I guess it is over in Minnesota:
A state election board on Monday will announce Democrat Al Franken has defeated Republican incumbent Norm Coleman in Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race, state officials told CNN Sunday.
The canvassing board on Monday will say a recount determined Franken won by 225 votes, Secretary of State Mark Ritchie told CNN.
However, Coleman’s campaign, which contends the recount should have included about 650 absentee ballots it says were improperly rejected in the initial count, has indicated it will challenge the certification.
Coleman campaign manager Cullen Sheehan said his team believes the recount process was broken and that “the numbers being reported will not be accurate or valid.”
“The effort by the Franken campaign, supported by the secretary of state, to exclude improperly rejected absentee ballots is indefensible and disenfranchises hundreds of Minnesota voters,” Sheehan said.
After the results are certified, Coleman’s campaign will have seven days to file a challenge.
The initial count from the November 4 election put Coleman, a first-term senator, 215 votes ahead of Franken — known for his stint on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” and as a former talk-show host on progressive radio network Air America.
The real joy in this election is that no matter which side wins, the other is going to claim it was robbed.
*** Update ***
Doug H. (Comrade Fausto no more)
Now where did that old ‘Sore/Loserman’ sign go…
Punchy
My cynical "surprise!" meter’s needle just went 720 degrees around the dial.
In other news…..seems as if the Izzys are playing with William Pete again….in the accompanying pic, it’s clear it’s only being used at nite…..wait….whoops….nevermind.
joe from Lowell
I trust Minnesota.
This isn’t Ohio. It isn’t Florida. It isn’t Illinois.
It’s Minnesota. Ginning up some conspiracy theory about the corrupt…er…bipartisan canvassing boards in Minnesota is a pretty good way to make yourself look like a tool.
J.
The fat lady ain’t sung yet.
Dork
How unfortunate a surname for a Republican spokesman.
El Cid
At least once I feel like a Democrat pulled out all the stops to fight for each and every last vote.
If the Republicans threaten to filibuster to keep Franken from being seated, well, good for them for having the ‘nads to do everything for their party, and please make Senator "Give In" Reid actually make them carry out a real filibuster.
The Moar You Know
We’ll be lucky to see Franken seated by 2010, if ever. Coleman is going to get a lot of funding to drag this out for as long as he possibly can.
Hopefully the Supreme Court will not step in and intervene, their track record is pretty shitty.
MattF
It was pretty clear that voters in Minnesota didn’t like either of them… I’m hoping that Coleman’s current "I’m a nice guy, except when I’m not" routine will shed some light on the situation.
Bob In Pacifica
Cornyn said that the Repubs wouldn’t seat Franken without a certificate. Will they seat him with one?
Robert Johnston
Uh, no. The Senate has the nearly unreviewable power to judge the election of its own members, and even the Democrats aren’t spineless enough to let this be dragged out that long. Making the Republicans engage in a real filibuster should be enough, but it’s really a no brainer to rule a filibuster out of order on this matter if that’s what it comes down to. And franjkly, it’s unlikely that a filibuster would hold, as there are enough Republicans worried about reelection in 2010 who simply can’t afford to filibuster that even a modicum of pressure and good politics will get them on board. If Franken’s not seated at least provisionally by the end of this January, the Harry Reid needs to be shot dead.
El Cid
By the way, you know they’ll be asking for a "vault copy" of this certificate, and the grassroots rightwing "citizen journalists" will immediately hail the fact that Minnesota is not personally delivering the original whatever to each and every one of them as proof that it was all faked anyway.
gbear
Actually, the real joy in this is knowing that the side that claims it was robbed is full of shit. Anyone who’s been paying attention to the recount knows that it’s been incredibly fair. Early in the process, Coleman said that Franken should just forego the recount in order to spare MN the cost and bother (even though the recount was state mandated due to the close margins). When Norm said that, he was ahead by fewer votes than Franken current lead. Coleman should take his own advice now. Fat chance.
