Minnesota Senate race inches toward (non) resolution

By GottaLaff

It's been six months:

Democrats, for now, show no indication they will try to force the issue in Washington by attempting to seat Al Franken, the comic turned politician who has been declared the winner by 312 votes over incumbent Republican Norm Coleman.

Instead the contest will be allowed to play out in Minnesota where a final resolution at the state level may come in about six or seven weeks. Coleman has asked the state's supreme court to reconsider the ruling from a special judicial panel that declared Franken the winner.

What happens after Minnesota's high court rules sometime in June is less clear. The loser could appeal to federal courts but the state's Republican governor, Tim Pawlenty, would be under pressure to certify a winner as required by state law.

"We are taking this one step at a time and are confident that the Minnesota Supreme Court will rule in our favor," Coleman spokesman Tom Erickson said.

Some-bo-dy has toked up once too often. Memo to Toker Norm: You lost. Get over it. Move on. Give Minnesota full representation in the U.S. Senate. There's a good little patriot.

[David Schultz, a professor at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota] said if Pawlenty signs the certificate he would hurt his standing among Republicans as he weighs a possible run for president in 2012. Refusing to sign could put him in contempt of court and harm his chances of winning re-election as governor in 2010.

Senator John Cornyn of Texas, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has said there would be all-out war if the Democrats try to seat Franken should he win in the Minnesota court, suggesting that all federal appeals should be exhausted first. [...]

Whoever wins will go to Washington with a poor approval rating and the knowledge that they were elected with a minority of the votes cast.

A recent poll in the Star Tribune newspaper showed Franken with a 43 percent approval rating and Coleman with 38 percent. "Both really only have the support of the base of the two parties," Schultz said.

VIDEO-- Al Franken: "Why am I grumpy? Oh, I know why."

By GottaLaff


Al Franken did an interview with the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. He's a lot more patient than I am at this point:

His recently-hired staffers, a state director and a chief of staff, are actually working for free, because Franken has no office budget. When Franken has traveled to Washington, he's either paid out of his own pocket or from the campaign's legal fund -- which itself has been the focus of a lot of fundraising activity. And he really does wish he could be involved in the important decisions being made in Washington.

Franken had a funny take on it, saying it was odd but not the worst personal crisis that can happen. "And every once in a while I'll find myself, I'll get grumpy," he said. "And I'll go, why am I grumpy? Oh, I know why -- waiting for five and a half months to see what happens! (laughing) That's why."

All thank-you cards should be directed to Toker Norm Coleman for depriving his state of a U.S. Senator, depriving Senator Al Franken of his voice and vote, and therefore depriving his country of democracy.

UPDATE: For GOP, It's Coleman or Bust

Coleman scores one: June 1

By GottaLaff

What does this court have against taxation with representation?

The court adopted the proposed briefing timeline from the Coleman campaign, allowing them more time to formulate their arguments: Coleman's brief is to be submitted by next Thursday, April 30; Team Franken will submit its brief by May 11, and a reply brief from Coleman is to be submitted by May 15.

On top of that, oral arguments have been scheduled for June 1 -- a month and a week from today.

Team Franken had called for a much quicker schedule, on the grounds that greater speed was needed in order to seat a second U.S. Senator from Minnesota, and that Coleman had already had plenty of time to come up with his arguments. But the court didn't go for it.

GOP dead set against Senator Al Franken

By GottaLaff

Hey! What do Republicans have against comedians? As a former comedy performer myself, I am hurt to the quick. Rejection's not easy, you know... sniffle snurfle:

Having just seen what President Barack Obama can do with 58 Democrats in the Senate, Republicans are more determined than ever to keep him from getting a 59th.

Especially if the 59th is Al Franken.

As we all know, the Coleman-Franken legal battle feels longer than a Sarah Palin run-on sentence. Well, maybe not that long, but I digress:

Which is exactly how Senate Republicans want it. The National Republican Senatorial Committee held a ritzy fundraiser for Coleman in Washington this week, helping him raise the money he needs to keep his legal challenges alive through a trial and then a lengthy legal process if he loses. [...]

The Democrats know how important the seat is — and they accuse the GOP of prolonging Coleman’s legal fight just to keep it empty. [...]

If Franken becomes the 59th senator to caucus with the Democrats, the GOP knows that Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will be able to railroad legislation through the Senate by picking off a single Republican moderate.

And that would be the best punch line ever.

Burris Loses Court Case

By GottaLaff

We've got the next episode of our soap opera. What next, "Blagojevich the Musical"?

The Illinois Supreme Court rejected former Attorney General Roland Burris' motion to force the Illinois Secretary of State to co-sign Burris' appointment form.

The missing signature was the main reason Senate Democrats refused to allow him to take his seat in the U.S. Senate earlier this week.

Capitol Fax: "The ball is now in US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's, um, court. Reid has said that the rule requiring the secretary of state to co-sign has never been waived in the history of the Senate. So, he'll have to back off that as well if Burris is to be seated."

"The Roland Horror Picture Show"? "HarrySpray"? "Sweeney Rod"?

I'm done now.

Stevens witness says he was coached by prosecutors

By GottaLaff

Here comes more drama:

In a new twist in a case that has seen no shortage of unusual events, a key prosecution witness in the trial of Sen. Ted Stevens has written a letter to the judge saying that some of his testimony wasn't true and that he was coached in his answers by prosecutors.

David Anderson, a nephew and once-trusted employee of Veco chief executive Bill Allen, also said the government lied in a letter to Stevens' defense attorneys that described as false an affidavit signed by Anderson in March.

Details here.