home

MN-Sen: Franken Still Winning, On To The MN Supremes

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Elections 2008
Posted on Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 06:52:09 PM EST
Tags: (all tags)
Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit

The opinion from the ECC (PDF). Have not read it yet. Just know that it declares Franken the winner. Coleman will appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court. More later.

Rick Hasen's take - "Coleman's Chances on Appeal Appear Quite Small."

< Univ. of Colorado NORML Chapter to Host Largest 4/20 Marijuana Event | Phil Spector Convicted of Murder >

  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


    • Display: Sort:
    MN-Sen: Franken Still Winning, On To The MN Supremes | 14 comments (14 topical)

    Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment

    With the precedent of Burris (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by Cream City on Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 07:43:07 PM EST
    and even if Pawlenty doesn't sign the certificate, my bet is that the Senate seats Franken . . . while Coleman appeals and appeals.  That said, there is a debate in the Minnesota media about whether its state law allows Franken to do so.  Some say that its state law requires the certificate, which was not required in Illinois, as we may recall. . . .

    Back I go to the Minnesota media to see the debate.

    Pawlenty will sign it (none / 0) (#6)
    by eric on Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 11:42:32 PM EST
    because it is the law.  The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled.  It is over when the state court election challenge is over.  See the March 6, 2009  Order.  HERE[PDF]

    Note, "state courts".

    Parent

    Thanks. (none / 0) (#11)
    by Cream City on Tue Apr 14, 2009 at 09:14:05 AM EST
    Some of the Twin Cities media seem confused about that. :-)

    Parent
    Yes, they do (none / 0) (#13)
    by eric on Tue Apr 14, 2009 at 11:39:04 AM EST
    A lot of speculation when the language really is pretty clear in that order.

    Parent
    They ought to read (none / 0) (#14)
    by Cream City on Tue Apr 14, 2009 at 03:25:44 PM EST
    Steve M's diary here, huh?

    Parent
    On the ground (5.00 / 2) (#2)
    by eric on Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 09:12:39 PM EST
    here in Minnesota I will say this:  People do not think Coleman has a chance anymore.  They were willing to support the process and defer to the recount and then the court challenge.  But now, not so much.  If Norm appeals, it is not good for him amongst the common folk.

    Sentiment has overwhelmingly turned (none / 0) (#8)
    by reslez on Tue Apr 14, 2009 at 06:18:07 AM EST
    against Coleman. Comments on local sites are running 8-to-1 against Coleman telling him to drop out. Lately I'm even seeing coworkers post links to giveitupnorm.com on IM tags and Twitter at work.

    I think people were willing to give Coleman a fair shake with the recount process. The trouble is after all the recounts and court rulings he hasn't gained any traction. Now we just want the sideshow to end. We just want our Senator.

    Congrats to Franken. It's been a hard road.

    Parent

    This ruling was a COMPLETE SMACKDOWN (5.00 / 2) (#10)
    by DFLer on Tue Apr 14, 2009 at 07:26:28 AM EST
    of all of Coleman's arguements.

    Good news summary in the Strib

    "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."

    Some excerpts of the  ruling:

    "The overwhelming weight of the evidence indicates that the Nov. 4, 2008, election was conducted fairly, impartially and accurately."
    ....
    "There is no evidence of a systemic problem of disenfranchisement in the state's election system, including in its absentee balloting procedures."

    [Coleman's lawyers shifted gears and began to attack the legal reasoning of the panel and the practices of state and local elections officials.

    The judges in their ruling confronted those arguments head on, defending the integrity of the state's electoral system in the strongest terms at the very end of their ruling.]


    "The citizens of Minnesota should be proud of their election system. The Secretary Of State and election officials throughout the Minnesota counties and cities are well-trained, fair, and conscientious and performed their duties admirably. Minnesota could not conduct elections without the hard work and diligence of its dedicated professionals and citizen volunteers, and the court is proud of their service."

    (Thank you judges...as one of those citizen volunteers, I was getting pretty pissed at being dissed by Coleman's lawyers.- me)

    Coleman's arguments were losers (none / 0) (#12)
    by Cream City on Tue Apr 14, 2009 at 09:18:00 AM EST
    in calling Minnesota elections poorly run.  That didn't gain him favor.

    That said, the best that can be said is that Minnesota elections seem to be run about as well as any in this country -- which isn't saying much.  The evidence did show that, even in Minnesota, the interpretation of the standards is left to locals, so it can vary from one side of the road to another (when the road is the county line).  I've seen that in my state next door, too.

    So Minnesota may be the best evidence yet of the need for more uniform guidelines -- but it won't happen.

    Parent

    Coleman pays Franken's court costs (none / 0) (#3)
    by Cream City on Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 09:43:52 PM EST
    according to the Twin Cities press.  No prob, that's less for the Repubs behind him to have for other fights.

    Interesting comments on the Strib story.  As one points out, Klobuchar is vulnerable (a McCaskill of Minnesota in many ways), and Coleman could have contested her seat -- had he handled this well.  But not now, says the commenter.  I'm not there, but from what I've seen in comments over the months, I would suspect that is so.

    Klobuchar is not vulnerable (none / 0) (#4)
    by andgarden on Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 11:02:14 PM EST
    according to any poll I've ever seen. She has sky-high approval ratings.

    Parent
    Indeed (none / 0) (#5)
    by eric on Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 11:34:48 PM EST
    Klobuchar is very popular.  I don't really get it, but then I didn't get how she was able to win so handily.  For reference, her dad was a well known and popular columnist and sports writer.  She worked her way up in DFL (Democratic Farmer-Labor Party), which is the Dem party here, and she is probably a safe, unchalengable Senator.  She generally votes the right way and is a reliable Democrat.

    Parent
    She has a substantive soccer mom shtick. (none / 0) (#7)
    by andgarden on Tue Apr 14, 2009 at 12:13:56 AM EST
    I guess that plays well in the midwest.

    Parent
    Klobuchar seems to (none / 0) (#9)
    by reslez on Tue Apr 14, 2009 at 06:23:28 AM EST
    connect with people on an everyday level. People like her personally. I remember my mom telling me with approval that Klobuchar had taken her young daughter shopping for clothes on election day since they'd had no time during the rush of the campaign. Klobuchar's very smart and seems to have a lot of "middle class" sense that goes down well here.

    I wouldn't be surprised to see Michelle Bachman, the darling of Fox News, challenge her. Now there would be a nasty campaign.

    Parent

    MN-Sen: Franken Still Winning, On To The MN Supremes | 14 comments (14 topical)

    Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment