[stumblinmike]

He is going to be such a great Senator....I can hardly wait!

[turtle777]

Totally can't wait.

It's great that we have more of these joining the ranks.



He'll fit right in.



-t

[Shaddim]

"You get what you deserve."

That was my grandfather's motto, and it fits well here.

[stumblinmike]

I understand he's working on a new book, tentatively titled "Everyone on the Right is a Big, Fat Liar" It will sell millions, and be on the bestseller list for years! Bless you, Senator Franken!

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by stumblinmike 

I understand he's working on a new book, tentatively titled "Everyone on the Right is a Big, Fat Liar" It will sell millions, and be on the bestseller list for years! Bless you, Senator Franken!

Yes, he's a comedian. Whatever he writes is probably entertaining, but pure fiction.
As will the outcome of his political career.

-t

[stumblinmike]

I will take entertaining over dreadful every time! Cheerio, t!

[OldManMac]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

Whatever he writes is probably entertaining, but pure fiction.
As will the outcome of his political career.

-t

The movement conservatives beat Al Franken to the fiction aisle years ago, and Americans are finally starting to realize they've been buying fiction for thirty years.

[Shaddim]

Originally Posted by OldManMac 

The movement conservatives beat Al Franken to the fiction aisle years ago, and Americans are finally starting to realize they've been buying fiction for thirty years.

Good observation, they bought four more years of it just a few months ago. Doh!

[ebuddy]

Originally Posted by OldManMac 

The movement conservatives beat Al Franken to the fiction aisle years ago, and Americans are finally starting to realize they've been buying fiction for thirty years.

... or at least the last thirty days.

[stumblinmike]

The question is how long will former Sen. Coleman hold the people of Minnesota hostage? He has every right to appeal, but isn't public service about serving the public?

[ironknee]

finally

go al go!

[turtle777]

Does Obama really need more clowns in Washington ?

-t

[smacintush]

This guy has as much right to be in Washington DC as any of our other elected officials do. As much as I disagree with and don't like him, I'd rather have him than yet ANOTHER career politician.

And, at least he's not a freakin' lawyer who has never put in an honest days work in his life.

That being said, he appears to have had some tax trouble so he oughta fit right in with the Democrats. Maybe Obama will give him a cabinet position when they open up.

[OldManMac]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

Does Obama really need more clowns in Washington ?

-t

That's why it's a good thing Coleman isn't going to be there; he's a bozo.

[finboy]

Originally Posted by stumblinmike 

I understand he's working on a new book, tentatively titled "Everyone on the Right is a Big, Fat Liar" It will sell millions, and be on the bestseller list for years! Bless you, Senator Franken!

I've never understood how folks find him credible on any issues. If he doesn't understand his own chosen profession enough to remain relevant for more than a few, peak years in the 70s, why should we expect him to understand serious issues and contribute?

Now that he's a Senator, he represents ME on any committee or hearing work. Folks should email or call him if he holds opinions that they don't like -- that's part of his job.

[ebuddy]

I maintain there's a level of discomfort in the statements...

- Go Franken!
- Senator Franken!
- Great Senator Franken!
- Author Franken!
- Entertaining Franken!

[stumblinmike]

Classy Norm Coleman says enough. Finally. OK wingnuts, unleash your fury...

[turtle777]

The comedian is gonna join the ranks of retards, financial illiterates and tax evaders. Awesome.

-t

[stumblinmike]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

The comedian is gonna join the ranks of retards, financial illiterates and tax evaders. Awesome.

-t

No, you misunderstood..Coleman is LEAVING...

[BadKosh]

I guess Franken is doing this in an effort to be listened to? His last few gig's went down in flames. His extremely low rated radio show, his boring movie career, and his books. This will be a hard gig for Al, since he'll be competing with Barney Frank, and the idiot VP. I wonder how proud the ACORN voter fraud guys are?

[glideslope]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

The comedian is gonna join the ranks of retards, financial illiterates and tax evaders. Awesome.

-t

The fact that you use the word "retards" reveals more of your inner intellect than any post you could muster in here.

[stumblinmike]

Originally Posted by BadKosh 

I guess Franken is doing this in an effort to be listened to? His last few gig's went down in flames. His extremely low rated radio show, his boring movie career, and his books. This will be a hard gig for Al, since he'll be competing with Barney Frank, and the idiot VP. I wonder how proud the ACORN voter fraud guys are?

