Al Franken is now projected to win the MN Senate race.

[Mustard]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/18/frankens-senate-victory-c_n_152241.html

Democratic challenger Al Franken finds himself on the cusp of winning a seat in the United States Senate after Minnesota's canvassing board awarded him a host of challenged votes during deliberations on Thursday.
As of 8PM ET, the Minneapolis Star Tribune projected that Franken would finish the recount process with a lead of 89 votes, positioning him to become the 59th senator caucusing with Democrats in the upcoming Congress.
According to local paper tallies, Franken currently trails Sen. Norm Coleman by a mere five votes, down from the 358-vote margin that the Republican held just last night. The Associated Press has the count even closer, with Coleman ahead by two votes (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20081218/minnesota-senate). An aide to Franken told the Huffington Post that, according to the campaign's internal count, Franken has already taken a small lead.
The gains came as the canvassing board sifted through hundreds of ballots that Coleman had contested during the recount process. On Friday, the canvassing board will consider another 400 or so Coleman challenges. If the pattern remains consistent, Franken should vault past his opponent to a projected lead of approximately 89 votes, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune (http://senaterecount.startribune.com/ballots/).
The process by which the Senate race has come to this stage is often confusing. Coleman held an approximately 200-vote lead after the state went through a hand recount of all ballots. However, there remained approximately 1,500 ballots that one or the other campaign contested (and temporarily removed from the overall vote tally). Coleman challenged about 1,000 of these, Franken the rest.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the canvassing board considered Franken's challenges, which gave a slight gain to Coleman's lead (Franken, after all, was challenging ballots that were, perhaps erroneously, awarded to Coleman during the recount). But the Franken campaign also gained some votes during the two days; the canvassing board awarded him dozens of ballots that had been wrongfully determined to be non-votes or under-votes.
By Thursday, the canvassing board had moved onto the pile of Coleman challenges, and with it, Coleman's lead quickly dissipated. It became clear early on that the Senator had challenged many ballots simply because they favored Franken and had a minor (non-disqualifying) clerical error. The board began plowing through the votes until, by late afternoon, Franken found himself down by only five.
As it stands now, it seems likely that Franken will end this process with a lead wider than even his campaign expected. Earlier projections, from the Associated Press, Star Tribune and Franken himself, suggested that Coleman would lose the race by roughly 20 votes or less. And this tally doesn't even take into consideration the legal and political battle being waged over wrongfully rejected absentee ballots, which the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled (http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/senate/36406524.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD 3aPc:_Yyc:aUac8HEaDiaMDCinchO7DU), on Thursday, should be counted.

That decision, another loss for the Coleman campaign, could mean even more votes flowing into Franken's tally, though the Court also stressed that the state and both campaigns come up with a uniform standard for identifying these absentee ballots before they are counted.



So as for now, Franken is down five votes, out of some 2 million-ish votes. It appears if the math holds up he will end up with an 89 vote victory. Wild stuff really.

With a Franken victory, that would give the Democrats 59 Senators in their caucus for the 110th Congress.

[Stax]

This thing is far from over. It'll still be protested, the counting will be challenged over and over again, I'll say whose won the day they're sworn in and accepted by the Senate.

Also, big of a Dem as I am, at this point that extra seat really won't make a huge difference. Good ole median voter theorem, if an issue is liberal enough that the Dems can't draw off ANY Republican support (Collins, Snowe, Specter worried about reelection?) Reid would probably lose a Dem or two anyways (except on the most extreme party line things imaginable).

[Mustard]

Yeah, but its Al Fucking Franken... Coleman is probably going to lose to a comedian, and not even an A or B lister for that matter.

[Stax]

Yeah, but its Al Fucking Franken... Coleman is probably going to lose to a comedian, and not even an A or B lister for that matter.

True enough. And, assuming Rendell doesn't get in on it, Specter may well lose to Chris Matthews.

[Ace Rockola]

I want Franken to win solely on the fact that Bill O'Reilly's head will explode.

[Mustard]

I want Franken to win solely on the fact that Bill O'Reilly's head will explode.
I need to see this happen. An on-air live brain anneurism would make my day.

[Stax]

I need to see this happen. An on-air live brain anneurism would make my day.

HY-03vYYAjA

[Mustard]

Funny enough, I don't even need to watch the video to know what will happen. I want this to happen.

[Ace Rockola]

You know he's going to say something along the lines of "Franken better watch out, because I'll be watching". Because Bill is the enforcer and end all, be all of American politics

[mongo]

Yeah, but its Al Fucking Franken... Coleman is probably going to lose to a comedian, and not even an A or B lister for that matter.

i think the term "comedian" might be a bit of a stretch.

[Stax]

i think the term "comedian" might be a bit of a stretch.

Comedienne?

[Mustard]

You know he's going to say something along the lines of "Franken better watch out, because I'll be watching". Because Bill is the enforcer and end all, be all of American politics
Bill O'Reilly is the enforcer of exactly jack and shit. Its gonna be a great two years watching Billo cry and whine and bitch. Maybe God really does answer prayer...
i think the term "comedian" might be a bit of a stretch.
I was gonna say that Franken should have just stuck with what he was good at doing (comedy) but then again he wasn't really that good at it, so what are we left with?

[Nature's Folly]

I'm not political at all, I'm a complete fucking dumbass when it comes to any of this. Al Franken is awesome. So yay! I hope he wins.

