Talk:David Karnes

Did he really resign?

The Biographical Directory lists Karnes as resigning on November 8, 1988, but based on my research, it appears that the Directory is in error, and he served until January 3, 1989.

1. A Google news search turns up absolutely no contemporary indication that Karnes resigned in 1988

2. The Congressional Record of January 3, 1989 has no mention of a resignation by Karnes (typically, when a new Congress convenes, the Record always prints the resignation notices of Senators who resigned after the adjournment of the previous Congress - e.g. Cornyn's resignation letter in the January 7, 2003 Record)

3. If he did resign, Kerrey would almost certainly have been appointed in his place (like the Brady-Lautenberg situation in 1982, where Republican Governor Kean appointed Lautenberg for the final week of Brady's term), but every source out there list his term as beginning on January 3, 1989. Possibly, Republican Governor Kay Orr might have withheld a Kerrey appointment out of partisan bitterness, but again, a Google news search for the final two months of 1988 turns up nothing regarding Orr or Kerrey

4. The Nebraska Blue Book (online here), which notes even the ultra-obscure New Year's Eve '54 resignation of Hazel Abel, clearly lists Karnes as serving "1987-1989"

In sum, either the Directory is in error, or Karnes told absolutely no one about his resignation other than the Directory's editor. Unless anyone can produce more substantial evidence that he actually resigned, I'm changing the page to read "January 3, 1989."--96.253.98.223 (talk) 03:15, 12 August 2010 (UTC)

This is correct. He did not resign and served until the expiration of his term. Go4thProsper (talk) 17:53, 1 October 2020 (UTC)

The Congressional Bioguide entries for both Karnes and Kerrey, and the Senate's all-time chronological membership list, state that the transition occurred on January 3, 1989. JTRH (talk) 18:29, 1 October 2020 (UTC)

Page format

This page reads like a resume, with many bits of information of dubious notability. I recommend a review of the article and cutting it down by eliminating some of the less noteworthy items, especially post-Senate. Go4thProsper (talk) 17:41, 1 October 2020 (UTC)

I added some citations and new information, but there appears to still be material that could be cut, especially the unsourced affiliations and activities. Interested editors are encouraged to review the updated article with this in mind. Go4thProsper (talk) 18:02, 28 October 2020 (UTC)