ACORN voter fraud? You are sooooo foxxed! (Fox news, the more you watch, the less you know!)

[OldManMac]

Originally Posted by stumblinmike 

(Fox news, the more you watch, the less you know!)

Truer words were never spoken.

[ironknee]

laughing at the rush/fox stooges

[BadKosh]

Just because the dems have no oversight doesn't mean that ACORN didn't fill the ballot boxes with the votes of dead people, and illegals. 11 states had 'problems' which are going to the courts. I guess CNN was too busy with Michael Jackson tributes to cover such things?

[stumblinmike]

or....it is just total nonsense, that only Fox decided is newsworthy. "We report, you decide" Ha Ha Ha!

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by OldManMac 

Truer words were never spoken.

You forgot to refer to it as "Faux" news. That would have been awesome.

[BadKosh]

The battle over Minnesotaís U.S. Senate seat may be over now that the state Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Democrat Al Franken and Republican Norm Coleman has conceded, but the sting of controversy has not lifted entirely from the field.

Minnesotaís Supreme Court dismissed former Sen. Norm Colemanís challenge to the stateís November election results and declared Democratic challenger Al Franken the winner, declaring in an unsigned opinion only that Franken ìreceived the highest number of votes legally castî and is entitled ìto receive the certificate of election as United States senator from the state of Minnesota.î

But attorney Michael Thielen, who has served as the Republican National Lawyers Associationís executive director since late 2000, has joined the ranks of Minnesota watchers whose take on the historic holdover election is much more emotive than that of the judiciary.

Thielen, who worked for the Republican National Committee from 1994 through the 1996 election, told Newsmax that ìNorm Colemanís remarks were extremely gracious in congratulating Franken.î

But when Newsmax asked Thielsen to what Franken owed his victory, the counselorís ruling was certainly less straightforward and much more heated than the courtís.

ìHe owes his victory to being selected by a Secretary of State instead of being chosen by the voters,î blasted Theilen.

ìThe real question of what legitimate meant was never properly addressed,î he added. ìThe answer was different depending on what county you voted in. Itís undisputed that a ëlegit voteí vote in a Franken county very well could have been a illegitimate vote in a Coleman county.î

Thielen, who after leaving the RNC, went to work for candidates for elected office in Virginia, was just as volatile in his response when asked if Frankenís victory was seen as even more relevant to the power balance since he could make the Senate ìfilibuster proof.î

Thielen replied, ìAs long as President Obama pursues policies that majority of the American people disagree with, he will find it difficult to secure 60 votes in the U.S. Senate with or without Al Franken.î

So, where did Coleman go wrong?

Thielen surprised Newsmax with his take: ìColeman was defeated in November 2006 when the George Soros-backed Secretary of State Project poured money into [replacing] a competent Secretary of State with an inexperienced political hack.î

ìThis political hack, Mark Ritchie,î he adds, ìdisenfranchised military voters, treated people differently based on the county they lived, and even ignored the Attorney Generalís opinion of absentee ballots all in his effort to deliver the Senate seat to Franken.î

The ruling brings an end to seven months of challenges by Coleman.

The former ìSaturday Night Liveî writer and performer Franken had declared victory in the disputed race after a recount ended in January, but Coleman, a Republican who had been seeking a second six-year term, went to court to challenge those results.

Coleman led Franken on election night by a margin of 206 votes out of more than 2.9 million cast. The margin was narrow enough to trigger a recount, however, and that process ended in January with Franken leading by 225 votes.

Several experts and observers are now slamming how Colemanís lawyers handled his marathon election contest, arguing theyíve given him almost no chance of prevailing over Democratic opponent Al Franken.

ìÖIíve never seen an offer of proof like this,î state Supreme Court Justice Paul Anderson remarked testily to Coleman lead attorney Joe Friedberg during the oral arguments presented June 1.

ìIt seems like youíre offering little more than an opening statement of, in this case, Colemanís theory of the case, but no concrete evidence to back it up,î Justice Christopher Dietzen told Friedberg.

Dietzen later added: ìIím very bothered by your [lack of] proof.î

After these exchanges, several legal scholars told Newsmax that a unanimous ruling for Franken would not be surprising. And if that happens ñ as indeed it has ñ they suggested the fault may lie not with Colemanís politics but rather with his attorneys.

Coleman essentially contended Minnesota election officials applied different standards to different ballots to decide which ones were valid. The justices appeared taken aback by the dearth of evidence Colemanís attorneys presented to support that claim, however.

