As my chapter in "Loser Take All" (c) 2008 says regarding Bush v. Gore, what that case ultimately represents is an OPTION for the Supreme Courts, state and especially federal, to be the Final Decider of any election. The case is written so broadly and ambiguously, however, that just as in 2000 in Florida, in effect the US Supreme Court (the most likely one to do so, with a proven track record of doing so) will have complete arbitrary and capricious discretion to decide the case any way it wants. Or, to let stand the decision of courts below because it can live with it and doesn't wish to exercise the option at the present time. Either way, the Option exists, it's not right, and Coleman's lawyers "have been trying this case with the appeal record in mind, and that's where [they're] going" expressly for this purpose, as the above article shows. I make no royalties whatsoever from the same of the book above, in case anyone wants to read it, or the 8 page chapter on Bush v. Gore.

In less than a month the Minnesota Supreme Court will direct the governor and the secretary of state to issue Al Franken a certificate of election. After that, Coleman can do whatever he wants in the federal court system. Al will stay in the senate for at least the next 5 1/2 years.

If Coleman cared at all for the American people he or Franken would represent, or the political system he is involved with, you'd think he would drop the whole thing since he seems to be clear that he lost.

Norm Coleman has a job as a lobbyist for a republican group. Why he continues to waste the time of those of us in Minnesota with his lawsuits is due to his own troubles that will be coming up in court with the alleged payment to his wife through a "supporter". Al Franken is well-educated and we Minnesotans need and deserve our other senator on the Hill. Norm needs to go home.

after jeb bush and kathryn harris made florida a national joke, i am pleased that minnesota has also been made into a joke by a sleaze bag politician. how did you fools ever elect coleman in the first place? his teeth and hair would have made me run away as fast as possible.

Elections for any office other than Senator could wind-up before the Supreme Court. Not Senate. The Supreme Court doesn't decide elections for Senator. That's something the Constitution provides that the Senate conduct, itself. The facts of this particular case being what they are and who the Democrat is to be seated might make for a historic battle in the Senate. None other than Right-Wing Satirist-Author Al Franken, himself, is the 59th Democrat if seated. The GOP has already been on-the-record as saying they'll do and stoop to nothing to prevent Franken being sworn and seated. The Dems and Union Lobbyists are eager to have Franken in Senate. Minnesota's Supreme Court, in a recent written Ruling, made it clear that when the matter is decided in Minnesota, Frankes is to be issued his signed Election Certificate no matter how far beyond Minnesota Courts Coleman chooses to mount an Appeal. Coleman should blow-out the candles and go home. The challenges he takes to Court are all issues for which there is Law having Ruled against his grounds for Appeal.

My sympathy to the residents of Minnesota. It's usually my state's (Oklahoma) politicians elbowing one another for the race to the bottom. But wouldn't Coleman better serve his own interests by graciously bowing out once it was obvious he'd lose? Can he ever win election to statewide office again?

Richard E Massey posted: "The facts of this particular case being what they are and who the Democrat is to be seated might make for a historic battle in the Senate. None other than Right-Wing Satirist-Author Al Franken, himself, is the 59th Democrat if seated. "

I believe you meant Liberal Democrat All Franken. He is FAR from being Right-Wing. However, if you meant exactly what you wrote, then I will just dismiss everything in your post as coming from an uninformed poster.

English being what it is, couldn't Massey have meant that Franken is a satirist whose focus is the right wing? Your assessment would have been more accurate had Massey included a comma after wing, indicating right wing and satirist as part of a list.

As I sit here and read the comments I have to say you all do not know how crazy Minnesota is. I live in Minnesota. This is a place that voted Michelle B..Back into office!!! Crazy HUH!!! This is not over..The Right-Wing will fight until this state is dry..Coleman could careless.

Here in Oregon we salute those of you who voted for Progressive Al Franken and hope that you get him off soon to his place in Washington DC. What a shame that the sleazy Coleman is such a sore loser - but that is the way of the OLD WHITE GUYS PARTY - they have to try to hang on to any scrap left of their SINKING POWER BASE. Good luck Norm, don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out of the Capitol - oops, you've ALREADY been kicked out of the building I hear!

What an exciting time for our nation - your state with Franken in DC will help the Progressives make further progress in shooting down the ugly policies of the the WAR CRIMINALS. Good luck Al - the nation can hardly wait!

