The Minnesota Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Coleman v Franken, A09-697, on Monday, June 1. The issue is whether 4,400 absentee ballots from last year’s U.S. Senate election should be counted. Because Franken leads in the official recount by 312 votes, his attorneys argue that lower courts were correct to reject those uncounted absentee ballots. Even if the Supreme Court reverses the lower court and allows some or all of the uncounted absentees to be counted, no one knows whether counting them would be good or bad for Coleman. Thanks to Rick Hasen for this news.
Go ahead and count them. That would be fair. I would hate to be one of the 4400 whose vote was not counted.
Here is one more example of what is wrong with the whole concept of government, at least as so widely held today in the United States.
Government is not there just to protect rights: It is there to allow the victors at the polls to wield power.
(Essentially there are victors and victims.)
That some low-I.Q. vulgarian such as Al Franken could even be considered worthy of holding a seat in the United States Senate shows just how low is our estimation of that body.
But the Senate’s reputation should be low, considering that it now contains the likes of Ted Kennedy, Harry Byrd, and Harry Reid.
And remember that it formerly held the likes of Theodore G. Bilbo, even more of a racist than Byrd, and also a member of the Ku Klux Klan.
It’s interesting that every one of those named above were or are Democrats, but I certainly do not by this list intend to say anything nice about the Republican Party.
Both of the old parties exist to seek power, and We the People apparently exist to enable them and to provide wealth and fame and power to them.
Most legal pundits give Norm Coleman’s chance of winning his Mn. Supreme Court battle, reversing the vote count and winning the election, close to the equivalent of a snowball’s chance in hell. Unfortunately there are many people out there who believe that all the legal machinations by Mr. Coleman means that he can win the fight and/or the election is being stolen by Al Franken.
Mr. Coleman has many hurdles, he has raised the only claim, he could have used, that of his denial of equal protection under the law was predicated by “unequal” way in that ballots, especially absentee ballots were counted. The evidence and court precedence is clearly against him and his chance of pervailing are very low. If by chance, he does prevail, and the 4400 0dd ballots were rejected unlawfully, he still has to face the hurdle that the absentee ballots favored Mr. Franken by over 10 percent, which means for every 10 ballots counted, Mr. Franken would gain a vote over Mr. Coleman. Ironically, many of the ballots that Mr. Coleman wants approved to be counted were the same ones he wanted to remain uncounted at the appeals trial! Why would Mr. Coleman prolong this, if all indications are, he will lose?
Well, there is a very small chance he could win, which are as about as good as the proverbial snowball, but it is a hope nonetheless. But the reason that most now believe is that the longer the delay in seating Mr. Franken, the longer the Democrats will have to wait to push President Obama’s agenda. A small and Pyhrric victory.
The scenario that everyone believes will playout is that the Mn. Supreme Court will rule in Mr. Franken’s favor and will order an election certificate to be issued, which Gov. Pawlenty will be glad of, as it takes away his ability to decline to sign it. The Dems will attempt to seat Mr. Franken and the Republicans and Mr. Coleman will appeal to fed court and ask for an injunction to be issued to stop the seating. This will fail on constitutional grounds as It is the US Senate and only the US Senate, which decides when and whom is to be seated. “fait acompli” for the Dems.
But this all make for good theatre and proves that every vote counts. I bet there are probably 500 Republicans who didn’t vote last novemeber and the can reap the wisdom of there decision come June.
Oh so difficult for LEGAL votes to be LEGALLY counted in this New Age of MORON laws, MORON law enforcment (counting the LEGAL votes) and MORON courts — legislative, executive and judicial MORONS.
See Bush v. Gore 2000 – the ENTIRE MORON govt in Florida — with NO definition of a LEGAL vote back then in Florida.
A Fed case will likely be filed by Coleman if he loses in the MN Supremes — the party hack U.S.A. Supremes await.