Napoleon
Sweet, Coleman now has on his resume a loss to a pro wrestler (Jesse "the Body" Ventura) and a late night TV comic (Franken). Shouldn’t that qualify him as the next head of the RNC?
DJShay
@Napolean
Classic!
Zifnab
@gbear: Cheers to that. The best part of all this nonsense is that at the end, the winner actually wins, as opposed to 2000 when we just got to hear our honorable SCOTUS tell US voters to stfu and let Baby Bush take the White House.
Minnesota revealed that the electoral system – even in a hotly contested, down-to-the-wire race – can function as intended. The fact that a Democrat was the winner in this hotly contested down to the wire race just fills me with an increased sense of satisfaction.
Ash Can
I recall reading somewhere that absentee ballots favored Franken in this election, which makes Coleman look even more desperate whining about the absentee ballots. And this is on top of looking like a horse’s ass after saying that Franken should forego the recount (as if Franken had anything to do with it — you sure do know the laws of your own state, don’t you, Norm), as gbear points out above. Mind you, I’m perfectly willing to admit that it’s entirely likely Franken would be the one looking like a WATB this morning if the show were on the other foot. But Coleman’s flailing has an added entertainment factor within the context of his initial remarks.
As for seating Franken — and as for any other issue, for that matter, especially the most visible ones — I have to admit that I’m waiting for January 20 with great interest. I’m watching for Team Obama, which has been nothing if not strictly disciplined in both its message and approach, to go from "we’re not in office yet" to "we’re the law in this town now" with the speed of a starting pistol going off. And once the team is in "we’re in power" mode, I’m sure that the Congressional leadership won’t be immune to the administration’s pressures. In fact, I’m betting they’ll be under more pressure to get stuff done than just about anyone else in DC.
Am I holding my breath for the likes of Pelosi and (especially) Reid to break out of their buddy-buddy Congressional boys-and-girls-club mentality overnight and perform miracles? Hell no. Am I hoping for things to at least start getting done (seating Franken with due dispatch, e.g.)? Undeniably. At the absolute, ultimate least, I’ll put it this way: I wouldn’t want to be the Democratic Congressional leader who’s the first one in a new Obama Administration to push back against the President.
bh
I third what Zifnab and gbear say. The problem with John’s comment ("The real joy in this election is that no matter which side wins, the other is going to claim it was robbed") is that it is plays perfectly to the false equivalency crowd. If you closely followed the recount – and I did – the idea that Franken stole the election is beyond absurd. Minnesotans should be proud of the transparent and professional effort made in the process.
The Other Steve
So what happens when Coleman is indicted?
The Other Steve
Coleman is only requesting absentee ballots of people who voted for him be counted.
I’m serious. He’s picking and choosing ballots in counties that favored him. Sadly, the same thing Gore did in 2000.
Comrade Sock Puppet of the Great Satan
Is anyone going to praise the oracular powers of Nate Silver yet? Didn’t he predict the recount would be won by Franken?
Shinobi
Oh I’ll praise his oral powers alright, that man is so hot….Oh ORACULAR.
Yeah.. he’s smart and stuff too I guess.
Nemoudeis
The panels that have been reviewing the votes are aggressively tri-partisan (Republicans, DFL’ers, and independents), so I doubt that there’s anybody here in Minnesota outside of the Coleman-or-bust crowd who will go along with his "broken recount" strategem. Most folks are pretty satisfied with the process, regardless of how they view the results.
I also doubt that Coleman’s going to get very far at all with these 650 "new" votes he’s trying to toss into the hat. The MN Supreme Court warned both parties not to play shenanigans with the review system they created, and that they would look very harshly on any attempt to do so. Considering that one of the judges is a former All-Pro Defensive Tackle for the Vikings, I would take that threat seriously.
And most of the counties can’t even get the Coleman people to explain to them why they should include these ballots in the first place. I know both Anoka and Sherburne counties told Coleman to take a hike, and since that’s where the voters who routinely show up to put Michele Bachmann into Congress live, I’d say that neither county is exactly enemy territory.
