GOP Leaders Publicly Divided Over Whether To Concede Franken Victory
One interesting thing about Norm Coleman’s endless legal effort to overturn Al Franken’s apparent electoral victory: It’s creating public divisions among GOP leaders over whether to concede that Franken has won this thing.
Some Republican leaders continue to prop up the public line that Coleman can still prevail. But the stresses of maintaining this less-and-less tenable position are cracking the facade, with other GOP pols straying off message and acknowledging that Franken is all but certain to be seated.
NRSC chief John Cornyn stuck to the message the other day, claiming that a Franken victory was “unlikely.” Other GOP Senators, however, are less willing to attach their names to this sentiment.
Senator Judd Gregg, for instance, in a throw-away line about Arlen Specter’s defection, told ABC News in a matter of fact tone that Dems already “have” their 60 votes in the Senate:
“They have their 60 votes here in the Senate, or will probably have their 60 votes in the Senate, and so they can pretty much do whatever they want, and I’m a little concerned about what they want to do.”
On Fox News yesterday, Senator Lindsay Graham seemed to acknowledge a Franken win. Told by the anchor that “the Democrats are going to have 60 votes.” He didn’t contradict her, replying: “That’s scary.”
And last night, GOP Rep Paul Ryan conceded in an interview that “most of us,” presumably meaning Republicans, think Franken is going to win.
The result of all this is more message confusion about the state of the GOP at a moment when the party least needs it. And it’s likely to snowball, potentially making it tougher for Coleman to keep support for his ongoing bid from flagging completely.
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It’s a sad commentary on the state of the RepubliFringe Party when it’s breaking news that they’ve actually let their talking points be informed ever so slightly by a few facts.
I smell an attack ad coming with those clips.
The sooner Colman concedes, the sooner the Republican party can put itself back on the road to relevance. Until then, Republicans merely keep embarrassing themselves with more and more untenable positions regarding governance! -Kevo
Greg
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Off topic but Karen Tumulty talked to Ed Rendell about Arlen Specter and I thought you might be interested in what he had to say.
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http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/04/30/more-on-arlen-specter-from-ed-rendell/
No, Senator Graham, 60 *Republican* Senate votes would be “scary.” We’d devolve into a torturing, quasi-fascist banana republic overnight.
A Republican “rump” now pretends to stride the national scene with a man called Steele making a blooper a day. As you sow….
The Democrats love to spend everyone else’s money, but they don’t have a clue about how to run a country. Evidence: the economic crisis happened under Dem majorities in both houses, Bush attempted to reign in Fannie/Freddie, but the Barney Franks of the government blocked him. A Dem supermajority would be catastrophe. No-carbon, no-guns, no-profits, no-SUVs, no-victory, no-freedom, no-school choice, no-private business, no-tax cuts, no-effective interrogations, no-clue. Democrats are the real party of “No.”
What they call “scary,” I like to call “the will of the people.”
Democrats didn’t stumble into having 60 seats in the senate: the American people elected 60 democratic Senators. The republican party can stick to its principals but its leaders had better realize that the majority of this country doesn’t disagree with those principals. Their choice is clear: they can adapt their positions to represent a larger segment of the population or they can remain a minority party.
I voted Dem. However in my opinion, the delay in seating Frankin has some justice to it, given that it really was a split decision. So, for a small chunk of 6 years, there is additional friction to the Dem agenda. No problem, unless the Supreme Court tries to mess things up.
The Franken decision was unanimous, not a split decision. A split in the GOP about whether to concede or delay further does not make it a split decision.
“most of us,” presumably meaning Republicans, think Franken is going to win.
Is going to? He’s already won. It’s just a matter of when to seat him.
Isn’t is hilarious that people would elect a comedian over an incumbent senator – that’s how much America hates Republicans. Not to mention electing our Kenyan-born, Muslim, black-separatist, terrorist-pallin’ president over a POW – that’s how much America hates Republicans!
As Kristol would say, “and that’s good news for Republicans!”
Hey “Brian Dear”… Can I PLEASE sell you something – ANYTHING? You seem so incredibly stupid, I’ll bet I can take you for everything you have with a huge smile on my face! Nothing would make me laugh harder than to see your ignorant, uninformed, and totally worthless family of knuckle-draggers living in a box in an alleyway begging for food scraps. Really. I wish you all the worst in life. Now, get back to blowing Piggy Pigboy Limbaugh stupid!
Norm Coleman’s on the ledge with a few GOP supporters selling tickets and yelling: “Don’t jump yet”
We are all about to witness the tragic end to a promising political career. Ex-SenatorNorm Coleman, who lost a close election to Al Franken, and appealed that loss to Court, has decided several unanimous decisions against him are not good enough. He takes his Case and brings it to the Minnesota Supreme Court to hear, once and for all: “Norm. You lost it”.
Norm “lost it” before packing-up all his stuff and trying to convince the High Court to see it his way.
For those who have watched every minute of this drama due mainly to the extraordinary efforts of TheUpTake.Org, what we have watched is best described by saying it was like watching a really bad prize fight. A Palooka answered the bell and started taking a beating right away.
Unable to land a punch and paid to not take a dive; Coleman keeps taking an 8-Count before getting battered and beaten-up some more.
In the later rounds, with the bout decided and taking a punch that sends him staggering across the ring before his legs give-out and laying him out, again; Coleman hears the Referee counting to ten and the crowd all screaming for him to “Stay down”. Booing starts as lifts himself up and stands defenseless getting showered with paper cups, popcorn boxes and balled-up newsprint. The crowd begs for his corner to throw-in the towel. They chant for the towel but his handlers aren’t listening. They’re sitting there lighting big, long, Cuban’s with C-notes
laughing-it-up and having a good time.
What ex-Senator Coleman and the GOP say or do between now and the moment the Supreme Court gavels “Order” to start hearing COLEMAN v. FRANKEN really matters not. Coleman should be ashamed and thoroughly embarrassed to submit the Transcript, Evidence and Rulings to the Supreme Court in hopes of having the High Court reverse the Election Contest Court.
The Decision the Election Contest Court handed down is bullet proof. Plus, it goes beyond deciding the “Who got the most votes” issue and tackles all the arguments Coleman will bring to the Supremes.
The ECC trio unanimously agreed Coleman proved nothing and said so. Making sure that Coleman isn’t looked upon favorably, the trio wrote about the attempted deceit and trickery that Coleman tried when presenting his case. They mentioned that witnesses were “Less than convincing” and took time to be quite critical of the Coleman “Star witness” who, the evidence shows, was guilty of collusion, withholding of evidence and illegally communicating with Coleman during the Trial. They were polite, but harsh with their language. They did not actually write: “This pitiful and shameless example of partisan obstructionism is not worthy of our time and comments to dismiss it, with Prejudice.” But they did write, with just enough venom in their ink, to show they did not appreciate the frivolous waste of time and energy Coleman used to prove nothing and anger The Court into a possible situation that might be used for appeal. Then, they went about dismantling each and every single one of Coleman arguments and removed any doubt a Higher Court could construe as good reason to overrule their opinion.
Coleman brings to the Minnesota Supreme Court the most outrageous example of Appealing a Lower Courts Decision which has ever been done. This appeal to the MSC proves, beyond any reasonable doubt, that Coleman and the GOP are without shame, are willingly defying their Oaths to protect the Constitution, and don’t care who is watching as they flagrantly assault our Democracy!