ìIf the Minnesota Supreme Court rules for Franken, it would be wrong to jump to the conclusion that the court inevitably must be biased against Coleman,î law professor Edward B. Foley, one of the countryís leading experts on elections, wrote in an online post following the oral arguments.

Foley commented on the Ohio State-Moritz School of Law Web site: ìÖ In the end, impartial jurists reasonably might conclude that Franken has the better case on the merits. Or, alternatively, the conclusion might be that Colemanís attorneys failed to put before the court a winning case that perhaps, with a different strategy, they could have made.î

If Coleman loses due to a lack of evidence being presented, the second-guessing will begin en masse. ìÖThe inevitable question will arise,î Foley writes. ìWhy did Colemanís lawyers fail to take the necessary steps? Was it a lack of money, or a strategic decision not to spend it? Or some other explanation?î

David Schultz, an author and professor of election law at Hamline University, says Coleman was simply ìout-lawyered.î

Among the specific criticisms Schultz shared with Newsmax:

# During the initial recount, Colemanís motions to halt the counting of additional ballots were deficient. ìPolitically and legally they were not making good arguments,î Schultz says.

# After the recount ended, Colemanís team failed to provide the three-judge election panel with specific examples supporting Colemanís claim of voting irregularities. ìFor example,î Schultz states, ìthe Coleman campaign tried to argue that because some apparently invalid absentee ballots were accepted by the local election boards, another 4,500 ballots that were rejected should also now be introduced.

ìThe court said Ö claims about those previous ballots are no reason to accept clearly illegal ballots now, especially when the Coleman lawyers could not prove that the ballots they claimed were illegal, were in fact illegal.î

The Coleman team produced images of apparently invalid ballots that local election officials had counted, to support the argument that officials had been inconsistent. But Franken attorney Marc Elias responded that images alone could not establish a ballotís validity. Each ballot, he told justices, ìtells a story.î

Election officials who accepted contested ballots might have made common-sense exceptions, he said. If so, it would suggest mere images of ballots are insufficient to establish whether a ballot is valid.

At one point, Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Paul H. Anderson asked Friedberg if voter fraud had occurred during the election. Friedberg replied there was none. Says Schultz: ìThis was a fatal admission by Friedberg that may have cost him the case.î

Some observers were surprised that Coleman attorney Ben Ginsberg -- a nationally prominent lawyer who led GOP legal efforts in the successful Bush v. Gore U.S. Supreme Court case in 2000 -- watched from the sidelines during much of the contest.

Ginsberg spoke to reporters during the contest, and offered strong praise for Friedbergís performance in oral arguments. He said the stateís Supreme Court justices ìasked the tough probing questions they needed to ask from both sides.î

Three of the five justices that heard the case were appointed by Republican governors. A fourth justice was appointed by Gov. Jesse Ventura, an Independent. And the fifth justice, Alan Page, owes his presence on the bench to no party. Page he won election to his position.

When Friedberg, a respected Minnesota trial lawyer known for successfully representing defendants charged with high-profile, white-collar crimes, joined the election lawsuit in mid-January, he openly confessed his lack of election-litigation experience.

ìNorm called me on the phone and said, ëWould you consider trying the recount case in front of the three-judge panel?íì Friedberg told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. ìI said, ëI donít know my election law and it looks like youíve got about 100 lawyers.í But the answer was that very few of them are trial lawyers.î

Despite Friedbergís presumed learning curve, Rich Hasen, a Loyola Law School law professor, says that the notion Colemanís attorneys have been ìoutlawyeredî is wrong.

ìThe Coleman legal team did the best they can with what they had to work with,î Hasen tells Newsmax. ìIt turns out that Minnesotaís election administration is among the best in the country, and the legal standards set forth in Minnesota for the counting of absentee ballots did not give Colemanís team much room to make strong legal arguments. If Coleman loses, I would not blame the lawyers.î

So how does Hasen account for Frankenís current advantage of 312 votes out of close to 3 million ballots cast?

ìFranken was lucky,î Hasen says, ìand Coleman was unlucky.î

[stumblinmike]

[OldManMac]

Originally Posted by BadKosh 

Cut & Paste

It's considered bad form to cut and paste without giving proper attribution. It's considered embarrassing to quote Newsmax.

[stumblinmike]

Senator Franken will be sworn in at 12:15 (est) tomorrow. I am taking the day off to celebrate!

[turtle777]

You waste a day of vacation for that joker ?

-t