El Cid
There are no gods or goddesses who punish people for hypocrisy: John BOLTON and John YOO have a New York Times op-ed arguing for the NEED FOR CONSTITUTIONAL RESTRAINTS ON EXECUTIVE POWER, in particular bringing the Senate back in on treaties.
No. Really. It’s true. Here they are.
John Yoo. John Bolton. Now in favor of Constitutional limits to Unitarded Executrix Powr because of the threat of Hillary Clinton’s international entanglements. Really.
Atlliberal
Wasn’t it Coleman’s campaign that went to court to prevent these same absentee ballots from being counted?
balconesfault
@Robert Johnston:
Oops! One more Republican Senator!
balconesfault
@Ash Can:
Nice image. I think you’re spot on. I envision a bunch of obstructionist Repubs are sitting around with feet propped up on desks, laughing about how easy it’s going to be to continue to stall out any change until the American people turn on the Dems for inaction … who are suddenly covered in dust after a thundering herd of legislation blows down the aisle before they have a chance to get their feet back on the floor.
Joey Maloney
Only if he calls Franken a kike in his concession speech.
John Cole
@bh: Read my comment again, and tell me if you can disagree with it.
Whichever side wins, the losing side will claim it was robbed. Period. Doesn’t matter if it is bullshit or not, the Republicans will make the charge.
Punchy
I just wish the NYT would have actually published the orignal version Yoo wrote, penned in Crayola color "Flesh" and replete with Cheetos stains and folded up like this.
comrade scott's agenda of rage
Su weet. Here we are on 5 Jan and already have a contender for best comment of the year.
Tsulagi
There will be a moment of silence in public restrooms all across Minnesota.
comrade scott's agenda of rage
More importantly, he was that back when they played outside so it has real meaning.
MH
I remember in January 2005, reading the intro to Franken’s book, where he talked about rebuilding and regrouping, even from the shellacking the Democrats had just taken. Where he penned out a future scenario where the Dems regained congress in the 2006 midterms, and won the 2008 presidency. It’s all kind of eerily prescient. I like Franken.
That book also introduced me to the phrase, "towering geyser of pig shit" (not a metaphor), which still comes to mind when I think of Republican governance.
Robin G.
@ atlliberal:
Indeed. He’s the tooliest tool who ever did tool. The fact that Sheehan can whine about voters being disenfranchised is proof of a non-interventionist God, because if there was one, He would surely have struck Sheehan’s tongue from his mouth for such blatant impudence.
Napoleon
In case some here didn’t see this, intorducing the next Senator from Minn. Mick Jagger
Jon H
If Norm Coleman tries to obstruct Franken from taking the seat, there’s only one thing Democrats can do.
Stage a Gumby Riot outside the appropriate MN elections office.
I’s Gumby, dammit. Give the seat to Al!
bh
@john
Yes I agree with your statement. 100%.
It’s that those who have a cursory understanding of the recount will make similar statements implying, however, that each side would be equally guilty of being ‘sore losers’ without considering the actual context of the claims. I don’t believe you think that at all, that’s just what I feel many could take away from the statement.
cleek
i’m sure this is old news by now, but this Franken v Coulter clip is awesome.
TenguPhule
Fixed.
MikeJ
The difference is that Gore was compelled to by Florida law. There was no legal provision for a statewide recount in Florida in 2000. In Minnesota, they’ve had a statewide recount and Coleman wants to change the law and only get certain counties counted.
So other the the fact that Gore was obeying the law and Coleman is flaunting it, yeah, exactly the same.
Sam Simple
I live in Minnesota and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie conducted the recount in the most fair, transparent and high-minded fashion that you can imagine. Ritchie drew praise even from Republicans, so Coleman doesn’t have a fucking leg to stand on. Besides that, Coleman wll be indicted soon on corruption charges so this is the best possible outcome for the people of Minnesota.
