Coleman Camp's New Strategy In Recount: Attack The Election Officials
The Coleman campaign now appears to have settled into a new groove for the remainder of the recount: Openly attack the state election officials as being biased for Al Franken, in apparent preparation to challenge the whole recount in court later.
At a quick press conference just now, Coleman lawyer Tony Trimble openly accused the state officials of being in the tank for Franken, singling out Deputy Secretary of State Jim Gelbmann's directives to counties on sorting wrongly-rejected absentee ballots.
"He's gone out and done their work," said Trimble. "He's gone out and advised county officials to simply count those the Franken campaign wants." Trimble also referred to "this very biased, joined-at-the-hip approach" of Gelbmann and Democratic Secretary of State Mark Ritchie.
Simply put, nobody attacks the refs if they think they're winning the game. Instead, the Coleman campaign appears to be going after the election officials in order to publicly establish a pattern of mistreatment, which would justify a court challenge to the expected election result showing Al Franken as the winner.
Kill the Zebra!
December 30, 2008 11:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
So their argument is to not count any more ballots, or only count the rejected absentees they deem appropriate?
These guys and te RNC as a whole appear to be doing it's best to undo all of the good will John McCain expressed in his consession.
December 30, 2008 11:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
Remember the time Daddy hit the Deputy Secretary of State in the head with a whiskey bottle?
December 30, 2008 11:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
You might not be too far off there. Word on the street around town is that Norman's smacked Laurie some. (She's been rumored to have shown up at various local ER's with unexplained facial bruises.)
December 30, 2008 12:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Glad to hear it, Old Grouch. By the way, when did you stop swindling your own family members to support your gambling habit? I mean, that's only what I heard ...
Rumors and gossip are not facts, and are primarily used to cause someone personal damage or pain. Unless you have evidence to support such inflammatory contentions, please refrain from posting them for public consumption.
December 30, 2008 12:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
I have to agree with Donald. I live in Minneapolis and there are rumors, people who say they know someone with direct experience with Coleman, but no one will put their names on specific incidents. That's why the Franken campaign refused to use these stories.
Until someone will say they were involved, or will put their name on direct evidence, let's just not go there. It's enough Coleman keeps blocking the counting of legitimate votes and undermines the process with false accusations.
December 30, 2008 1:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
I just don't get it.
If the GOP controlled the Senate, sure, but there's no way Coleman is getting that seat.
December 30, 2008 11:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
The Dems need to turn this onto Pawlenty to get a little GOP vs GOP action here. Pawlenty promised a completely clean and fair process, now if Coleman is crying foul, then it means Pawlenty messed up. Pawlenty has much bigger aspirations then to let Coleman's desperate attempt to keep his Senate seat bring him down.
If the Dems can somehow frame it as Coleman attacking Pawlenty, Pawlenty will have to step in and smack down Coleman's claims of biased officials.
December 30, 2008 11:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
Wouldn't that be a beautiful thing? Quimby vs. Timmah...
'Bye, Norman. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
December 30, 2008 12:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
It would be difficult to drop this in Pawlenty's lap. In Minnesota, the Secretary of State is elected, doesn't answer to the Governor, and the current office-holder is a Democrat.
That said, four of the seven justices on the MN Supreme Court are Pawlenty appointees. Two of those are on the canvassing board. Of the other two judges on the canvassing board, one was a Ventura appointee and the other was elected in a non-partisan election and to my knowlege has never indicated a party preference. That leaves the board with two Republican appointees, two independents, and an elected Democrat. Hardly the expected make-up of a Democratic conspiracy.
December 30, 2008 12:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't think Coleman expects to get the seat, but he does intend to ingratiate himself with the GOP by dragging the contest out and keeping the seat vacant during the key early days of the Obama domestic and foreign policy initiatives. Right now it still takes 60 votes to get cloture, and a vacant seat is almost as good as a Republican seat. The Republicans intend to obstruct at every turn, so there will be a lot of cloture votes as long as the Senate leadership is as deferential to Republicans as they have been.
December 30, 2008 12:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
I believe a vacant seat reduces the number of votes needed for a filibuster. The requirement is a proportion of Senators who have been sworn in, not a set number, and 3/5ths of 99 is 59.4.