Hey Norm I got one name for ya, Senator John Ensign. Look at what he did, maybe you should gone this route. After initial recount accept defeat and come back without your name being tarished.

In 1998, Ensign ran for the Senate but was defeated by the Democratic incumbent, future Senate Floor Leader Harry Reid, by only 428 votes. Ensign won a Senate seat on his second try in 2000.

These Senate and House jobs must be pure HEAVENLY because it appears as though these people would literally kill someone(s) to keep a seat...I truley believe they would. I sure wish several of them on each side would step down(or ooze out).

Norm Coleman is making a fool of himself to the nation although he was popular in Minnesota. Al Franken will be a Senator for the USA not only as a Democrat. I saw him on the C channel take
O'Reilly to the cleaners in a debate so we know he is honest and
brilliant. His script writing career on Saturday Night Live was
only part of his character along with his political radio commentary.
Good luck Al Franken we need you in Washington DC to put the emerging right wing on the ropes. Good bye Coleman.

I read the term "right wing satirist" as meaning Franki=en writes satire about the right wing...but then I am aware he does just that. But strictly speaking, grammatically it says something quite different. Context allows for both interpretations in this case.

Us fools in MN elected Norm because 2 weeks before the election Cheney's special unit made a hit that killed Wellstone & his wife.

Even then he just squeeked by the replacement (Former VP Mondale - too old & too much baggage).

PS I am probably just joking about the cause of Sen Welstones untimly end. But it is interesting to note that Sen McCaskill (Mr.) met the same end about the same time 2 years ealier. In that case Mrs. beat the crisco loving loser that would find himself AG after the theft of 2000.

Norm Coleman's court "contest" was a farce from Day One. Here his lawyer more or less candidly admits they failed to present (because they never had) the kind of evidence they'd need to overturn the recount---their entire argument was a mountain of speculation as to what "might have" or "could have" occurred, without concrete evidence that specific votes shouldn't have been counted but were, or should have been counted but weren't. Now all they have left is another few weeks of stalling tactics by filing a futile and baseless appeal. It's all just a colossal waste of time and the taxpayers' money, with the transparent aim to delay as long as possible the seating of Al Franken as the 59th Democratic vote in the U.S. Senate, Minnesota's constitutional right to equal representation in Congress be damned. This is the cheapest, most cynical kind of partisan politics, running roughshod over both the legal process and democratic principles in the ruthless pursuit of nakedly partisan political ends. Coleman has permanently besmirched his reputation, or what little was left of it.

Um, what constitutional (state or federal) arguments are going to be made?

re: Frankdog at 3:41 PM... Well it was Mel Carnahan who, though dead (in a plane crash!), defeated Ashcroft in 2000. His widow took his place for 2 years before herself being defeated by Jim Talent in a special election in 02. Talent in turn in 2006, lost to McCaskill, who currently serves; re: Paul Wellstone - I totally believe that great liberal attack dog was murdered (call his death way to convenient); re: Norm Coleman - on November 5th, he (stupidly) suggested Franken graciously concede for the good of the people of Minnesota because early election results indicated he (Coleman) narrowly won. But of course, the AUTOMATICALLY TRIGGERED RECOUNT proved Franken had won. Coleman then forgot about the concept of gracious defeat. And so phase 2 of GOP strategy: keep 59th Democrat out of commission for as long as possible. Coleman and his lawyer may want to quit, but Cornyn et al. don't.

(Previously Posted): The facts of this particular case being what they are and who the Democrat is to be seated might make for a historic battle in the Senate. None other than Right-Wing Satirist-Author Al Franken, himself, is the 59th Democrat if seated. The GOP has already been on-the-record as saying they'll do and stoop to nothing to prevent Franken being sworn and seated.
(Miswritten be me. Correction follows:)

"The facts of this particular case being what they are and for who the Democrat is to be seated might make for a historic battle in the Senate. None other than Whistle-blowing Satirist OF THE Right Wing, Liberal Democrat Al Franken, himself, is the 59th Democrat WHEN Seated. The GOP has already been on-the-record as saying they'll do and stoop to nothing to prevent Franken being sworn and seated." (Corrects my earlier text as pointed-out by Mr. MKidd 2:09; with thanks for mentioning the submission needing this correction.)
REM-03-20-09 5:30PM.

