{"id":2059380,"date":"2023-10-07T22:36:02","date_gmt":"2023-10-08T02:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/undemocracy-senators-from-other-states\/"},"modified":"2023-10-07T22:37:59","modified_gmt":"2023-10-08T02:37:59","slug":"undemocracy-senators-from-other-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/undemocracy-senators-from-other-states\/","title":{"rendered":"Senators representing other states: an undemocratic practice."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fundemocracy-senators-from-other-states%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2059380&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><blockquote>\n<h2>Commentary<\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s nice work if you\u2062 can get it\u2014a free appointment\u2062 to the \u200bUnited\u200b States Senate. \u2064California Gov. Gavin Newsom has raised new questions about the appointment process in his naming of \u200d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/vice-president-harris-swears-in-laphonza-butler-to-replace-sen-feinstein-5502204\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Laphonza Butler<\/a> to replace Sen. Diane Feinstein after her recent death.\u200d Not only was \u2063her appointment a surprise\u200d to California Democrat insiders, but she is a voting \u200dresident of \u2064Maryland, not the Golden State. \u2064She did live in California for 12 years but has listed her legal address as Maryland since\u200c 2021.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>This isn\u2019t the\u200b only case \u200bof 21st century carpetbaggers. Former First Lady\u2063 Hillary Clinton moved from Arkansas to New York in late 1999 to run for Senate in 2000. Mitt \u200cRomney changed\u200b his residence from Massachusetts to Utah in 2014 to run for the seat vacated by retiring Senator Orrin Hatch in 2018. Banking\u2064 on her father\u2019s name\u2063 recognition, Liz Cheney bought a home in Wyoming in 2012 to run for Congress in 2014.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode\">\n<div class=\"border-comp-divider mb-4 mr-4 w-full max-w-[500px] border px-5 py-4 text-[16px] leading-[20px] text-[#262626] md:float-left\" id=\"in_article_related_stories\">\n<h2 class=\"mb-3 font-sans text-[16px] font-semibold uppercase leading-[19px] text-[#2F2F2F]\">Related Stories<\/h2>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\">\n          <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/opinion\/senate-appointment-again-demonstrates-newsoms-presidential-ambitions-5504815?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><\/p>\n<h3>Senate Appointment Again Demonstrates Newsom\u2019s Presidential Ambitions<\/h3>\n<p>          <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">10\/5\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\">\n        <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/opinion\/senate-appointment-again-demonstrates-newsoms-presidential-ambitions-5504815?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><\/a>\n      <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\">\n          <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/vice-president-harris-swears-in-laphonza-butler-to-replace-sen-feinstein-5502204?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><\/p>\n<h3>Vice President Harris Swears\u200d In\u200b Laphonza Butler to \u200cReplace Sen. Feinstein<\/h3>\n<p>          <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">10\/3\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\">\n        <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/vice-president-harris-swears-in-laphonza-butler-to-replace-sen-feinstein-5502204?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><\/a>\n      <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>For those three johnny-come-lately candidates, they did\u200d win their elections. Dr. Mehmet Oz moved to Pennsylvania in 2020 (claiming he rented a room from his in-laws) to run for\u200b Senate \u200cin 2022. Earning the\u200c endorsement of former President Donald Trump, he won the GOP nomination, but got punished in the general election based in part on the perception that he was a carpetbagger.<\/p>\n<p>What unites these candidates is that they moved to compete in democratic elections. Laphonza Butler was handpicked to come from out of state to represent California.<\/p>\n<p>When a member\u2062 of Congress leaves a vacancy, \u200dthere are two \u2062basic systems in \u2062place. In the \u200cHouse, all vacancies are filled by\u200c a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/as-republican-julia-letlow-is-sworn-in-the-democrats-margin-in-the-house-shrinks-to-just-2-votes\/\" title=\"As Republican Julia Letlow Is Sworn In, The Democrats\u2019 Margin In The House Shrinks To Just 2 Votes\">special election set<\/a> by the state\u2019s governor. Four states require a special election for the \u2064Senate, as well. But otherwise, it is quite different in the Senate.<\/p>\n<p>For the other 46 states,\u2063 governors appoint an interim replacement to the Senate, with varying rules on how \u200dlong the \u200cinterim period can last, and whether they can choose who they \u200dwant or must appoint someone from the outgoing senator\u2019s party or from a party list.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes \u2064governors get themselves \u200din\u200c deep trouble. After Sen. Barack Obama became \u200bPresident, Illinois Gov. \u2064Rod Blagojevich sought bribes from potential replacements. He was\u2062 impeached and removed from office, \u2063then convicted of public corruption and served eight years in \u200bfederal prison.<\/p>\n<p>Vacancies happen on a yearly\u200b basis. Historically, 153 senators have died in office (not including retirements or resignations) since 1913 when the 17th Amendment was adopted to change Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution from having senators be appointed by the state legislatures to direct election\u2063 by the people. But the amendment adds that governors have\u2064 the power to appoint a\u2063 replacement, if authorized by their state\u2019s legislature, until the next general election.