Is Senator Lugar Constitutionally Qualified to Run for US Senate in Indiana?

Earlier this week I noted that the Daily Caller had picked up the story that Dick Lugar has not lived in Indiana--the state he represents in the United States Senate--since the late 1970s. That's interesting because Article 1, Section 3 of the US Constitution reads in part: "No person shall be a Senator... who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen." From there, I concluded:

Dick Lugar has not inhabited the state which he represents since the Carter Administration, which, in light of the US Constitution, would imply that he has not been eligible to run for the United States Senate since the Gerald Ford Administration. It's time to vote for Richard Mourdock in the Indiana Senate GOP primary.

There have been a couple of developments since I posted that. Lugar shrugs off the issue claiming that he has a 1982 permission slip from the Indiana attorney general stating that he need not live in Indiana because he is "on business of this state or of the United States."

That argument falls apart because of the Constitution's supremacy clause: 

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

A state's AG can not override a requirement of the US Constitution; therefore, permission from a state attorney general does not allow a candidate for US Senate to dodge the requirement that they "be an Inhabitant of that state..."

I described this all to Dave Roland of the Freedom Center of Missouri. The Freedom Center specializes in constitutional law and Roland is their Director of Litigation. He agreed with me on the points as I relayed them that a candidate for office should maintain a home in the state they wish to represent. However, he added:

...the big question is who ultimately gets to decide if a candidate for Congress meets this requirement.  Article I, section 5, states that each house of Congress is responsible for judging the qualifications of its own members - it is very possible that courts might take this as meaning that they have no jurisdiction to address this matter.

That quandary in itself could lead to a protracted legal fight, but probably will not. I suspect that one would have to have legal standing in order to bring suit. Richard Mourdock, Lugar's opponent in the GOP primary would have standing, but Mourdock would have to decide whether or not he has the political capital to try to strike Lugar from the ballot. That's not an easy decision, though it certainly would raise Mourdock's name recognition.

After Indiana's May primary, the Democrat candidate for US Senate would have two paths available to them to strike Lugar's name from the November ballot if Lugar wins the primary. First, they could go to the courts just as Mourdock could. Second, since Article 1, Section 5 empowers each house of Congress to judge the qualifications of its members, Indiana's Democrat nominee could ask the Democrat controlled Senate for an assist. In short, Harry Reid could pick Indiana's next Senator by having the US Senate rule that Dick Lugar is not an inhabitant of Indiana.

Don't take chances. If you live in Indiana, please remember to vote for Richard Mourdock on May 8th.

Related articles

• Indiana Senator Dick Lugar Has Not Lived in Indiana Since the Carter Administration (rebootcongress.blogspot.com)
• I Just Donated to Richard Mourdock; You Should Too! (rebootcongress.blogspot.com)
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Chris Koster: Obama's Lawyer in Missouri

With Ed Martin ramping up his campaign for Attorney General, he's created the website ObamasLawyer.com to take on Democrat AG Chris Koster. The video above features Koster claiming there would be no impact if the state setup healthcare exchanges in direct opposition to the 71% of Missourians who voted for Prop C in 2010. From ObamasLawyer.com:

Any lawyer can make an argument that down is up, that blue is red and that the Cubs are really the greatest baseball team in history, and not the Cardinals. That’s why people get fed up with lawyers, and that’s the problem with Chris Koster’s argument. It flies in the face of a common-sense regular-guy understanding of the Health Car Freedom Act. liberal attorneys, but the simple meaning of Prop C is clear in the minds of Missourians. 

The people of Missouri said loud and clear “No Obamacare”. Building the infrastructure of Obamacare is wrong because it clearly controverts the plainly understood will of the people. Koster’s contorted reasoning may impress Obama’s cronies, and he may even convince some fellow liberal attorneys, but the simple meaning of Prop C is clear in the minds of Missourians.