Its been obvious since before the election what Coleman's problem is. He is desperate to keep his ass out of jail. You can see the terror in his face every time the idea crosses his mind. The Senate seat was the only bargaining chip he had and he has watched it slip through his hands.

Norm set himself up really real. He was able to keep up the BS, pull the party switcharoo, get close to the money, and ride the Big gravy train. His best friend and mentor, Ted Stevens, was showing him the ropes. But now they may soon be sharing a cell.

He came close to pulling it off, real close, but karma's a bitch. He found that he'd screwed too many people on his way up. Now he's terrified about the turn about on the way down. Coleman has always had a simple set of principles, do what's best for Norm Coleman.

Now he has to figure out how to stay out of jail. With his reputation shot to hell, and his donor base money nearing exhaustion he may have some real problems doing that. I don't think that a U.S. Attorney is all that pricey, but Coleman may well pay a high price for his vanity. He wants to look good squeeking out of this one. Whether he does or not is still open. But before its over Norm Coleman will ask us to again believe that what's brown and stinks is something truly marvelous!

John VH

As a Minnesotan who voted for Reagan and the Bushes, I have left the party and voted for Obama. I didn't vote for Coleman or Franken because I was so disgusted with how they both ran their campaigns. I voted for Barkley so I don't have a dog in this fight. However, after watching this thing unfold I have a strong preference for Franken. When Norm thought he won he was quick to try to guilt Al into conceding. Then when it became clear that Norm wasn't ahead, he said he was tired when he made those remarks and didn't mean them. Right.

If he really cared about his constituents he would fold his tent and move on. All of his bitching about "disenfranchising the voters" is a bunch of bull. He is the one disenfranchising the voters by prolonging the inevitable to kiss up to the GOP and his donors.

It's time for him to concede and spend his time actually working for the Jewish group instead of pretending to. He could use his time preparing to defend himself in the criminal case that is waiting in the wings.

So Norm--hang it up and quite putting your own self interests ahead of the good people of Minnesota.

I am stunningly amazed at the short-sighted and purely partisan perspective you all have a on this ongoing court challenge to a clearly botched election process. I am not a backer of Coleman or Franken, but one has to realize that this court action is not just about them or this race, but about ensuring the quality of future elections in the state. When one looks closely at how dreadfully many of the processes of the election were handled, it is amazing how any election is ever correct. Granted, it takes a very close election to point out and indeed amplify these election process failures, but failures they are, and this court case must proceed to ensure that the process as a whole is corrected and future elections are safeguarded.

So Norm--hang it up and quite putting your own self interests ahead of the good people of Minnesota.

Kevin | March 20, 2009 6:28 PM
=================================
Hey Kevin:

I'm sure you already know this, but I read a report that said if there had been a two-way race between Franken and Coleman then then 2/3rds of Barkley's votes would have gone to Franken. Its a shame it wasn't a two way race, and people like you would have handily elected Franken. Then your state would be represented by two Senators right now and Coleman wouldn't have been able to wage this ridiculous and expensive fight to hold on to the seat he lost.

Its also a crying shame Coleman was elected in the first place, to take the place of Paul Wellstone when his plane "crashed." What a total clown to take the place of such an honorable populist Senator.

The summation comment of Mr. Brad K (above) accurately assesses the whole story and speaks to that which is the most upsetting fact of Coleman's behavior. Having Franken been declared the winner by the Minnesota Election Recount Special Canvassing Board,with other compelling factors, to wit, The Inauguration of a Democratic President, the Nation in an Economic nose-dive, scores upon scores of people being laid-off each day, American Institutions Failing and going bankrupt, families losing their life savings, others being evicted from their homes, a Global Economic Crisis worsening with each passing hour, and the new President needing moral and legislative support; Coleman blocked Franken from shaping the Laws and supporting the President arrogantly ignoring the Big Picture while fiendishly admiring his reflection in a mirror.

Hey Norm - you could get a one bedroom in Flordia cheap these days - maybe that's somewhere you could find appreciation - or how about Texas -we here one village there got their idiot back - bet there's room for one more!

rowdy in florida: "after jeb bush and kathryn harris made florida a national joke, i am pleased that minnesota has also been made into a joke by a sleaze bag politician."