<\/p>\n<p>Governors are elected by\u2063 the people of\u200d their states, but \u2062the appointment\u2062 process\u2064 is still \u200bundemocratic. The people who elected someone to be chief executive for their state might have \u200dother priorities in \u2064mind when voting for a senator.<\/p>\n<p>State governments should amend their constitutions. Follow the spirit of\u2064 the U.S. Constitution and have senators be\u200c elected\u2014always\u2014by the people, and in a timely fashion. States should require\u200b that \u200dcandidates \u2062have lived in their state or district for several \u2063years before running for office; that\u200b is certainly a requirement\u200c in the\u200d U.S. Constitution. Term limits would reduce the number of elderly \u200bsenators, when the average age now is 65 and roughly a\u2063 quarter are over the age \u200dof 80.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, much of national politics has become a delegation of power from both the Executive and Legislative branches to the U.S. Supreme Court. Governors\u2019 power to appoint\u200d senators is not only a question of how their state will be represented, but who \u2064controls the Senate\u2014which confirms \u200dSupreme Court Justices on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/undemocracy-senators-from-other-states\/\" title=\"Senators representing other states: an undemocratic practice.\">wholly political basis<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever one makes of\u2062 Mr. Newsom\u2019s appointment, he\u200b has shined a light on the undemocratic process for\u2062 replacing U.S. senators. It\u2019s time\u2064 to clean things\u200d up.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n  <em>The views and \u200bopinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Centennial Institute and Colorado Christian University.<\/em>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n  <em>Views expressed \u2063in this article are opinions of the author and do \u200bnot necessarily reflect the views \u200dof The Epoch Times.<\/em>\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> How does the appointment process for vacancies in Congress\u2063 differ between the House and the Senate?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  , according to the United States Senate website. This means that the appointment of replacement senators is a \u200bcommon\u200b occurrence.<\/p>\n<p>However, the recent appointment of Laphonza\u2062 Butler\u200d by California Governor\u2062 Gavin Newsom\u200d has raised \u2062questions about the appointment process. Not only was her appointment a surprise to California Democrat insiders, but she is also a resident of \u200cMaryland, not California. While she did live \u200cin California for 12 years, she has listed her\u200c legal \u2063address \u200cas\u2062 Maryland since\u200c 2021.<\/p>\n<p>But Butler is not the only case of what\u2063 can be called &#8220;carpetbaggers&#8221;\u2063 in the \u200d21st century. Hillary\u200b Clinton moved from Arkansas \u2063to New York in 1999 to run for Senate in \u20632000. Mitt Romney \u200bchanged\u2064 his residence from Massachusetts \u200bto Utah in 2014 \u200bto run \u200cfor the seat vacated by retiring Senator Orrin Hatch in\u200d 2018. Liz Cheney also bought\u2063 a home in Wyoming in 2012 to run for Congress in 2014, \u2064banking on her father&#8217;s name recognition.<\/p>\n<p>In all of these\u2063 cases, the candidates \u2063were successful in \u2063winning their elections. However,\u2062 they faced criticism and\u2062 accusations of being carpetbaggers, taking \u200cadvantage of their new residences for political gain.<\/p>\n<p>The appointment process for vacancies in Congress differs between the House and the Senate. In the \u2063House, all vacancies are filled by a\u2062 special election set by the state&#8217;s \u2063governor. Four states also require a special \u200belection for vacant Senate \u200bseats. However, for the \u200cother 46 states, governors have the authority to appoint an interim replacement \u200dto the Senate. \u2063The rules \u2063regarding \u2062the \u200blength of the interim period and whether the governor can choose the \u2063replacement vary.<\/p>\n<p>In some cases, the \u200cappointment \u2063process has led to\u200c controversy \u200cand\u2063 even criminal activity. Former \u2064Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich sought\u2064 bribes\u200d from potential replacements after Senator Barack Obama became President. He was impeached, removed from\u200d office, and ultimately convicted of public corruption, serving eight years in federal \u200cprison.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, \u200bvacancies in Congress are not \u200duncommon,\u2062 and governors have the responsibility to appoint replacements. However, the appointment of candidates from \u2062out of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-rips-mcconnell-for-supporting-murkowski\/\" title=\"Trump Rips McConnell for Supporting Murkowski\">state raises questions<\/a>\u2064 about\u200c the fairness and integrity of the process.\u200b The case of Laphonza Butler&#8217;s appointment highlights the need for transparency and\u200d accountability in the\u200b selection\u200b of interim senators.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>California Gov. Gavin Newsom&#8217;s appointment of Laphonza Butler to replace Sen. Diane Feinstein has sparked questions about the appointment process. Butler&#8217;s surprise selection has left California Democrat insiders puzzled, highlighting the perks of a free appointment to the United States Senate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2468,"featured_media":2059381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2059380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2059380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2468"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2059380"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2059380\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2059381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2059380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2059380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2059380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}