General Discussion

struggle4progress

(118,379 posts) Mon Nov 20, 2017, 12:22 AM Nov 2017

The Last Senator Expelled

Eric Berman
Nov. 19, 2017

... Jesse Bright was one of Indiana's most colorful and powerful politicians before the Civil War, serving as lieutenant governor before an 18-year career in the Senate. For most of President Franklin Pierce's term, he was a heartbeat away from the presidency as president pro tem of the Senate, due to the death of Pierce's vice president.

... Bright was a Copperhead -- a pro-Confederacy northerner. With the Civil War approaching, Bright wrote a letter to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, addressing him as president, and advising him on where the Confederacy could purchase guns at a discount ...

... Bright became the last of 14 senators expelled for siding with the Confederacy, and the only one not from a southern or border state. Bright moved to Kentucky after his expulsion, became a slaveowner, and reentered politics as a state legislator.

Since Bright's expulsion, five senators have resigned before the Senate could vote. A committee recommended expelling a sixth, but by the time it issued its report, there were only five days left in his term, and the Senate concluded it didn't have enough time to consider the case. Seven senators have survived expulsion attempts ...

http://www.wibc.com/news/local-news/senate-talking-about-expulsion-last-member-kicked-out-was-hoosier

6 replies

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The Last Senator Expelled (Original Post) struggle4progress Nov 2017 OP

if roy wins the election, the republicans will have a come-to-jesus moment and embrace the pedophile spanone Nov 2017 #1

If Roy Moore does win FakeNoose Nov 2017 #2

Powell v. McCormack (395 US 486) suggests otherwise struggle4progress Nov 2017 #5

OK thanks for this FakeNoose Nov 2017 #6

Packwood was allowed to resign, rather than Gabi Hayes Nov 2017 #3

That's the thing this yahoo won't resign jgmiller Nov 2017 #4

spanone

(135,950 posts)

1. if roy wins the election, the republicans will have a come-to-jesus moment and embrace the pedophile

Reply to struggle4progress (Original post)

Mon Nov 20, 2017, 12:49 AM

Nov 2017

just the way they embraced the pu--y grabber-in-chief

FakeNoose

(32,917 posts)

2. If Roy Moore does win

Reply to struggle4progress (Original post)

Mon Nov 20, 2017, 12:54 AM

Nov 2017

... the Senate can deny him a seat, as I undersand it. It's not the same thing as expelling him, they can refuse to let him in. The vote has to happen immediately before he takes office on the first day.

But if he loses we don't even have to worry about this. (fingers crossed)

struggle4progress

(118,379 posts)

5. Powell v. McCormack (395 US 486) suggests otherwise

Reply to FakeNoose (Reply #2)

Mon Nov 20, 2017, 01:43 PM

Nov 2017

MR. CHIEF JUSTICE WARREN delivered the opinion of the Court.

In November, 1966, petitioner Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., was duly elected from the 18th Congressional District of New York to serve in the United States House of Representatives for the 90th Congress. However, pursuant to a House resolution, he was not permitted to take his seat. Powell (and some of the voters of his district) then filed suit in Federal District Court, claiming that the House could exclude him only if it found he failed to meet the standing requirements of age, citizenship, and residence contained in Art. I, § 2, of the Constitution -- requirements the House specifically found Powell met -- and thus had excluded him unconstitutionally. The District Court dismissed petitioners' complaint "for want of jurisdiction of the subject matter." A panel of the Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal, although on somewhat different grounds, each judge filing a separate opinion. We have determined that it was error to dismiss the complaint, and that petitioner Powell is entitled to a declaratory judgment that he was unlawfully excluded from the 90th Congress ...

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/395/486/case.html

My reading would be that the Senate cannot exclude him unless he has a Constitutional disability: "No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen"

Expulsion is an option, but note the supermajority required: "Each House may ... with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member"

The decision also suggests the Senate is historically unlikely to expel a member for conduct predating his time in office

FakeNoose

(32,917 posts)

6. OK thanks for this

Reply to struggle4progress (Reply #5)

Mon Nov 20, 2017, 09:59 PM

Nov 2017

I guess it's even more important that Moore must lose.
Once he's in the Senate we're stuck with him.

Gabi Hayes

(28,795 posts)

3. Packwood was allowed to resign, rather than

Reply to struggle4progress (Original post)

Mon Nov 20, 2017, 12:54 AM

Nov 2017

suffer the humiliation of an expulsion vote

jgmiller

(395 posts)

4. That's the thing this yahoo won't resign

Reply to struggle4progress (Original post)

Mon Nov 20, 2017, 01:59 AM

Nov 2017

It doesn't matter how many times he's been censured or removed from office he keeps coming back. He doesn't get it and apparently a good part of Alabama agrees with him so it just gets reinforced. He won't drop out and if he wins he won't resign, they will either have to not accept his credentials or vote to expel him. I for one hope he doesn't drop out, he will either lose which will be like Christmas or he will force the GOP senate to go on record supporting a predatory racist hypocrite. It's a thing of beauty they've managed to box themselves into a corner and I enjoy their squirming.

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