Yes, the one before the MNSC should be fairly quick in Franken's favor. Repubs are encouraging Coleman to go to the USSC to delay as long as possible the seating of Franken. What's hilarious is that their USSC appeal would be based on Bush v. Gore, which the court, in an incredibly cowardly ruling, said is only applicable to the case of Bush v. Gore. They won't open that can of worms again and it's only a matter of time before Al is seated. How much time depends on how much the Repubs can throw sand in the gears.
judoka, perhaps you can tell me/us why you would prefer Coleman to Franken? (at least it seems to me)
"I don't know how the Democratic Party operates because I'm not one of them, but every time we had an opening, somebody like Karl Rove and Ken Mehlman and the Republican apparatchiks in the White House decide who is going to represent Minnesota. Closed out the party, closed out everybody else. That's what's going on now... 'We will continue to fund you, just to keep the Democrat out of the Senate.' At some point, somebody has to deal with what's the will of the people of Minnesota." -- Former Sen. David Durenberger (R-MN), quoted by MinnPost, on the meddling of the RNC in the disputed Minnesota Senate race. http://politicalwire.com/
The Republicans obviously have no idea how this hardball, obstructionist garbage just puts them further down the drain with independent swing voters. In the last few months, I've gone from thinking it was a complete farse that Al Franken got nominated by the Dems to cheering him on now because I hate the national Republican party with "every fiber of my being" (to borrow a phrase). I've been following this fairly closely and it's been obvious what Coleman and the GOP are doing. They should be ashamed of themselves. Last summer or whenever it was, I lampooned and blasted the Dems for nominating Franken. Now I actually want someone I consider a clown to become a U.S. senator. Amazing, thanks to the disgusting Republican party.
That is true. Based on the rhetoric so far out of the Coleman legal team they very well are looking at the Bush v. Gore decison as a precedent. There is still an open question whether after the MNSC decision if someone can be seated even if there is a USSC case.
I think Franken is a pretty smart guy! Here is a few clips you might want to check out of Al when you get some time. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZHx0oLrGjKY&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZHx0oLrGjKY&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/susZ2ceEHwk&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/susZ2ceEHwk&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tYV4D_jKepc&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tYV4D_jKepc&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/CNhpmlZDAs0&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CNhpmlZDAs0&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
Franken is a sharp and witty guy but I don't think he has the temperment to be a Senator especially when it comes to working with the other party or even some of those in his own party. Franken during the election came off more as either a bore, a party hack or brittle. He's a good writer, somewhat funny but a not a good politician.
If the court follows itself, it wont matter. The USSC said in its opinion that Bush v. Gore should be interpreted as a singular incident and not a precedent. The court ruled purely on time constraints that don't exist for this case. (specifically the date in which electors are certified) The USSC ruled 7-2 that there were equal protection violations with the Florida case but a full recount couldnt happen because of the date by which electors had to be certified. Long story short, Bush v. Gore doesn't do a damn thing for Coleman. Coleman needs to just stop already, its gotten way out of hand.
^ Don't disagree with the analysis and I'm just relating what I hear in the news. I'm not privy to the inside working of Coleman's legal strategy and frankly everything they've done after the official recount has smacked of desperation.
Did you see Maddow's show tonight? She had Governor Pawlenty on and you should have seen him dance around while trying not to give a straight answer to what he thought of Coleman taking this to the US Supreme Court. My thought was that he's hurting himself in Minnesota by doing that. What are your thoughts? Do you think Coleman risks damaging himself with the state's electorate because of this? Oh, and I'm not crazy about Franken myself, but he's a member of my party and he appears to have won, so I want him to take his seat.
What risk? Based on some of his actions, Coleman doesn't seem to want an electoral future in Minnesota. He's already made plans to be a lobbyist when this ends. I don't live in Minnesota, but I betcha if they had a re-vote tomorrow, Franken would trample him. Coleman has long sold out to dragging this thing as long as he possibly can and scorching the Earth to please his national party. The bridge to Minnesota voters is already burnt to a crisp, so a little more fire won't matter since he has no plans on walking it again.
You misunderstood me. I was talking about the risk to Pawlenty of this mess dragging itself to the US Supreme Court due to Coleman and the GOP. If you had watched the Maddow show, you might understand what I mean. I think he's putting himself out on a limb for Coleman. Sishir might disagree, which was why I was interested in his take on it. I could be completely off-base. Maybe the folks in that state are enjoying watching this farce play itself out, with (IMO) the tacit approval of Governor Pawlenty.
Poor Pawlenty... should have been the VP nominee, only to wathc Palin waltz in and now he's caught between his party and what's best for his state. Sucks to be a Republican these days.
There are a lot of people, not just Democrats, saying Coleman should give this up and Coleman isn't clear about what his future will be, provided he doesn't somehow win this through the courts. Its not completely clear that Coleman has decided it is the Senate or no elected office in MN ever again since he had previously expressed an interest in running for governor again at some point. Right now his odds of winning another race are very slim indeed and it at the moment another race for another office doesn't seem likely. The Coleman strategy though if it works would result in a revote of the Senate race as their strategy of late has to be to argue that it is impossible to determine a winner from this race so another vote needs to be taken. At the moment Coleman's chances of winning that seem low but Franken isn't immune from shooting himself in the foot and in the rare possibility of a revote who knows. As for Pawlenty's future its unclear if he will run for governor again in 2012. At the moment his reputation doesn't appear to be taking a beating over the Coleman mess and it seems like the electorate aren't tying Pawlenty too much to Coleman. Pawlenty has been very careful to not inject himself in this and so far both he and the DFL Secretary of State Mark Ritchie have been very neutral and followed the letter of the law. That could change once the MNSC rules and if a USSC appeal is filed. It is unclear if a certificate of election can be issued then and Ritchie is saying yes while Pawlenty is saying no.
Also while the Coleman legal cases are still news locally they are taking a backseat to the budget negotiations and Red River flooding. For the moment it seems like most Minnesotans have accepted having only one Senator and Pawlenty's political standing is much more affected by how the budget is handled.
