Reid Spokesman: He Will Not Try To Seat Franken Tomorrow
In a statement given to Election Central, Harry Reid's office says that he will not attempt to seat Al Franken in the Senate tomorrow -- though they are reiterating Reid's call for Norm Coleman to concede the race rather than drag it out.
The statement from Reid spokesman Jim Manley:
"Now that the bipartisan state canvassing board has certified Al Franken as the winner, we hope Senator Coleman respects its decision and does not drag this out for months with litigation. Shortly after Election Day, Coleman criticized Mr. Franken for wanting a recount and wasting taxpayer money. Now that it is clear he lost, Coleman should follow his own advice and not subject the people of Minnesota to a costly legal battle."However, there will not be an effort to seat Mr. Franken tomorrow."
Late Update: Reid separately told the Politico that Coleman has lost and "will never ever serve" in the Senate -- he can only stall things.
But for now, it appears that Coleman is stalling quite successfully.
Advertisement
Reid = Wimp.
January 5, 2009 8:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
SECOND!
January 5, 2009 9:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Translation of Reid's statement: "THANK YOU, SIR, MAY I HAVE ANOTHER?!!!"
With Democrats like this, who needs Republicans?
January 5, 2009 11:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
Actually: Wimp > Reid
January 6, 2009 4:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
Reid should have explained why. Franken isn't technically certified under minnesota law until the legal challenges are over. The senate can't seat him until he is certified by the state.
January 5, 2009 8:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Still, Franken and the people of MN should receive the same seniority as the other members of Franken's class. Anything less punishes Franken and the people of MN.
January 5, 2009 8:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
He could seat provisionally.
Still true: Reid = Wimp.
January 5, 2009 8:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
Nope, I don't think so. He could seat provisionally if there were legal challenges, but state law allowed certification regardless of the challenges. Minnesota is different. There is no certification until the legal challenges are exhausted, so they can't seat provisionally, because there is no certification, so procedurally it doesn't even get to the issue before the senate, because there cannot be certification by the state.
January 5, 2009 9:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
Not true. It's been done in the past. The Senate has final say, which is why Burris will be rejected today, even though he was legally appointed. The Senate may seat a Senator provisionally, without final certification from the state.
January 6, 2009 9:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
I don't think so. I am pretty sure that all the other provisional seatings were when the senator was certified by the state and the legal process was being played out, like landreau in La. Her first election was legally challenged, but she was certified pending the legal process, so it was provisional. Minnesota doesn't certify until the legal process is complete, so I don't think that the senate can legally seat him. It's not worth the fight anyway.
January 6, 2009 10:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
How long can Coleman tie this up in the courts, assuming that his claims are disposed of quickly? Can he keep finding alternative grounds on which to challenge the election results, and tie this thing up for months?
And I'm still waiting for the expression of any frustration with Coleman's refusal to admit he lost. Every time a Republican is asked about this election, they manage to claim that Franken and the Dems stole it. Crickets from our side.
January 6, 2009 9:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
I would be willing to bet that his court challenges are exhausted pretty quickly. The minnesota supremes have been on top of this and ruling quickly. I would give it a month, maybe two.
Also, I would bet a lunch that he will be unsuccessful in his challenges. The courts won't want to overturn the results of the election as confirmed by the recount. If they did, it would take 6 months or a year or longer and the courts wouldn't do that. Look at how long the recount took. Minnesota would be without two senators all that time? Not in a million years will the courts overturn this one.
January 6, 2009 11:11 AM | Reply | Permalink
I would be willing to bet that his court challenges are exhausted pretty quickly. The minnesota supremes have been on top of this and ruling quickly. I would give it a month, maybe two.
Also, I would bet a lunch that he will be unsuccessful in his challenges. The courts won't want to overturn the results of the election as confirmed by the recount. If they did, it would take 6 months or a year or longer and the courts wouldn't do that. Look at how long the recount took. Minnesota would be without two senators all that time? Not in a million years will the courts overturn this one.
January 6, 2009 11:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
WTF!?! Not tommorrow? When? Is Reid going to wait until every Coleman lawsuit is finished (which is what must happen before SoS Ritchie can certify)? If so- that's B.S.
Also, if that is the case it's the most spineless, gutless.... grumble, grumble. Ridiculous. Franken is the winner. Coleman's lawsuits have no legs. Coleman is DOA- Reid has admitted as much.
