A three judge panel ruled that Franken was the winner of November’s election and firmly rejected Norm Coleman’s claims to the contrary. This after a 3 month trial where Norm Coleman tried to get many previously rejected absentee ballots included but instead only increased Franken’s lead over him. Franken wins by a little over 300 votes.
So, you would think that the election board could certify him and after 6 long months Minnesota would have a senator, right? Silly readers, MN is governed by a Republican, Tim Pawlenty. Besides, the GOP party apparatus never let little things like votes stand in the way of victory. Come to think of it, neither does the Democratic party anymore, but I digress. Norm Coleman has 10 days to file an appeal. According to Richard Hasen, election law expert, Coleman’s case was dealt a heavy blow by the panel:
“It is the kind of opinion that is unlikely to be disturbed on appeal by either the Minnesota Supreme Court or the United States Supreme Court,” said Richard Hasen, an expert on election law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. “The opinion considers the major arguments made by Coleman and rejects them in a detailed and measured way.”
Added University of Minnesota political scientist Lawrence Jacobs: “This is judicial speak for ‘nothing here,’ and it is most definitely aimed at the appeals process. It’s a signal that they are supremely unimpressed by the Coleman case.”
Now, no one who read the panel’s ruling thinks that Coleman has a chance in hell of succeeding but that’s not the point. The point is to keep this dragging out as long as possible. If he has 10 days to file an appeal, we can expect it to be filed at 11:59pm on the 10th day. That will be 10 fewer days that Franken gets to be senator. And then there is the appeals process itself, which is going to cost mucho dinero. Would Norm Coleman take his case to the Supreme Court even if he hasn’t got a prayer of winning? Um, yeah. Would the Supreme Court take up the case. ponder it for awhile and then eventually rule in Franken’s favor? Sure. That’s as it should be, in Karl Rove’s world. Keep Franken out of the Senate for as long as possible. Having him in there makes Republicans dangerously irrelevent. Well, at least the Democrats would have no further excuses for acting like bankers have them by the junk. Come to think of it, *both* parties may have an interest in keeping him out of the Senate…
If you want to see Franken seated, eventually, donate here and help him keep up the good fight.
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Note to new readers: The Confluence and it’s frontpagers have no interest in the COLB (Certificate of Live Birth) controversy and think that if Obama *is* a Muslim, he has a very weird way of showing it. Frankly, we feel that there are many legitimate reasons to object to Barack Obama’s rise to power and the presidency and that the birth certificate issue is just a unproductive distraction. We don’t want to offend anyone who still thinks it is important, but we encourage you to get your fix on a more accomodating blog, like NoQuarter. Any comments on COLB or Obama’s illusory ties to Islam here may be subject to moderation.
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Filed under: Downticket Dems 2008 | Tagged: Al Franken, Minnesota, Norm Coleman, Senator |
The Confluence 
The ironic part of all of this is that Norm Coleman is represented by none other than Ben Ginsberg, who has a newly discovered belief that each and every vote should be counted.
OMG! I didn’t know that. Ben Ginsberg is even slimier than Coleman is.
I wish Hillary had taken the Colman-type approach at the Convention. Come to think of it, I wish Gore and Kerry had fought tooth and nail too.
The battle for Florida was pretty memorable. I still remember the “Surrender Gorothy” tee shirts.
Since I loathe Franken every bit as much as I loathe Franken this is one of those times when I’ll just go away. I agree with much if not most of what RD supports. Al “bomb the hell out of Lebanon” Franken is not one of them.
I don’t know anything about Coleman, but from what I read, you don’t have to know much about him to dislike him.
Al Franken wrote some funny books, but then he started showing up on teevee. Just another Conceited Smug Jackass I couldn’t understand why anyone would support. The only reason would be to get more Democrats in the Senate. Then I gradually lost track of why more Democrats in Congress was a good idea.
And to think that back in 2007 I was looking forward to Jan 20, 2009 with bright anticipation….
Oops, that should have been loathe Franken as much as Coleman. Maybe subconsciously I do loathe him more.
