Former Minnesota Gov. Arne Carlson says Republican Norm Coleman should concede to Democrat Al Franken in the U.S. Senate race.
Carlson says Coleman shouldn’t sue over the results of the recount.
Carlson was a Republican governor who now considers himself an independent. He endorsed Barack Obama for president but didn’t support a candidate in the Senate race. He attended the 1996 press conference where Coleman switched from Democrat to Republican, and supported Coleman’s 1998 bid for governor.
Carlson predicts that Coleman would probably lose a legal challenge to the recount. He says delaying a finish to the race would damage Coleman’s image with the public and says, “There’s no disgrace in losing.”
Coleman’s campaign says he’ll talk about his plans at a Tuesday afternoon press conference at the Capitol.
Coleman is holding a presser this afternoon. I bet he gets asked a lot of questions about his comments shortly after the election in which he called on Franken to concede. If Norm contests this election, he’ll be a HUGE hypocrite.
Zack, you sure the presser is at the Capital, and not Norm’s Bunker?
To be clear, Norm’s a huge hypocrite whether he contests this election or not. He’d just be waving “bye-bye” to the remnants of his career as an elected official if he does so.
Truth be told, he might not have much of ANY career if convicted in any FBI/ethics investigations that are currently pending.
Of course, I’m sure his lawyers are pressing very hard for him to keep the meter running on their efforts. It’s not like they have anything to lose.
No concession.
Looks like he’s a huge hypocrite, not like hypocrisy on a grand scale has ever really fazed him before… I guess
when he finally loses we can definately say that the process was fully played out.
I love how Norm perjured himself on the contest. He swore under oath that he is a Senator from Minessota on 1/6/09. Precious.
After watching that whiny bastard at his press conference, I can calmly wait for the grand failure that is Norm Coleman. Go to court again and again, waste GOP money and end up losing… then get ready for the FBI probes and indictment Normy. Sure sucks to be you.
Norm Coleman is now guaranteeing that he will never hold elective office in the state of Minnesota ever again. This example of his opportunism and petulance will forever be brought the the forefront every time his name is mentioned. There are now legions of disgusted independents and DFLers ready to put time and money into anyone who runs against him because of his shameful accusations against clean government Minnesotans who gave freely their time and money to the recount. The fact is even the Republican locals are bit tired of this RINO being a puppet for the National GOP leaders. Do you have any idea of how much GOP money is being poured down this rathole, or should that be weasel hole?
Norm Coleman just committed political suicide in front of Minnesota and the nation.
You may well have seen this already, but I thought Nate Silver had a good line at the end of another insightful breakdown about how the numbers really look:
“[I]n his career running for statewide office, Coleman has lost to a professional wrestler, beaten a dead guy, and then tied a comedian. He doesn’t have much to lose by fighting this to its bitter conclusion. But it’s hard to envision how he’ll come up with enough ballots to overtake Franken.” http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/01/good-news-for-coleman.html
Nate’s line is good, but I get the feeling he borrowed it from a hilarious RollingStone article on our beloved Norm:
“On the Republican side, meanwhile, the far less cheery Coleman hasn’t gone for any of this post-Obama bipartisan feel-good bullshit, and no wonder — having lost a humiliating gubernatorial race to wrestler Jesse Ventura 10 years ago, he now sits on the verge of becoming the first politician in American history to lose a major office to two different TV entertainers.” http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/24603798/the_last_recount
How long does Norm sell this charade?
The guy can be seen talking out both sides of his mouth, like a New York street hustler.
Its not about him, its about US.
For Norm Coleman, its about HIM.
Norm has now lost to a professional wrestler
and a comedian. He might well have lost to
a dead guy too if he’d (Wellstone) stayed in the
race. Think he (Coleman) has a future in MN after
a protracted court case?
Answer this, how can you count more votes than registered voters in a precint?
“Answer this, how can you count more votes than registered voters in a precint?”
Easy. Cheat!
“Answer this, how can you count more votes than registered voters in a precint?[sic]”
Where do you imply that this occurred?
If this is cheating, it’s a pretty feeble effort. It seems to me that, if you’re going to go to the trouble of putting in fraudulent votes you would put in enough of them to make your victory decisive, not this back-and-forth razor-thin margin of victory thing.
I think anyone who claims that cheating has occurred should call their respective city halls and volunteer to be an election judge in 2010. As a longtime election judge who has endeavored, along with all of those who worked along side me, to follow the law, be non partisan, be fair, and make it possible for the state of Minnesota to hold elections, I would welcome all of those naysayers to step up, and I know that your help would be appreciated. I worked 22 hours that day, and maybe if a few more people volunteered the job could have been finished a little sooner.
And yes, if there was cheating, then there would have been a very decisive win and no need for all of this recount work. All I saw was what I have seen for years- election judges working very hard to follow the law regardless of their own personal political views or affiliation.
Minnesota holds very fair and open elections, and to say otherwise damages our state and it’s reputation. And by the way, that canvassing board was made up of 2 Dems, 2 Repubs, and 1 Independent. Their decisions were for the most part unanimous and fair.
SWdem- thank you for your hard work. I’ve voted many years and have always observed serious, fair-minded, and careful judges. Some on the right have bought the delusional propaganda that Republicans ‘own’ religion, country music, honesty, and even civilized behavior. Shame on Coleman for being such a pitiful example for young people. Just more ‘up is down’. Shame on the media for shoring up his pathetic weakness.
Recession hurt Minnesota voters are requesting that all public toilets have a little plaque glued above the tp roll:
Free pictures of former Senator Norm Coleman.
Wipe to develop.
