As you are aware, the Democrats got slaughtered in last months midterm election. One democrat who survived was Senate majority leader Harry Reid. However, that may not last. From the Washington Times:
"With most Americans distracted by holiday plans, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, has sprung another Christmas surprise, vowing to ram through a far-left agenda in the waning days of 2010. Last year, he put a giant lump of coal in Americans' stockings with Christmas Eve passage of Obamacare.
This year, he has tried to force through a pork-loaded $1.1 trillion spendathon, dumping the nearly 2,000-page omnibus bill into the hopper four days before the Senate was supposed to adjourn. That hit a snag when Republicans actually revolted. But he also wants to ram through consent of the New START and amnesty for illegal aliens (the Dream Act) and overturn the military law barring homosexuality. Who knows what other tricks he has up his Grinchly sleeve?
Mr. Reid, who has called opponents "evil mongers," was re-elected in November to another six-year term. So what is a Nevadan who is appalled at Mr. Reid's arrogance to do?
Nevada is one of 11 states with broadly worded recall laws that allow petitioners to give citizens a chance to recall public officials - which may include members of Congress and senators - before their terms end. In fact, given the performance of the 111th Congress, 2011 may become the Year of Recall.
Here's Nevada's language:
"Every public officer in the State of Nevada is subject, as herein provided, to recall from office by the registered voters of the state, or of the county, district, or municipality which he represents." (Article 2, Sec. 9).
When I (Robert Knight) called the Nevada secretary of state's office, a nice lady asked me, "Is this about Harry Reid? No, you can't recall U.S. senators." The office sent a 1978 letter from the secretary of state that says pretty much the same thing.
The letter acknowledges that "there are no cases directly interpreting the language of Article 2, Section 9 regarding its applicability to federal officers." But citing cases involving other offices and noting that the provision describes officers "in" the state and not "of" the state, the letter concludes that the U.S. and state constitutions bar recalling U.S. senators. As Bill Clinton might say, it depends on what the meaning of "in" is. But we're still left without a federal court ruling.
The American Civil Rights Union has found that 11 states - Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin - have constitutional or statutory provisions for recall of "all," "every" or "any" elected officials. Together, these states have 21 incumbent U.S. senators, whom recall petition drives could put on the ballot in a special election. They include Democrats and Republicans. For more information, go to recallcongressnow.org.
Discontent with Congress is at an all-time high, according to Gallup's 2010 Confidence in Institutions survey, which ranks Congress at the very bottom of a long list, with just 11 percent of Americans registering a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence" in Congress (as contrasted with the military, which garners 76 percent).
If cases arise in several states, the issue will finally face constitutional scrutiny.
Meanwhile, it wouldn't hurt for the "world's greatest deliberative body" to know that a restive citizenry is determined to hold it more accountable."
If folks in the state of Nevada have a resolution to Recall Harry Reid, I would certainly support it given the great damage he's done to this country.
Background Reading:
Washington Times: Reckless Congress makes case for recall
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