Yeah. Since when is a 40% increase in lead called “ever so slightly”? Rather nasty spin especially if you note that this was Coleman’s contest to get more votes, not Franken’s.
Oh, and it’s nice to see the Star Tribune pinning the DFL as the people calling Coleman to quit. I guess the Star Tribune decided to leave out all the conservative voices asking Coleman to stop wasting time. (And, well, it’s almost mathematically impossible for Coleman to win.)
your “liberal media” at work
norm coleman = sore loser
Since Avista bought the star Trib they have become even more of a corporate apologist that supports the status quo. Somewhat reminiscent of how Sid Hartman always favors the old coach and players no matter how crappy a job they are doing. The editorial board and headline editors appear to favor Norm’s position in the recount and trial. (Although I hate to sound like the right wing always complaining about media bias)
I dumped the strib after seeing the effects of the Avista takeover. The New York Times has the real news.
Are you admitting the New York Times is nothing but an arm of the democratic party?
C”Rush”
What are you, a Slanthead now?
Wow.
Great Job, dittohead.
You analysis is quite flawed. Your assertion that conservtive are calling for Coleman throw in the towel is based on this site from the Washington Post:
Yesterday Democrats circulated a statement made by conservative columnist Ramesh Ponnuru (“I think it’s time for him to give up his fight,” wrote Ponnuru on the National Review blog) and today sent around former Minnesota Republican Sen. Dave Durenberger’s comments that suggested Coleman needed to reconsider his ongoing legal fight. “At some point, somebody has to deal with what’s the will of the people of Minnesota,” said Durenberger.
They are not a local paper, nor do they have the pulse of local views. And two Republicans, do not a majority make.
The other link is to the Minnesota Independent website that proposes a scenario whereby Coleman’s continued efforts and eventual loss would hurt the Republican party. It by no means called for him to quit, nor is the Minnesota Independent a conservative voice.
Al Franken made VIDEOS OF PEOPLE CRYING about because they didn’t get their absentee ballots counted. He made statement after statement (when he was behind in the recount) of how terrible it would be for someone not to get their vote counted. His tune only changed when he is now temporarily in the lead.
Having all 12,000 rejected absentee ballots reviewed by the same standard would certainly make it mathematically possible and probable that Coleman would win. All we are asking is that you review the votes on a similar standard and counts those that qualify.
bty - sounds like Pawlenty will follow the law and not sign a certification of a winner until all state appeals are done. So, Franken, don’t fire up the jet to Washington just yet.
“Al Franken made VIDEOS OF PEOPLE CRYING about because they didn’t get their absentee ballots counted.”
C’mon Twice Blessed. Have some compassion. Those were real tears!
C”Rush”,
I’m sure their tears were much different than the tears of Glenn Beck, who cried because Liberals exist and have massive numbers of supporters.
You, dittohead, are crying with every comment you make here.
Great Job!
So is Norm pushing his fight because of a massive groundswell of support from real Minnesotans? Or is he just being used by national Republicans to block the majority in the Senate?
It isn’t about franchising Minnesotans, and it’s not about Norm Coleman who, once again is nothing more than Johnny to the GOP’s Señor Wences. The whole contest is about control of the Senate. The interests of the voters of this state have long ago ceased to matter. Norm Coleman cannot possibly benefit from this whole affair, so it’s lose-lose for everyone except the Republican powers in Washington.
As for what Governor Timmy will do, I assume he is going to wait (as always) for instructions from the Mother Ship. Don’t want to ruin his prospects of Being Mentioned, do we?
Twice Blessed,
Norm Coleman had witnesses WHO CRIED ON THE STAND because they didn’t get their absentee ballots counted. He made statement after statement (when he was behind in the recount) of how terrible it would be for someone not to get their vote counted.
See how that works, Twice Blessed?
Are you sure you’re not twice cursed by your blind ideology?
TW said,
All we are asking is that you review the votes on a similar standard and counts those that qualify.
No, TW, what you people are asking is to change the rules after the game has been played*. If you have issues with Minnesota’s voting system (the best in the country, btw), then change the law. But don’t try to steal the current election.
(*James Baker’s accusation against Gore in the 2000 presidential election)
I hate to be the one to mention it but the issue is counting “legal” votes. If you do not follow the letter of the law your absentee ballot will be disallowed. The Supreme Court has judged that while you do have a right to vote, you do not have a right to vote absentee. That is a privilege.
The people to blame for this strict interpretation is the Minnesota Legislature that created the system. And the Coleman legal team that failed to prove any point of about 14,000 ballots being excluded unfairly. Two of Coleman’s witnesses admitted election crimes on the stand of forging a signature and filling out another’s ballot. Beyond the idea that Senator Franken increases his lead every time more ballots are counted, do you really want ballots that do not follow the law to be counted? That makes no sense at all.
