WestVirginiaRebel Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Politico:Colorful former Rep. Jim Traficant (D-Ohio), was able to run for his old congressional seat from a jail cell in 2002. But now that he’s out, he can’t get himself on the ballot. Traficant, who announced his candidacy in February, fell 107 signatures short of the 2,199 he needed to get onto the general election ballot as an independent, Trumbull County election officials said Monday. More than 1,000 of the 3,138 petition signatures he filed last month were ruled invalid, the county’s deputy director of elections Jodi Dibble said, for a variety of reasons — some of those who signed weren’t registered to vote, for example. Traficant will be able to appeal the board’s decision, she said. A former nine-term lawmaker who was kicked out of Congress after his 2002 convictions on racketeering, bribery and tax evasion charges, Traficant was seeking a rematch against Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan, who won the 17th District seat that year. Back then, Traficant ran against Ryan from a Minnesota prison cell —and received 15 percent of the vote as an independent candidate. Released from prison in September, Traficant joked to a tea party crowd in Hanoverton, Ohio, over the weekend that he had “more baggage than Amtrak.” Confessing that he probably would not have enough valid signatures to make the ballot, the former congressman criticized the Internal Revenue Service and complained that he has “no unions, no organized institutional support” backing him up. He spoke from the bed of a 1938 pickup truck in front of the 173-year-old Spread Eagle Tavern, a venue where Newt Gingrich, Pat Buchanan, Jack Kemp and John McCain have all held court at some point. He does, however, have some loyal supporters within the tea party movement — and within the GOP. “Even though Jim Traficant made some big mistakes in this life and paid for it with a jail sentence, a lot of people in Washington are worse,” said Dave Johnson, an Ohio businessman who chairs the Columbiana County Republican Party and moderated the tea party rally. “People like Charlie Rangel make Jim Traficant look like a Cub Scout.”________Jim Traficant literally can't get arrested these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanguine Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 It's almost too bad. I really enjoyed watch Traficant. The sturm and drang, the theater, the drama! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valin Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Comedians across the nation are in mourning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AnneV Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 It's almost too bad. I really enjoyed watch Traficant. The sturm and drang, the theater, the drama! The hair! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCTexan Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 It's almost too bad. I really enjoyed watch Traficant. The sturm and drang, the theater, the drama! The hair! I kinda liked his little furry friend. Faithful to the end! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanguine Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 The hair, the hair! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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