Just. seat. Franken.
This is Reid trying to let Coleman bow out gracefully- because they're pals, just like Reid and Stevens. Gotta love that back-slapping, old boys club that is the Senate.
January 5, 2009 9:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Minnesota law is quite clear on this. The Governor needs to sign the certificate to make the election official but is prohibited from doing so until 7 calendar days after the canvassing board certifies the vote (i.e. next Monday or Tuesday at the earliest). This is to give the parties time to file an election contest.
If either party files, no certificate can be signed until the litigation resolves itself. So Al was never going to be seated today.
Now if Norm "concedes" that may be another story.
January 6, 2009 8:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
This is a quid pro quo moment.
While Reid may want to seat Franklin, he doesn't want to seat Buris. So he works a deal with the repugs ... he won't seat Frankin until Coleman exhausts all his appeals and the repugs won't push to seat Burris.
Welcome to political horsetrading,
January 6, 2009 5:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
Michael,
so Coleman wins the suit, then wins a recount by 200 votes. By then its March. Franken, following Coleman's tactic, now files suit. Does Coleman get seated during this?
January 6, 2009 7:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
Unacceptable!
Al Franken has more votes than Norm Coleman. Al Franken should receive the same seniority as all other members of his class (which would put him at 97 of 100). The people of MN deserve this seniority.
January 5, 2009 8:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Reid once again is going to let the GOP punk him.
He may have been a boxer but he's forgotten how to fight.
Grow a pair or get out, Harry.
January 5, 2009 8:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Darn!
January 5, 2009 8:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Throw Harry out! I want a majority leader, not a jellyfish.
January 5, 2009 8:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
That's an insult to jellyfish. At least they have a sting.
January 5, 2009 8:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
You're right. He's jelly. He's Majority Leader Smuckers from now on.
January 5, 2009 9:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
I really don't understand all this animosity against Reid. He had nothing to work with over the last two years. There really was no majority due to traitor joe, so reid was dancing on the head of a pin and he still got stuff through and done in the face of basically a 50 seat republican "majority." Throw in the dem blue dogs and reid was running the senate as the minority leader on alot of issues.
Let's give him a chance now that he actually does have a majority and a democratic president. Let's see where it goes. You can't run the senate with a baseball bat in any event, by design. 2 years from now if it's been a disaster, then I agree he should go, but let's give the guy a chance. He finally is just getting to be majority leader.
January 5, 2009 9:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh now you are just throwing logic and and actual understanding of how the government works into the mix! Fuck that shit! Democrats are madder'en'ell and Harry Reid is why they haven't gotten what they've wished for lo these many years!
Most people don't understand things like preventing Bush's recess appointments by calling 30 second sessions during breaks (Reid's successful strategy). They want a red-faced screaming brute, not a quiet tactician.
January 5, 2009 9:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, Reid's great, I mean just look at what he's done on filibusters and cloture motions......
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/12/is-60-votes-overrated.html
January 5, 2009 10:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
While I really respect Nate's statistical polling work - he's totally out of his depth trying his hand at political analysis.
Democrats came into this election with everyone blaming the GOP for everything - despite having had a majority in both chambers. As a result, they achieved amazing electoral success. IMO, there is no greater public price than getting spanked two elections running. That's difference between tactics with a mind to the end goal and confrontation sought from fear of appearing impotent.
If democrats had suffered losses this cycle - it would be the leadership's fault. So, if all your leaders suck, who brought you to this success? Liberal bloggers? Yeah right.
January 5, 2009 10:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Michael A is right. Harry has had a basic 50 50 situation with a repubican president. He kept it together in the Bush shitstorm and not has come out ahead almost 60 40. This is what counts from here on out. With Obama ready to sign anything Harry and Nancy can get to 50 +1 this should be the start of something great. Imagine how Pelosi felt today sitting with Obama instead of Bush talking about what is possible. She was smiling so hard I thought she would burst.
January 5, 2009 11:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't care about style. I care about results. And Harry has delivered none in two years as majority leader.
He is far too accommodating and politically moderate to be in the position he's in at this critical point in time. We need someone who's going to do what needs to be done to get our agneda passed. No exceptions, and no handwringing over the lack of cooperation from those big, bad Republicans.
