Thread: Help REMOVE SEN NELSON FROM OFFICE - NE

TO: Organization Leaders in Nebraska and Other States: Shown below is a rally and petition drive we are doing in an attempt to remove Sen. Ben Nelson FROM OFFICE. THIS IS A NATIONWIDE EFFORT - we need everyone's help to pass this information and form along. Shown below is the Petition to have Nelson either resign or be removed from office.....and the constitutional reference in this petition is shown at the end of this email.

Please look over the information - cut and paste into your own email and forward to your email list. Please, please ask your people to support this effort by contacting their U.S. Senator ( ANY U.S. SENATOR can introduce the Resolution to have him removed). Any questions or feedback, please contact me. Thank you. Susan

ACTION ALERT: RAT Rally and Petition to have Senator Ben Nelson either resign or removed from office by expulsion.


Saturday, Jan 16, 2010 and Sunday, Jan 17, 2010
Noon - 2pm 72nd & Dodge Rd. N.E. Corner Omaha, Ne

As mentioned in a previous email, Nebraska citizens may join us in "RAT" mask & tails (or come as you are) to hold signs, hand out petitions and take signatures requesting Senator Ben Nelson resign from office OR request any U.S. Senator to introduce a Resolution to Remove Sen Nelson from office by Expulsion. I'm scheduled to be on radio KFAB 1110AM on the Scott Voorhees show about 9:30 am Friday Jan 15th. We need your help in sending this information to as many people as you can - please print and circulate the petition.

One of our members will be wearing a full body RAT costume while others will wear rat masks and tails or Sen Nelson's picture glued to a rat trap attached to their clothing. Rat masks/tails are hard to come by and expensive so our members have given creative suggestions for those who would like to participate in the "rat" theme. Think of this as an investment because we plan on wearing the rat stuff anytime we hear that Senator Nelson is going to be somewhere in town and at future rallies:

1. Google Rat Mask & Tails and a site will come up that has a two piece costume starting at $70.00 it will also give you a site that tells you how to make a rat mask and tail...OR...you can have one custom made by a local costume company for cost of material and $16.50 per hour (see me for info).....OR YOU CAN....

2. Piece together a costume by substituting mouse pieces.....Large black Mouse Ears (on a headband) for $4.99 or you can cut rat ears out of black construction paper and glue them onto a headband. You can make a rat's tail by using a wire hanger - shape it and then wrap it with black electrical tape or black material and loop it onto your belt....for a mouse nose for $5.99 go to halloweencostumes.com (they also have a mouse set w/sound for $10.99 OR trace the picture of the mouse mask (off of the site) onto white paper, then use black or grey construction paper to trace it onto, then for the whiskers cut some bristles off of your broom and tie it in the middle and glue it onto the traced mask, punch a hole on either side of the mask and run a shoelace through it to tie around your head (or use elastic)....OR YOU CAN...

3. Purchase 3"x 7" Rat Traps at hardware stores for $1.79, print off a face picture of Sen Nelson glue it onto the rat trap and attach it to your lapel, jacket or gloved hands (you can use a mouse trap too) - or you can draw or glue whiskers and rat ears to his picture and glue it onto a clothes pin and attach it to your clothing. This would be something you could carry in your purse or glove compartment just in case you're out on the town and see Senator Nelson.

PETITION

I, the undersigned citizen of the United States request the resignation of United States Senator Benjamin E. Nelson (NE-D) OR pursuant to the United States Constitution Article 1, Section 5, Clause 2 request a United States Senator enter a Resolution to Remove Senator Nelson by Expulsion.

While there are no specific grounds for an expulsion expressed in the Constitution the undersigned believe he has subverted or denied the majority voice of his constituents which is taxation without representation; has voted on legislation which may cause financial ruin to the State of Nebraska and the United States; and that he may have either conspired or succumbed to bribery or extortion in exchange for his vote(s).

