Politics

Thad McCotter's resignation forces cumbersome $650,000 special election

July 10, 2012, 5:36 PM

If you live in Michigan’s 11th Congressional District, you are presently without representation in the U.S. House. That’s because Thad McCotter resigned in a huff last week, effective immediately.

The good news is there will be a special election to replace McCotter. The bad news is the special election will take place at the same time as the regular election in November.

Since Congressional districts were redrawn this year, the November special election will take place in the old 11th District and the winner will serve the remainder of McCotter’s term in the 112th Congress—that is to say, until the new Congress takes office on January 3.

At the same time, voters in the new 11th District will elect a representative to serve in the 113th Congress. There’s overlap between the new and old districts, so some lucky voters will vote in both contests.

And since this entire process will require a special September primary, it’s going to cost local communities in the district collectively as much $650,000 they probably don’t have to make this happen.

This confusing and expensive process was completely avoidable. Even if his heart was no longer in Congress, all Thad McCotter had to do was sit quietly on backbench and cast votes for the next few months, but that proved too stressful for his delicate constitution. Instead, he quit with all the grace of a petulant teenager who didn’t get his way.

Granted, it’s been a tough year for McCotter. His vanity presidential campaign ended when Gary Busey outpolled him in the Ames Straw Poll last summer. His reelection campaign ended when it was revealed that, as a five-term Congressman, McCotter failed to collect enough valid signatures to get on the ballot. His staff allegedly sent in fakes. To add insult to injury, it was revealed this Distinguished Gentleman for Livonia spent his nights writing painfully juvenile tv scripts.

Whatever emotional or psychological baggage McCotter is carrying is no reason for him to break the implicit promise to his constituents, his party, and his fellow lawmakers to serve. The only explanation for McCotter’s abrupt departure is he’s sad that no one recognizes him as a cross between Thomas Jefferson and Mike Judge.

McCotter’s resignation was a pathetic, gutless act by a pathetic, gutless man.

In his resignation letter, McCotter talks about the challenge of finding he next job. Hopefully, he knows how to make French fries and/or is comfortable wearing a blue vest. Anyone who would walk away from Congress and his constituents the way McCotter did isn’t qualified for and trustworthy enough to hold anything more than a minimum wage mcjob.


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