I mostly like Franken. yeah, he cheered for the Iraq war – – because Powell sold it, and even worse – mocked those of us calling about the stolen 2004 election (karma is a bitch). But he has a big quality – besides his sense of humor and wits: the DNC dislikes him, the Dem Senate didn’t lift a finger in this mess. And what they dislike, I love. I believe he’ll be one of the more progressive senators. Not Wellstone progressive, but better than most.
And speaking of “sort of” – some fun with the lexicon
http://edgeoforever.wordpress.com/2009/04/14/change-you-can-thesaurus-on/
Oops! I landed in moderation! Help?
Well the decision in Franken’s favor is a minor relief. I do think it’s a fair one. Maybe that’s the most important point! A fair decision regarding elections. Wow!
Yes, that’s a switch.
I am done with the two major parties. The Green Party sent a message around Facebook asking for everyone to donate $100. I am undecided. If I thought they would really use it to start party-building, I might do it. But I don’t care if Al Franken loses or has to sit on his butt. Let the Precious bail him out. Let the Democratic Party spent its hard own money. I gave Hillary quite enough, and my burns are healed.
I agree w/ you about Al. I don’t care either. I, too, gave Hill money but it will be a cold day in H-E-double hockey sticks before I give to another candidate.
Al Franken visited the troops in Iraq w/ the USO. He’s ‘likeable enough’. Hah!
I did like his radio show.
It might be worth sending Al a few dollars for the intense pleasure of watching Ben Ginsberg look apoplectic.
personally i don’t care about any either of these guys. but i do know that acorn played a big part in it & we all know how acorn works now don’t we
Yes we do and why is that okay for Franken if not elsewhere and elsewhen?
ITA
perrie my take on it .. its not ok not ok at all ..
agree!
What did Acorn do?
Not sure about acorn, but I remember hearing that franken’s team was trying to get ballots marked for obama but with the senate race blanked counted for him. Democracy rbc style.
I’m with you, boogieman, I could care less except that I don’t want the dems to have a super majority. I never thought I would ever say that the dems are dangerous.
You brought up Muslims….new piece up about Sharia Law and our Treasury Department….lots of background research by American Lassie….
Sharia Finance: Rapidly Increasing Inroads Via American Banks…With the Help of Our Treasury Department
http://insightanalytical.wordpress.com/2009/04/14/sharia-finance-rapidly-increasing-inroads-via-american-bankswith-the-help-of-our-treasury-department/
As for Franken…give him money? Why? Let Barack give him some….After being burned by the Democratic Party in general and now the news about John Edwards, whom I donated to….SCREW IT!
Very interesting link. Thanks.
I loathe Franken. To even imagine he is going a Senator for 6 years make me sick. Is that the best Minnesota had to send to Congress? Speaking of having zero experience for the job…
He is going to be another Obama rubber stamp. Yeeehh… Let’s celebrate… Not.
In Defense of NoQuarter, while they have many idiots over there, some of their stories (not all) are really good. When Larry focuses on defense, he shines.
DailyKOS is actually more the tabloid page for me than is NoQuarter….It’s wierd, you go to DK and see how distorted their “facts” are, and you wonder, were they always that way? Oh yeah, they probably were.
No Quarter has lots of good posts and they are on our blogroll. RD was just indicating that it’s a possible place to discuss conspiracy theories that we prefer not to get involved in.
No idea why the notes present re: birth cert. Must have missed those comments; thought that was a dead issue; however, why is The Confluence not covering Samson Obama’s being banned from England because he tried to sexually assault a thirteen year old girl last November?
Reuters, The Times of London and many other outlets covered it on Sunday. Why isn’t The Confluence covering it?
And was the arrest before or after the November 2008 election? I think it matters and I think when most women see “sexual assault,” they think it matters.
BBC link to story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7995544.stm
Well, I think there’s little coverage because it’s a 1/2 brother that BO doesn’t even know. So even with all the issues I have with BO, I don’t give a hoot about this story as far as BO is concerned.
If it had been Bill Clinton’s brother-full or half-you can bet your patoot it would have been Story One.