January 6, 2009 9:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
The problem is, Reid is closer to the Republicans than the Dems on most critical issues. Get used to it; until we get a Majority Leader who represents the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party, this is how things will stay in the Senate.
January 5, 2009 11:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
You hit the nail on the head, Michael A.
Us common folk have no idea what's really going on behind the curtains when the Senate is in session. There must be some reason for the snail's pace and I'm willing to give the man a little more rope if he wants it. Cause that rope could be used to hang him with if things don't turn around later on.
January 6, 2009 5:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
Um. We don't have two years to wait and see if Harry is going to give 'em hell. Since the election Harry has had an opportunity to press harder. To date he hasn't done that.
Perhaps if he does push too hard, too soon it will galvanize the Reschmucklicans. I'm thinking that's why he's not throwing any punches yet.
We'll know after the Big O takes office and the Congress is up and running. I have hope he'll play rougher before the end of the month.
January 6, 2009 8:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
Reid's problem is drawing lines in the sand and having the sand kicked back in his face, generally by the Republicans and Bush.
The Blago/Burris matter is the latest example of his ineffectual bluff and bluster.
Burriss will be seated eventually and inevitably. Reid will in the end, once again, look like a fool. In the meantime they will be short one member of the caucus.
Democrats and America can't afford to have an ineffectual fool as Majority Leader of the Senate.
January 6, 2009 9:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
Not wimp. Sellout.
January 5, 2009 9:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
I was once dissed here for saying that Reed should be replaced. I hope those people are eating their words at this point.
January 5, 2009 9:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Rich, take my advice: don't hold your breath waiting for an apology from people who espouse the "my party, right or wrong" approach to politics. It's a sure route to auto-asphyxiation. Next week, "give 'em help" Harry will be their hero again.
January 5, 2009 11:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Where are the Democratic Blue Dogs? In the Senate, other than I suppose Ken Salazar (an awful pick to head Interior) and that dude from Montana where are the blue dogs? Reid could have accomplished something over these last few years. Instead, he's hardly done anything and is probably advising Obama to give all those tax breaks to businesses to get R votes on the stimulus because he doesn't want to fight Mitch. It's bad -- we need a majority leader, one who leads.
As for Al, I believe the law prevents certification until the suits have been exhausted. I am not sure, though. Perhaps it's just a seven-day window. . . .
January 5, 2009 9:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
After reviewing election law, yes, Franken should hopefully be Senator in 7 days or so, barring any successful election contest (legal suits) from Coleman. Coleman doesn't have a chance. I should apologize for calling Majority Leader Smuckers, well, that. However, this is still partially Reid's eff up. Franken would probably be seated tomorrow if not for Burris.
January 5, 2009 10:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Reid is one gutless "majority leader." He never stands up for the party. Kick him out of leadership. Every Democrat should be sick of this nonsense.
January 5, 2009 10:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Once again Reid does just what the Republicans tell him to do. He's a disgrace. Does anybody believe that Daschle wouldn't have seated Franken tomorrow? Of course he would have because Franken has been certified the winner. And if the Republicans threw a fit, he would slap them down. And he had a much narrower majority.
January 5, 2009 10:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why doesn't Pawlenty step in and put a stop to this or at least speak up. It was him that stated MN election officials have a handle on this or is he being put in his place by the GOP thugs?
January 5, 2009 10:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe, because he is a Republican?
January 5, 2009 10:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
As long as it looked as if Coleman was ahead, the Gov was all for fairness. But since the tide has turned, he's been silent on the subject. Go figure.
January 6, 2009 5:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
Seven days, y'all...
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=6580694&page=1
"Coleman has a seven-day window to file a lawsuit contesting the election before the election certificate is signed by Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie."
The Senate will seat Franken in 7 days or so.
January 5, 2009 10:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
I hope.
January 5, 2009 10:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
There is a seven day period when a Contest can be filed, and if one is not, then the certificate can be issued, after 7 days.
If a Contest is filed, the trial of facts before a special court, appointed by the Chief Justice -- three district court judges, sitting in Ramsey County, must begin within 15 days. Rulings of the evidentiary part of the process can be appealed to the SC, as would be their final special court decision. At a minimum this could take about a month. The hearings before the district court panel are more or less like a bench trial in a Civil Court.
