tagged w/ Minnesota Senate Race
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Here is the video of Norm Coleman conceding to Al Franken in the Minnesota Senate Race.
Norm Disputed the election results and it has been caught up in the courts for months.Here is the video of Norm Coleman conceding to Al Franken in the Minnesota Senate... more
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Monday's oral arguments before the Minnesota Supreme Court may finally bring an end to the state's protracted Senate race, and both sides are proclaiming readiness.
Lawyers for former Sen. Norm Coleman (R) and Democrat Al Franken have prepped for the better part of a month and a half to ready their cases after Coleman appealed a three-judge panel's decision in an election contest handing Franken a narrow victory in the race.Monday's oral arguments before the Minnesota Supreme Court may finally bring an... more
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The drumbeat is growing louder for former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman to drop his long-shot appeal of the state's prolonged recount.
In the wake of a three-judge panel declaring that Al Franken was the leading vote-getter of the U.S. Senate election, MSNBC's Joe Scarborough offered a preemptive and withering criticism of Coleman's likely appeal of that decision to the state Supreme Court.The drumbeat is growing louder for former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman to drop his... more
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Three judges soundly rejected Norm Coleman's attempt to reverse Al Franken's lead in the U.S. Senate election late Monday, sweeping away the Republican's claims in a blunt ruling Coleman promised to appeal.
After a trial spanning nearly three months, the judicial panel dismissed Coleman's central argument that the election and its aftermath were fraught with systemic errors that made the results invalid.
"The overwhelming weight of the evidence indicates that the Nov. 4, 2008, election was conducted fairly, impartially and accurately," the panel said in its unanimous decision.
The panel concluded that Franken "received the highest number of votes legally cast" in the election. Franken emerged from the trial with a 312-vote lead, the court ruled, and "is therefore entitled to receive the certificate of election."
Speaking to reporters outside his downtown Minneapolis condominium, Franken, flanked by his wife, Franni, said he had "no control" over what Coleman does next but said he would urge his opponent not to appeal, which would delay his certification. "I am honored and humbled by this close victory," he said. "And it's long past time we got to work."
In an interview earlier in the day, Coleman said he believes "thousands" of rejected votes should have been counted.
Coleman legal spokesman Ben Ginsberg said the ruling denies many valid votes by applying a stricter standard to determining eligible ballots than local officials applied during the recount.
"This order ignores the reality of what happened in the counties and cities on Election Day in terms of counting the votes," Ginsberg said, asserting that Coleman must appeal to assure that valid votes are counted. Coleman's lawyers have 10 days to file an appeal with the Minnesota Supreme Court.
But experts who read the panel's 68-page ruling say it effectively attacks some of the very arguments that Coleman would use on appeal.Three judges soundly rejected Norm Coleman's attempt to reverse Al Franken's... more
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Last week, I took a look at the political leanings of the five Minnesota Supreme Court Justices who will decide Republican Norm Coleman's likely appeal. Of one of the five Justices, Justice Christopher J. Dietzen, I suggested that he "has the clearest partisan background" of any of the Justices, pointing to facts including Dietzen serving as a campaign lawyer on Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty's 2002 campaign. Of Dietzen's service on Republican Pawlenty's campaign, I sarcastically noted:
So, Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty's campaign lawyer is one of the five judges that will decide Republican Norm Coleman's appeal. Nothing wrong with that.
Clearly, one of the Justices being active in Republican politics is sketchy, but I didn't go so far as to call for Justice Dietzen to recuse himself from any further cases before the state Supreme Court involving Norm Coleman and the Senate seat. Until now.
DownWithTyranny! took my analysis a little further and found out that Justice Dietzen is himself a two-time Norm Coleman donor! A simple search on OpenSecrets.org finds that Justice Dietzen has given to a number of Republican committees and candidates, including:
Contributor Occupation Date Amount Recipient
Chris Dietzen Larkin Hoffman 12/3/01 $250 Coleman, Norm (R)
Chris Dietzen Larkin Hoffman 1/21/04 $250 Coleman, Norm (R)
FYI, Larkin Hoffman is one of the law firms that Dietzen worked at before becoming a judge.Last week, I took a look at the political leanings of the five Minnesota Supreme Court... more
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