Coleman finally throws in the towel; will Franken be a Senator at last?

[thatcrazycajun]

Yesterday Minnesota's state Supreme Court finally put paid to the ridiculously long legal battle over last November's US Senate election there, ruling unanimously (!!) that Democrat comedian/activist Al Franken was entitled to be declared the victor over Republican incumbent Norm Coleman and to receive a certificate of election from his state's GOP governor Tim Pawlenty. Assuming that Pawlenty does the sensible thing and issues said certificate—which is by no means a given, knowing how notoriously partisan Pawlenty is—Franken could be sworn in and seated as soon as Congress returns from its holiday-weekend break. The full story is here.

This would finally give the Democrats the long-sought filibuster/veto-proof 60-seat majority in the upper house that they would have had by now for six months had Coleman not decided to contest Franken's razor-thin victory following the recount. Theoretically, he could have still carried the fight all the way to the US Supreme Court even after yesterday's decision...but he at least finally came to his senses and conceded, in a statement issued outside his home in St. Paul. And if Pawlenty wants to preserve his place on the short list of candidates for his beleaguered party's Presidential nomination in three years' time (a list that just got even shorter with the sex scandals engulfing John Ensign and Mark Sanford), he'll go ahead and issue the piece of paper Franken needs; his Democrat lieutenant governor has promised to sign it as soon as it reaches his desk.

This protracted litigation has never been nearly as much about insuring the probity of the election as it has been about keeping that one last seat out of Democratic hands as long as legally possible. In keeping the good citizens of the Gopher State from having their Constitutionally mandated complement of two Senators for so long, the GOP have only added to their own embarrassment in what they had to know from the jump was probably a futile quest. Now they simply look childish and obstructive; but conversely, as of now Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has just lost his last excuse for not pushing his party's full platform good and hard, with this plus a friendly President in the White House and an even more commanding majority in the House. He also has no excuse for not holding Barack Obama's feet to the proverbial fire on honoring all of his campaign promises to loyal Democrats who worked like their party's namesake mule behind a plow for his election.

And all of this will be moot if Pawlenty decides to dig in his heels, refuse Franken his certificate and ask the state attorney general to appeal the decision to SCOTUS, where he might hope for a ruling in Coleman's favor from a high court larded with conservatives (5-4) by the last three Republican Presidents (unless Obama nominee Sonia Sotomayor gets confirmed and seated in time, which I don't consider likely).

But let's hope for the best and pray, if you believe. Here's to the swearing in of Senator Franken sometime next week...and congratulations to the former Saturday Night Live star, best-selling author and Air America radio host. And just in time to celebrate our country's biggest national holiday (no, not Super Bowl Sunday!) and the freedom and democracy we so cherish.

Comments

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

Well, it would give the Dems their filibuster-proof majority, if all 60 were real Dems. Excluding the conservaDems like Ben Nelson, the 60 still counts Joe Lieberman and Arlen Spector, neither of whom are anything like reliable, much less in agreement with Democrats' goals.

[shelleybear.livejournal.com]

I expect nothing from nay of these so called "Democrats".
Perhaps I'll be pleasantly surprised, but blue is not my best color (as in holding my breath until I turn).

[sodyera.livejournal.com]

Now I know the universe has changed. We're about to start The Al Franken Decade!

[ericavdg.livejournal.com]

He's good enough, he's smart enough, and gosh darn it, people like him!

[lemmozine.livejournal.com]

There's something in me that truly loves the concept of someone who wrote a book with a title like "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot" being a US Senator. I've had books autographed by Al on 3 separate occasions. He's a delightful speaker, a wonderful entertainer, and politically astute.