Related articles

• Republican ED MARTIN to Take On Chris Koster in MO Attorney General Race (thegatewaypundit.com)
• BREAKING: Ed Martin Running for Attorney General in Missouri *UPDATE* (hennessysview.com)
• Ed Martin and Scott Eckersley (24thstate.com)
• Reflections on Missouri's 2nd Congressional District (rebootcongress.blogspot.com)

Indiana Senator Dick Lugar Has Not Lived in Indiana Since the Carter Administration

The Daily Caller: Indiana Senator Richard Lugar Doesn't Live Here Anymore:

Indiana Republican Sen. Richard Lugar is running for re-election in a state he has not lived in for over 30 years.

That would seem to fly in the face of Article 1, Section 3 of the US Constitution:

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.

So, Dick Lugar has not inhabited the state which he represents since the Carter Administration, which, in light of the US Constitution, would imply that he has not been eligible to run for the United States Senate since the Gerald Ford Administration. It's time to vote for Richard Mourdock in the Indiana Senate GOP primary.

Update: I forgot to mention. Props go to Greg Wright and Diana Vice for the research and reporting on this story. Great work!

Related articles

• Indiana Senate: Dick Lugar v. Richard Mourdock (rebootcongress.blogspot.com)
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Video: Social Security's Wealth Transfer from Young to Old

Reason Magazine: Why Geezers Are the True Enemy of the Occupy Movement:

"When you look at government policies, there's a massive transfer of wealth from the young and relatively poor members of society toward the old and relatively members of society," says Veronique de Rugy, a Reason magazine columnist and economist at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University."

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Russ Carnahan: The Hatchet Man

I recently blogged about the burgeoning crony capitalist business that is the Carnahan Family (Wind) Farm. That post concluded with the following quote from the MaryvilleDailyForum.com and then my own observations:

Should Wind Capital prevail [in their lawsuit against DeKalb county], the big losers in Nodaway and elsewhere would likely be rural school districts and small-town fire and rescue units.

While I certainly support smaller government, I do not think that the fat is to be found in rural schools or small-town fire and rescue, but it sure does make sense for the Carnahans to loot those generally Republican-leaning areas of the state to provide seed capital for the next revolution in their business cycle.

Sunday morning I remembered that Russ, Nancy Pelosi's lapdog, played a role last Spring in saving 30 St. Louis firefighter jobs. One wonders if Nodaway will enjoy the same largess from Washington if Tom Carnahan wins his lawsuit against DeKalb county. Will the residents of DeKalb be able to send the bill for their "rural school districts and small-town fire and rescue units" to their fellow Americans or is that a privilege reserved for cities like St. Louis?

St. Louis spends beyond its means and when it has to cut spending it's the teachers, firefighters, police, and other needed services that are put on the chopping block. Here's how the St. Louis Post Dispatch covered Russ Carnahan's "salvation" of those 30 union firefighter jobs:

ST. LOUIS • The city has won a federal grant worth $3.2 million, which will almost certainly spare 30 firefighter jobs from imminent layoffs. 

The Department of Homeland Security notified Rep. Russ Carnahan's office this morning via e-mail. 

"They've got the grant," said Sara Howard, Carnahan's communications director. "It means they've got the money for the jobs."

The St. Louis firefighters were so grateful that they gave Carnahan an "honorary hatchet":

At an ceremony planned for 11 a.m. today at Lafayette Fire Company No. 1, the St. Louis Fire Department will present Carnahan with an honorary hatchet, in thanks for his efforts that secured a federal grant earlier this year, preventing Fire Department layoffs following a bitter dispute over pensions.

This is the same Russ Carnahan that went to the shooting range and shot three bullets. Who shoots three bullets? And, knowing that, why are you giving him more weapons!?

Related articles

• How to Grow your Crony Capitalist Business (rebootcongress.blogspot.com)
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Socialism: Gravest Threat to Freedom

zerohedge: F.A. Hayek On "The Great Utopia":

There can be no doubt that most of those in the democracies who demand a central direction of all economic activity still believe that socialism and individual freedom can be combined. Yet socialism was early recognized by many thinkers as the gravest threat to freedom.

Read the whole thing.

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How to Grow your Crony Capitalist Business

In 2009 the folks at 24thState reported on Tom Carnahan's Wind Capital Group expansion plan:

In light of the news that the Carnahan family wind farm business plans on using $90 million in stimulus and a quarter of billion in loans to build their new project, emails poured in from around the state complaining about the way the company does business.

And the way it does business is a text book examples of how crony capitalism works.

When we think about capitalism and markets we think about supply and demand. In the case of wind power, the Carnahans realized that they needed to manufacture demand. That was done when a November 2008 renewable energy ballot initiative passed in the Show Me State. Over the coming years, the amount of Missouri's energy which must be supplied by renewable sources will gradually climb to 15% in 2021.

With demand manufactured by state fiat and paid for by Missourians in the form of higher energy bills, the Carnahans now have the business justification for building their wind farms. They do not, however, have the capitalist drive to put their own money at risk, so they seek government assistance to finance their new venture.

As the 24thState article at the top indicates, this was done in part by creating an Enhanced Enterprise Zone in Dekalb county. Fast forward to October of 2010 and we learn that the "business" is paying "dividends":

In 2005, Tom Carnahan was a lawyer, and his brother was just elected to Congress. In that time, the company Tom Carnahan formed has given over 100,000 to Democrats, including the campaigns of his brother and sister, as well as to Democratic Party PACS that also give to his brother and sister.

A few days ago, MaryvilleDailyForum.com reported that it was time to expand the supply of Carnahan political donations windmills:

It took about four months longer than predicted, but the Missouri Department of Economic Development has finally approved two Enhanced Enterprise Zones designed to attract wind turbine construction countywide as well as promote various other kinds of industrial growth in the Elmo-Clearmont-Burlington Junction area. 

... 

Wind Capital Group of St. Louis currently operates the county's only wind farm, which consists of twenty-four 2.1-megawatt turbines near Conception. Those machines are not included in either EEZ and are currently assessed at the full tax rate for real property. 

As the MaryvilleDailyForum.com notes, the Enhanced Enterprise Zones reduces the property taxes that Wind Capital has to pay, that means that municipalities will have less tax revenue at their disposal. The article notes that there's a legal dispute between Wind Capital and the DeKalb County Board of Equalization about the market and assessed values of each wind turbine and concludes:

Should Wind Capital prevail, the big losers in Nodaway and elsewhere would likely be rural school districts and small-town fire and rescue units.

While I certainly support smaller government, I do not think that the fat is to be found in rural schools or small-town fire and rescue, but it sure does make sense for the Carnahans to loot those generally Republican-leaning areas of the state to provide seed capital for the next revolution in their business cycle.

h/t: POed Patriot

Related articles

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Reflections on Missouri's 2nd Congressional District

Ed Martin has decided to run for Attorney General in Missouri. He's taking some flak for having previously announced his candidacy for US Senate against Claire McCaskill and then switching to Missouri's Second Congressional District against Ann Wagner. The fact of the matter is that candidates in Missouri do not file to run in Missouri until February 28th, so while Martin has flitted around a bit, the impending filing deadline assures me that he wont be switching again.

Last Fall when Ed's supporters (and some say Ed himself) were hoping that he would enter the Missouri Governor's race, I wrote about what it would take for him to make that switch and I believe this holds for his switch to the AG race:

Yes, Ed Martin has grassroots support, but it's his ties to the Republican Party that must provide momentum for the push. The grassroots are not going to raise the million plus dollars required to put force behind that push. Furthermore, Martin will not elbow Peter Kinder out of the way even if the grassroots want him to. In short, the only realistic path I see for Ed Martin to enter the Governor's race is for the heir apparent, Peter Kinder, to pass the baton to Martin. That would involve stepping aside and endorsing Martin as well as providing an infusion of cash to a Martin for Governor campaign committee.

A lot has changed since I wrote that. Having been dogged by scandals and a lack of campaign cash, Kinder is now running for Lt Governor. Speaker of the Missouri House Steve Tilley has bowed out of the Lt. Governor race for personal and family reasons. Tilley had amassed a considerable war chest which is no longer available for the 2012 fight.

