start) and probably knew that Ohio was a "rigged game" for any appeal. He was also thinking about a Senate run, given his performance.

The interests of the politicians regarding democracy are not our interests. We want things t be done fairly, all Americans save a few miscreants. They want to win office. Thus a politician may take a hit, an unfair race, to preserve stature and options for future races. It's interesting stuff and ultimately , democracy is our responsibility.

[Me.]

24. That's It Isn't It?

The sort of silent, Faustian bargain these politicians are making. If they behave themselves then maybe, just maybe they will get to win the next one. But what they don't understand is that they won't be allowed to win any election unless the elections are fair. I don't know what's more harmful the apathy of the "going along to get along" philosophy or the actual loss of the election itself, for neither helps us and both hurt us.

*shadow government*

[roody]

50. She is running for the seat in November election.

[formercia]

13. Getting them out in the open is the first step.

The 'boys' have been working in the shadows for a long time. Be it confidence that they won't be held to account,a desire for public recognition or just sheer desperation for fear of losing in November may be their downfall. Every indictment needs a name attached to it.

[autorank]

20. They're an old dog and they have tired tricks.

And you are 100% right. If this han not been challenged, we wouldn't know 20% of what we know and nobody would know much of that.

Now we know that if an election is being challenged, or even controversial, Plan A is "Swear the sucker in, like now;" deny all requests for information; delay those you absolutely must provide; price the recount at 6-7 times the rate normally charged in your state; bend the truth in public; ignore citizen requests; do anything to win.

We have to challenge them over and over. When was the last time a challenge was taken up for a Democracy or, better yet, by a Democrat. Al Gore. I f'ing love Al Gore;) He's a fighter.

This is a blue print for 2006. That election will be a nightmare. If Democrats regain power, that
means subpoena power and that means big trouble for these guys. They will do everything they can to
stop that. It's not about wining for them, its about staying free.

[formercia]

26. Scared of the needle

fall prey to the very killing machine they perfected. :evilgrin:

Making execution humane so people will not object to executions.

[formercia]

34. Time for that last trip to the Vet.

:evilgrin:

[Land Shark]

39. openness, transparency, we think alike!! n/t

[formercia]

41. Speaking of transparency...

http://www.commongroundcommonsense.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=62371

I would probably not made much of a fuss about this article but soon after accessing it, someone tried to spike my computer. It made me think of how it might work. Absentee ballots with insufficient postage are checked against voter registration and those not meeting certain criteria are returned while those that do are accepted. In my state, the envelopes must be retained, so it's fairly easy to check for this scam. Does your state have a law about envelope retention?

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/08/31/Pasco/13...rdue_post.shtml

[Land Shark]

40. when the Speaker spoke, nobody heard at the time...

they were forced to INSIST on it via the election contest's motion regarding jurisdiction...

[acmejack]

4. Politburo, anyone?

[DemReadingDU]

5. So why do we have elections?

Novemeber 2006 is going to be quite interesting. The Repubs control power everywhere, it will take miracles for the Dems to regain control.

[autorank]

10. Everybody needs to vote, I mean huge crowds...then...

...then...everybody will be fully informed. We'll know how many have been purged from centralized voter registration databases under the purview of the Help America Vote Act of 2002. That may be huge. We'll find out how many will be denied due to restrictive Voter ID laws enacted cynically under the cover of the Carter-Baker Commissions very narrow recommendations. We'll find out how screwed up the "new" machines are and everyone who votes will see that there's no ability to watch how their votes are taken and watch them being counted.

Lets all show up, celebrate democracy, and push the system to the max to expose whatever little tricks they've got going.

[Mnemosyne]

46. I've been telling everyone that without

massive voter turn-out they can twist the numbers more easily. Am I getting it right on that? It seems the easiest way to explain it.

I make our case for voting in large numbers and it seems to fall mostly on deaf ears even though they hate * with a passion(Huh?!). Many young people have said they voted for the first time in 2004 and it didn't matter; why bother again? It's maybe not so surprising how many keep claiming "there's nothing I can do about it" after the way Ohio ended up and now CA-50.

Is the whole country this bad or is it just my area?

:banghead::banghead::banghead:

I think I fear the apathy and detachment that many feel toward our government almost more than the neo-cons themselves.

The neo-con's power is voter apathy and disengagement. There is a dissolution between the People and the State now getting more obvious each day.