Date Name (Print) Signature Address (City, State, Zip)

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Contact Susan G. Smith at 402-991-5015 Email: nagsusansmith@yahoo.com We are asking citizens in every state to sign and circulate this petition then call your U.S. Senators to request they introduce a Resolution to Remove Sen. Ben Nelson from office by Expulsion - the toll free D.C. numbers are: 1-866-220-0044 or 1-877-851-6437. Call Sen Nelson, ask him to resign. Thank You.

Summary

Under the United States Constitution and congressional practice, Members of Congress may have their services ended prior to the normal expiration of their constitutionally established terms of office by their resignation or death, or by action of the House of Congress in which they are a Member by way of an "expulsion," or by a finding that in accepting a subsequent public office deemed to be "incompatible" with congressional office, the Member has vacated his congressional seat.

Under Article I, Section 5, clause 2, of the Constitution, a Member of Congress may be removed from office before the normal expiration of his or her constitutional term by an "expulsion" from the Senate (if a Senator) or from the House of Representatives (if a Representative) upon a formal vote on a resolution agreed to by two-thirds of the Members of the respective body present and voting. While there are no specific grounds for an expulsion expressed in the Constitution, expulsion actions in both the House and the Senate have generally concerned cases of perceived disloyalty to the United States, or the conviction of a criminal statutory offense which involved abuse of one's official position. Each House has broad authority as to the grounds, nature, timing, and procedure for an expulsion of a Member. However, policy considerations, as opposed to questions of authority, have appeared to restrain the Senate and House in the exercise of expulsion when it might be considered as infringing on the electoral process, such as when the electorate knew of the past misconduct under consideration and still elected or re-elected the Member.

As to removal by recall, the United States Constitution does not provide for nor authorize the recall of United States officers such as Senators, Representatives, or the President or Vice President, and thus no Member of Congress has ever been recalled in the history of the United States. The recall of Members was considered during the time of the drafting of the federal Constitution in 1787, but no such provisions were included in the final version sent to the states for ratification, and the specific drafting and ratifying debates indicate an express understanding of the Framers and ratifiers that no right or power to recall a Senator or Representative from the United States Congress exists under the Constitution. Although the Supreme Court has not needed to directly address the subject of recall of Members of Congress, other Supreme Court decisions, as well as the weight of other judicial and administrative decisions, rulings and opinions, indicate that (1) the right to remove a Member of Congress before the expiration of his or her constitutionally established term of office is one which resides exclusively in each House of Congress as expressly delegated in the expulsion clause of the United States Constitution, and (2) the length and number of the terms of office for federal officials, established and agreed upon by the states in the Constitution creating that Federal Government, may not be unilaterally changed by an individual state, such as through the enactment of a recall provision or a term limitation for a United States Senator or Representative. Under Supreme Court constitutional interpretation, since individual states never had the original sovereign authority to unilaterally change the terms and conditions of service of federal officials agreed to and established in the Constitution, such a power could not be "reserved" under the 10th Amendment.



Recall of Legislators and the Removal of Members of Congress from Office

Introduction

This report discusses briefly the manner in which a Member of Congress may be removed from office by "expulsion," and then examines the issue of "recall" of legislators.

The term of office established in the United States Constitution for a United States Senator is six years, and for a Representative in Congress, two years.1 Under the Constitution and congressional practice, Members of Congress may have their services ended prior to the normal expiration of their constitutional terms of office by their resignation, death, or by action of the House of Congress in which they sit by way of an expulsion,2 or by a finding that a subsequent public office accepted by a Member is "incompatible" with congressional office and that the Member has consequently vacated his seat in Congress.3 As noted in the rules and manual of the House of Representatives with respect to the way in which vacancies may be brought about: "Vacancies are caused by death, resignation, declination, withdrawal, or action of the House in declaring a vacancy as existing or causing one by expulsion."4

Although considered in the Federal Convention of 1787, there was never a provision adopted in the United States Constitution for the "recall" of elected federal officials, such as Members of Congress, and thus no Member of the Senate or the House of Representatives has ever been recalled in the history of the United States. As noted by the United States Supreme Court, individual states never possessed the original sovereign authority, and thus could not have "reserved" such power under the 10th Amendment, to unilaterally change the terms, qualifications, and conditions of service of federal officials created in the United States Constitution.5

Expulsion

Members of Congress may be involuntarily removed from office before the normal expiration of their constitutional terms by an "expulsion" from the Senate (if a Senator) or from the House of Representatives (if a Representative) upon a formal vote on a resolution agreed to by two-thirds of the membership of the respective body who are present and voting.6 The United States Constitution expressly provides at Article I, Section 5, clause 2, that: "Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two-thirds, expel a Member."

An expulsion is a process, often considered inherent in parliamentary bodies, which is characterized as a self-disciplinary action necessary to protect the integrity of the institution and its proceedings.7 An expulsion is different from an "exclusion." An "exclusion" is not a disciplinary matter against a current Member, but rather a decision not to seat a Member-elect, by a simple majority vote of the House or Senate, upon a finding that the Member-elect is not entitled to a seat either because of a failure to meet the constitutional qualifications for office (age, citizenship and inhabitancy in the State), or that the Member-elect was not "duly elected."8

Members of Congress are not removed by way of an "impeachment" procedure in the legislature, as are executive and judicial officers, but are subject to the more simplified legislative process of expulsion.9 A removal through an impeachment requires the action of both Houses of Congress?"impeachment in the House and trial and conviction in the Senate; while an expulsion is accomplished merely by the House or Senate acting alone concerning one of its own Members, and without the constitutional requirement of trial and conviction.

An expulsion from the Senate or the House of Representatives is considered the most severe form of congressional self-discipline. While there are no specific grounds for an expulsion expressed in the Constitution, expulsion actions in both the House and the Senate have generally concerned cases of perceived disloyalty to the United States Government, or the conviction of a criminal statutory offense which involved abuse of one's official position.10 In the United States Senate, 15 Senators have been expelled, 14 during the Civil War period for disloyalty to the Union (one expulsion was later revoked by the Senate),11 and one Senator was expelled in 1797 for other disloyal conduct.12 In the House of Representatives, five Members have been expelled, including three during the Civil War period for disloyalty to the Union.13 Two other House Members have been expelled, one in 1980 after conviction of conspiracy and bribery in office, and the other Member in 2002 after conviction for conspiracy to commit bribery, receiving illegal gratuities, fraud against the Government in receiving "kickbacks" from staff, and obstruction of justice.14 Although actual expulsions from Congress are fairly rare, it should be noted that several Members of Congress have chosen to resign from office rather than face what was apparently perceived as an inevitable congressional expulsion.15

The authority within the Constitution of each House of Congress to expel one of its own Members is unrestricted on the face of the constitutional language, except as to the requirement for a two-thirds approval. Although such authority appears to be extensive as to the grounds, nature, timing, and the procedure for the expulsion of a Member,16 policy considerations, as opposed to questions of power or authority, may have generally restrained the Senate and the House in the exercise of their authority to expel. Such restraint has been particularly evident when the conduct complained of occurred prior to the time the Member was in Congress,17 or occurred in a prior Congress, when the electorate knew of the conduct and still elected or re-elected the Member.18 The apparent reticence of the Senate or House to expel a Member for past misconduct after the Member has been duly elected or re-elected by the electorate, with knowledge of the Member's conduct, appears to reflect in some part the deference traditionally paid in our heritage to the popular will and election choice of the people.19 In 1914, the Judiciary Committee of the House detailed various policy considerations in expulsions for past misconduct:

In the judgment of your committee, the power of the House to expel or punish by censure a Member for misconduct occurring before his election or in a preceding or former Congress is sustained by the practice of the House, sanctioned by reason and sound policy and in extreme cases is absolutely essential to enable the House to exclude from its deliberations and councils notoriously corrupt men, who have unexpectedly and suddenly dishonored themselves ....