[freegood]

Maybe he'll be good enough, smart enough and gosh darnit! People will like him!

[Claydon]

I really do not want this dipshit in the senate.

[Smuckers]

Go Al. Hope he does well, and delivers if he wins.

[BIG PIZZLE]

What the fuck is al franken gonna do in the senate? Write a book about it?

[Da Raider]

What the fuck is al franken gonna do in the senate? Write a book about it?

He's going to tackle someone who dares to ask a Democrat a tough question.

[BIG PIZZLE]

Al franken coulnt tackle a 7 y/o girl with polio.

[nuclearjew]

Sure he could. His head is the size of Oklahoma.

[Da Raider]

Al franken coulnt tackle a 7 y/o girl with polio.

actually I remember seeing a video of him tackling a guy who was heckling some liberal (can't remember who) who was speaking. Obviously, Al is a proponent of free speech, except when done by someone he disagrees with.

[Rover]

Typical. Democrats counting ballots until they win elections. Good to see Tammany's legacy continues to influence the "Democratic" party.

[Debo]

This is far from over.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081219/D955NOEO0.html

Why don't they do a run-off like GA did and settle this bullshit?

[Morfin]

This all goes to show that, no matter what ballot is used -- punch card, fill in the oval, computer -- there are going to be inaccuracies and, in close elections like this, or like Bush/Gore in Florida in 2000, there are going to be some results that are within that inevitable margin of error.

Don't know what the rules/laws are in Minnesota, but a run-off with just these two, sure sounds reasonable, and the cost for such a run-off would not be small, but would be preferable than some court deciding the outcome.

[taters]

Typical. Democrats counting ballots until they win elections. Good to see Tammany's legacy continues to influence the "Democratic" party.

Dude, really, it hasnt been that long since 2000(florida)and 2004(ohio). Not to mention various state election misconduct and even a bit of misconduct in this last election (Montana for one, also how in MN scores of Dem votes mysteriously went missing for long periods of time') I dont think any republican has grounds to call dems on this.

[Debo]

Dude, really, it hasnt been that long since 2000(florida)and 2004(ohio). Not to mention various state election misconduct and even a bit of misconduct in this last election (Montana for one, also how in MN scores of Dem votes mysteriously went missing for long periods of time') I dont think any republican has grounds to call dems on this.

Did a Dem take the Governor's seat in WA or OR on a questionable recount in 2006?

[Genius]

Vote corruption and scandal knows no party lines.

[Rover]

Did a Dem take the Governor's seat in WA or OR on a questionable recount in 2006?Gregoire won WA in 2004, after losing 2 counts, she won on the 3rd, which means Democratic voters are either idiots, who can't operate ballots, or they just count and count and count, until they win. It's probably a combination of both those things.

[Claydon]

Dude, really, it hasnt been that long since 2000(florida)and 2004(ohio). Not to mention various state election misconduct and even a bit of misconduct in this last election (Montana for one, also how in MN scores of Dem votes mysteriously went missing for long periods of time') I dont think any republican has grounds to call dems on this.


wait...did he say something about racism?

[Mustard]

Did a Dem take the Governor's seat in WA or OR on a questionable recount in 2006?
Certainly wasn't Oregon.

[Titus_Pullo]

The fact that Franken was even on the ballot makes me want Canada to absorb Minnesota.

[Morfin]

Okay. We'll take Alberta and its oil, Canada can have Minnesota. We'll throw in North and South Dakota, as well. Oh, and Mississippi.

[Claydon]

Okay. We'll take Alberta and its oil, Canada can have Minnesota. We'll throw in North and South Dakota, as well. Oh, and Mississippi.

fuck that, n. dakota is sitting on a shit ton of lighter crude deposits.

let canada have the deep south including florida.

[Whiffleball]

59 is probably for the best. If the Dems had 60, there would be pressure on Harry Reid to make every single bill Democrats support pass the Senate, which just isn't going to happen. 59 means expectations are that the Dems should be able to pass bills where they can get a few Republicans to swing to their side, which is more realistic.

Conservatives can cry foul if they like, but until they bring forth the evidence of corruption conclusively, it's just sour grapes.

I'm sure many Democrats are not happy about having Franken in the Senate. I can see him being like Dennis Skinner in the UK where he just goes off on the Senate floor or at least like the Barney Frank of the upper house.

Likely he'll say something (or many things) that will cost him the seat come re-election.

But I think Bill O will love having a big-mouthed Democrat to tangle with. They have such a lovely history...

fpOSgT-osHk

[Yelram]

(Montana for one, also how in MN scores of Dem votes mysteriously went missing for long periods of time')

Yeah, how did those scores of votes go missing right up until the recount, and in a heavily democratic region, things that make you go hmmmm..

[ADD]

Done deal

MINNEAPOLIS — Democrat Al Franken will be declared the winner of the tight U.S. Senate contest in Minnesota, emerging from a ballot recount with a slim margin over Republican Norm Coleman, state officials said on Sunday.
But Coleman, the incumbent, has asked Minnesota's supreme court to require that a few hundred additional absentee ballots be included in the recount -- and he could then ask the court to investigate the contest all over again.
"At the moment, Franken has a 225-vote lead," after the weekend counting of what were deemed the last uncounted absentee ballots, said Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, a Democrat who oversaw the process.
Ritchie said unless the supreme court acts on Coleman's request and orders more ballots to be counted, he will reconvene the state's Canvassing Board on Monday to certify Franken as the winner of the November 4 contest.
Even so, Coleman's campaign said it will likely challenge the result, which would require the state supreme court's chief justice to appoint three judges to investigate its claims.
Hundreds of absentee voters were "disenfranchised," other votes were double-counted, and still other ballots that went missing were counted anyway, Coleman's campaign manager Cullen Sheehan said in a statement.
"We remain convinced that this process is broken, and as a result, the numbers being reported will not be accurate or valid ... (It) clearly means that a contest is the only likely remedy to ensure a fair outcome," Sheehan said.


