Franken Won. Minnesotans Want Coleman to Concede

From the great state of Minnesota:

"63% of voters in the state think that Coleman should just concede the race himself.  That includes almost all of Franken and Dean Barkley’s supporters, as well as a third of respondents who voted for Coleman last fall.

59% express support both for Pawlenty certifying Franken as the winner and for Franken being seated immediately."

Time for Coleman to go. If the repub party wants a future in Minnesota, then Coleman should concede. 

Franken Wins! (Again)

The three-judge panel presiding over the Minnesota senate recount appeal has unanimously ruled in favor of Al Franken. From the analysts I have read, the judges did a good job on their opinions. They were pretty conservative in their judgements and made a successful appeal that much harder for Coleman. 

Coleman will most likely continue to fight, his legal team expenses being paid for by national repubs, in order to keep the 59th dem senator from casting a vote in the senate. 

The problem is the national repubs might be hurting Minnesota state repubs. The state repub party could be hurting themselves down the line with this drawn out circus.  

Victory for Franken (But Its Not Over)

Today the Minnesota court has rule that only 400 ballots, of the almost 1000 that Coleman and Franken had asked to be recounted, be recounted in the election. Almost ensuring that Franken will maintain his lead and thus be named as the freshman senator from Minnesota.

Does that mean its over for Coleman. Oh, hell no. His lawyer is already shouting appeal:

“If the court does not reverse its decision, it will give us no choice but to appeal that order to the Minnesota Supreme Court.”

Why the long drawn out process. At this point in time Coleman doesn't give a rats ass about the citizens of Minnesota. Its all political for this one. The GOP is better served not having Franken in DC because that means the dems would stay at 58 senators and not 59. 1 shy of the glorious 60 needed to end GOP's fillibustering.

What happens at the end of this long line? Well, some say that once the Minnesota Supreme Court rules, (most likely in Franken's favor), the state could give Franken a certificate and let him temporarily represent Minnesota awaiting any further appeals.

At the end of the day, Coleman sees the writing on the wall. He has a new job and is dealing with his other legal problems. It seems his wife has getting paid by an insurance company to do nothing. Fishy stuff.

Coleman Doesn't Want to Win

Time has an article out about the Minnesota recount. It talks about the strategies of both sides, but something interesting is this article.

"Elections law experts say that Coleman has been laying the groundwork for an appeal ever since that mid-February ruling. Indeed, it's not rare these days to hear Coleman's attorneys claim the ruling violated the equal protections clause of the U.S. Constitution."

So, it appears that Coleman doesn't give a crap about Minnesota... just himself.

Coleman Going Down The Tubes

With the GOP raising tons of cash to help pay Colemans legal fees (to keep Franken out of the senate), it would seem that Coleman might be able to pull something off but at the end of the day he doesn't need money. He needs votes and he's still behind by some 225+ votes.

Over the past couple of weeks, it has become obvious that Coleman's chances are dwindling. Now, judges are keeping out votes Coleman wants in and adding votes he doesn't want in. 

The point here is: Coleman has no chance. He knows it because he got a new job. And he is only keeping Franken out of the Senate and wasting Minnesota tax payer money with this assinine suit. 

If there ever was a fork that needed to be stuck in someone it is Coleman.

GOP Loves The Long Franken/Coleman Fight

It seems that the GOP has no intention of letting Franken come in early. While Franken leads by 225 votes, it appears that the GOP doesn't want him there anytime soon. This could be because they don't like him but it also helps out the GOP. From an article in The Hill

"As the long and contentious court case drags on before a three-judge panel in Minnesota, it could be weeks, or even months, before either Franken or Coleman is seated." 

Their obstructionist ways are aided by the fact that the dems need a minimum of 2 repubs to defect on every piece of legislation instead of 1 if Franken were in the senate. You can see this in the stimulus bill. Dems picked off 3 repubs but it came at a fairly big cost (education rebuilding, health care...) 

With the likelyhood that Coleman loses (even he sees the writing on the wall by getting a new job), this lack of a dem senator makes it harder to get to the fillibuster proof majority.