The shadow government is NOT a conspiracy theory. It's beyond doubt with this decision.

Are the people beyond the point of ever taking to the streets to save this country without having first been made destitute and homeless? Does the entire country have to be in chaos before they awaken? Are they all so comfortably numb that if * executes people on the WH lawn they will cheer rather than revolt?

There are so many fighting so hard to turn this mess around, but are there enough of us in the face of such apathy and detachment in so many citizens to actually still manage it?

Hyperbolic, maybe, but these are the questions that come to mind too often now when worry and gloom start to overtake me.

And I fear the answers. :hug:

[katinmn]

6. We are close to losing even the pretense of representative government

Hastert shouldn't even be in office since he is part of the Abramhoff criminal activity.
And he is deciding state elections now.

[autorank]

12. Turkish delight...

I think Turkey is a great country but now when I see the name or read about it, I think of Denny taking all those favors. This is the guy who, by his whim, can stop all election processes.

If there's a recount, a finding of fraud, and error found...AND if the Speaker inducts a member in that race, it's all over, there is no meaning...the Speaker prevails.

Ridiculous isn't it?

[KoKo]

7. Can't this decision be appealed all the way to the Supremes?

Are there plans to push it further? :shrug:

[autorank]

16. Ii think that the plaintiffs are working on this now...deciding the best

course.

This will be like Stewart v. Blackwell. Higher courts will look at it, realize what a POS it is, and pull back. There was a whole lot of agitation legally and politically, narrow casting maybe but very intense, on that decision and the entire court decided to revisit the decision by the smaller panel
within the court. San Diego is very conservative and doesn't reflect the larger state and its sensitivities. It's about time they get a wake up call, Washington has screwed California again.

[lonestarnot]

32. Do you forget who occupies SCOTUS?

[Hubert Flottz]

14. What is the judge's political affiliation?

Let me guess...

[kpete]

15. Everybody needs to vote

thats for sure
and, be ready with your pots and pans...

[autorank]

17. 80% turnout...angry public...they may still try to pull something...

...and if they do, you're right--pots and pans.

I wonder if Denny will go for a remote swearing in...teleconference...so people don't even have to fly in. They could pick up their chips later :evilgrin: (just kidding!).

2006 is vital, it could turn into a real train wreck as John Gideon so articulately described not so long ago in a great article. If it does, it will be because people pay attention and max out the system by their presence.

Lets do it!

[Mnemosyne]

45. I usually eat out on Election Day, but guess I

could cook for a change.:evilgrin:



I have a baseball bat and access to guns. Do you think it's seriously having to come down to this? I do. :evilfrown:

[dogday]

19. Just another way this government usurps the

rights of the people...

[autorank]

21. The "people" - you mean "consumer units" or in the future "work units"

when we have no money to consume. We are in the dark ages of American governance.

[dogday]

23. We have no money now

What we have are trade credits...

[GuvWurld]

22. K&R

We Do Not Consent

[Peace Patriot]

25. Bust the Machines-Vote Absentee! Really, I think this is THE best protest!

BOYCOTT THE MACHINES!

This is the thing that will most impact state/local election officials: Nobody will vote on their shiny new election theft machines! It's a MONEY issue! They LOVE these federal billions, and all the lavish lobbying perks that go with corporate control of our elections. They've also learned to love the culture of secrecy that these corps bring.

They're not all bad dudes and dudesses--that is, not rightwing themselves. They're just corrupt, in many cases. So hit 'em in their corruption! DON'T VOTE ON THE MACHINES! Let the electronic voting machines--controlled by Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia with SECRET code--sit idle. FLOOD them with MOUNTAINS of Absentee Ballots (and, in Calif, paper option ballots--if you can get them to give you one--don't count on it), and FORCE reform NOW!

That's my read on it. We've got to do something NOW--citizen rebellion against the Machines! Direct pressure on the local/state officials who actually make the purchases.

The legislative pols took away our right to vote--they are NOT going to give it back. Bear in mind DEMOCRATS at state and fed level all voted for Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia (s)elections. In Calif, Dems have a 2 to 1 majority in both houses. They could UNDO secret vote counting today, if they wanted to. They don't want to. So we've got to FORCE reform with a BOYCOTT of the Machines!

