Does Norm Coleman Still Have a Chance?
EmailABC News’ Rick Klein Reports: More than three months after Election Day — and a month after the state recount technically ended and the legal drama began — here is the situation as we understand it in the final race to be settled from the 2008 campaign: First, Democrat Al Franken holds a 225-vote lead that hasn’t budged since the end of the formal recount and the start of the legal battles over the Minnesota Senate seat. Second, Republican Norm Coleman has lost a series of court rulings where he has sought to expand the number of previously rejected absentee ballots that will be ultimately counted — his only real shot at making up the gap. Third, the race continues to play out as a national cause celebre on both sides. Fourth, Franken appears very likely to become a United States senator — but that could still take a while. Coleman’s window for pulling off a victory looks like it’s closing by the day. But it won’t be entirely shut until all of the legal options are exhausted, and there’s evidence that Coleman’s legal team is already preparing for state and federal appeals. The Minneapolis Star Tribune today takes stock of the race and concludes that, as the headline states, Coleman’s chances have “diminished” as a result of court rulings. “The three judges hearing the case have been only partly receptive to Coleman’s bid to expand the field of ballots as he seeks more votes, and they brushed aside his claim of systemic problems with Minnesota elections,” Pat Doyle writes. “Coleman once wanted to examine up to 11,000 rejected absentee ballots in hope that enough might eventually be opened and counted to help him overtake Franken. Now he’s looking at opening perhaps a couple of thousand ballots. And the number could turn out to be even smaller.” But in terms of bringing finality to the race, the Coleman camp seems to be in this for the long haul. With a critical 59th Democratic Senate seat at stake, the Republican National Committee is helping bankroll the legal efforts, and GOP senators are continuing to solicit donations for Coleman. The Coleman legal team, meanwhile, has been openly questioning the reasoning employed by the three-judge panel — moves Democrats say are designed to lay the groundwork for on appeal, and to keep Republicans engaged enough in the effort to keep the money flowing. Sen. John Cornyn, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, wrote a memo today pointing out perceived contradictions in the three-judge panel’s rulings. It reads like someone is preparing the legal briefs for an appeal. “As a former Texas Attorney General and Supreme Court Justice, I find the legal quagmire created by the Friday the 13th ruling, and the Minnesota Court’s apparent refusal to address it, particularly troubling,” writes Cornyn, R-Texas. “Such widespread inconsistency not only creates state and federal constitutional problems, but saps voters’ faith and confidence in the integrity of our election process. In order for the voters of Minnesota — and the members of this body — to have confidence in this contest’s outcome the process in Minnesota must be uniform and it must be fair.” As for the other side — for a colorful perspective on the importance of this Senate seat, check out the quotes from White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in Ryan Lizza’s New Yorker profile.
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nope he doesn’t.. ACORN has successfully pulled enough ballots out of the trunk of a car to steal this. Missing from the Obama network piece here is the fact that more ballots were cast than there were voters LMAO.. but ABC just looks the other way
Posted by: DOH-bama Cabinet of Corruption | February 23, 2009, 11:41 am 11:41 am
Have a chance ? He won the election ! The only vote count that was accurate was the first ! People who think that hand counts are more accurate than machine counts are deluded; machines have no political bias, and that’s what’s wrong with the current tallying.
Posted by: Ron | February 23, 2009, 11:42 am 11:42 am
Coleman is just killing time, I don’t know how long he can hold out but McConnell and Cornyn simply want to keep that 59th seat out of Democratic hands as long as they can. Personally, I think it’s a lost cause and reflects badly not only on Coleman who doesn’t really matter any more but more importantly on the Republican Senate who could be remembered and pounded as being wholly obstructionist down the road. It could hurt them severely in 2010.
Posted by: Bob Lees | February 23, 2009, 11:43 am 11:43 am
No. We need Franken in there for humor. Congress hasn’t done much good in some time so at least getting some jokes out of DC for our tax dollars would be something.
Posted by: Huh | February 23, 2009, 11:52 am 11:52 am
There comes a point when the loser (Coleman) should do what is good for the people of Minn. and concede. Instead of dragging his loss through the courts in the meantime denying the people of Minn. their representation in DC.
Posted by: Mark | February 23, 2009, 11:55 am 11:55 am
This is truly shameful for this to continue. The man lost and is now wasting the court’s time and money that could be used to the betterment of the people. The Repubs would rather waste money on a failed campaign, but won’t assist Americans who are in desperate need of help. Their priority are so mislaid!
Posted by: Brenda | February 23, 2009, 11:58 am 11:58 am
The Republicans are fighting an uphill battle this time. They stole 2000 with the help of Katherine Harris, a Republican SOS for Florida. This time the SOS is Democrat. The votes just are not there. But this is a good example of the Republicans desire for power, and the money that power brings. They will do anything, and stop at nothing to satisfy their greed for power and money. Now wonder this country is in the economic state wer are.
Posted by: JRS | February 23, 2009, 12:20 pm 12:20 pm
DOH-bama Cabinet of Corruption
Why do you make this stuff up? You have no basis for your claims. Nuts like you still claim Obama isn’t a citizen of the US. Give it up. Your side lost, again.