Franken, 57, is a well-known satirist who wrote for and starred on NBC television's long-running comedy show "Saturday Night Live," and more recently hosted a liberal radio show before running for the Senate from his home state.
Coleman, 59, just completed his first term that he won by defeating Walter Mondale, the former Democratic presidential candidate who stood in for Sen. Paul Wellstone. Wellstone died in a plane crash during his 2002 reelection campaign.
The recount of some 2.4 million votes cast for the pair has swung back and forth over several weeks. Coleman initially held the edge, but his narrow victory margin necessitated the recount under state law.
The Canvassing Board sifted through hundreds of ballots contested by the two campaigns.
"The recount has been done so precisely, and so transparently," it would be difficult to envision a challenge succeeding, Ritchie said.
Senate Republicans have pledged not to seat Franken provisionally while the race is still in doubt. Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer of New York urged that Franken be seated, which would expand the party's majority to 58 of the 100 members.
But Republican Sen. John Cronyn of Texas issued a sharply worded statement saying "Sen. Schumer's exultations are premature to say the least."
"There is the pending Supreme Court case and likely election contest that will ultimately decide, consistent with Minnesota law, who won the election," Cronyn said.
President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat in Illinois is still in limbo. The Senate's Democratic leadership is promising not to seat Gov. Rod Blagojevich's appointee, Roland Burris, due to the taint of corruption charges hanging over the governor. Among those are charges are that he tried to sell the seat for campaign cash or jobs.


http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20081223/NEWS-US-USA-POLITICS-MINNESOTA/

[taters]

"Youve got to know when to hold um....know when to fold um....know when to walk away..."

[Mustard]

You see people... this is why you need to vote. It just doesn't get much closer than this.

[Das Kahlua]

Elections were once settled at the ballot box and not in a courtroom, right?

[redsox39]

Hopefully, Franken will do the the Democrats what he did for Air America...

[nuclearjew]

Hopefully you'll do to yourself what Kurt Cobain did to himself.

[Morfin]

Marry Courtney Love? Shit, that's harsh, man.

[Da Raider]

Funny Business in Minnesota
In which every dubious ruling seems to help Al Franken


Strange things keep happening in Minnesota, where the disputed recount in the Senate race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken may be nearing a dubious outcome. Thanks to the machinations of Democratic Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and a meek state Canvassing Board, Mr. Franken may emerge as an illegitimate victor.
[Review & Outlook] AP


Mr. Franken started the recount 215 votes behind Senator Coleman, but he now claims a 225-vote lead and suddenly the man who was insisting on "counting every vote" wants to shut the process down. He's getting help from Mr. Ritchie and his four fellow Canvassing Board members, who have delivered inconsistent rulings and are ignoring glaring problems with the tallies.


Under Minnesota law, election officials are required to make a duplicate ballot if the original is damaged during Election Night counting. Officials are supposed to mark these as "duplicate" and segregate the original ballots. But it appears some officials may have failed to mark ballots as duplicates, which are now being counted in addition to the originals. This helps explain why more than 25 precincts now have more ballots than voters who signed in to vote. By some estimates this double counting has yielded Mr. Franken an additional 80 to 100 votes.


This disenfranchises Minnesotans whose vote counted only once. And one Canvassing Board member, State Supreme Court Justice G. Barry Anderson, has acknowledged that "very likely there was a double counting." Yet the board insists that it lacks the authority to question local officials and it is merely adding the inflated numbers to the totals.


In other cases, the board has been flagrantly inconsistent. Last month, Mr. Franken's campaign charged that one Hennepin County (Minneapolis) precinct had "lost" 133 votes, since the hand recount showed fewer ballots than machine votes recorded on Election Night. Though there is no proof to this missing vote charge -- officials may have accidentally run the ballots through the machine twice on Election Night -- the Canvassing Board chose to go with the Election Night total, rather than the actual number of ballots in the recount. That decision gave Mr. Franken a gain of 46 votes.


Meanwhile, a Ramsey County precinct ended up with 177 more ballots than there were recorded votes on Election Night. In that case, the board decided to go with the extra ballots, rather than the Election Night total, even though the county is now showing more ballots than voters in the precinct. This gave Mr. Franken a net gain of 37 votes, which means he's benefited both ways from the board's inconsistency.


And then there are the absentee ballots. The Franken campaign initially howled that some absentee votes had been erroneously rejected by local officials. Counties were supposed to review their absentees and create a list of those they believed were mistakenly rejected. Many Franken-leaning counties did so, submitting 1,350 ballots to include in the results. But many Coleman-leaning counties have yet to complete a re-examination. Despite this lack of uniformity, and though the state Supreme Court has yet to rule on a Coleman request to standardize this absentee review, Mr. Ritchie's office nonetheless plowed through the incomplete pile of 1,350 absentees this weekend, padding Mr. Franken's edge by a further 176 votes.


Both campaigns have also suggested that Mr. Ritchie's office made mistakes in tabulating votes that had been challenged by either of the campaigns. And the Canvassing Board appears to have applied inconsistent standards in how it decided some of these challenged votes -- in ways that, again on net, have favored Mr. Franken.


The question is how the board can certify a fair and accurate election result given these multiple recount problems. Yet that is precisely what the five members seem prepared to do when they meet today. Some members seem to have concluded that because one of the candidates will challenge the result in any event, why not get on with it and leave it to the courts? Mr. Coleman will certainly have grounds to contest the result in court, but he'll be at a disadvantage given that courts are understandably reluctant to overrule a certified outcome.


Meanwhile, Minnesota's other Senator, Amy Klobuchar, is already saying her fellow Democrats should seat Mr. Franken when the 111th Congress begins this week if the Canvassing Board certifies him as the winner. This contradicts Minnesota law, which says the state cannot award a certificate of election if one party contests the results. Ms. Klobuchar is trying to create the public perception of a fait accompli, all the better to make Mr. Coleman look like a sore loser and build pressure on him to drop his legal challenge despite the funny recount business.


Minnesotans like to think that their state isn't like New Jersey or Louisiana, and typically it isn't. But we can't recall a similar recount involving optical scanning machines that has changed so many votes, and in which nearly every crucial decision worked to the advantage of the same candidate. The Coleman campaign clearly misjudged the politics here, and the apparent willingness of a partisan like Mr. Ritchie to help his preferred candidate, Mr. Franken. If the Canvassing Board certifies Mr. Franken as the winner based on the current count, it will be anointing a tainted and undeserving Senator.

[Genius]

If you are involved in this close of a race with Al Franken...you deserve to lose.

[Titus_Pullo]

I think the GOP will just take the loss and move on instead of crying "conspiracy" and such like the Dems would be spouting for years to come if it went the other way.

[Grieves]

You see people... this is why you need to vote. It just doesn't get much closer than this.Yeah, because the parties and their candidates are so different from each other that it really fucking matters who gets in.

[Genius]

I think the GOP will just take the loss and move on instead of crying "conspiracy" and such like the Dems would be spouting for years to come if it went the other way.
Because a lone Minnesota congressional seat is in any way comparable to the presidency.

[Mustard]

First, a rebuttal to the WSJ article Raider posted that didn't include a link.


Did the Wall Street Journal Fire their Fact-Checkers? (http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/01/did-wall-street-jorunal-fire-their-fact.html)



The Wall Street Journal is bar none one of the best newspapers in the country -- except when its Editorial Board is having a bad day. And today the Board is having a very bad day, having published an editorial (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123111967642552909.html) that declares Al Franken's provisional win in Minnesota, which the state just certified moments ago (http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/senate/37093114.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD 3aPc:_Yyc:aU1E::Dy_oacyKU), to be illegitimate, while accusing Minnesota's Canvassing Board of being inconsistent and biased in favor of Franken.

There is nothing intrinsically wrong with taking such a position. The Journal's editorial, however, has several basic facts wrong, makes several other assertions based on flimsy or nonexistent evidence, and generally has little understanding of the process that has taken place to date.

Let's go through the editorial paragraph by paragraph.
Strange things keep happening in Minnesota, where the disputed recount in the Senate race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken may be nearing a dubious outcome. Thanks to the machinations of Democratic Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and a meek state Canvassing Board, Mr. Franken may emerge as an illegitimate victory
"Machinations": there's a ten-dollar word. Ritchie may be a Democrat, but he was also democratically elected -- lower case 'D' -- by the people of Minnesota. And as for the Canvassing Board, it arguably leans to the right, consisting (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/11/18/minnesota-recount-hands-diverse-board/) of two members appointed by Tim Pawlenty, one appointed by Jesse Ventura, one elected member, and Ritchie.
Mr. Franken started the recount 215 votes behind Senator Coleman, but he now claims a 225-vote lead and suddenly the man who was insisting on "counting every vote" wants to shut the process down. He's getting help from Mr. Ritchie and his four fellow Canvassing Board members, who have delivered inconsistent rulings and are ignoring glaring problems with the tallies.
Actually, Coleman is having far more trouble with the Minnesota Supreme Court, which generally has a conservative reputation, than he is with the Canvassing Board. They're the ones who rejected his petition (http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/senate/36692169.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD 3aPc:_Yyc:aUycaEacyU) on duplicate ballots, and they're the ones who rejected (http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/senate/37093114.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD 3aPc:_Yyc:aUac8HEaDiaMDCinchO7DU) his notion of wanting to tack on additional ballots to the absentee ballot counting.
Under Minnesota law, election officials are required to make a duplicate ballot if the original is damaged during Election Night counting. Officials are supposed to mark these as "duplicate" and segregate the original ballots. But it appears some officials may have failed to mark ballots as duplicates, which are now being counted in addition to the originals. This helps explain why more than 25 precincts now have more ballots than voters who signed in to vote. By some estimates this double counting has yielded Mr. Franken an additional 80 to 100 votes.
There are 25 precincts with more ballots than voters? I'm not sure this is actually true. There were certain precincts with more votes counted during the recount than there were on Election Night -- which is not surprising, considering that the whole purpose of a hand recount is to find votes that the machine scanners missed the first time around. I have not seen any evidence, on the other hand, that there are precincts with more votes than voters as recorded on sign-in sheets. And the Coleman campaign evidently hasn't either, or it presumably would have presented it to the Court, which rejected its petition for lack of evidence.

Also, note the weasel-wordy phrase "by some estimates", which translates as "by the Coleman campaign's estimate". There is no intrinsic reason why Franken ballots are more likely to be duplicated than Coleman ballots, especially when one significant source of duplicate ballots is military absentees, a group that presumably favors the Republicans. Coleman, indeed, only became interested in the issue of duplicates once he fell behind in the recount and needed some way to extend his clock. Before then, his lead attorney had sent an e-mail (http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2008/12/coleman_takes_d.php) to Franken which said that challenges on the issue of duplicate ballots were "groundless and frivolous".
This disenfranchises Minnesotans whose vote counted only once. And one Canvassing Board member, State Supreme Court Justice G. Barry Anderson, has acknowledged that "very likely there was a double counting." Yet the board insists that it lacks the authority to question local officials and it is merely adding the inflated numbers to the totals.
The Canvassing Board indeed determined that it lacked the jurisidiction to handle duplicate ballots, telling Coleman that he had to go to court. Which he did. And the court threw the case out because Coleman didn't have any evidence.
In other cases, the board has been flagrantly inconsistent. Last month, Mr. Franken's campaign charged that one Hennepin County (Minneapolis) precinct had "lost" 133 votes, since the hand recount showed fewer ballots than machine votes recorded on Election Night. Though there is no proof to this missing vote charge -- officials may have accidentally run the ballots through the machine twice on Election Night -- the Canvassing Board chose to go with the Election Night total, rather than the actual number of ballots in the recount. That decision gave Mr. Franken a gain of 46 votes.
Actually, there is some proof (http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/12/missing-ballots-in-minneapolis.html): the number of votes identified during the recount fell 134 short of the number of voters who signed in on Election Night in this precinct.
Meanwhile, a Ramsey County precinct ended up with 177 more ballots than there were recorded votes on Election Night. In that case, the board decided to go with the extra ballots, rather than the Election Night total, even though the county is now showing more ballots than voters in the precinct. This gave Mr. Franken a net gain of 37 votes, which means he's benefited both ways from the board's inconsistency.
The decisions are not inconsistent if the Canvassing Board's objective is wanting to count every vote.

And here again the Journal is going on about the county "showing more ballots than voters in the precinct". If there is evidence of this, it would be news not just to me but also to the Coleman campaign.
And then there are the absentee ballots. The Franken campaign initially howled that some absentee votes had been erroneously rejected by local officials. Counties were supposed to review their absentees and create a list of those they believed were mistakenly rejected. Many Franken-leaning counties did so, submitting 1,350 ballots to include in the results. But many Coleman-leaning counties have yet to complete a re-examination. Despite this lack of uniformity, and though the state Supreme Court has yet to rule on a Coleman request to standardize this absentee review, Mr. Ritchie's office nonetheless plowed through the incomplete pile of 1,350 absentees this weekend, padding Mr. Franken's edge by a further 176 votes.
This is just blatantly false. All counties, red and blue alike, were instructed by the Supreme Court to identify any wrongly-rejected absentee ballots, and all of them did. In certain counties, Coleman claims to have identified additional wrongly-rejected absentee ballots above and beyond the ones that county officials identified -- but these were counties that nevertheless complied with the court's order and turned in their lists of ballots to the state.
Both campaigns have also suggested that Mr. Ritchie's office made mistakes in tabulating votes that had been challenged by either of the campaigns. And the Canvassing Board appears to have applied inconsistent standards in how it decided some of these challenged votes -- in ways that, again on net, have favored Mr. Franken.
I watched the video feed of the challenge adjudication process and did think there were some number of inconsistencies, particularly in the ways that ballots with 'X's on them were handled. But, I was looking at .pdfs of the ballots, whereas the Canvassing Board got to look at full-color, three-dimensional copies, which may make some difference in borderline cases. More to the point, however: (1) both candidates had their lawyers in the room when this adjudication was taking place, and had every right to press the Board on perceived inconsistencies, and (2) there is no evidence whatsoever that these inconsistencies hurt any one candidate particularly more than the other.
The question is how the board can certify a fair and accurate election result given these multiple recount problems. Yet that is precisely what the five members seem prepared to do when they meet today. Some members seem to have concluded that because one of the candidates will challenge the result in any event, why not get on with it and leave it to the courts? Mr. Coleman will certainly have grounds to contest the result in court, but he'll be at a disadvantage given that courts are understandably reluctant to overrule a certified outcome.
He'll be at a disadvantage because fewer people voted for him.
Meanwhile, Minnesota's other Senator, Amy Klobuchar, is already saying her fellow Democrats should seat Mr. Franken when the 111th Congress begins this week if the Canvassing Board certifies him as the winner. This contradicts Minnesota law, which says the state cannot award a certificate of election if one party contests the results. Ms. Klobuchar is trying to create the public perception of a fait accompli, all the better to make Mr. Coleman look like a sore loser and build pressure on him to drop his legal challenge despite the funny recount business.
But it doesn't contradict Congressional precedent (http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/cornyn_indicates_senate_gop_wi.php), as the Congress generally has seated provisional winners while challenges were taking place, including Republican Representative Vern Buchanan in 2007 and Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu in 1997.
Minnesotans like to think that their state isn't like New Jersey or Louisiana, and typically it isn't. But we can't recall a similar recount involving optical scanning machines that has changed so many votes, and in which nearly every crucial decision worked to the advantage of the same candidate. The Coleman campaign clearly misjudged the politics here, and the apparent willingness of a partisan like Mr. Ritchie to help his preferred candidate, Mr. Franken. If the Canvassing Board certifies Mr. Franken as the winner based on the current count, it will be anointing a tainted and undeserving Senator.
New Jerseyites! Louisianans! Cancel your subscriptions! And the rest of you might as well too.

