Politico is reporting that a survey they've made of both Minnesota and national legal experts show that former Minnesota senator Norm Coleman has but what Rachel Maddow would say is a teeny, teeny, tiny-tiny, chance of prevailing in the Minnesota Supreme court decision due in the next couple of weeks.
That could mean the nation's first talk radio host, Al Franken would be sworn into the US Senate.
Republicans hate the comedian and former Air America radio headliner and have raised lots of money and been hardass about the process saying it must be played out through the federal courts, but Politico's reproters found say the Minnesota court's decision may very well preclude a US Supreme Court bid.
Raleigh Levine, a professor at William Mitchell College of Law, watched Monday’s oral argument with her colleague, Professor Knapp. Like other observers of the Coleman-Franken fight, she said that the justices seemed to be sending a clear message that the Coleman team had failed to present enough facts to back up their claims about the handling of absentee ballots.
“If that is the basis on which the court makes its decision, to a large extent it insulates the case from the U.S. Supreme Court,” Levine said. “If the factual premise is accepted then you have to wrestle with the Constitutional argument, but if he hasn’t even established that, there’s nothing really for the U.S. Supreme Court to do.”
The Minnesota Supreme Court justices were openly skeptical of the facts when Coleman's lawyers presented them- not good, but the case has never looked good legally for Coleman But Republicans have played and delayed for 7 months, keeping the Democrats short of a bullet-proof 60 seat majority.
Surely they'll howl, "we wuz rubbed" at the moon 'til the end of time (see Dino Rossi, 2004), never accepting any decision in the process that doesn't go their way. That's what they always do.
No matter what happens, there's a price to be paid by Republicans by pursuing this further. Minnesota, essentially a blue state with a few Republican office holders has been short a senator for all these months, and polling shows the citizens are getting fed up with the obstruction.
We, for one can't wait until Al Franken can speak again. We've missed his wry humor and candor.
Our "affectionate daddy" was a good cook; a tenor, a debater, a wedding
singer, a ladies' man, a cigarette smoker, a legislator, Liquor Board
Chairman, hunter of mallards and morels; chicken farmer, cattleman,
banker, notary public; and a damn fine swimmer, too.
Recent Comments