Uh, that's not a valid comparison. Back in 2000, Harris and the Republicans succeeded in preventing over 175,000 legitimate votes from being counted, and the Supreme Court ignonimously upheld their efforts. In Florida, the process failed at most all levels, and a false result was thus allowed to stand.

However, eight years later Norm Coleman and the Republicans failed to prevent all legitimate votes from being tallied, and the Minnesota State election Court will shortly verify the correct result in Al Franken's favor. So in Minnesota, by contrast with Florida, the process indeed worked.

rowdy in florida: "how did you fools ever elect coleman in the first place?"

Norm Coleman was subsequently elected in 2002 when his opponent, incumbent Sen. Paul Wellstone, was killed in a plane crash less than two weeks before Election Day. Wellstone had been 10 points ahead in the polls at the time of his death.

rowdy, while your heart as a Democrat or independent may well be in the right place, please do make a better effort to become informed. Your expressed and posted opinions will be all the better for it, and your personal slurs expressed toward others won't immediately collapse under the weight of your own ignorance.

I live in Minnesota. Sincerely setting aside political preferences (I proudly voted for Franken), Norm is burning his bridges of public good will. A special re-do election? What kind of credibility would he carry into THAT type of a campaign? GIVE US OUR SENATOR.

Erik: The Election Process wasn't botched. If anything; the Election and Recount was done in total transparency with such accuracy and scrutiny you'd have thought the Election Judges and Monitors were sorting diamonds. Every single Ballot was viewed and thousands challenged. When it got to the point where challenged Ballots needed to certified for voter intent; the Canvassing Board did so under complete transparency provided by TheUpTake.org which streamed video of each Ballot considered. The Canvassing Board applied a strict application of the Law. Many votes were disqualified and rightly so. Leaving what BOTH Sides claimed were Improperly Rejected Absentee Ballots. Those Ballots brought to The Board, opened and tallied.
There are some remaining rejected Absentee Ballots. Election Judges were called to testify why those Ballots weren't counted. Each Ballot not opened and tallied had good reason, according to Election Law, to be among the (0.34%) thirty-four one-hundredths of one percent of the total vote on Election Night. The State of Minnesota was required to disqualify certain Absentee Ballots not filled-out and submitted according to the Law. Those which remained disqualified after being inspected by Election Judges and Legal Representatives of BOTH Campaigns are NOT the Votes of Citizens which the State of Minnesota has disenfranchised.

They are the Disqualified Votes of a careless group of Absentee Ballot submitters who failed to follow the directions, filled-out the Ballot incorrectly or otherwise had some issue with voter registration or proper witnessing of their Ballot and wound-up having their vote rejected.
The State did not disenfranchise these voters.
They disenfranchised themselves!

A Minnesotan as well, I will say that Norm was never ever That popular to Anybody's standard. You must remember that Wellstone died in order for Norm to get the job.
However, there are many old-fashioned people here that think you must have continuity and tend to vote 2nd terms (except for Ventura which was a fluke brought on by KQRS promotion).
He is, was, and will be known to many as sleazy and cheezy. I've heard only a few eye-witness accounts. Generally, we've had some very good people running things in MN, whatever party they represented, until the past 10 years. Coincidence? I don't think so.

I can hear the entire country in unison throwing open their windows and yelling (with regard to Coleman's lawyer giving up on this lost, embarrassing cause), "It is about friggin" time!!!" It is like Peter Finch getting people to open their windows in the movie "Network", and telling them to scream, "I am as mad as Hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!!!"

Time to pull the plug on this farce.

Coleman cannot win. A judge should at some point (soon) point out the fact that the lawsuits are now frivolous and dismiss the cases with prejudice.

I am just sick with disgust with the G.O.P. and even the Dems to a certain degree....I wish that the Dem's had fought as hard as Coleman fought back with the Hi-jacking of the White House by the Bush crime family, which includes half of the Supreme Court who granted Bush the Presidency back in 2000. I understand why the G.O.P. are fighting so hard, it is the same metaphor as "Custards Last Stand" in regards to the Dems taking full control. You would think that the G.O.P would learn and listen to why they are losing and continuing to lose, because the are all about attack...kill...and step on the little people for corporate wealth and greed and listen to the tons/millions of working class people who finally woke up this past election year....they still have not and will not learn that they are not the party of the working class/impoverished Americans who are the victims of the Bush Crime Regime!