HDL: Re: "Can a dead man, therefore, not a resident, be elected in Missouri?"
Defeated Sen. John Ashcroft, R-Mo., the Gospel-singin' , soon former -senator -to-be from the Ozarks, has said he will not contest the will of the people of Missouri, who sent him back to Dogpatch by 50,000-plus votes.
However, it would not surprise me if Trent Lott and other attack-dog Repub senators such as Hatch from Utah challenge Jean Carnahan's election in court, not to deny her seat, but to prolong her entry into the Senate. Here's why:
With Slade Gorton in Washington apparently defeated and Michael Cummings in deep depression, the Senate is now 50-50, so the Repubs are no longer the majority party in the upper house. Thus, committee chairmanships and other perks of majority status now must be divided in twain. However ... if the Repubs can stall the Carnahan election in the courts, then they can conceivably usurp more of these perks on the basis of a 50-49 vote.
Gov. Carnahan died too close to the election for the ballots to be changed. Therefore, how could the election results be contested? In effect, Ashcroft ran against himself and lost. |
