Another Humiliating Defeat For Tom DeLay And The GOP

This is fun:

A federal appeals court panel today in a bipartisan order ruled that former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay cannot be replaced on the November ballot for the congressional seat he vacated in June.

The Republican Party said it will quickly file an appeal, but if it loses, DeLay will have to decide whether to actively campaign for office. He has hinted that he might.

Texas Republican Chair Tina Benkiser had ruled DeLay was ineligible to serve because he had moved to Virginia, opening the door for Republicans to replace him on the ballot.

The Texas Democratic Party sued, saying it was a subterfuge and that he had not really moved to Virginia.

The three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals found in the Democrats' favor and upheld an injunction preventing the Republicans from replacing DeLay. The panel said the U.S. Constitution's only requirement for office is that DeLay be a resident of Texas on election day.

"When Benkiser reviewed the public records sent by DeLay and concluded that his residency in Virginia made him ineligible, she unconstitutionally created a pre-election inhabitancy requirement," said the opinion written by Judge Pete Benavides for himself and Judges James L. Dennis and Edith Clement.

When DeLay was forced to resign his House seat in disgrace, it was a mixed bag for me. Sure it was great to see the bastard go, but with him went a great opportunity for the Democrats to refer to DeLay as the poster boy for GOP corruption. Of course, they could still do that, but it would be much better for the Democrats if DeLay was still in office and seeking reelection.

Well, now it is starting to sound like DeLay might have to start actively campaigning for himself if the GOP's appeal fails. God I hope that happens, but DeLay did, after all, withdraw from that race. I wonder if he can be forced to un-withdraw?

And speaking of a disgraced "Republican," check this out:

Embattled Sen. Joe Lieberman is trailing businessman Ned Lamont by double digits in the race for the Connecticut Democratic Senate nomination, a new poll released this morning shows.

The Quinnipiac University poll gives Lamont a 54 percent to 41 percent lead among likely Democratic primary voters and is the latest indication that the three-term incumbent is in serious danger of losing the Democratic primary next Tuesday. A poll released by the university on July 20 indicated that Lamont held a 51 percent to 47 percent advantage over Lieberman.