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Thursday, December 15, 2005

MT-Sen: If Burnsie Retires...

Posted by DavidNYC

First, Hotline speculated that Connie Burnsie might be holding on to his Abramoff-tainted cash because he's going to step down. I didn't think that theory made much sense - sure, ol' Conrad could find some way to launder his cash-on-hand for his own personal use, but $130Gs seems like chump change for a guy who would make tons more as a lobbyist.

Now, Hotline claims he's gonna give the money back. I'll be watching that one closely to see just how good Hotline's sources are.

But back to the general idea of Burns retiring. I don't see that as being outside the realm of possibility at all - especially if prosecutors' guns wind up trained on him. And after all, he's about to turn 71. So what happens if he bails? You're gonna like this:

13-25-202. Vacancy in office of United States senator.

(1) If a vacancy occurs in the office of United States senator, an election to fill the vacancy shall be held at the next general election. If the election is invalid or not held at that time, the election to fill the vacancy shall be held at the next succeeding general election.

(2) The governor may make a temporary appointment to fill the vacancy until the election.

As is the practice in many if not most states, the governor - in this case Democrat Brian Schweitzer - gets to appoint a replacement. Now that sure would be interesting. Whom would he pick? Would he tap Jon Tester or John Morrison, the two top candidates already running to replace Burns? Does anyone know what kind of relationship he has with either man? Or would Schweitzer seek to avoid controversy and name a "caretaker" for the duration? What are your thoughts?

Posted at 09:34 PM in 2006 Elections - Senate, Montana | Technorati

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Comments

If Burns resigns, I would guess that Schweitzer would appoint a "Caretaker" to hold the office until the next Senator can be certified.

Pat Williams could be an interesting caretaker. The positives include having 18 years in DC as a member of the House. As well, I don't think Williams was a huge fan of having to go so far to campaign, and as a caretaker, he wouldn't run for re-election.

In an election with a contested priamry, I would imagine that the courteous thing for a Governor to do is appoint a caretaker and not someone in that primary.

Posted by: RBH at December 16, 2005 12:21 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

No chance Burns resigns his seat before the election. He may retire, but he'll complete his term.

The only plausible situation in which he resigns his seat before Jan 3, 2007 is -- following the Phil Gramm/John Cornyn model -- if he retires, and a Republican wins the seat, he gives his successor a head start on seniority by handing over the seat in November/December 2006. But even that is a stretch considering the party affiliation and unpredictable nature of Gov. Schweitzer.

Bottom line, no chance a Senator of one party resigns when his Governor is of the opposite party, unless there's a riot brewing in the streets.

Posted by: prk at December 16, 2005 11:18 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

Mr. Burns is returning the money, so it appears their souces were accurate. http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.html?id=1&display=rednews/2005/12/16/build/state/25-burns.inc

If Burns did retire, I am certain he would finish out the rest of his term.

According to his recent press release he isn't going anywhere.

Posted by: Andy_Duphrane at December 16, 2005 11:29 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

There *is* one scenario under which he might retire: An indictment.

Posted by: DavidNYC at December 16, 2005 01:13 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

"There *is* one scenario under which he might retire: An indictment."

Touché

Posted by: prk at December 16, 2005 07:00 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment