Coleman is toast

[davidpdx]

Senate recount: A Supreme Court grilling

Five justices pressed lawyers for Franken and Coleman with tough questions about absentee ballots and state law.

All that remains is a ruling.

A day after publicly grilling lawyers for Norm Coleman and Al Franken in a hearing scrutinized by political pundits and players nationwide, the Minnesota Supreme Court is back behind closed doors, deliberating on a decision that could lead DFLer Franken to the U.S. Senate or give Republican Coleman another chance to stop him.

snip

Coleman attorney Joe Friedberg told the justices that thousands more rejected absentee ballots should be tallied under looser standards that were used by many local officials on Election Day. He said local practices led to counting ballots in Democratic areas that were similar to those rejected in Republican areas applying a stricter standard.

But several justices suggested that Coleman's team had failed to provide proof that such practices were widespread.

"You're offering little more than ... Coleman's theory of the case but no concrete evidence to back it up," said Associate Justice Christopher Dietzen.

Franken lawyer Marc Elias also came in for some tough questions. Associate Justice Lorie Gildea asked how he could be confident about the outcome given that some of the ballots counted on Election Day apparently didn't meet the requirements of Minnesota law.

"If we're suppose to decide who got the most legally cast votes and there is evidence that suggests that illegally cast ballots were accepted ... how can we tell who got the most legally cast votes?" Gildea asked.

snip



Guy-Uriel Charles, a Duke University law professor, said he didn't think Coleman convinced the justices that state election law was flawed enough to justify loosening statutory guidelines to let in more ballots.

"What's remarkable about the whole oral argument is that there were very few questions, if any, asked on what to do next -- what is the standard that you want us to apply," Charles said. He predicted a unanimous ruling for Franken toward the end of June.

"There's no question that Coleman's side got much tougher questions than Franken's side, and based upon oral argument I would not be surprised to see a unanimous decision in favor of Franken," said Richard Hasen, an election expert at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/senate/46621982.html?elr=KArks8c7PaP3E77K_3c::D3aDhUxWoW_oD:EaDUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr
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So there you have it, not one, but two law professors calling unanimous decisons for Franken. What the ass kicking it will be.

[zbdent]

1. I can't understand why the Repukes can't accept a comedian for a Senator ...

since they worshipped a joke as their President for eight years ...

[grannie4peace]

2. bravo- well spoken!!!!

[KharmaTrain]

5. Cause He's Made Them Look Like Fools...

Al should send rushbo and Billo a big thank-you note. He all but used them to build up his credentials as a serious candidate on their backs and the rushpublicans don't like being shown up.

Just think of how many here would feel if this were Dennis Miller.

[zbdent]

7. there's a difference ...

Franken can be funny ... Miller gave that up long ago ...

[mwb970]

9. Miller is hardly a comedian.

He's just another right-wing jerk. No humor whatsoever. Rush is much funnier than he is, albeit unintentionally!

[ThomWV]

3. Consider the reported weakness of their arguments and then the delay they have managed to cause

They have managed to weaken the Democratic presence in the Senate based on arguments so weak that judicial professionals see no chance in them prevailing. Doesn't that point to a real problem with the process?

[tularetom]

10. I've never read a post I agree with more than this one

Almost seven percent of Franken's term has elapsed while Coleman and his lawyers were cynically carrying on their little circle jerk with the process. That's unforgivable, or at least it ought to be. Yet as far as I know there hasn't been a peep out of Franken, his lawyers, the Senate Democrats, the Obama administration, or most of all, the citizens of Minnesota for having been deprived of representation for almost five months.

And it was all done with the knowledge, if not the approval, of the Republican senate delegation.

There needs to be legal consequences for this. Coleman and whoever put him up to this have damaged the process and should pay.

Now since it's 4:30 here and I only got up to take out the garbage cans, I'm going back to sleep.

[DaveinJapan]

15. This is the part that really confuses me...

I suppose I understand that certain legal considerations must be adhered to in contested elections and all that junk, but somehow they managed to ram through the Bush Presidency before the term began.

I'm not saying that's necessarily a good thing (the way it was done), but there has to be some sense of urgency no?

It's one thing to say "well it's just one vacant seat", but what if there were 15 contested elections? Or 40?

What then? Would the Senate shut down or something?

Also, will Franken be entitled to back-pay for the five months he had to sit around with his thumb up his ass (or, to be fair, vice-versa if Coleman were to somehow prevail)?

If not, could he sue his opponent for lost income?

[Vickers]

4. "loosening statutory guidelines"

AKA "breaking the law."

The myth of the law-abiding Repuke lives on.

[TahitiNut]

6. Please don't use a string of "_________" ... use [hr] instead. Try it.

Your post is about 40% wider than my PREFERRED window width.

That simple HTML gives a line that

---

only covers the width of the window ... and doesn't require that folks using narrower windows do horizontal scrolling to read the post. After all, one of the virtues of HTML is the word-wrap while preserving a degree of format integrity.

Thanks.

[L. Coyote]

14. Preserve all character spacing with this code [pre]

That's pre-formatted in HTML. Useful for number columns in pasrticular.
It will wrap as typed too.

a b    c     d    e f   g  1,2444       5
a b    c     d    e f   g  1,2444       5

[davidpdx]

16. Sorry Tahiti

Here's a nut for ya

[Ganja Ninja]

8. Bwahahaha! The GOP fake obsession with voter fraud is back firing on Coleman.

"Coleman attorney Joe Friedberg told the justices that thousands more rejected absentee ballots should be tallied under looser standards that were used by many local officials on Election Day. He said local practices led to counting ballots in Democratic areas that were similar to those rejected in Republican areas applying a stricter standard."

These fucking geniuses set out to block legitimate voters who were likely Democrats from voting and now Norm wants to count all the ballots his GOP cohorts rejected. Hahahahahah!

They need to change the symbol of the GOP to Wile E. Coyote.
:rofl:

[Hubert Flottz]

11. He's more like some digested toast...

after it's passed through the entire digestive system...

[TheCowsCameHome]

12. When will this folly ever end?

[peacetalksforall]

13. "All that remains is a ruling." Wrong. All that remains is a certification and

Pawlenty still stands in the way.