[Peace Patriot]

27. Also, the Absentee Ballot protest will HELP turnout!

To those who say "it's all rigged--why vote?" we can say: But this is a PROTEST aimed at UN-rigging the system. No excuse not to vote. It turns voting into an active, positive PROTEST, rather than a passive act of despair and hoping against hope for a better outcome. It's a REBELLION! Montgomery bus boycott. Gandhi salt tax protest. Boston Tea Party! A peaceful one! It's also easy. Everybody can do it. It's a maximum participation protest.

And if we can do this--massive citizen rebellion, massive AB voting--if everybody who despises the Bush junta votes AB this fall (60% to 70% of the people!)--we can do ANYTHING! We can get rid of these rigged machines, and move on to the OTHER ways these fascists are corrupting our elections and destroying our country.

I think it's our last shot. We have a narrow window of opportunity to turn things around. Rigged electronic voting is Priority #1, in terms of the mechanics of control. Without verifiable vote counting, we CAN'T reform anything else. We MUST have transparent vote counting! That IS our power and our sovereignty as a people. We MUST restore it, and we must restore it NOW!

[windbreeze]

28. hmmmm.....

Since they have tentatively gotten away with this....what makes us think we are going to win any elections at midterms or beyond? I begin to wonder if the plan isn't to allow a few seats to change hands,(so we can't cry foul) and yet for them to still maintain control over all three branches? This is a pretty brazen..in your face...if you don't like it, take a hike kinda thing...people who are so confident that they have all their ducks in a row...aren't afraid of anything, and are capable of doing whatever they must to have the results they want across the board...(or is that the intended message, so that we don't vote at all?)

I have been asking questions about our elections since they declared Reagan president, before our polls on the left coast even closed....has stealing elections been going on since then, perhaps? How do we stop this? Can we stop it? Is the SC going to see things our way? Dare we count on them? and if we can't, then what is it going to take? What recourse is left?

Was Billbray sworn in, before the election was even certified...because they need him in order to carry off a bigger scheme?...
windbreeze

[Kurovski]

29. Impeach Bush's corrupt little wrestling coach, Dennis Hastert!

He's earned it.

[autorank]

33. "Wrestling Coach Ruins Democracy" we are through the looking glass!

:hi: friend

[Kurovski]

48. After the peaceful revolution,

you'll be working for the new Time Magazine in quick order.:hi:

[Independent_Liberal]

36. Hastert can't be impeached, but he CAN be indicted.

I found out recently that Congress people and Senators don't qualify as "civil officers of the United States" as described in Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution.

It's described here: http://www.law.cornell.edu/background/impeach/impeach.htm

Article 2, Section 4--"The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the United States. . ."

As noted above, this includes Federal judges. It does not, however, include House Representatives or Senators.

So Congress people can't be impeached, but they can sure be indicted.

[Kurovski]

37. Thank you for setting that straight.

I was not aware of that.

[bleever]

30. On the bright side, the whole "We the People" thing

WAS an awful lot of work.

In a way, it's more efficient for a fat ex-wrestling coach from DuPage County, Illinois, to handle all these decisions.


Great article. Much thanks to autorank, althecat, and LandShark.

[emlev]

31. Help get the word out about this decision

Democracy Now! hasn't covered it yet. I don't think Lou Dobbs or Catherine Crier are on it. Write letters to the editor, especially to California papers. Circulate to your contact lists. We need to make noise!

I appreciate this clear writing on this somewhat complicated topic!

[autorank]

35. Information Package on the Controversy and Trial

Certificationall together here. Parts 1-3 are my articles in "Scoop" relating to the
trial and the unfolding story of the disregard for voting rights and political
interference of the Speaker and the California Secretary of State's office. Part 4
is Bradblog, Brad Friedman's ongoing updates - newest to oldest. Great history.
Get the word out.

This is an outrage. They just toss aside an election whenever the Speaker feels
like swearing in a member. The swearing in was done when EVERYBODYknew that there
was a controversy. It's offensive to average people and an affront to our
democratic values.

1)
Congressional Election Nullified – Nobody Noticed
Speaker of the House Nullified
San Diego Congressional Race 08.25.06
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0608/S00316.htm

2)
Election Nullification 2: Speaker's Special Source
Election Nullification II: Speaker of House had
Special Source for Election “Certification 08.28.06
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0608/S00338.htm
3)
Democracy Denied: Meet the New Boss
Pre-Certification Swearing in by Hastert
Terminates All State Legal Authority Over Elections 08.31.06
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0608/S00372.htm
4)
BradBlog Continual Update on Busby Bilbray
Plus History of Coverage
http://www.bradblog.com/?cat=2

[mod mom]

38. All I have to say is:

:yourock:

ps great news about Ohio!

