CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
March 13, 2009 – 5:12 p.m.
Coleman Lays Out Appeal Strategy Pending Recount Decision
By Emily Cadei, CQ Staff
Republican Norm Coleman is hoping for the best but preparing for the worst in his challenge of the Minnesota Senate race outcome.
As the recount trial wrapped up and judges set to begin to deliberations, Coleman’s attorney’s distributed a memo Friday laying out a two-track strategy which they say has the former senator “poised ... to be sworn into the U.S. Senate.”
Coleman, whose first term expired in January, is fighting a recount outcome that put Democratic challenger Al Franken ahead by 225 votes out of 2.9 million cast.
The memo says that Coleman could take the lead if the judges hearing the recount case over the past seven weeks “embrace the Minnesota tradition of enfranchising voters and agree to open and count the wrongly rejected absentee ballots.”
Given the judges’ rulings throughout the trial, many local court watchers deem that unlikely.
The Coleman campaign’s other option, should “the judges take a more restrictive approach to counting votes” likely would invove an appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court.
The Coleman attorneys argue:
• That because the judges ruled certain categories of absentee ballots illegal, even though they were counted in the original count and recount, Franken’s lead should be considered to have been built on “illegal” votes. They argue that the judges changed “the rules of the game after they’ve been played.”
• That the Constitution’s equal protection clause was violated when counties evaluated absentee ballots differently, resulting in certain categories of ballot being rejected in one county and accepted in another.
• That some ballots could have been wrongly rejected because the state database of registered voters was not fully updated.
The Franken campaign has dismissed these claims, and argued that Coleman’s attorneys failed to provide full evidence of only a handful of ballots being wrongly rejected.
In a conference call Thursday evening, attorney Marc Elias called the trial process “thorough and comprehensive.”
Elias also said that Franken will have to wait until any appeals to the state Supreme Court play out before he would be certified as the winner.
Comments
Coleman LOST and he should quit being a sore loser and concede with a little dignity. All of his protestations and legal maneuvering will not change the fact that Franken got more votes. It's over already...move on.
Coleman should not appeal, he must step aside if he loses the court case for the good of Minnesota.
Unfortunately for our country it will take one more voting cycle to finally rid ourselves of these Republican scumbags who have destroyed this nation. Coleman should join Madoff...... hopefully the IRS investigation will put this nut behind bars too. Both can donate their ill begotten suits to charity!~
Norm Coleman should have conceded months ago...He is embarassing himself & the Republican party....He is making a mockery of the election process... Minnesota - The land of 10,000 lakes & 2 Republican goof balls, Norm Coleman & Michelle Bachman....
I was a Coleman supporter however enough is enough. YOU lost!!!! MOve on and get over it. You told Franken that when you were ahead, he should just let it go and move on. Well, now it's time to walk your walk while you talk your talk. You can't have it both ways, Norm. Now, I'm glad that Franken will be our senator. You are turning into a real scuzzball Norm. Never saw it before until this election. I totally support Al Franken now and hope that Norm Coleman does the right thing--and steps aside at the end of this process.
I hope the courts bill the looser for all of the extra time & money wasted with this sillyness. The courts don't elect public officials. The people do...well almost always anyhow. The Republican party comes accross as a bunch of obstructionist dummys!! Don't they get it after all the times they try to screw the opposition?
Are all liberals ignorant, uneducated morons or are just the liberals who leave childish comments on this page ignorant and uneducated. Obviously sissy demoCRAPS like the idiot Clint on here who crys like a baby becuase he knows that the Republican party is the patriotic party while the demoTURDS like Clint hate America. Hey moron, grow up! Get an education higher than that of a third grader. All of you liberals are uneducated, idiotic, childish American haters. DemoCRAPS are destroying this country because they hate it. Liberals live on food stamps becuase they are to LAZY to work like conservative Americans do. If you fools(LIBERALS) could add 2+2 then you would figure out that Fraken stole this election from Coleman with the help of Secretary of State Ritchie. DUh!!!
"The Franken campaign has dismissed these claims, and argued that Coleman's attorneys failed to provide full evidence of only a handful of ballots being wrongly rejected. " Surely "only" should be "more than".
Coleman certainly should not appeal. But you know he will. Anything to stall the democrats from getting 59 seats. From a republican state of mind, there's no reason not to. It's pure class. Way to go, republicans. Show America why we should support you.
"liberals who leave childish comments" You mean like your hateful & non-sensial rant.. "Liberals live on food stamps" I can guarantee you they're alot of REPUBLICANS in the deep south ON FOOD stamps....Liberal states like CA, NY, CT, MA, VT, etc. are alot richer (in terms of personal incomes) than MANY Republican states.... "Fraken stole this election from Coleman " Yeah, sure....That's what Coleman has been saying, too bad he has absolutely no proof whatsoever....He's just a sore loser of the worst kind.....