The burden of proof will be with Coleman. Moreover, should he lose, he will be required to pay all court costs and Franken's legal costs. I believe the court can ask for bond up front in this type of contest -- this is no longer a taxpayer cost, thus there is a very real incentive to make your case and get on with it.
That's the official system, the rules are all in our statutes. But I suspect there will soon be considerable pressure on Coleman should he not win major issues in the initial district court hearing, to pack it in. The Legislature comes in tomorrow faced with a major budget problem, both houses of the Legislature are DFL, and Pawlenty, the Republican Governor has many other fish to fry with them besides Coleman. And while I suspect the RNC and the Republican Senators will send some funds to finance Coleman's Contest, the costs will go higher every day that it continues, and that may not be the best use of Republican resources. Coleman may have a hard time sustaining support -- but at the same time some pressure needs to be brought for Senator Franken to finally make his appearance in DC. No one wants to short change the process -- but at the same time, no one wants them to dilly around with it.
January 5, 2009 10:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well said Sara! I too think Al should go to Washington and make himself seen prominently. I also agree that this will be a money issue.
How many hundreds of thousands of dollars do Republican donors want to throw down the drain on this contest if there is no reasonable possibility of prevailing. Plus Norm has his criminal problem to deal with which also requires lots o' dough.
January 6, 2009 8:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
If you seat him that quickly, it smells like fear and insecurity. The ball is now in Coleman's court. Put forward and reinforce Franken as the winner over the next few days and the seven-day window forces him to contest, under the pathetic banner of an increasingly implausible "conceivable" victory, while everyone's watching, and maybe even dissuades him from doing so at all. Public statements reinforcing the idea that Franken is the winner and Coleman's resistance is merely disruptive is the most politically effective thing Reid can be doing at this particular moment, imo.
January 6, 2009 12:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hesitation smells like no belief in the results, futher emboldening the opposition.
January 6, 2009 9:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, and, have you ever heard the phrase: "Actions speak louder than words"?
January 6, 2009 9:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
If Minn doesn't certify until all legal challenges are exhausted it doesn't sound like there's much Reid can do.
The Dems might have gotten a few Republicans to vote their way and over ride a filibuster if Minn would certify but without that it is hopeless.
While Reid has a mixed track record he's doing his best with the cards he was dealt. Sometimes losing this vote is far worse than no vote at at all. It would be a huge embarrassment for for the Dems and Obama if this would fail.
January 6, 2009 1:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
You're correct Agrippina - it's a State's issue, not Senate. So for the Senate to intervene before the State makes its finally decision would give both Senate and Reid black eyes and the repugs an issue to rally around and use for the mid-term elections.
January 6, 2009 5:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
You're completely wrong about that, it is in no way a state issue. The Senate is given sole jurisdiction by the Constitution in judging the electoral bona fides of its members, and they do NOT have to wait for the final signed election certificate before seating Franken if they don't want to. This is a sellout, pure and simple. Classic Reid.
January 6, 2009 9:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
How reid can have a "D" after his name I do not know. He's fighting the appointment of Burris and Franken, but fought to get Lieberman kept in the ranks. Lieberman is rank, he should be gone. Burris is legal until we prove otherwise, i.e. he bought the seat, and Franken just won. Seat him.
January 6, 2009 1:07 AM | Reply | Permalink
Two words - Joe Lieberman. If the Dems can leave him in charge of a committee for which he has not held one hearing on anything of substance for the last two years, and after he openly campaigned for McCain, they surely should seat both Burris and Franken tomorrow and get on with business. If they were to do so, by this time next week the whole brouhaha will be forgotten.
January 6, 2009 2:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
My question is who's going to pay the tab for Norms legal temper tantrum?
Talk about a bad investment...
January 6, 2009 3:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
I suspect the repugs in the Senate are game for the sport of dragging the issue thru the court system as long as possible so as to deny the Democrats a seat thus maximizing their advantage when they start filibustering everything the Democrats do including the air they breathe.
January 6, 2009 6:03 AM | Reply | Permalink
This is incredible. Reid has folded on FISA, warrantless wiretapping, torture, war funding, and now Franken. The one thing he choose to dig his heels in on---the Blagojevich pick---is the one thing he should probably just let slide.
We need to eighty-six this clown in favor of real leadership.
January 6, 2009 9:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
You forgot Lieberman.