Agree SweetSue and thanks Laurie for the link. Tennesse Guerilla Women is dismissing it (in comments at TGW) as a “tabloid” topic. Good to know women run from covering sexual assault because of the ‘gross’ factor.
It’s news.
And if it was Bill’s brother, it would be “Story one” as Sweet Sue says. If it were Sarah Palin’s former classmate, it would be Story One.
Women On The Web covered it
http://www.wowowow.com/politics/obamas-half-brother-samson-denied-uk-visa-266310
And The Common Ills raised some really important points about the coverage.
1) How old is “Samson”? The press coverage doesn’t say. When do you remember reading a press report on a crime, let alone sexual assault, when an adult male’s age wasn’t given.
2) What is his name? He goes by “Samson” now but he was born Abo Obama. When do you see press reports on criminals that don’t bother to offer an “aka” or “also known as”.
3) When in November was he arrested? Before the election, after the election?
http://thecommonills.blogspot.com/2009/04/iraq-snapshot_13.html
I think the silence on this topic goes to how little valued women are.
A sitting president’s relative arrested for sexually assaulting a female minor is news.
Unless we’re all agreeing that women just don’t matter or maybe that the 13 year old was asking for it.
Sweet Sue, you betcha! There would be a special cable channel just for this topic! lol!
What would be the purpose of covering it? It doesn’t have anything to do with U.S. politics. Barack Obama can’t be responsible for everything his distant relatives do. If this guy really attacked a teenager, he should be prosecuted.
Neither does the arrest of palin’d in law a matter of public interest, but it gets covered (I’m talking about the msm, it’s the confluence writers’ business what they want to cover). If this were palin or Clinton or anyone else it would be covered extensively. Of course he’s not responsible, but with any other sitting president or vp it would be huge news, ask billy carter. Maybe it shouldn’t be news, but I can’t see making an Obama exemption on those ground when everyone else in that position has to deal with it. One standard, give everyone a free pass on stupid family members, or no one. And this guy was caught through fingerprinting, because, on his way to his brother’s inauguration he presented false documents. That would be a HUGE story and embarassment if anyone else’s relative tried it. The question of whether the us government had anything to do with the fake documents would come up.
I like Franken for the most part. He’s a bit extreme in some middle eastern policies as noted already. But he seems to have a good heart otherwise. And he was in the Clinton camp during the race, which is partly why he’s a bit of an outsider with the DNC.
I will support individual candidates for races. I don’t feel any obligation to support Franken because at this point any financial needs are completely the responsibility of the party. If they don’t support a Democrat who has one and who will add a member to the senate rolls, then why should I?
I am supporting Terry McAuliffe running for governor in my state. Though he’s a party loyalist which tends to rub me the wrong way. For example he played along with the Rush shenanigans as others were told to do, but I notice he’s stained away from the similar Palin shenanigans as the axelrove machine pivoted to her. If I see him play that way my support goes elsewhere.
Wow, some lovely misspellings. one = won and stained = stayed. Though I kind of like stained there. 🙂
I signed up to give 100 bucks, after some notes by some other people, about how Universal Health Care was still a priority…etc etc. OK, maybe they are beginning to feel the heat and from past experiences we know the Republicans are quicker at the legal elections filings as seen in Florida.
Besides, the GOP party apparatus never let little things like votes stand in the way of victory. Come to think of it, neither does the Democratic party anymore, but I digress.
LOL. So true.
Though I just can’t bring myself to care about the Dem party or how many senators they have.
They are Dead.To.Me.
i agree they wont get my vote again .. ultil they start acting like dems ..
My sentiments exactly!
As for the Green Party, they lost me when they chose Cynthia McKinney for President. It is nice to give a woman a chance, and a woman of color at that,
but Ms. McKinney is not presidential material in any way, even less than Obama.
just what we need, another comedian in the congress, and i thought nancy and barney were enough
bring in the clowns..lol.
He’s more than a comedian. He’s the real deal. Sure, we don’t agree on everything and he’s a bit too hawkish on ME stuff. But he’s a liberal through and through and there are damned few of them in the Senate right now.