More importantly, Ed Martin has already accomplished the first thing he had to do to make this switch: he got numerous endorsements from around the state from both establishment Republicans and grassroots activists. The entire Republican delegation to Congress has endorsed him, but it's the other endorsements that speak volumes. The Republican leadership in Missouri government including Lt. Gov Kinder and Speaker Tilley as well as President Pro Tem Rob Mayer and Senator Kevin Engler have endorsed Ed. Mayer and Engler were in a fiercely contested Missouri Senate leadership battle that was ultimately decided by a coin toss in 2010. The Mayer endorsement is important for another reason. With no one willing to step forward and run for AG until Martin's announcement earlier this week, Mayer's name was one of the few floated. Having endorsed Ed, it seems likely that the primary season will be one focused on Chris Koster instead of a partisan primary fight. Given the change in the political landscape and choosing the AG office over the Governor's job, I'd give him an A- on my endorsement assignment.

Ed still has to complete the second assignment that I gave him: an infusion of cash. I expect that will come in the coming weeks and months, so I will give him through the first quarter to demonstrate that he can raise the money needed to beat Koster. At this point, he's got an incomplete for his second assignment.

How this Changes Missouri's 2nd Congressional District Race

Ann Wagner is hoping for a lightly contested primary followed by a pro forma general election that seats her in a sinecure for the next thirty years.

I don't think that's going to happen.

When Todd Akin stepped up to run for US Senate, Ann announced her candidacy for his old US House seat in Missouri's 2nd Congressional District (MO2). Ed Martin also announced his candidacy for MO2 around that time because he did not want to compete against Akin in the Senate race. I wonder if that deference is at play again. I wonder if Todd Akin is considering abandoning his bid for Senate and returning to run in MO2.

Akin has struggled to raise the money required for a Senate bid. Additionally, his campaign infrastructure has not scaled up to a state-wide effort very well. It's strained. That's not to say that he hasn't worked hard to reach out to the state--I saw him in Joplin last July--but that he has not done as well as his two competitors. And, because of his fundraising constraints, Akin has been forced to rely on family to help staff his campaign.

I think that it's probable that Akin will switch his candidacy to Missouri's 2nd Congressional District. He's got a tremendous base there. In fact, there are some areas of the district that have given him 90+% of the vote in recent primaries. Could Martin be deferring again?

Had Akin not moved to the Senate race, he would've had trouble raising any campaign funds. Had he stayed in MO2, an R+7 district, he wouldn't have needed much money to retain his seat. Jumping into the Senate race allows him to raise money against the bogey monster Claire McCaskill, but those funds will be available even if he abandons his Senate bid and returns to run against Ann Wagner in MO2. In short, was Martin's deference last Spring part of a pre-planned bait-n-switch from an Akin-Martin tag team aimed at Ann Wagner?

Probably not. Politics is too messy a business for that much duplicity...

Related articles

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Nancy keeps the spotlight on Newt

Fox News: Gingrich dismisses Pelosi claim she knows 'something':

Newt Gingrich challenged Nancy Pelosi to "bring it out" if she's got any damaging information about his past, after the House Democratic leader for the second time suggested she was sitting on information that could imperil his presidential candidacy.  

"I think if she knows something, she ought to say it, and if she doesn't know something, she ought to quit saying it," Gingrich told Fox News on Wednesday. "But this is baloney." 

Pelosi said earlier on CNN that Gingrich, who is surging in polls in Florida and nationally following his South Carolina primary win, will "never" be president.

Newt needs to stay in the news during the Republican presidential primary, so having Pelosi generate stories helps him.

Related articles

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Thoughts on Obama's SOTU Speech

Zerohedge: President Obama's State of the Union: Ten Skirted Issues:

Obama's speech was a compilation of highlights from his past ones. One part optimism, two parts repetition equals one total uninspiring. Maybe it’s so boring, because it matters so little at this point. Taking away popularity polls, our national threshold for belief in hope or change has been trampled, not just because of Obama or Romney, but of the whole political apparatus that thrives on deflection of reality and posturing. We don’t have the same energy to expend listening to politicians, the endless spin that renders fact obsolete, responsibility absent, and true accomplishment, unnecessary.

Overall, it was a disappointing speech.