January 6, 2009 9:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
Do the math, folks. With 98 senators, Reid only needs 59 to break a filibuster. With 99 or 100, he needs 60, because the number gets rounded up. If he can't seat Burris, seating Franken now awkwardly raises the bar. Whereas dragging it out by a week and embarrassing Norm Coleman in the process at least makes for some politically beneficial theater.
Of course this requires assuming that Reid is politically sophisticated enough to have thought of this, which I doubt.
January 6, 2009 9:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
Interesting thought, but I think it matters not. By seating Franken, he only raises the bar by the same amount he's added. So, in either case, he needs to convince the same number of Republicans to cross over in order to break a filibuster. More important and frequent is the regular voting, in which one additional Democrat is helpful.
January 6, 2009 9:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yes Friends, Joe Lieberman may very well be marginally involved in the matter of Al Franken. Let me add it up backwards for you.
Last Fall, Joe Lieberman made several trips to Minnesota to campaign for Norm Coleman. He also donated major money to Norm Coleman's campaign. He hosted a fund raiser for Coleman during the RNC Convention in St. Paul. I don't know if he has donated to Coleman's recount fund -- but it would be interesting to find out.
During the first four years Coleman was in office, he served on, and then chaired the Government Operations Committee (supposed to investigate Fraud, no-bid contracts and stuff like that), and Joe Lieberman served as his senior Democratic Ranking Member. That was when the Republicans were in the majority. Then when the Democrats won that narrow margin in 2006,(that depended on Joe), they flipped it and Joe chaired while Norm was his ranking member. The Failure (or shall we call it, the protection plan)to investigate some of the most serious financial sins of the Bush/Cheney administration was very much the doings of this dynamic duo. The Election of Franken changes the calculus on the committee for Joe Lieberman.
I am certain that at least for the last two years Joe Liberman has known that the decision of many in the DFL to first endorse, and then elect Al Franken to "take back Paul Wellstone's Seat" drove the effort to defeat Norm Coleman. And while Wellstone has been dead for six years now, that idea is very powerful both in the DFL, and nationally among progressives, labor, and many many groups.
Ever since the election of 1990 when Paul first defeated Lieberman's mentor in the Senate, Rudy Boschwitz -- Joe Lieberman has been involved with who holds this Minnesota Seat. In 1990 he supported Boschwitz against Wellstone, and just could not believe that a grass roots progressive movement could defeat a US Senator -- and elect someone like Wellstone. It all has to do with whether or not one appreciates the values of the Likud party branch in the US Senate, (Boschwitz-Lieberman) or whether one is a bit more free thinking (Wellstone-Franken). Tiz said that Paul used to drive Joe nuts around the Senate, just by carrying a copy of Tikkum Magazine around with his papers, and occasionally passing on copies of an article to other Senators.
I suspect that some of what Reid has said about the Great Minnesota Recount, and the probable election of Al Franken has to do with Joe making threats to quit the caucus or do whatever. In the last two days, Reid seems to have come around and understood the reality -- he probably followed Saturday's counting of the absentee ballots quite carefully.
The best thing that happened was the public locking up of Coleman's office -- remember Charlie Schumer is the new Chair of the Rules Committee, and it was the official of that Committee that did the formal locking. And Schumer also took the lead in declaring Franken the winner on Sunday's Talk Shows, and he has otherwise been supportive of Franken -- great ads came out of the DSCC last fall for Franken. So it is a process of getting Joe to back down from his support and love of Norm Coleman, and getting Reid positioned to effectively support Franken's right to the seat, and create the public reality that Franken actually got more votes in a very careful recount of the ballots in an extremely close election, complicated by a 3rd party candidate who took about 16% of the votes.
None of these Senators can change Minnesota Election Law -- and Coleman, if he wants it, is entitled to the Contest in the special court. The key is whether some of Coleman's friends in the Senate talk him down in the next week or so, and let Al proceed to certification and his swearing in.
Yes, it is true that the Senate is the Judge of the credentials of its own members -- but Minnesota Law doesn't provide any credentials until our process, laid out in statute, is complete. That includes the right of Contest after the Recount.
What really makes politics fascinating is having the historical background to dig a little under the surface and understand the complexity of various conflicts. This is one where the roots run very deep.
January 6, 2009 2:06 PM | Reply | Permalink