If they have 60 the new goal line will be moved to 67. I am uninterested in playing the democratic excuses game. I am now firmly in the camp of both parties are corporate tools and suck. I really don’t care whether or not Franken gets the seat because I see this for what it is. Let me know when we start getting some third party choices.
If they have 60 the new goal line will be moved to 67.
Exactly
McKinney was one of the first to introduce impeachment legislation against Dubya and was an outspoken opponent of the Iraq war from day one, as well as an unrelenting advocate for Katrina victims. She has a long history of fighting on the right side of issues. Nothing wrong with her record at all. But I don’t want to get into an argument over her or sidetrack this thread 🙂
Don’t care too much about war-enabling Franken but since the Dem majority does occasionally do the right thing and even at its worst is better than a Repub majority–it’s good to see it strengthened.
McKinney has her heart in the right place, but could use some diplomacy training.
FYI: the same thing is going on in Gillibrand’s former District 20 (NY). I have a friend on the front lines of the recount battle, and GOP reps are challenging every Dem ballot–only in the Murphy friendly counties–and trying to defeat them by delay and financial hardship. In the past, I would have been furious by GOP dirty dealing. Now, it just reminds me of the Dem primaries…this is the press release from the Murphy campaign:
For Immediate Release
April 13, 2009
News Release
Before Walk Out, Tedisco Campaign Challenges More Votes in Columbia County Today Than Counted
Tedisco Campaign Blatantly Attempts to Disenfranchise Eligible Voters in Counties Favorable to Murphy on Election Day
Glens Falls, NY – On Monday, Scott Murphy’s Campaign for Congress criticized Jim Tedisco’s campaign for walking out without explanation today while absentee votes were supposed to be counted in Columbia County.
In Columbia County alone today, Tedisco’s campaign questioned whether 38 voters had the right to vote, while Murphy only made one challenge. Due to Tedisco’s stalling tactics, only 3 Election Districts out of 58 were able to be counted in Columbia County.
“We are deeply concerned that the Tedisco campaign is attempting to disenfranchise the voters of the 20th Congressional District,” said Murphy’s attorney Henry T. Berger. “The delays caused by Tedisco’s frivolous challenges and attempts to disenfranchise voters are hurting the people of the 20th Congressional District. In Columbia County alone today, Tedisco’s campaign made 38 challenges to our one before abruptly walking out on the voters. As a result of Tedisco’s tactics, only 35 ballots were counted in the whole county today.”
In the counties where Scott Murphy won, the Tedisco campaign has significantly slowed the absentee count down, including Columbia, Dutchess, Washington and Warren. In the counties where Tedisco won on Election Day – including Greene, Delaware, Otsego, and Rensselaer Counties – the domestic absentee count is complete.
“People deserve to have their votes counted without frivolous challenges and endless delays from the Tedisco campaign, so they can be represented in Congress as quickly as possible in these tough economic times,” said Berger. “We are confident that once all the absentee ballots are counted, Scott Murphy will win this election.”
The Associated Press reported in recent days that a vacant house seat in New York’s 20th Congressional District is stalling 20th Congressional District stimulus funds. [Associated Press, 4/10/09]
Background
· Before the polls even closed on Election Day, the Republicans filed a lawsuit to slow down the vote count.
· In court, on Monday, April 6, 2009 Tedisco’s campaign attempted to delay the counting of ballots until next week. The State Supreme Court sided with Scott Murphy’s campaign and agreed that absentee ballots shall start being counted Wednesday, April 8 as scheduled.
· In Columbia County — which Murphy won on Election Day–absentee ballots started being counted today at 12:45 pm. Columbia County had agreed to count ballots until 6 pm today. At 4:20 p.m., Tedisco’s people just got up and walked out. In that 3.5 hour time period, the Tedisco campaign made 38 challenges, while the Murphy campaign only made one.
Another person PUT in office by the democrats. Hope you are all planning to take part in a Tea Party..it’s only by strength from the people that all this nonsense will be stopped.