December 30, 2008 12:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Correction: It reduces the number needed to break a filibuster.
December 30, 2008 12:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
It is 98 until the Illinois debacle gets straightened out, which is very likely to take longer than Minnesota. Dems have also got to protect the processes in New York, Delaware, Colorado, and (isn't there one more) for replacing Democratic Senators.
I don't think we'll know for sure what the actual # for cloture is until all the seats are filled in January and February. If that soon.
December 30, 2008 12:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Illinois = Roland Burris.
December 30, 2008 12:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Assuming, of course, that the Senate seats him and that seems questionable, at the least.
December 30, 2008 12:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, he's a safe, inoffensive choice. He's also 71, and not likely to seek reelection.
December 30, 2008 12:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
I had missed the announcement, but I'd contend it's not over until it's over with Blago involved.
Of course, Reid I am sure is anxious to seat ANY (D) from IL to avoid having to take a stand. On anything.
December 30, 2008 12:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
So if the language says at least 3/5 it is still 60%. Is there a rounding rule? Any candidates for the fractional Senator?
December 30, 2008 12:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's unclear, as the framers assumed there would always be 2 Senators for every state.
December 30, 2008 12:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Actually, it's not the Framers' fault; the filibuster is part of Senate rules, not the Constitution, and cloture wasn't instituted until 1917.
December 30, 2008 12:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree it is not the framers. but if it were 2 for every state does not work to give you a round number at the time of the framers and would not have worked with 48 states.
December 30, 2008 12:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
OK
It's time to stop all the yipping.
Soon-to-be Senator Franken will join his colleagues (all 98 of them*)in January, and they have a very big job to do.
It is in everyone's interest to focus on the task before them, and us. We have felt the shockwave of a financial detonation whose initial power we don't have a handle on yet. The fireball is still coming. Wait for it...
Our Congress and the new President do not have time to be bad-winners, and neither do we.
- How will we stay on track toward energy efficiency in the face of cheap(er) gas?
- How will we stimulate employment of productive men and women at a fair wage so they can raise healthy families?
- How do we prepare and provide for the aging generations?
Let's just start there, and let the sniping go.
It's Way-Past-Time to get face what is on the horizon, and not be checkin' out the rear-view mirror.
(*) Illinois can join us when it's ready. And it can lead the way.
December 30, 2008 12:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well said, Bob. Both times!
December 30, 2008 1:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
OK
It's time to stop all the yipping.
Soon-to-be Senator Franken will join his colleagues (all 98 of them*)in January, and they have a very big job to do.
It is in everyone's interest to focus on the task before them, and us. We have felt the shockwave of a financial detonation whose initial power we don't have a handle on yet. The fireball is still coming. Wait for it...
Our Congress and the new President do not have time to be bad-winners, and neither do we.
- How will we stay on track toward energy efficiency in the face of cheap(er) gas?
- How will we stimulate employment of productive men and women at a fair wage so they can raise healthy families?
- How do we prepare and provide for the aging generations?
Let's just start there, and let the sniping go.
It's Way-Past-Time to get face what is on the horizon, and not be checkin' out the rear-view mirror.
(*) Illinois can join us when it's ready. And it can lead the way.
December 30, 2008 12:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Curious: "He's gone out and advised county officials to simply count those the Franken campaign wants."
Didn't Franken "want" ALL the 5th pile ballots counted? When the main talking point amounts to a direct attack on inclusive democracy, it looks worse than desperate. Is it just face saving? I cannot believe they'd seriously use this kind of argument in court.
December 30, 2008 1:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
You see, Coleman has come to expect things fair and balanced along the lines of Fox News. His expectation of a fair recount was molded by that extremely fair process in Florida in 2000 by Katherine Harris. He's sorely disappointed that a bi-partisan and truly fair recount is being conducted, and not a Fox News/Katherine Harris type of fair and balanced.
December 30, 2008 2:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think there is a good lesson. While I might not like the GOP, they do not give up easily. I wish both Gore and Kerry had taken it to the bank in Fla and in Ohio with full investigations. Damn the torpedos and full speed ahead. You may not win but you are not a quitter.
December 31, 2008 1:28 AM | Reply | Permalink