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December 26, 2006
Dems May Refuse to Seat Elected Republican Vern Buchanan
Posted by Dave Blount at December 26, 2006 7:24 AM
One of the disadvantages of being the good guys is that Republicans don't just have to win, they have to win by a lot. For example, Republican Vern Buchanan beat Democrat Christine Jennings for a House seat by 369 votes — which is not enough of a margin to allow him to take his seat without bitter resistance from Nancy Pelosi and friends, who may not let Buchanan take his seat with the rest of the new Congress next week.
Succinctly summing up Democratic principles, Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill declared:
The bottom line here is that nothing's off the table.
Normally the winner is seated even in contested races. But according to Pelousy's office, that's only the way Republicans do things. Democrats would leave Buchanan sidelined while they haggle in the courts for months. Party Chairman Howard Dean has declared that Buchanan should "definitely not" be seated with the other elected Reps.
Even some Democrats have guilty consciences about the highly undemocratic tactics employed by Pelosi, Dean, et al. Said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), an ally of Jennings:
In my mind, I can't really justify leaving the constituents of the 13th District without representation during the House Administration and the court's review.
Meanwhile, her fellow Dems are angling for a new election, apparently on no other grounds than their inability to accept defeat when the vote is close.
On a tip from Wiggins.