-- Nate Silver at 3:41 PM (http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/01/did-wall-street-jorunal-fire-their-fact.html)
Labels: minnesota (http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/search/label/minnesota), msm (http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/search/label/msm), recounts (http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/search/label/recounts)

From http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/01/did-wall-street-jorunal-fire-their-fact.html

Seriously. That WSJ article is something straight out of Pravada or Fixed News. Since there was no link, as I read it, I actually thought it was a Faux News article. I smell some sour grapes here. Pretty childish, petty, and unprofessionally written article in my opinion, something that should be beneath the WSJ to print. It is a damned shame.

Yeah, because the parties and their candidates are so different from each other that it really fucking matters who gets in.
Fair point. But like I said in 2000 when Gore lost, had 1000 more voters of a particular persuasion got off their sorry asses and voted, the other guy would have won. That was the point I was trying to make. Your point, while I see it as valid and hard hitting, wasn't exactly what I was trying to get at.

[CrzyMarcX]

What's with the New Jersey/Louisiana reference ?

[Mustard]

I suggest you try one of these fine search engines to figure out the answer to your inquiry.

www.google.com (www.meatspin.com)
www.yahoo.com (www.meatspin.com)
www.altavista.com (www.meatspin.com)
www.lycos.com (www.meatspin.com)

Good luck!

[redsox39]

First, a rebuttal to the WSJ article Raider posted that didn't include a link.



From http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/01/did-wall-street-jorunal-fire-their-fact.html

Seriously. That WSJ article is something straight out of Pravada or Fixed News. Since there was no link, as I read it, I actually thought it was a Faux News article. I smell some sour grapes here. Pretty childish, petty, and unprofessionally written article in my opinion, something that should be beneath the WSJ to print. It is a damned shame.


Fair point. But like I said in 2000 when Gore lost, had 1000 more voters of a particular persuasion got off their sorry asses and voted, the other guy would have won. That was the point I was trying to make. Your point, while I see it as valid and hard hitting, wasn't exactly what I was trying to get at.

From the Ever Credible 538 group! lol

Maybe you should check the DailyKos too?

[Desperado]

Panel says Franken should be declared winner (http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/04/13/panel-says-franken-should-be-declared-winner/)
Posted: 07:30 PM ET
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/03/13/art.colemanfranken1.gi.jpg Coleman suffered a legal setback Monday.

http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/2.0/mosaic/base_skins/baseplate/corner_wire_BL.gif

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (CNN) — A three-judge panel ruled Monday against Republican Norm Coleman in his dispute with Democrat Al Franken over who should be declared the winner of the U.S. Senate race in Minnesota.
The judges determined that "Franken is entitled to receive the certificate of election" after defeating Coleman by 312 votes.
Coleman has 10 days to appeal the 68-page ruling to the state Supreme Court.

[Stax]

From the Ever Credible 538 group! lol

Maybe you should check the DailyKos too?

Do you even know what Five Thirty Eight is? They're a very accurate site.

[satandole666]

The mother of all prediction sites, to be more accurate.

[taters]

Itll just be challenged again in the State supreme court, which Franken will win, and then to be challenged at the national SC, which is up in the air (we all know 5 of the justices have a hard on for picking presidents).

[Phil Theehor]

I don't dislike Franken because he's a communist. In fact, I think he is very smart, wickedly funny and occasionally entertaining.

No, I dislike Franken because he is a very angry communist. Angry anythings are dangerous in politics.

[Titus_Pullo]

I guess someone needs to replace Ted Kennedy as the biggest Jerk Off in the Senate.

[taters]

I don't dislike Franken because he's a communist. In fact, I think he is very smart, wickedly funny and occasionally entertaining.

No, I dislike Franken because he is a very angry communist. Angry anythings are dangerous in politics.

LOL. I just lost a lot of respect for you. Please please PLEASE tell me where you are getting ANY evidence that Al Franken is a communist?

(I really hope you reply with some evidence that fits the definition of communism, as in Marx and Engels and Lenin, not some right wing 'they want to spend tax money on the poor and think people are born equal so that makes them communist McCarthy bullshit).

[Mustard]

From the Ever Credible 538 group! lol

Maybe you should check the DailyKos too?
Maybe you should do humanity a favor and jump into a lake of fire, you blithering ignoramus.

[freegood]

From the Ever Credible 538 group! lol

Maybe you should check the DailyKos too?

fivethirtyeight.com is pretty damn credible. Not that it matters... It was an editorial refuting another editorial.

If you have info to back up your disgust, I guess I could take a look at it.

[Phil Theehor]

LOL. I just lost a lot of respect for you. Please please PLEASE tell me where you are getting ANY evidence that Al Franken is a communist?

(I really hope you reply with some evidence that fits the definition of communism, as in Marx and Engels and Lenin, not some right wing 'they want to spend tax money on the poor and think people are born equal so that makes them communist McCarthy bullshit).