J. Michael Neal
The only time Coleman won an election for anything more than mayor (or as a Republican, for that matter) was when
Paul Wellstone died in a plane crash two weeks before the election. He has yet to beat a living opponent.
J. Michael Neal
No. Absolutely not. Coleman went to court to prevent a different, entirely more Democratic, set of ballots from being counted.
Napoleon
@J. Michael Neal:
I had forgotten that the Senate seat was basically handed to him.
Coleman must now lay awake at night thinking that in his next race he is going to get beat by the letter Q from Sesame Street, or a porn star.
SGEW
So if Al gets seated before Jan 20th, will he follow through on the "quickie impeachment" promise he made back in 2005?
Bad Horse's Filly
@Nemoudeis: You gotta love a state that has had a pro-wrestler as Gov. and a All-Pro Defensive Tackle as a sitting Supreme Court judge. Is the state motto by chance, "we do it our way"? Our founding fathers, treasonous bastards that they were, would be so proud.
J. Michael Neal
Actually, it’s "We’re So Squeaky Clean and Efficient That We Get Upset over $1500 in Free Plumbing." Alan Page is, admittedly, a much better representation of how Minnesota works than Jesse Ventura is, his rampant pigmentation notwithstanding.
D-Chance.
CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN!
Yes, another stolen election as Mr Smalley Goes To Washington. Sounds like a cheap direct-to-DVD release of a SNL parody, doesn’t it? But… what can you expect from a state that made a professional wrestler its governor?
We should just turn the damn state over to Canada.
eyepaddle
@D-Chance
Your tears are like candy to me. (not sure who I am borrowing that from, but thanks!)
Josh Hueco
@D-Chance.:
What can you expect from a nation that elected a former actor as its president?
Zuzu's Petals
@The Other Steve:
To be fair, Gore was asking for a manual recount of all ballots, not just absentee ballots. And Florida state law limited him to requesting recounts in only those jurisdictions where the difference could change the result of the election. Meaning it wouldn’t likely be counties that heavily favored GWB.
Zuzu's Petals
@MH:
I always remembered his account of meeting the imperious Barbara Bush, who kept insisting: "I’m done with you." It just summed up the petty meanspiritedness of the clan so well.
I love the idea that at some point she may be required to shake his hand and be polite. Hey, it could happen.
Thlayli
@Joey Maloney:
Which isn’t likely, seeing as how Coleman is a tribesman himself.
bnau
Loved the update (Double heh). I literally said "Hehheh" out loud without thinking about it. I had posted the following earlier in a couple of sites but never got any feedback. I’ll try again here.
This was an election about which I felt really disappointed on election nt. I was very excited about having Al in the senate, a very funny but articulate true progressive. And when have we ever had one of those. I had been so heartened by the discussion and projections of the recount (thanks Nate), but again the actual process at first seemed to be going in the wrong direction. Finally Al is ahead and is going to win.
Now it seems even more important to have Al in the senate, what with all the MSM, blue dogs, Bayh and his idiot followers and their "center right nation" bull crap. Also given the rather less than progressive cabinet and things like the Warren fiasco, it should be fabulous fun having Al speaking out on the tube if the MSM actually puts him on. (Not that I’m that upset by Obama’s picks for his cabinet in general) I do believe Al will be invited on the squawk shows as a DEM spokesman even if he does upset the "Village" because he’s just too damned entertaining to keep him off.
"Because he’s good enough, he’s smart enough, and doggone it people like him!"
Blue Raven
@Thlayli:
Which has me wondering if there’s an equivalent term to "oreo" or "banana" to mean "poseur Jew." (to translate quickly: if Coleman could throw the word out into his speech, not saying either gent is a fake… like this shiksa would know?)
J. Michael Neal
Something similar doesn’t seem to stop Ken Blackwell.
djangone
Bring it on…
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2005/02/009421.php