Senator Lautenberg must be having a good laugh at Tom De Lay's expense today. After all, he got back into the Senate by replacing another candidate at the last minute, even though that was against New Jersey law. The New Jersey court's reasoning? It would be unfair to the voters not to have the strongest candidates available for them to choose among, and following the law would prevent that. From WIkipedia:
Lautenberg unexpectedly returned to politics in 2002, when the other New Jersey senator, Democrat Robert Torricelli, withdrew his candidacy for reelection [because corruption charges had destroyed his chances of winning] ...The New Jersey Republican Party challenged the replacement of Torricelli's name on the ballot with Lautenberg's, arguing that it came too late according to state election laws. The ballot name change was upheld by the New Jersey Supreme Court, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the case. Lautenberg won the election, thus becoming one of very few people in recent times to return to the Senate after leaving it.
But when Tom De Lay decides, half a year in advance of the election, to withdraw and allow the party to choose another candidate, all of a sudden the law trumps the interests of the voters. Who says Justice is blind?
Posted by Kevin Murphy at August 7, 2006 08:47 PM