I don't think the man faps to Das Kapital, Tates. I call anybody left of Joe Lieberman a communist. It's an epithet I throw quite lightly. Ask Comrade Arch.

[Morfin]

I thought Arch was a socialist.

[redsox39]

From the Ever Credible 538 group! lol

Maybe you should check the DailyKos too?

Maybe you should do humanity a favor and jump into a lake of fire, you blithering ignoramus.

I have been waiting my turn...I didn't know it would take this long for you to burn, fatty.

fivethirtyeight.com is pretty damn credible. Not that it matters... It was an editorial refuting another editorial.

If you have info to back up your disgust, I guess I could take a look at it.

If the 538 is credible news source, than I better never hear about Fox news again.

[taters]

I don't think the man faps to Das Kapital, Tates. I call anybody left of Joe Lieberman a communist. It's an epithet I throw quite lightly. Ask Comrade Arch.

Ok, you were just being facetious. I thought you meant you think he really is a communist.

Im guessing that would make me a communist as well (of course, I am not).

[Whiffleball]

The funny thing is that Coleman isn't actually running anymore, it's the GOP blocking one more Democratic vote in the Senate. You have to wonder if the money they're spending on legal fees and the blowback they're going to get is worth delaying (and not actually stopping) the Democrats from being one vote away from a filibuster proof majority.

Obstructionism in Minnesota to further obstructionism in the U.S. Senate, lol

Also Phil Theehor speaks for a lot of conservatives. Al Franken elicits the same response from conservatives as Anne Coulter does from anybody on the left.

What's amusing is that this does not mean they're equivalent in rhetoric. But the reactions each gets from the other side? They're absolutely the same, if not close as hell. I do wonder what would happen if Al Franken called Mitt Romney a faggot.

Here are some quotes and guess which are by Franken and which are by Coulter:

"Republicans are shameless dicks. No, that's not fair. Republican politicians are shameless dicks."

"There are a lot of bad Republicans; there are no good Democrats."

"During Vietnam, I was in college, enjoying my student deferment. The government wisely felt that, in my case, military service was less important than completing my studies to prepare me for my chose career: comedian."

"When we were fighting communism, OK, they had mass murderers and gulags, but they were white men and they were sane. Now we're up against absolutely insane savages."

"Norman Coleman is one of the administration's leading butt boys."

"And why is it 'homophobic' for Senate Republicans to look askance at sex in public bathrooms? Is the Times claiming that sodomy in public bathrooms is the essence of being gay? I thought gays just wanted to get married to one another and settle down in the suburbs so they could visit each other in the hospital."

"Nobody likes getting an abortion. Except, perhaps, rape victims."

"Finally, all the candidates are willing to sell out any of these other issues in service of the one burning desire of all Democrats: abortion on demand. If they could just figure out a way to abort babies using solar power, that's all we'd ever hear about."

"When I was first asked to speak at Hartford State Technical College, I jumped at the opportunity. Because, you see, I thought I had been asked to speak at Harvard, which would have been quite an honor. But instead, I am here with you, the nation's future air conditioner repairmen."

"These broads [a group of 9/11 widows] are millionaires, lionized on TV and in articles about them, reveling in their status as celebrities and stalked by grief-arazzis... These self-obsessed women seemed genuinely unaware that 9/11 was an attack on our nation and acted as if the terrorist attacks happened only to them... I’ve never seen people enjoying their husbands’ deaths so much."

[taters]

I dont understand why Franken is so hated by the right. Hes never actually been elected before, and the seat hes taking (despite a long holdover from a Republican who was in the right place at the right time *no conspiracy theories yet*) was held by the most popular liberal guy in the senate of the late 20th century, Paul Wellstone.

[Morfin]

Expanding on Whiffleball's comment, the hatred comes from the fact that, lately, he has made his name bashing Republicans: with his books, with Air America. He has been the lead anti-Republican voice. The response seen here from the Republicans is the same as we would see if Ann Coulter got elected to the Senate -- regardless of who she was replacing.

[Phil Theehor]

Expanding on Whiffleball's comment, the hatred comes from the fact that, lately, he has made his name bashing Republicans: with his books, with Air America. He has been the lead anti-Republican voice. The response seen here from the Republicans is the same as we would see if Ann Coulter got elected to the Senate -- regardless of who she was replacing.

Tying together Morfin/Whiffleball/my points, I think they are disliked for the same reasons. They seem incapable of understanding anything about the other side of the argument. Beyond their visible anger, their complete lack of respect for opposing views is what makes them both so unlikable.

[Septic_Porpoise]

i just dislike franken because i don't think he's all that funny.

[Da Raider]

i disklike Franken becuz he is a fucking hypocrite of the highest order. If you've ever heard him, he's always going on about free speech. Except for when a conservative showed up a liberal office holder's campaign speech. He literally tackled the conservative for expressing his opinion. What a fucking douche.

[taters]

He isnt very funny, that much is true. His arguments, as enflaming of the right as they are, arent as divisive and...lets face it, outright hateful of peoples aside from their political wing.

Ex- Coulter/Horowitz/Sowell/Malkin/Limbaugh (and to a much lesser extent Oreilly) make money selling books based in bashing liberals, but also specifically attack gays, blacks, muslims, feminist, and mexicans.

Franken bashes Republicans and their mouthpeices as mentioned above, but does not target specific populations aside from their politics.

In my book, thats an astronomically large difference.

That being said, Coleman was a fucking dipstick anyway. He only way elected because his MASSIVELY popular opponent died in a planecrash. He was Bush's left hand senate guy, and made it known to his constituents. He changed parties in the 90s to keep popular even.

[Da Raider]

This thread is about Franken, so I'll stick with him. He's a fuckface.

[taters]

I thought it was about the senate race?

[jemeske]

Not that he isn't a dick, but to say the only reason Coleman is in the Senate is because Wellstone died is pretty debatable. That race was basically tied from the summer onward.

[taters]

Not that he isn't a dick, but to say the only reason Coleman is in the Senate is because Wellstone died is pretty debatable. That race was basically tied from the summer onward.

True, but thats all the more reason why the death at the last minute of one candidate would lead to the others victory. Wellstone had all of the 'indy and green' votes in MN, folks that normally disliked the DFL. When he died, they felt it was better to stay at home.

If it werent for the fact that Coleman was such an ardent bush backer, and a party changer, I wouldnt disfavor him so much. The fact that he won because the democratic equivalent of Ron Paul died in a plane crash just before the elections, which lead to his victory doesnt help.

[jemeske]

But my point was that Coleman may well have won even if Wellstone hadn't died (though I don't actually believe that he would have). Whatever.

How long will the supreme court appeal take? Coleman has already confirmed he will appeal and his only hope is that they somehow prove the election was faulty enough to merit a re-vote (his campaign has clearly been paving the way for this for weeks/months if you look at their statements).

I'm also curious to see if Senate Dems make a real push to seat Franken now--they've only been half-hearted at best in this up to this point. And I wonder if MN's SoS will push for a certificate now.

[taters]

The SC will probably step this one up, but it will definitely go to the SC. Right now, Im going to say, without knowing jack shit about the specifics other than whats said on public radio, Thomas, Alito, Roberts, and Scalia will rule in favor of Coleman. I dont care if his brief said 'WE iz win n we tink franken iz lose ftw', they will rule in his favor since he is a republican. The question is whether anyone will be the 'swing' vote.

The fact that this hasnt gone to court is a LOT of the reason why the dems are laying off the heavy (other than immediate stimulus) legislating until Franken gets in, if he does.

[Das Kahlua]

The SC will probably step this one up, but it will definitely go to the SC. Right now, Im going to say, without knowing jack shit about the specifics other than whats said on public radio, Thomas, Alito, Roberts, and Scalia will rule in favor of Coleman. I dont care if his brief said 'WE iz win n we tink franken iz lose ftw', they will rule in his favor since he is a republican. The question is whether anyone will be the 'swing' vote.

The fact that this hasnt gone to court is a LOT of the reason why the dems are laying off the heavy (other than immediate stimulus) legislating until Franken gets in, if he does.

And if the roles were reversed, people like Ginsburg would be leading the charge for a re-vote.

I'm a conservative, but the worst possible thing that could have happened to our country was when politics starting invading the courtroom.

I would rather have a position I agree with lose than have our entire system collapse based on political in-fighting and posturing.

[jemeske]

I actually meant the state supreme court, which is Coleman's next stop. Some legal guy on politico said it's pretty unlikely that they would overturn the panel's ruling.

edit: here http://electionlawblog.org/archives/013410.html

[smahoo]

BREAKING NEWS: Minnesota Supreme Court rules in favor of Al Franken......

ST. PAUL (AP) — The Minnesota Supreme Court has ordered that Democrat Al Franken (http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/People/Celebrities/Comedians/Al+Franken) be certified as the winner of the state's long-running Senate race.

The high court rejected a legal challenge from Republican Norm Coleman (http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/People/Politicians,+Government+Officials,+Strategists/U.S.+Senators/Norm+Coleman), whose options for regaining the Senate seat are dwindling.

Justices said Franken is entitled to the election certificate he needs to assume office. With Franken and the usual backing of two independents, Democrats will have a big enough majority to overcome Republican filibuster.

Coleman hasn't ruled out seeking federal court intervention.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-06-30-franken-senate_N.htm

[redsox39]

BREAKING NEWS: Minnesota Supreme Court rules in favor of Al Franken......

ST. PAUL (AP) — The Minnesota Supreme Court has ordered that Democrat Al Franken (http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/People/Celebrities/Comedians/Al+Franken) be certified as the winner of the state's long-running Senate race.

The high court rejected a legal challenge from Republican Norm Coleman (http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/People/Politicians,+Government+Officials,+Strategists/U.S.+Senators/Norm+Coleman), whose options for regaining the Senate seat are dwindling.

Justices said Franken is entitled to the election certificate he needs to assume office. With Franken and the usual backing of two independents, Democrats will have a big enough majority to overcome Republican filibuster.

Coleman hasn't ruled out seeking federal court intervention.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-06-30-franken-senate_N.htm

Well, the Cap and Trade Bill just got some CPR...fuck...

[jemeske]

Coleman just conceded in a press conference.

[Insomniac]

He's such a gracious loser.

[Da Raider]

why the hell should he be gracious to that clown?

[Insomniac]

Because apparently the people of Minnesota trust that clown to do a better job as Senator than Coleman.

[Da Raider]

Because apparently the people of Minnesota trust that clown to do a better job as Senator than Coleman.

well last time I checked they voted for Jessie Ventura for Gov.

[Lone Wolf]

Was Jesse all that bad for the state? I actually don't know, he came across as progressive, but that could be all smoke and mirrors to people out of state like me.