Wyo. governor appoints new U.S. senator

[brooklynite]

Source: AP

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - Wyoming's governor appointed state Sen. John Barrasso on Friday to temporarily replace the late U.S. Sen. Craig Thomas in Washington.

Barrasso is a Republican like Thomas, meaning the appointment will have no affect on the U.S. Senate's party breakdown.

Barrasso, an orthopedic surgeon from Casper, will serve until the beginning of 2009. A special election in November 2008 will decide who will finish Thomas' term in 2012.




Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070622/ap_on_re_us/wyoming_senator_1;_ylt=Av.ZwxI1aWlLgoXuQLSEyk8E1vAI

[Oreo]

1. Where does he stand? Here's his wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Barrasso

Barrasso is considered a "conservative" and is "pro life," although he has changed his position on this issue. He previously ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for the Senate in 1996 for the seat vacated by the moderate Alan K. Simpson of Cody, an abortion-rights supporter. In 1996, Barrasso had characterized himself as "pro-choice." He lost the primary to anti-abortion advocate Mike Enzi. He has received an "A" rating from the National Rifle Association.

He's in the National Guard so he should know how much they're hurting. Anybody know his Iraq stance?

[Warren Stupidity]

2. The senate should refuse to seat him.

Fuck this crap. When do we start playing hardball?

[CreekDog]

3. And Warren your alternative for the governor is what?

[Warren Stupidity]

6. Wait for the next election or call a special election now.

Or shut up and sit down.

[ButterflyBlood]

28. He doesn't have a choice

Wyoming law says he has to appoint one of the party's selections in 5 days. I agree with the Wyoming law. Let's face it, if it was the opposite, a vacant Senate seat previously held by a Democrat in a state with a Republican governor and he tried pulling some stunt like that, we'd all be screaming bloody murder.

[Freddie Stubbs]

4. On what grounds?

:shrug:

[Warren Stupidity]

5. Who cares? Make shit up.

Look at the shit they are pulling. Cheney just declared himself outside of any branch of government. Rice has declared herself immune to subpoenas. The senate republicans are obstructing every legislative initiative. The Senate democrats ought to simply refuse to seat him until normal constitutional procedures are restored.

[Freddie Stubbs]

8. I'm sure the voters of Wyoming would really appreciate that

[toopers]

32. Actually, Cheney is outside all branches of government.

Pretty interesting stuff that our founding fathers created.

[never cry wolf]

7. I don't think he had a choice

The way I understand it is that Wyoming's law is that if a Senator cannot complete his term the state party of that Senator nominates 3 potential replacements for the Governor to choose from. In this case the Wyoming repug party sent the names, of course all pukes, and the Dem Gov had to pick one of them.

[Warren Stupidity]

9. The Senate can decide to seat him or not. nt.

[never cry wolf]

10. On what grounds?

That he has an R after his name is not enough to deny a the people of the state their due representation in congress.

[Warren Stupidity]

11. On the grounds that the R party of Wyoming is not empowered.

"When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive
authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided
that the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make
temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the
legislature may direct."

http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/Vacancies.pdf

In Wyoming the party of the senator who vacated the seat selects the replacement and there is an argument at least as valid as DICK Cheney is making that this violates the rules.

Hardball. When do we get to play?

[BushOut06]

13. What if the governor simply refused to pick a repug?

If I were governor of Wyoming, I'd say "sorry, send me three more choices." Either offer up a Democratic choice, or the seat doesn't get filled.

[ButterflyBlood]

29. The law says the Governor must choose one of the choices in 5 days

Not sure what happens if he refuses, but most likely the party simply goes ahead and makes the pick.

[underpants]

12. Boy is HE going to stick out in the Senate

I mean look at him!! poor thing. The others will never take to some so mysterious looking.



:sarcasm:

[Hissyspit]

14. State Senator (R) Appointed to Fill Thomas Vacancy

Source: Roll Call

State Senator Appointed to Fill Thomas Vacancy
Friday, June 22; 12:25 pm

Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D) today appointed state Sen. John Barrasso (R) to succeed the late Sen. Craig Thomas (R), who died June 4 after a seven-month battle with leukemia.


Read more: http://rollcall.com/issues/1_1/breakingnews/19094-1.html

[waiting for hope]

15. Why??? Wasn't there a

suitable Dem replacement?

[Mass]

16. Wyoming constitution forces him to appoint somebody from the same party than Thomas.

[tsuki]

17. Thomas was a repug, so he had to be replaced by a repug.

[waiting for hope]

18. I was under the belief

that the Governor could appoint whomever he wished, his wife, dog, ect....

[ButterflyBlood]

30. In many states yes, but not Wyoming.

n/t

[mahatmakanejeeves]

19. legal requirement

Wyoming law requires that the replacement senator be selected by the governor from among three proposed by the party of the senator whose departure caused the vacancy to arise.

Really, isn't that the right way to do it, as opposed to what would have happened in South Dakota?

[MADem]

20. He was following the law. nt

[BELZABUBBA]

21. im sure the republibots would do the same

they would skirt the law and replace d with r and tell us to go pound salt. i'm tired of playing nice and fair with these people. we should use anything we can to gain advantage if for no other reason than to give them a taste of what they've been feeding us.
it's nice to be morally superior to the republidorks but it would feel good to poke a stick in their collective eye.

[MADem]

22. Well, he can't very well change state law, now, can he? I'm sure he picked the best of the lot that

he could manage.

It's not a question of playing nice...if the gov were an R, and the guy who died a D, he'd have to pick a D. It's the way the law is written, probably to prevent dirty tricks from getting too far out of hand, I would guess...and to ensure that the wishes of the electorate didn't go too far afield.

[KamaAina]

23. The WY repuke party gave the Gov a list of three potential replacements

mercifully Lynne Cheney wasn't among them!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070622/ap_on_re_us/wyoming_senator

State Republican Party officials had given Gov. Dave Freudenthal a slate of three nominees from which he had to choose the temporary replacement for Thomas. Freudenthal, a Democrat, chose Barrasso over Cheyenne attorney Tom Sansonetti and former state Treasurer Cynthia Lummis....

Barrasso also left no doubt that he will be a conservative voice in Washington.

"I believe in limited government, lower taxes, less spending, traditional family values, local control and a strong national defense," the orthopedic surgeon and state senator from Casper wrote in his application.

He said he has "voted for prayer in schools, against gay marriage and have sponsored legislation to protect the sanctity of life."

One wonders just how awful Sansonetti and Lummis must be, if this guy was the most palatable! Or could it be that Freudenthal views him as the most beatable next year? Any WY DUers out there have a clue?

[Stop Cornyn]

24. I hope Gov. Freudenthal picked this numskull because he'll be the easiest to beat in the election

[BlueStater]

25. Thank goodness it wasn't Lynne fucking Cheney

Thank God for that.

[librechik]

26. ditto

[Ian David]

27. That would have put Lynne Cheney in the line of succession for the Presidency.

Way, way far down the list, but still...

[annabanana]

31. My first thought also. . . . n/t