Word: frankener
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...polls, Minnesota has yet to seat its junior U.S. Senator. On June 1, the state's supreme court heard arguments on the intricacies of absentee-ballot rules, which the incumbent candidate, Republican Norm Coleman, contends were inconsistently applied and would therefore invalidate a lower-court ruling that Democrat Al Franken won the race by a margin of just 312 votes. The court is expected to rule on the issue within weeks. Franken's admission to the Senate would give Democrats a 60-vote majority, which would enable them to override Republican filibusters...
...With the stakes apparently that high, there is no guarantee that the next state supreme court ruling will end the saga. A unanimous decision in Franken's favor, especially one with instructions to Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty to certify the results so that Franken could take his seat on Capitol Hill, would be very hard for Coleman to overcome. Pawlenty has said that under such an order, he would have little choice but to sign the certification, but Coleman has made no promise that he wouldn't try to appeal to the highest court in the land. "The only caveat...
...ruling in favor of Franken without a certification order would leave Coleman more room to either appeal to the Supreme Court's October session or to start a new case in federal court - both processes that would take months to run their course. Some GOP Senators, including Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, have encouraged Coleman to push ahead no matter what the decision. But such a move, particularly in federal court, might also backfire, warns Don Kettl, dean of the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy. "It's unclear what case Coleman could make that he hasn...
...judges' tone on Monday seemed to favor Franken, as it was Coleman's lawyers who endured much of the tough questioning. Interrupting another Coleman attorney, Joe Friedberg, just one minute into his remarks, Justice Christopher Dietzen (a Pawlenty appointee) said Friedberg's argument that there were enough problems to make a difference in the outcome of the election had "no concrete evidence to back it up." He added, "In my experience, I've never seen an offer of proof like this...
...Progressive groups are calling on Senate majority leader Harry Reid to seat Franken provisionally no matter the outcome of the Minnesota Supreme Court's decision, a move that would likely provoke a GOP filibuster. Reid thus far has taken a wait-and-see approach, though his patience is wearing thin. "The time for do-overs is over," says Jim Manley, a Reid senior adviser. "Now is the time - now more than ever - for Norm Coleman and Washington Republicans to stop once and for all their ongoing effort to block President Obama's agenda...