BlatherWatch

Minnesotans to norman coleman: CONCEDE!

Two thirds of Minnesotan voters believe  GOP Sen. Norm Coleman should hang it up, and concede to Al Franken. Gov.Tim Pawlenty who could stop the madness by certifying Franken is suffering record-low poll numbers.

Monday, Franken’s lawyers presented a brief to the state Supreme Court in advance of June 1 oral arguments in the six-month recount challenge. Franken’s team wants the court to clearly state that Pawlenty’s signature would be required on an election certificate following the state’s highest court ruling.

Al Franken has won... again

We're getting tired of reporting this- Al Franken has won the most votes in his 2008 Senate race against Republican Norm Coleman.

A three-judge panel soundly rejected Coleman's equal-protection arguments, saying that "errors or irregularities identified by contestants in the general election do not violate the mandates of equal protection."

What will it take for Coleman to concede and go the fuck away? A ethics infusion? Civic responsibility gene therapy? a fairness GPS chip implant?

BREAKING: Al Franken wins devastating court ruling!

As expected, and after seven weeks of deliberations, a special 3-judge panel ruled potentially for Al Franken in a decision the media is calling "potentially decisive."

Politico:

But even as Democrat Al Franken’s campaign celebrated a three-judge panel’s decision to put at most 400 ballots back in play, the Coleman camp is still promising to take its case to the Minnesota Supreme Court. And it’s not ruling out an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court or filing a new lawsuit in federal district court.

Five years! happy birthday, air america

Five years.

Some of Air America's tenuous existence has felt like a colonoscopy to sympathetic, liberal listeners like us: the network has been on life support many times. There's been a cash register scandal; a bankruptcy, a parade of owners, managers, and talent.

FULL TEXT: al franken interview/mark green

GREEN: Ok, can you now finally admit that you miss your 12-3 pm Air America timeslot and regret leaving for a senate bid? 

FRANKEN: Well, no I don't. I'm really looking forward to getting into the Senate, and it looks like it's going to happen, and I hope it happens soon. So no, I don't. If I had lost, I might regret it, but I don't think I did that.

Al franken's first national interview- 42% means you have to work harder

In an interview to air Saturday, Al Franken says he's glad he's not on the radio any more, but he's pretty sure he'll be seated as the junior Senator from Minnesota. ..."it really looks now that it's going to get resolved in my favor, and soon, and so I'm actually excited to get there."

With a little panky and intrigue, BlatherWatch got an advance transcript of Al Franken's first national media interview since November. He talks to AAR's Mark Green on 7 Days in America airing Saturday (6p EST) on Air America in Seattle on KPTK, Sunday from 3-4p.

Politico: 'coleman needs a miracle'

Each day, every hour, we're a little closer to having the first talk radio host as a U.S. Senator. Another glass ceiling shattered! (we're just grateful it wasn't a talk host like Rush, Hannity, or Don O'Neill!)

Politico, the non-partisan political site addresses the question whether Coleman has a chance in hell of hanging on to his Senate seat.

The answer, according to state political and legal analysts, is that it would take a miracle. Miracles do happen in politics — but four weeks into a court case that will decide the winner of Minnesota’s tortured Senate race, the GOP incumbent is facing just-about-insurmountable hurdles to overcome the 225-vote deficit he was saddled with at the end of the official recount.

Politico reporter Josh Kraushaar alarmingly observes that Coleman is setting the scene for future appeals- his attorney, Ben Ginsberg says, "The net effect is a legal quagmire that makes ascertaining a final, legitimate result to this election even more difficult.”

Keeping Senate Democrats one vote short works for Republicans -- it's a tiny way they can monkey wrench the process despite their minority status, but that's a problem for the ex-Senator:

"Still, the prospect of protracted legal proceedings could prove burdensome for Coleman. He will need to continue raising enough money to pay his high-profile legal team, and if donors see his case as a lost cause, he could have difficulty fundraising."

How much longer will Minnesotans put up with their Senate representation cut in half, and this embarrassing legal mishegoss to continue?

Coleman's rumored to be considering a gubernatorial race if Governor Pawlenty doesn't seek a third term... this tactic of prolonging the legal inevitable may be drying up any good will he might hope to have.

Senator-elect franken, thank-you very much

  He's acting down-right senatorial... as well he should.

Al Franken is, after all the Senator-elect from Minnesota, and has been since January 5, when the state's canvassing board certified the winner of the seat once held by Norm Coleman.

As you probably know, despite Franken's 225-vote lead after the recount, Coleman has kept the election in court and the senate seat in limbo.

Thom hartmann to leave air america

Thom Hartmann will leave Air America March 1 for Dial Global and WYD Management, the folks who bring you Stephanie Miller, Ed Schultz and Bill Press.

(WYD stands for Who's Your Daddy?) 

Progressive talk is a hotter commodity than it once was, and Air America is not necessarily the leading producer of it.

The senator from air america

Coleman will never ever [again] serve in the Senate. He lost the election. He can stall things, but he’ll never serve in the Senate. ~~ Harry Reid

Air America Radio is celebrating Sen. Al Franken by posting video from his broadcasts of the official launch of Air America in 2004, and a photo gallery with shots from Franken’s time at Air America.