I think the most important thing is that we take the will of the voters into account.
See, Mitch McConnell, Judge Garland.
Can Christie appoint himself to the seat?
This will be a nightmare for anyone who relies on the ACA, not just Democrats. Will Christie appoint a Trump loyalist. He’s a term limited lame duck governor (he has no chance of being re-elected anyway) who don’t give a fudge.
He will do to the people of New Jersey what he did to the beach goers on the 4th of July weekend. You can expect to see more pictures of Christie in his beach chair if Menendez gets convicted.
If he is convicted, wouldn’t he have the right to appeal?
So is he guilty or is this made up bullshit?
He’s probably guilty. He definitely had a “close” friendship with this guy which doesn’t look good. Even if he manages to avoid being convicted, I seriously hope he retires.
Troll Detection Alert system.
This one is already in the basement though…No need to head there.
Menendez is a corrupt politician in the pocket of various NJ pharmaceutical interests. So he’s already a problem, and I’d love to see a new Democratic face in NJ. That said, I don’t see a guilty verdict by a September jury as a real problem:
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Menendez could and would appeal any jury conviction. The appeals process could drag on well past 2018, when Christie will almost certainly be replaced by a Democratic governor. There is no earthly reason for Menendez to resign in the meantime, particularly in McConnell Senate, where political niceties are no longer applicable.
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Even if all appeals are dismissed before Nov 2018, there’s still no reason for Menendez to resign. With an election imminent, Democrats should tell McConnell that it’s inappropriate for Christie to appoint a new senator, under the Gorsuch rule: the NJ governorship election is imminent, and the new Governor, fully authorized by the people, should exercise the relevant appointment power.
In short, the old Senate rules no longer apply, thanks to McConnell, and certainly shouldn’t apply only to Democrats. No way would Menendez resign before 2018 if he were a Republican and everything hinged on his continuation in office. McConnell & Co. can go fuck themselves. Or impeach, if they feel so strongly about it, and see if they get the Democratic votes.
EDIT: I’m delighted to correct myself: the NJ governorship is up for election in November of this year, not 2018, as I’d mistakenly assumed. So there really is a zero percent change that Christie will have the opportunity to appoint a replacement for Menendez, who will definitely appeal any conviction.
He’s from from New Jersey, so he’s guilty. Politics works slightly differently in New Jersey from the rest of the country (with the exception of Louisiana).
McCain is dead man walking. His replacement will kill Obamacare.
If M is convicted, he’ll appeal to Supreme Court based on the Virginia case, which will buy enough time for the Dems.
I bagged this one!
He should be in trouble if he is found guilty for sure. It is a complicated situation politically. But to be honest many people either did not vote or did vote for Trump. And he is only looking out for number one. In some ways we get what we have. Expecting the minority party to protect from everything is a bit over the top.
He could be convicted and there still wouldn’t be 15 Democratic Senators willing to remove him from office.
Would he fit in just one seat?
He may or may not appoint a Trump loyalist. He is still a little more than pissed that Trump didn’t nominate him for VP, AG DHS, etc… but instead made him have to go back and live in the cesspool called New Jersey.
It’s possible a Democrat could replace Senator McCain.
So the Republican Governor of Arizona is going to fill McCain’s seat with a Democrat?
Right… like republicans give a shit about being consistent when they have an opportunity to advantage themselves
I was being a little facetious when I commented that there wouldn’t be 15 Democratic Senators willing to remove him, but they would have almost no choice if they didn’t move to remove one of their own, if convicted on corruption charges, at the same time they are calling for the President’s head who hasn’t been even indicted or alleged to have committed a crime.