Just to be clear, I don’t think she should defer to anyone else’s wishes unless she does, indeed intend to be just a “caretaker” Senator. If that is not the expectation, that label should be dispensed with by all; the press, the governor, and everyone in this thread.
She should certainly defer to sanity, and vote with the Dem caucus. Going rogue would be wrong.
Caretaker just means she is not supposed to run for that opening. Thats all. And, yeah, she should defer. A lot. Nearly always. She should vote with her party. If she starts voting with the GOP, she is wrong.
They did away with special pensions for congress critters DECADES ago. They get the same 401k options, Social Security…“FERS is a retirement plan that provides benefits from three different sources: a Basic Benefit Plan, Social Security and the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). Two of the three parts of FERS (Social Security and the TSP) can go with you to your next job if you leave the Federal Government before retirement.”
All you want to know here: FERS Information.
And the same choices in health plans as other fed employees.
Yep. And FERS requires a minimum five years of federal service (doesn’t have to be just Congressional) to vest.
Thanks. I did not know that. I’ve been contributing to FERS since 86.
A lobbyist for a super PAC that doesn’t even live in California.
Darrell Issa is questioning the Constitutionality of her appointment, because while Butler owns property in California her primary residence is in Maryland. Of course, it’ll be the Senate who decides whether her appointment is proper so who gives a shit what Darrell Issa thinks?
I think that he has a point. According to that article, the bio on her web page said that she was a resident of Maryland up until it was scrubbed just before the announcement. Where is she registered to vote?
I really liked her as the choice too.
Newsom should withdraw his first choice and appoint Issa’s opponent in the last congressional race.
That would be hilarious 
.
Ammar Campa-Najjar wouldn’t exactly fulfill Newsom’s promise, but an Arabic and Spanish-speaking former Obama intern would certainly give a number of other Republicans heartburn.
I don’t know what the Californian constitutional issues may be, but the federal constitution says:
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. (Art I, Sec 3).
She wasn’t elected, she was appointed.
A good point. She has plenty of time to establish residency.
Note that technically Dick Cheney was not eligible for Veep.
AIUI she is a long time resident of CA and owns a home in the state. Evidently, all she has to do is register to vote in CA and then she can be sworn in to her new role. I am sure Newsom and his staff saw that coming and already had a plan to address it.
Ah. Who moved to DC (or thereabouts) because her job is focused on federal politics… Much like most senators, who live near DC much of the time.
She’s an interesting pick. I wonder if she will quietly step down at the end if her term. I have to think she’ll be tempted to run for office once she has all this name recognition and experience. She certainly knows her way around fund raising and campaigning. I bet she’s on top of most of the major political issues, too.
Dick Cheney was eligible to be VP. He changed his residence from Texas to Wyoming well before the election.
Sounds like the often brought up issue of what is the difference between “residence” vs. “ domicile”. And as noticed the requirement is to be a resident “when elected” not X time prior.
Residency requirements are your basic bullshit. Has anyone ever been disqualified because they lived out of state? Look at Dr. Oz. Or Hillary Clinton (in NYS). Ya just buy a house, or rent a studio apartment, depending on how many millions you’ve got lying around, and voila! You’re a resident. It’s ridiculous to have these silly requirements. Maybe in the 18th century, it was a bigger hassle to move to a state you never lived in, or a bigger stigma to be a carpetbagger.
The only restriction for the 12th Amendment is that if both the President and Vice President candidates are from the same state, only one of the two can have electors vote for them.
Again, the whole thing is moot because Cheney reestablished Wyoming residency months before the election, but it would have been interesting if Texas electors had been forced to cast their VP votes for someone else. The result would have been a contingent election in the Senate, which was tied as a result of the 2000 election and no VP to break ties.