Kentucky Senate Seat Held Up in Dispute

[shawn703]

The brass plaque on the desk in the Kentucky Capitol reads, "Dana Seum Stephenson Senator." Each day, the clerk calls the roll, "Sen. Seum Stephenson."

The seat is empty and no one answers.

Stephenson is a senator in name only, under a court order that forbids her to attend any legislative session, vote or take a salary. Three months after the election, questions about Stephenson's residency have left her working-class district in Louisville without a senator.

Over the past few weeks, her fellow Republicans have been scorned for trying to seat her despite the questions, and one GOP senator has quit the party in protest and declared himself an independent.


more...
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=498656

[trotsky]

1. Rule #1: Rules don't apply to Republicans.

Rule #2: See Rule #1.

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

2. That TIME magazine at the end of your message....priceless. LOL. nt

[alwynsw]

3. We've been dealing with this for a while now.

The state house is a zoo. Stephenson wasn't loegally qualified to run. The judge essentially said, "So what?", just before the election. The state senate voted to seat her regardless of the fact that she didn't meet residency requirements to run.

IF it keeps up like this, we're screwed in a whole new way. Guess this opens the door a tiny crck for Ahnold. I mean, if it works her, it could fly nationally. (I know that won't work, I'm just pissed.)

[MidwestTransplant]

4. I would much rather have Arnold than Bush be president

That said, the Republican Party will not nominate Arnold (if the constitution is ammended), Da Mayor or Pitaki (who doesn't have a prayer anyway).

[Roland99]

5. Leeper isn't quitting...but he's switching to Independent

It is unconstitutional (according to the KY constitution) to seat Seum-Stephenson as she did not meet the residency requirements.

Wasn't there a Democrat that wasn't allowed to be seated due to similar circumstances? Maybe it was in North Carolina? There was something from the 2004 election where a court upheld that state's constitution and the winner by votes was not allowed to take that position. Seems like it was a Democrat.

But, the GOP is obviously above the law, right?

[VegasWolf]

6. Hey Shawn, great picture, can I borrow it? n/t

[PROGRESSIVE1]

7. .

[bikeboy]

8. I would much rather have Arnold than Bush be president

Arnoold's worker bees are the same buscco folks from carlyle and floridaq and as far as this cali kid goes...he can go back to austria... my friends in germany said to me when he bought the state, "we didn't have much luck with an austian running our contry"

Vote his ass out!