Oh, your right. Let’s give it to Al.
We don’t have to. He won it.
Didn’t the disabled person in Franken’s video have his wife fill out his ballot, isn’t that the same illegal behavior? And as far as a right, not a privilege, its a damn shame when you have to tell a soldier that his absentee vote is not a right, its a privilege.
“All we are asking is that you review the votes on a similar standard and counts those that qualify.”
That has occurred. Stop asking repetitive questions. Your previous head trauma is showing.
Normally I’m with you guys, but as a math teacher I can’t sit idly by on this one: 87 votes is indeed “ever so slightly” since we really should be comparing to the total number of votes cast, not to Franken’s original lead. This really shows how us wonks may be losing a bit of perspective with our noses so close to a few ballots for so long.
I do agree the STRIB is a tool, for lots of other reasons. And that Norm should let it go - losing by “ever so slightly” is still losing.
Math gives me hives but if I am not mistaken in the American electoral system one more vote counts as much as 1,000 or 10,000 more votes. Al Franken won by the thinnest of margins but none the less has won after an intensive count followed by a manual recount and a three month long transparent election court procedure of all legally cast ballots. So far every accommodation has been made to Norm Coleman and his legal team. It went so far as the Coleman witnesses wanting their ballots counted even though they had explicitly broken the legal requirements for voting via absentee ballot.
What more can be done without completely throwing out all the laws in place for absentee ballots? All DFLers want every legal ballot counted, they just don’t want to change thye rules after the game has been played and winner announced.
I would be asking Franken to step aside if it was apparent that after a thorough and impartial look at all the ballots, Coleman won the election. I think that would be true for many of the commentators on this blog. This is a Minnesota election and in the absence of an obvious abrogation of existing Minnesota law, it should be decided in Minnesota. To date I don’t see any evidence that the laws have been violated. The contest is not over yet. If it is appealed to the Minnesota Supreme Court then we will all have an opportunity to see how it is handled.
Whether I prefer Franken over Coleman is irrelevant. Whether most of us trust the process by which we choose our elected officials is highly relevant. That trust would be damaged ir if either of these candidates attempts to circumvent the electoral process to gain this seat.
This contest remains to be decided. The legitimacy of the outcome of this process will be evident when it is finally decided. The candidates themselves will be held personally responsible for the legitimacy of the outcome. They should both remain cognizant of that fact.
I see the franken campaign must have mailed landry another check. What a moronic post. This quote might be the dumbest of all:
“Oh, and it’s nice to see the Star Tribune pinning the DFL as the people calling Coleman to quit”
Aaron, the DFL has a link on their website to a external site using giveitupnorm.com as the URL, don’t be an idiot and think for yourself for once, I am embarrassed for you!
The call for Coleman to quit is coming from all quarters. This includes the DFL, Minnesota Republicans, and conservative columnists. Don’t be an idiot, indeed. Beam, eye, mote, etc.
Two Republicans are calling for Coleman to consider dropping out, thats hardly the whole “quarter.”
I don’t recall MNpublius claiming the DFL wanted Al Franken to drop out when a full third of its members voted for Pricilla Lord Faris in the primary.
Norm Coleman reminds me of the movie fighter who is getting his clock cleaned but keeps getting up to take another punch. The whole audience is feeling the pain of a punch drunk fool still trying to pretend he has a chance to win. Norm have someone throw in the towel for you dignities sake.
There is a reason that they have a Little League 10 run rule… it helps no one to bludgeon a team so out of its’ league that they are that far down. Right now Norm has lost every ruling, the recount and the election. He will lose the Minnesota Supreme Court case if it is even accepted. Is he going on in the hopes that the US Supreme Court will ignore 250 years of states rights, the Constitution and the votes of Minnesota citizens to seat his whiny ass in the Senate? Remember that even if that happens he still has to explain some financial shenanigans to the FBI.
The only reason Norm Coleman is doing this stumble bum routine is that he thinks he will be rewarded by the national Republican Party for getting in the way of seating the 59th Democrat in the Senate. A good guess is that after he concedes his loss, they will look at the money wasted and the damage done to their political goals and pass on doing anything for the opportunist twit. Look how well it worked out for Scooter Libby.
This nonsense about different standards needs to be questioned and confronted at every opportunity. The Election Contest Court (ECC) has applied a consistent and exacting standard to their scrutiny of which ballots may be counted.
Coleman brought the election to the ECC, and has had ample resources to try and prove that the mythical 4400 ballots should be included. It is very telling to me that Twice Blessed and other Coleman apologists will never clearly articulate what standards should be used to scrutinize the rejected absentee ballots. They also will never specify what makes the 4400 different from other, properly rejected ballots, or what criteria they applied to arrive at that number.