Posted by: unshrub | February 23, 2009, 12:39 pm 12:39 pm
ABC.
Obviously the truth hurts. You allow those who lie to comment but those who call them out on their lies you do not allow their comments. You are a joke.
Posted by: unshrub | February 23, 2009, 12:43 pm 12:43 pm
They will do anything, and stop at nothing to satisfy their greed for power and money. Now wonder this country is in the economic state wer are.
———————————–LOL…LOL…LOL
Incredible that Republicans are the only ones who have “greed”…LOL
And wet my pants Democrats who STILL whine about 2000…
It seems to me back then it was all about every vote should count, voter “disenfranchisement”. Now its about “greed”.
What a buffoon!!! EVERY politician is driven by the greed of power! EVERY SINGLE ONE! Only a complete moron would think otherwise!
Posted by: Mike_C | February 23, 2009, 12:45 pm 12:45 pm
Give it up Norm! You lost. Now get a real job in this screwed up economy that your president and party created.
Posted by: Brother Bill | February 23, 2009, 12:46 pm 12:46 pm
Mike_C – Yes, we Dems. are still whining about the 2000 election. Gore won, but the Supreme Court gave it to Bush based on Florida’s recount with Bush’s brother as Governor and Repug. Katherine Harris as SOS, so of course Bushie Boy won Florida. We are still whining because this country would not be in the dire straits it is in if Gore had been President especially since he was elected by POPULAR vote, we wouldn’t be in Iraq fighting a pointless war, we wouldn’t be in this economic crisis we are in. So, yeah, we’re still whining!!!
Posted by: geecee | February 23, 2009, 1:08 pm 1:08 pm
Doh – get off this ACORN crap, will you? If they were as corrupt as you say, they would have the Fed. government on their butts, whether Democrat or Republican, not to mention a whole lot of other watchdog agencies and groups, too. They did some sloppy registrations, which has been evidenced, but they didn’t have their people vote 4 and 5 times as you Repugs want to assert. Could never and would never happen with today’s safeguards in place.
Posted by: geecee | February 23, 2009, 1:14 pm 1:14 pm
Ron: There is no question that hand recounts are more accurate than machine counts – every state in the union accepts this. And anyone who has ever had to grade a few hundred scantron sheets knows the truth of this.
MN state law, in place for some time, allows that an X placed next to the selection counts as a vote. A machine does not. A hand count is the only way to properly apply the well-defined law.
Posted by: jhw539 | February 23, 2009, 1:16 pm 1:16 pm
If the count is done honestly, eliminate the fraud votes, then Norm Coleman should win.
Posted by: Fran | February 23, 2009, 1:33 pm 1:33 pm
Norm Coleman needs to take a hike. This court trial is being funded by the GOP. It is just a stall tactic to keep Franken from having a vote while important legislation is taking place.
Norm Coleman along with Gov. Pawlenty have given Minnesota the biggest deficit in history. Just like the bush administration has destroyed America’s economy so it goes with minnesota.
Norm Coleman should be embarrassed to be in this situation after 4 years in office during which he voted with george bush 90% of the time.
Posted by: con me not | February 23, 2009, 1:39 pm 1:39 pm
If the tables were turned, the GOP will be screaming to the top of their lungs for Franken to get out…. ala Gore/Lieberman.
Still remember the Sore/Loserman signs being frantically waved by those hair-on-fire right wingnuts down in Florida.
Posted by: Omentum | February 23, 2009, 1:49 pm 1:49 pm
Fran
By honestly, do you mean that Coleman should be declared the winner?
By the way, the recount was televised.
This is why the Republicans continue to get trounced. They are as misinformed as their supporters. So glad that the geezer and the caribou barbie lost!
Posted by: roxanne | February 23, 2009, 2:13 pm 2:13 pm
By the way, this has nothing to do with anything, but Coleman is the ugliest man I’ve ever seen. He kinda looks like Herman Munster. Yikes!
Posted by: roxanne | February 23, 2009, 2:17 pm 2:17 pm
“If the count is done honestly, eliminate the fraud votes, then Norm Coleman should win.”
When did you finish counting?
Posted by: silky | February 23, 2009, 2:39 pm 2:39 pm
This is “shameful” for the state of MN. Typical of the Republicans….want to cheat, steal something. Blasting the very judical system that is our foundation is unpatriotic. Oh, it will be hailed as good, only if he (
Coleman) wins. HYPOCRITES.
Go Broke GOP, wagering a losing battle.
Posted by: sngeorgia | February 24, 2009, 9:03 am 9:03 am
I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt, but I am now convinced that the republicans care only for party… and country when it’s convenient.
Posted by: BOTD | February 24, 2009, 10:30 am 10:30 am
It is a Shame, that people’s Votes are not counted, because they did something stupid to invalidate them.
Over 11,000 votes in the state were not counted, not because they were themselves invalid, but because of technicalities.
this would not matter if it was a regular election, but a close one like this, requires that we look at the procedures, and make sure the Government is doing everything it can to prevent voters from throwing away their vote!!
Posted by: Robert Hodges | March 3, 2009, 1:49 pm 1:49 pm