The gerrymander U.S.A. Senate is one of the, if not THE, most ANTI-Democracy legislative bodies in the U.S.A. — nonstop blowhard party hack oligarchs — many from the very small States.
Sorry — CA is NOT WY — regardless of ALL of the brainwashed MORONS who love the 3 U.S.A. minority rule systems created in the 1787 top secret Federal Convention — U.S.A. House of Reps, Senate and Prez/VP Electoral College.
P.R. Now — Total Votes / Total Seats = EQUAL votes needed for each seat winner.
#3 I agree that’s the scenario that will almost certainly play out. I would like to see a time limit requiring that all election related cases be resolved between election day and the start of the next Congress. 2 months should be quite sufficient to count ballots. It’s an election for an office with a limited term after all, not a lifetime coronation. The loser should try to do the least damage possible to his/her reputation and focus on winning the next time. Coleman has probably terminated his political career through his recent actions.
I wonder if the Democrats will make Franken senior to Specter? That should prove interesting.
Well, it is interesting. How many mistakes can a vote make before their ballot is not counted? Interesting question with little consistency involved.
If I was Coleman I’d fight this too. After seeing all of the spoiled (improperly filled out) ballots I wouldn’t accept defeat until it had gone to the very top of the totem pole. Electronic voting machines may require a total leap of faith on the voter’s part, but I almost prefer that over paper ballots that can go one way or the other depending on who’s counting.
So if everyone is convinced that Franken would win even with the uncounted absentee votes counted, doesnt it seem strange that he isn’t going yes yes yes count them and get this over with.
Franken is fighting this tooth and nail which means his team thinks the odds are much better than a snowballs chance in hell.As a conservative i’d be very happy with all the votes counted the same way tomorrow and Franken winning by even more votes than seeing this go to court. At least for a change D’s would be supporting the idea of all votes counted the same way.
Actually, the vote count ceased to have any meaning in this contest after Coleman’s early lead of a few hundred votes. At that time Coleman suggested that were he Franken, he would concede to “let the healing begin.” When a subsequent recount showed Coleman behind, he discarded his own advice to “let the healing begin” and started the long process of appeals. That was when the vote became utterly irrelevant. Coleman will now simply keep appealing until he wins the election, regardless of the vote at any time. His victory could happen as early as the State Supreme Court ruling. If he loses that one, he will win at the very latest when the case reaches the U.S. Supreme Court. The Conservative majority of the Supreme Court will then declare Coleman the winner, and the healing will truly begin, whatever the vote may be.
Heres one of the problems in the MN recount. You morons in MN don’t know how to follow directions. Come on, we all took tests in elementary school where you filled in the correct answers bubble. I couldn’t even count how many ballots they had to review due to MN voters not knowing how to properly fill in a bubble, or those who wrote in names like batman. You sit here and say the governments a joke? Well maybe if more Americans paid attention to the system and cared abit, we may actually vote in people who can make a difference and fix our government. And for the poster who commented on Franken being elected was a joke. Ya on the republican party, voters preferred a comedian over a party whos been around for 200 years, if anything the jokes on the GOP.
I would not characterize Senator Elect Franken as a “Low I.Q.-vulgarian” as does an earlier poster, here.
Low I.Q. vulgarians are not admitted to Harvard, where Senator Elect Franken earned his degree and graduated.
We have arrived at a time when the Country needs the Senate to support the President. Franken’s Democratic voice is needed and his vote brings the number of Democratic Senators to a Filibuster-proof Democratic majority.
While the Republican Bush Administration was busy dismantling Business and the Economy under the cloak of fear; Franken was telling us what was really happening and to look behind the curtain of fear-mongering to see what was really being done.
Citizens should embrace the idea that Franken ran for Senate and got elected. The GOP Conspiracy to prevent his being seated in Senate has arrived at the end of its road. The Bad Faith Election Contest will now be finally decided and Franken can report to Washington, Certified as the winner and be sworn-in without further delay.