Texas Republicans have told the 5th Circuit that it needs a quick decision -- and that August 4 is the latest date for a decision that would allow for the replacement of Tom DeLay on the November ballot. It also asked Judge Sparks to stay his decision pending appeal.

Republicans pleaded with federal courts Tuesday to allow them to replace former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay on the November ballot, saying that time is running out to make the change.

In separate motions to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and to U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks, the Texas GOP said picking a DeLay replacement could "easily take 28 days" and must be completed by Sept. 1 so the state has enough time to print ballots.

Last week, Sparks ordered that DeLay's name remain on the ballot, saying efforts by Republican Chair Tina Benkiser to replace him by declaring that DeLay has become a Virginia resident violated the eligibility requirements of the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution sets residency eligibility for election day.

The Republicans asked Sparks to set aside the portion of his order that prevents the party from moving forward with selecting a new nominee.

"Given the time it will take (the Republican Party) to fulfill the requirements in choosing a replacement nominee, or nominees if the replacement candidate is already on the ballot, as is likely, the Court of Appeals' decision in (the Republican Party's) favor would have to issue before Aug. 4," the party said in a motion to Sparks.

The motion filed by party General Counsel Donna Garcia Davidson told Sparks the party wants only to proceed with the replacement process while the case is appealed to the 5th Circuit.

Party attorney James Bopp Jr. asked the federal appeals court for an expedited hearing because of the tight time frame. He proposed that all briefs be filed in the case by July 26 and that a hearing be held July 31.

While I don't think that the selection process would take that long, there is no legitimate reason for not permitting Galveston and Brazoria Counties to pick their representatives for teh District Executive Committee -- or for them to meet and decide on a replacement candidate in the interim.

After all, what is the worst possible outcome? Wasted action and Delay remaining on the ballot.

Unless, of course, you are a Democrat -- in which case the worst outcome is the selection of a candidate even more likely to beat Lampson than Tom DeLay is.

Posted by: Greg at 10:22 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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