It's June 15th and MN is still missing a Senator. When the hell is the MN SC

[cali]

going to hand down their decision? Will Franken be seated before November?

[Bonn1997]

1. Better question: Will he EVER be seated?

[Merryweather]

2. They've found time to force Coleman

to pay Franken's legal fees - which is surely indicative of the way the wind is blowing - but not to give MN its second Senator. :wtf:

As funny and gratifying as that decision was, I'd much rather Al had paid his own legal fees and the SC had found in Franken's favour that day.

[MineralMan]

4. That was a different court.

There's a lot of misinformation out there. I expect the MN Supreme Court to render a decision this week...perhaps as early as today.

Never forget: It was a close, close election. All the dots and crosses must be seen to be made.

[Merryweather]

11. Ah right, my mistake. I wouldn't mind the process so much

if it weren't for Coleman's hypocrisy in saying Franken should end the race and not ask for a recount and then promptly dragging it out through the courts when said recount gave Franken the win.

[MineralMan]

13. Yes. Coleman should have withdrawn after the recount.

Dim Polenta should have signed the election certificate, too. But...they're GOOPers, so they didn't. It's all going as I expected it would, and in about the time I thought it would take. It will be over soon.

Best of all, Coleman's career as a political figure is over. Pawlenty's is probably over, too. He won't run for Governor, and would lose if he did. He hasn't a prayer of becoming the GOOPer candidate for the Presidency in 2012. He's finished.

The obstructionism is paying off for them in the ruin of their careers. This is a good thing. Now, if we can manage to get rid of Michelle Bachmann in 2010, the process will have run its course.

Minnesotans have long memories and are not afraid to kick out the bums.

[RDANGELO]

3. It's ridiculous!

I hope the MN lawmakers realize this and change the laws so that he could be seated sooner. It would have been reasonable to seat him temporarily after the recount.

[MineralMan]

5. You know, the process in Minnesota is why we'll have

Franken in the Senate, instead of Coleman, who led after the initial vote count. It's very frustrating that it's taking so long, but what would you replace about the process? Without it, Norm Coleman would now be sitting in the Senate.

[RDANGELO]

7. Read my post.

[MineralMan]

9. I read your post.

An interim seating plan would have put Coleman in the seat. He was the leader until the initial recount took place.

[ThomWV]

10. I don't think its a matter of process replacement, more one of priority and expidition

It is not that the process seems flawed, in fact just the opposite. However its taking an awful long time where a matter of such great importance should move much more quickly.

[MineralMan]

12. I don't disagree, and I'm frustrated with the time it's taking.

I have no doubt that changes will be made in the election process for such close elections, but those changes can have no affect on this election.

In case anyone is confused, I caucused for Franken at the first two levels of our caucus process, and have consistently donated to his campaign and worked on the GOTV effort.

Appellate courts always take considerable time to rule. It's their nature, since the opinions written become precedents. The way the Minnesota election law is written, I'm not at all surprised that the process has taken this long.

Coleman should have withdrawn after the recount. I didn't expect him to, though, given the obstructive nature of the GOOP.

Franken will be seated. Election process laws will be changed in the next legislative session, I think. For now, we are going to have to wait until the existing process concludes.

Nobody's more frustrated than Minnesota Democrats, I assure you.

[gratuitous]

8. Capital suggestion

Lacking a provisional seating clause, there has been no incentive whatsoever for Coleman to end his legal "challenges." Delay doesn't mean he has a chance to win, it just means that he stave off defeat for a while longer. It's like a football coach down 44-12 burning off all his time outs in the last 30 seconds - it's not going to happen, but gee, isn't Coach Wannamaker a real competitor?

Coleman's taken contradictory stands, argued about one standard for counting ballots in one venue, arguing for the exact opposite standard in another. None of the adjudicatory bodies have seen fit to just bounce him out of court, but at every level on every matter, have given his contradictory arguments (sometimes in the same brief) full credence.

Other states have close elections and are able to settle the issue in less than seven months. It's preposterous, and Minnesota looks ridiculous.

[hlthe2b]

6. It must be nice to be a Supreme Court Justice in MN

(and US, for that matter)--- They really don't get in a hurry to do their job, do they? Even with the scores of justice clerks who do the research and write the majority of the decisions. As one who is on call 24/7 and very often works around the clock in true emergencies, I find this aspect of the justice system to be deplorable, especially considering how many death penalty appeals across the country were denied by appeals courts "because they got there a minute or two too late for the justice handling...."