[AtomicKitten]

42. they have no shame

And the media is silent.

K&R, Mike.

[autorank]

43. Muchos Gracias AtomicKitten!!! n/t

[Joe Chi Minh]

47. Indeed, Shame seems to be a concept that they are absolutely

hard-wired to lack, to find absolutely beyond their comprehension; something not found anywhere in their lexicon. Chomsky must find them fascinating in both his professional capacities.

[autorank]

56. There deep structures are hampster wheels...

Their interpersonal style is that of an agitated scorpion and their ability to accomplish about anything the try of substance is entirely lacking. Other than that, no problem.

Good to see you!!!

[Joe Chi Minh]

62. You got it, Capting!

Depressing thread you've posted here, isn't it? Invaluable synopsis, of course, just the same.

[autorank]

64. :)

Depressing, no. The truth, starkly displayed by this act of indifference to the law, is liberating.
So I generally feel better after finding out this sort of thing, although it has a limit, at which
point a bit of agida sets in;)

Cheers!!!

[Land Shark]

49. mostly silent media, getting better drip by drip n/t

[autorank]

57. Drips indeed...

...these were the goof balls who ran the lousy high school newspapers.

They'll wake up to all of this after we already know the outcome. I can't wait to watch them flow down the drain.

Great work Land Shark. The veil has been lifted once and for all. We now see the picture of Dorian Bush (the neocon) clearly and the strings attached, as well.

[Cleita]

44. I don't consider McPhearson a legitimate SOS anymore

than I consider Schwarzenegger the legitimate Governor. Both Kevin Shelby, our legitimately elected Secretary of State, and Grey Davis, our legitimately elected Governer, were railroaded by Republican operatives on technicalities that were not used as intended and would have been laughed at in another day and age.

If we get our legitimately elected officials back in Sacramento in November, I hope that they will address these abuses that were perpetrated by the carpetbaggers in question.

[Ellipsis]

51. K&R

[aquart]

52. Ah, future felon Denny Hastert.

He must be so terribly, dreadfully frightened of losing the House. All those trips.

So how's it going, Denny? Any acid reflux, back pain, nightmares? Stress sucks, doesn't it?

[understandinglife]

53. Recommended.

Peace.

[autorank]

58. Namaste...and

...great to see you. Thanks for dropping in.

[young_at_heart]

54. Where is the outrage?

Let's hope a few people in California will be upset abou this.

[NVMojo]

55. K & R! The apathy is appalling!! This is outrageous!! Blatant!!

[Einsteinia]

59. Please tell me this is fiction, because this does NOT

sound like the United States I learned about in grammar school.

This sounds like we're living somewhere where they cart off people like us to gulags and the like.

[AlamoDemoc]

60. yes comrade...you are here.....we are all here...

"they sye that time 'eals all things,
They sye you can always forget;
But the smiles an' the tears across the years
They twist my 'eartstrings yet"!

[mom cat]

61. I noticed that Pravda omitted this story. Must not be very important.

:sarcasm:

[JimDandy]

63. Multiply the problem by fifty!!!

Utah State's Constitution:

Article VI, Section 10. {Each house to be judge of election, and qualifications of its members -- Expulsion.}

Each house shall be the judge of the election and qualifications of its members, and may punish them for disorderly conduct, and with the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members elected, expel a member for cause.

If each state has a similar clause in their constitutions, we're looking at a problem of significantly greater magnitude.

[lala_rawraw]

65. kicky

[Kurovski]

66. Kick, (nt)

[JimDandy]

67. The use of this argument is spreading!

Yesterday, the defendants in a Nevada case concerning a PRIMARY race won using this jurisdictional argument to stop the race from being recounted.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x447955

How does the House gain jurisdiction in a primary race? It can only has jurisdiction over seated members of the House. Surely they are over-reaching if their argument is that all House races, including primaries, are theirs to adjudicate because they involve issues of membership.

How far back can they be allowed to reach? Can they impose their will at an election for U.S. Rep at the level of a County Democratic Convention? Under this jurisdictional ruling, can the GOP now decide who even gets to be the Democratic nominees for House and Senate. Gee, why not just have one-party rule then?