The pressure in this contest is slowly shifting from Coleman (who is rapidly becoming just a cardboard cutout for the Senate Republicans) to Governor Pawlenty. The Governor has to decide when a certificate of election is to be issued. Presidential aspirations could be affected by how this is handled.
I disagree with Mindeman one serious point: it’s not slowly shifting — after today it completely shifted. From the findings of fact today: (PDF, page 26, emphasis mine)
Franken received the highest number of lawfully cast ballots in the November 4, 2008 general election for United States Senator for the State of Minnesota and is entitled to receive the certificate of election.
The ball is in Pawlenty’s court.
UPDATE: To be clear, Pawlenty does not literally have a decision to make right now — but he’s a huge player in terms of helping Minnesota get our fair share of representation opposed to playing along with Coleman’s partisan objectives.
So… the question is WHEN T-paw plans to run. If he wants to run a doomed 2012 bid, what he’ll need most is the GOP nom. For that, he’ll need to offer up some pretty rare red meat and keep on spinning his wheels on the Coleman v. Franken eternal count-off.
But if he wants a real shot at being No. 45, he’ll need to Obamacize his record and play the post-partisan canard, which the Republicans will have warmed to by the end of Obama’s second country-saving, deficit-reducing, terror-ending, rapture-bringing term in office.
That calculation means only one thing: an election certificate will be coming sooner rather than later.
I guess I’ll concede your basic point. Pawlenty is now the major player. However, Pawlenty still has a window of time to evaluate. Coleman has 10 days to file his appeal and then there will be a lag time as the legal teams prepare…and the court outlines its timetable to proceed. During that time Pawlenty will have a chance to “test the waters”. The GOP Senate caucus will be shifting their pressure to Pawlenty to stall. But the question becomes, does Pawlenty react as a Presidential candidate concerned with his own image….or is he a GOP team player.
No chance he could act on behalf of the citizens of Minnesota — as chief executive of the state? (That would be Presidential.)
Too much to expect, though, no doubt he may spin it that way.
Since Pawlenty was appointed and anointed as the Repubican Candidate for Gov we should expect that he will continue to prostitute his office to the interests of the National Party. If he does not he will not be the anointed one for the Presidency in 2012.
Where is Ritchie in all this? Doesn’t he have to sign too? Will he sign if T-Paw doesn’t? If he signs, does that put more pressure on T-Paw?
Also, wouldn’t it be completely politically stupid for Coleman to wait the full 10 days to appeal? Wouldn’t that prove to even the completely slow that he is just trying to stall?
Weird, not a single mention of this great decision on MDE.
Mark won’t sign until t-paw does.
Why won’t Ritchie sign until T-Paw does? It’s his job to sign when there is a legally sanctioned winner.
What is clear is that there is a leadership void in the MN-GOP.
Not to be surprised since the RNC selected Coleman to run in 2002 (denying Pawlenty an opportunity) and then selected Kennedy in 2006 (telling Gutkencht not to compete.)
It’s Pawlenty that has as much to lose.
While the State Canvassing Board was reviewing ballots, Pawlenty (on his 1/2/09 radio program) decried the 12/18 MN-Supreme Court decision that allowed the counting of absentee ballots if they were acceptable to both campaigns. Making the statement then had no impact as the decision was made and the counting processed.
But last week he brought it up again.
Once a legal challenge has been filed, the Governor (who appoints justices) should not offer an opinion. Considering that Pawlenty appoints judges (including some that may hear an appeal to the MN-Supreme Court) this is undue influence.
IMO, Pawlenty needs to have a heart-to-heart with Coleman and tell him that although the RNC may want him to continue, this will not help the MN-GOP.
That said, if Coleman does appeal and gets rejected, he is putting a nail in his coffin as well as Pawlenty’s. If the MN-Supreme Court overrules the Election Contest Court, then voters will look at Pawlenty’s “instructions” and how those justices that donated to Coleman’s past campaigns ruled … and it will Republicans that will be viewed as “stealing the election”.