It's almost like some superior court should rule on when the recounts should end.

When Coleman (and politicians like him) go on TV, isn't there any interviewer - besides Jon Stewart - tenacious enough to hammer them on their hypocrisy?

When Coleman (and politicians like him) go on TV, isn't there any interviewer - besides Jon Stewart - tenacious enough to hammer them on their hypocrisy?

That was then, this is now.

Minnesota needs to have a Louis XVI moment.

In the movie "Ridicule" the abbot uses a witty yet insincere logical argument to prove that God exists. King Louis is so impressed that the smug abbot then adds, "and if you'd like I can just as easily prove the opposite." The king suddenly has a moment of realization and the abbot is banished from the court.

It all comes down to one vote closer (or not) to a veto-proof majority.

The GOP will take as much time as they can.

That'd be Senator Al Franklin to you, Coleman.

Both parties are playing political games here -- spinning and timing the decisions to their own advantage, even if it means that voters go unrepresented for months at a time. This shouldn't be allowed.

Since the Constitution says the Senate is the final judge of its own election results, isn't it about time for Harry Reid and Senate Dems to go ahead and seat the candidate who received the most votes? Most people understand that the person who got the most votes is the winner.

Alternatively, if the winner cannot actually be determined, then we need to move ahead and have another election, as they did in New Hampshire in 1975 when the 1974 Durkin-Wyman Senate race ended with competing sets of returns, and nobody able to figure out which one was true.

This farce should end.

The republifucks will stall as long as they possibly can. They do not want to give up a Senate seat.

Sorry 'bout your luck bitches, Stuart Smalley WILL be the Minnesota Senator very soon, because he's good enough, he's smart enough, and doggone it, people like him.

I am no Franken supporter, but I know a sore loser when I see one, and the one I see is named Colman! -Kevo

p.s. Please go away Mr. Coleman. If you do it soon, I promise to honor your service to our nation by referring to you as Former Senator Coleman, but if you continue your losing efforts, I will know you as Current Fool Coleman!

How will the next election be any less flawed than the last one ?

How will the next election be any less flawed than the last one?

It will only be flawed if Franken wins again. If it's Coleman, it's all good.
The hypocrisy...it burns!

The court is giving Coleman all the rope he needs. When he runs out his appeal in the MNSC, wonder if Pawlenty will sign the certificate with Mark Ritchie. He recently made noise that he thinks the contest includes any federal appeals as well as state, but this is a state/senate issue. If Pawlenty holds this up (or is seen as holding it up) he is damaged goods as far as his reelection goes.
And by the way, we DO NOT have a provision for redo's in Minnesota and we did have a very transparent recount. A few more ballots are likely to be added in, but it does not look good for Norm. No redo, no way, no how.

And I wonder how much Coleman's legal actions are causing the state of Minnesota? I'm sure all those judges and court reporters could be hearing other cases instead.

And by the way, the election was not flawed, that is Coleman spin.

One thing should be very clear by now - This case has absolutely nothing to do with Coleman's seat and everything to do with Franken's.

Coleman is toast to anyone with a 7th grade understanding of arithmetic, let alone law. This circus is about blocking a Democrat from his seat for as long as repubs think they can get away with it. It's partisan sleaziness at it's most reprehensible.

"So, $120,000 when Coleman thinks Franken is trailing is an irresponsible waste of taxpayer dollars. Up to $5 million when Coleman sees himself trailing is money well spent." - Article

The real question is how much money have they spent in the courts. I bet it would make $120k look embarrassingly small.

Is this 1809 or 2009 ? I think the citizens of the United States deserve a fricken answer, Coleman or Franken. This is beyond Minnesota, this Senator will make a difference on all legislation, good or bad.

Dear Chris S
When Coleman (and politicians like him) go on TV, isn't there any interviewer - besides Jon Stewart - tenacious enough to hammer them on their hypocrisy?
No...well maybe Colbert. The rest have no investment in any journalistic integrety whatsoever. There on my TEEVEE this morning on the Today show, after being vivisected by Stewart twice, was our hero Jim Cramer. That NBC would trot him out after he was totaly discredited tells you all you need to know.

I want to see Norm Coleman vs. Norm Macdonald.

A couple of things:

A reminder: In Minn., when the election was as close as it was, by law, the recount was automatic. It was not initiated by Franken so Coleman had nothing to bleat about.

As the seal said (above), there is no provision in Minn. for an election do-over.

If Coleman loses this current court case and wants to appeal, he'll have to pay all court costs. But I'm sure the high-roller repubs will cover it.

at this point, however, the blame is pretty well squarely on the spinelessness of the Senate.

last week's MN Sup Ct opinion expressly noted that the US Senate can seat Franken any time it wants. Franken won the recount. He was won all of the intermediate court decisions as to the count, leaving Coleman no realistic mathematical way to close the gap. allowing the R's to engage in further delay wastes money when it is tight, prejudices Minnesota through lack of representation, and makes it harder for Obama to do what the strong majority of Americans elected him to do.

c'mon Reid - just seat Franken already. the Constitution is on your side. dont be a wimp.

Well, it's always heartening to see what good Americans these Republicans are. They'd never get in the way of the business of the nation or of their state for partisan advantage, would they? Oh.

Reid, you caved on that crook from Illinois. Grow a backbone. Seat Franken.

Harry Reid: waste of oxygen.

The Constitution allows the Senate to seat Franken, but the Senate rules require them to wait until a winner has been certified. Once that has happened, the Senate can judge competing claims (thought they rarely overrule the state). It would require a 2/3 vote in the Senate to change the rules to let them seat Franken before Minnesota has certified the election results.

Given how hard it is to get 3 Republican votes to override a fillibuster threat, how likely do you think it is that they will get 10 Republican votes to seat another Democrat no matter how long this drags out or how ridiculous it becomes?

What do you mean "it's obvious Coleman changed his mind the moment Franken was ahead"? I think it's just as plausible he changed his mind when the RNC flew in it's expensive lawyers! And how much have we learned about mr Colemans newfound respect for provisional ballots not from him but from "his" spokespeople and legal team?

I would say the RNC hated the idea of recounts in 2000 but changed it's mind when it noticed how close the democrats are to having 60 votes in the senate.

Well, of COURSE Coleman wants a rematch. Then it would be a two-way race instead of a three-way race.

Too bad he lost fairly and cleanly, and he can't have one.

At this stage, the real battle is to insure confidence in the electoral process. Coleman wants an activist court to override existing statutes and past court rulings. The State Canvassing Board and thus far the Election Contest Court have been very consistent (and note that the SCB as well as the ECC have had Republican-appointed judges and all of the rulings have been unanimous.)
The GOP is trying to categorize this as a flawed election; more so for public impact outside of Minnesota. Coleman only got 42% of the vote, so blaming the election process is a red herring for his own failures.
When Coleman started his lawsuit, he was behind by 225 votes; as the trial has progressed, the Franken lead has grown.

The purpose of an election is to determine the winner, not to determine the precise margin of the election. At this stage, Coleman is losing on both counts.