But in considering this question and in arriving at the conclusions we have reached, we would not have you unmindful of the fact that we have been dealing with the question merely as one of power, and it should not be confused with the question of policy also involved. As a matter of sound policy, this extraordinary prerogative of the House, in our judgment, should be exercised only in extreme cases and always with great caution and after due circumspection, and should be invoked with greatest caution where the acts of misconduct complained of had become public previous to and were generally known at the time of the member's election. To exercise such power in that instance the House might abuse its high prerogative, and in our opinion might exceed the just limitations of its constitutional authority by seeking to substitute its standards and ideals for the standards and ideals of the constituency of the member who had deliberately chosen him to be their Representative. The effect of such a policy would tend not to preserve but to undermine and destroy representative government.20

The authority to expel has thus been used cautiously, particularly when the institution of Congress might be seen as usurping or supplanting its own institutional judgment for that of the electorate as to the character or fitness for office of someone the people have chosen to represent them in Congress.21

You can listen live here:

http://www.kfab.com/main.html

The link is on the top left hand corner of the page.

I've already received support from grassroots Americans and organizations in WI, OK, MO and WA.

Another person is willing to donate money to buy "RAT BUMPER STICKERS" a bumper sticker that reads "A Democratic Rat Named Ben". Anyone have a site that provides inexpensive bumper stickers?

Thanks.

Try this bumper sticker make/design and order site:

http://www.bestdecal.com/?OVRAW=inexpen ... OVNDID=ND1

Great bumper sticker website. Thank you for your help.

Nebraskans Advisory Group (NAG)
Susan Smith 402-991-5015 nagsusansmith@yahoo.com


RESULTS FROM SATURDAY'S RAT TALLY: We had about 12 members show up to hold signs....some wore rat costumes or masks. In spite of the cold, we had plenty of people stopping by to sign and pick up petitions including the GOP rep from Douglas County and Fremont - and the sincere gratitude expressed by these people was so amazing! There was plenty of support from cars passing by too and a couple of pictures were taken with children and the big furry rat costume. (You do NOT have to be a registered voter to sign the petition - anyone of age in any city or state may sign) MEDIA coverage was plentiful....the Associated Press photographer stopped by (I don't know when they'll be running the story) - Channel 3 (KMTV.com) did the best story including showing petition being signed - Channel 42 (KPTM..com) story was good but it didn't mention the petition and Channel 7 (KETV.com) took video but didn't run it on the news Saturday evening - so maybe tomorrow (or maybe they'll use it for the next time they run a follow up story on Sen Nelson) Can someone post CHAN 3's video on YOU TUBE? - You can listen to Scott Voorhees radio show interview with my from Friday Jan 15th on his Vintage Voorhees link near the top left of his webpage at http://www.kfab.com/pages/voorhees.html - Note that you can usually post a comment at the end of each of these articles - let your voice be heard! SPECIAL THANKS to everyone who showed up to help run this rally and to all who made suggestions - teamwork really made this effort successful! A REMINDER FOR RALLY TOMORROW: Below is the rally information - please come by - stand with us, hold a sign, take pictures, sign and pick up petitions, (donations are welcome to help cover the cost of the rat costume rental, printing and signage cost). Just come by to say hi. p.s. you may want to check on two campaigns that are also going on: Douglas County Republican Party has launched a "Sen Nelson Pink Slip" campaign www.dcrponline.com and a new blog called www.givebentheboot.com




ACTION ALERT: RAT Rally and Petition to have Senator Ben Nelson either resign or removed from office by expulsion.

Saturday, Jan 16, 2010 and Sunday, Jan 17, 2010

Noon - 2pm 72nd & Dodge Rd. N.E. Corner

Omaha, Ne