Liberal Hater... You know what? It actually doesn't even require a response.
Liberal Hater's very funny post only proves that he's the one who needs a bit of education. He couldn't even think of a third scatological reference to the Democratic Party. How dare he say Democrats are destroying America. We love America. The Republic Party loves themselves and have been running the country for the last 8 years to their advantage .... to the detriment of the nation as a whole and the vast majority of Americans. Bush's damage to this nation is immense and I only hope we can overcome the effects of the WORST PRESIDENT in American history and restore this nation to greatness.
When the law required a 2nd recount for the State of Florida and the Neo-Cons blocked it they have nothing coming on any election into the next century.
Hilarious! Someone compounding the word "turd" to form an insult and in the same "breath" deriding others of not advancing beyond 3rd grade! Thanks Liberal Hater- I haven't gotten a laugh like that from a Republican since Michael Steele last opened his mouth!
I personally believe this is the biggest bunch of dookie to hit the fan in this election cycle. I think this election was over after the Recount. As for people accusing Mark Ritchie, all he did was his JOB. He called the automatic recount because State Law provided a mandatory mechanism. Franken came out ahead, and by an even GREATER margin that Coleman came in with. Franken won, the court will likely rule as such, and Mr. Coleman should bow out.
I'll let Al Franken himself respond to "Liberal hater" (and as a liberal, I can say I've never been on food stamps, I work hard to pay for college, and really who the hell are you calling childish?) Anyway, Mr Franken: "We love America just as much as they do. But in a different way. You see, they love America the way a four-year-old loves her mommy. Liberals love America like grown-ups. To a four-year-old, everything Mommy does is wonderful and anyone who criticizes Mommy is bad. Grown-up love means actually understanding what you love, taking the good with the bad, and helping your loved one grow." -Al Franken
'Liberal Hater' is a tool
Liberal Hater is just another of the many conservatives who, these days, have no valid arguments left. They champion opposition to abortion, gay marriage, universal health care, stem cell research, election reform, any energy source other than nuclear and fossil fuels and they champion support for school prayer, deregulation and American imperialism. Yet, they wonder why they are losing support at an alarming rate and becoming a regional party of Southern caucasians and Wall Street bankers. Liberal Hater, as they throw accusations of ignorance and stupidity toward us liberals, they prove themselves to be nothing more than what they claim we are. I personally cannot wait until the Republican Party reaches third party status and we, who want America to progress rather than stay in the mindless Christian-Conservative worldview it is in, will have a choice between the Liberal Democratic Party and the Moderate Democratic Party, as those will be the new 2-party system. Ronald Reagan Conservatism is dying quickly, and all I can say is good riddance. May Liberal Hater and all his friends in the Rich, White & Racist Party burn in their imagined hell and let us liberals put out the blazing inferno they left this great country in.
Liberal hater is an idiot. What school he went to claim that he is educated and spelled many words wrong. THe correct way to spell "Crys" is actually "cries" and "sillyness" is spelled with an "I" not "y", idiot! Go back to 3rd grade, Dan Quayle!
Sounds like liberal hater is really Rush Limbaugh.
Liberal hater is another crybaby, vile mouthed con that has no idea what he is talking about. Just the typical nonsensical drivel from the right. BTW, Turkey, question my "patriotism. A62 out
I'd like to see a few of the Democratic side of the aisle rally to bring the Republican's Conspiracy to keep the second Minnesota Seat vacant rather than swear-in Senator-Elect Franken. Appealing the Minnesota Election Process in order to keep Al Franken out goes against the oaths those GOP Lawmakers took when they were sworn-in as Senator's. The Coleman Case has been a Bad Faith Fraud from the instant Norm Coleman said he'd contest the results. Only because it benefits the GOP to have the Minnesota Seat vacant rather than seating Senator-Elect Franken as the 59th Democrat does the GOP's Senate Committee urge Coleman to embarrass himself with a career ruining crusade. Now, that Coleman heard Franken's name repeatedly called-out expanding his lead over Norm to over 300 votes; he should get the idea about who won. Coleman has arrived at the time where every passing minute means the foundation of his support structure erodes as those who would vote for him in a bid for Governor, lose their faith and turn against Coleman for perpetrating this expanding Fraud. The real disenfranchisement of Minnesota voters has begun in earnest. The longer it takes for Coleman to step aside and allow Franken to join the Senate is costing Norm Coleman to lose votes in the next election. Very soon there will be absolutely none left. Instead of voting Coleman, thousands of people will go to the Polls and with great precision, color-in the oval on the Ballot for the Write-In Candidate and indicate their choice to be "Lizard People".
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