I think Norm Coleman will just get richer now that he’s not Senator Coleman, even if he has to defend himself a few times.
Now that Norm has all but lost, we’ll probably see more negative press about his prior action? Why did Norm work to pardon Vennes, for example. Coleman worked to pardon Vennes for money laundering, cocaine and drug trafficking, see http://dumpbachmann.blogspot.com/2009/01/pardongate-more-frank-vennes-jr.html
What’s the Texas connection — the promised lawsuit. I haven’t heard anything about it.
Southwestdem,
First I will say that the work of election judges is important and appreciated. The huge majority do strive to be fair and impartial. However, I think it defies logic to say that there are not many election judges, judges, and state officials that do not have partisan views. It’s similar to trying to seat a jury in a high profile case. We are all human and have our thoughts and beliefs and they affect how we form our opinions. Put yourself on the other side. You know Franken would be going to court had Coleman had a 225 vote margin. It just seems odd that in a Democratic state, with a Democratic Secretary of State, with a canvassing panel that leans left, and a court that leans left, that every single and solitary issue went to Franken and he was the contender trying to unseat an incumbant. A hand recount is visually looking at every ballot. So when the ballots can’t be found, use the election night tape. Which is it? Although it does not equal the Florida mess with dimpled, pregnant, and hanging chads, we have a mini Florida mess. All this tells me one thing. I think our laws need to be changed. Any election that is so close that it comes down to as few a votes as this did out of 2.9 million cast, should not trigger a recount, but a runoff election. You want the people to decide who the winner is, that is the only way. Unfortunately in todays near 50/50 split in this country and the vicious attacks that are the norm (no pun intended), I don’t see how a recount in this unusual circumstance could ever be fair, for either side.
CMan, please explain how a canvassing board made up of 2 democrats, 2 republicans and 1 independent, “leans left”.
It is important to remember that SoS Ritchie asked the Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court (Magnuson) to name the 2 canvassing board members from the Supreme Court and the Chief Judge of Ramsey County District Court to name the members for that portion of the board. It was not a left leaning canvassing board as has been alleged by some. The only evidence of bias is a subjective view of the decisions made by the canvassing board seen through partisan eyes. It was within Ritchie’s power under the State Constitution to name anyone he he wanted from the State Supreme Court and the District Court. In the name of bi-partisanship, he left those decisions to others and got an impartial canvassing board as a result. Anyone who says otherwise is just plain full of it.
CMan, if “every single and solitary issue went to Franken (which is not true, BTW)” perhaps that is a reflection of the weakness of Coleman’s arguments, rather than any bias on the part of the Canvassing Board.
Randy — If you saw the world the way I do, you would agree with me. If I saw the world the way you do, I would agree with you. But, we don’t and won’t, so I see little chance of that. It’s just that I am more grounded than you!
It was actually one democrat (ritchie) two republican appointed judges, one independent appointed judge, and one judge elected in a nonpartisan election.
CMan: “It’s just that I am more grounded than you!”
Since you, CMan, are obviously more grounded than people you disagree with, perhaps you could explain how a canvassing board made up of 2 democrats, 2 republicans and 1 independent, “leans left”.
Educate us.
I would like to know how one known democrat, two republican appointed judges, one independence party appointed judge, and one judge elected in a nonpartisan election makes up two democrats.
I will do the best I can to respond about the make up of the canvassing board. I will not disagree that it could have been a lot worse for a Coleman backer. That said, Republican or Independent “appointed” has only mild relevance to the board in my opinion. I don’t claim to understand why, but judges appointed to high courts tend to move left once they are seated. The best example is the US Supreme Court that should have been loaded to the right in the past (before the last two Bush appointments) with all of the Republican appointments. But, in numerous cases, those judges have not voted in line with the conservative view. One cannot dispute the point of my original post that MN is and always has been a DFL state and the head of the canvassing board is far to the left.
I do not want to see this draw out for months. The only reason I want to see what happens in court is to see if some of the things that are being discussed here are factual or not. I do not know and I don’t think most of us here do. The court in many of its findings was not giving Franken a free pass, but saying some of these things need a court to resolve. This was always headed there no matter who came out on top. How many here can honestly say if Coleman had the 225 vote edge, “Darn! Well good luck Norm”?
CSM,
One can, and and the facts do, dispute your claim that Minnesota has always been a DFL State. In fact the Democrats or Liberals as it used to be called in the Lege have only gained power since the 1970’s, prior to that the state was strongly Republican. In the last 20 or so years Control of the State Senate and House has gone back forth between the parties and the DFL has not elected a Governor since Rudy Perpich (Carlson x2, Ventura, TPaw x2). It fits your distorted view to think that “MN has been and always will be a DFL state”, but for other than relatively recent Presidential voting, the evidence, like Normy’s claims, just isn’t there.
Rick — Thankfully we have had Republican Governors to balance things out (but Arne may as well put a D behind his name) and Ventura (Independent) had some right ideas but was a boondoggle of a candidate. I really didn’t think that after the Ventura experiment, MN could ever elect an even more unqualified candidate like Franken. But that just shows you where ideology has gotton us. And thank you for putting in the small line about recent presidential elections, because as goes the way the state votes for their president, so goes the leaning of the state. If you want to highlight the Republican voting record of MN, from 1860 - 1932 we were red. Since then (with a couple of exceptions we’re blue as blue. Here are the lat 10 presidential elections:
1972 Nixon in a landslide
1976 Carter
1980 Carter
1984 Mondale (the only state and DC)
1988 Dukakis
1992 Clinton
1996 Clinton
2000 Gore
2004 Kerry
2008 Obama