How Much Would You Hate To Be Foley's Replacement?

[MrCoffee]

"Though Florida ballots have already been printed with Foley's name and cannot be changed, any votes for Foley will count toward the party's choice."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060930/ap_on_go_co/congressman_e_mails

In order to vote for Foley's replacement candidate, the Repub voters will actually have to pull the lever next to the name of a pedophile. Ouch. Won't their hands burst into flames?

[TallahasseeGrannie]

1. Foley has given a bad

name to Foley catheters, and that's sayin' something!

[LTR]

2. How can that possibly be?

It doesn't work that way in DeLay's district.

A vote should be a vote for the person, not the party. Who wrote that law, Republicans?

:wtf:

[MrCoffee]

4. I guess that's how FL election law works.

[MADem]

6. No, actually, we pushed it so the court would define it that way

Several years back, when we were in a situation where we needed to replace the candidate down in FL.

That's how the court ruled. Discussed in detail at this link: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/09/foley_to_drop_out.html

The legal explanation for the so-called "replacement candidate" goes back to 2004 when former Wilton Manor Mayor Jim Stork (D-Fla.) dropped out of the race against Rep. Clay Shaw (R-Fla.) with just 40 days remaining before the election. At the time, the Republican Secretary of State denied Stork's request to withdraw, meaning that Democrats were left without a candidate. The Democratic Party appealed and won a court decision that allowed officials to pick Robin Rorapaugh as the replacement candidate who would receive Stork's votes. Shaw won easily.

Here's what the Florida election statute says:

(4)(a) In the event that death, resignation, withdrawal, removal, or any other cause or event should cause a party to have a vacancy in nomination which leaves no candidate for an office from such party, the Department of State shall notify the chair of the appropriate state, district, or county political party executive committee of such party; and, within 5 days, the chair shall call a meeting of his or her executive committee to consider designation of a nominee to fill the vacancy. The name of any person so designated shall be submitted to the Department of State within 7 days after notice to the chair in order that the person designated may have his or her name on the ballot of the ensuing general election. If the name of the new nominee is submitted after the certification of results of the preceding primary election, however, the ballots shall not be changed and the former party nominee's name will appear on the ballot. Any ballots cast for the former party nominee will be counted for the person designated by the political party to replace the former party nominee. If there is no opposition to the party nominee, the person designated by the political party to replace the former party nominee will be elected to office at the general election. For purposes of this paragraph, the term "district political party executive committee" means the members of the state executive committee of a political party from those counties comprising the area involving a district office....

You can link to the full statute at the link above.

[MADem]

3. This is such an opportunity for us--Dems in his district, contact the

challenger's office...get out there and do some precinct walking and dialing for dollars!!! Get OUT the vote!!!

When a candidate fucks up like this, voter supression is a NATURAL byproduct. While GOP may not vote for the Dem, they may just not vote at all. After all, the two big races in that district are two toads--Foley the Perv, and Katherine Harris the NUT. Hell, I'd get a tee time instead, myself, if I were a GOP fatcat...

[MrCoffee]

5. I can think of about a dozen ads featuring a Foley ballot.

None of them would get cleared to run, but it's still funny.

[MADem]

7. Show someone thumbing through one of those Robert Byrd Constitution

booklets, and bending over each and every page!!!!

There's a TWO FER message for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!