Coleman Drops NRSC Bid To Benefit Of Potential Investigator

Sen. Norm Coleman announced on Thursday that he was dropping his bid to become the next chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee -- a position he had coveted for several years.

The move, his office said, was done so that the Minnesota Republican could focus on his recount campaign against Al Franken, in which Coleman has a scant 206 vote lead.

"Sen. Coleman has chosen to step back and focus his efforts on the recount. Going forward, he gives his full support to Sen. Cornyn," said his spokesman LeRoy Coleman (of no relation).

But there is a more nefarious reading one could take away from the announcement. Coleman's main competition for the NRSC post -- the individual who stood the most to gain from Coleman dropping his bid -- was Sen. John Cornyn.

The Texas Republican, in addition to being the likely future head of GOP Senate campaigning, is also the Republican chair of the Senate Committee on Ethics. And Coleman, currently, has a potentially damaging ethics-violation allegation starring him in the face.

Two lawsuits -- one in Texas the other in Delaware -- allege that the Senator and his wife took $75,000 in payments from a GOP benefactor that they failed to report on their personal financial disclosure form.

The ethics committee has already been urged to look into the allegation -- which Coleman denies -- by the good government group Alliance for a Better Minnesota. And a Democratic aide on the committee says that it is policy to look into any grievance that has been sent their way.

"Anytime the Senate Ethics Committee gets a complaint," she said, "we take a look at it."

Additionally, ethics lawyers who have followed the issue say that, should Coleman be reelected, he would more than likely be investigated by Congress. The allegation leveled at him, after all, is markedly similar to charges made (and proved) against Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens.

Only now, the Republican chair who may oversee that investigation is the same individual whose path to the top of the NRSC Coleman just paved.

Comments

[Puller58]

Kind of hard to have that position if you're not re-elected to the Senate.

[abbeyroad]

so is his face.

[solutionrong]

It's getting more and more ugly

[osusana]

Somebody help me out here, please. HOW does one "campaign" for a recount? What good does it do for said candidate to "concentrate his efforts" on the recount effort??? Isn't a recount just THAT? A second COUNT OF THE VOTES ALREADY CAST??? Is he trying to convince the counters to count the votes differently?

[Carolab]

They are probably trying to cast "suspicions" and/or halt the process. Remember Florida 2000? The "Brooks Brothers Riot"?

[Cinnamonape]

Perhaps he's thinking that eventually Franken will exceed the percentage differential that mandates a state-financed recount. Then Coleman would have to seek out donors to help pay for his own recount. Acquiescing to Cornyn might provide him with a good buddy that might raise that cash. But if he's involved in a fight over leadership half of the Republican Senators might be told not to assist Coleman.

Dirty politics, assurredly, but they ARE REPUBLICANS!

[Moarku]

Exactly what I was wondering. It's a recount, not a runoff.

[willfarnaby]

Say there uber-creep Squirmin' Norman...

your casting call is over at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/13/palins-first-press-confer_n_143576.html

----------­----------­----------­-
WTF? So many high-profile wingnuts in one place... is this the casting call for the remake of the 1960's sci-fi classic, The Invaders ?!

Alien beings from a dying planet.
Their destination - the Earth.
Their purpose - to make it _their_ world..

[CJGibson]

I hate when I have ethics-violation allegations starring me in the face. They're so dazzling it's hard to see.

[greenliberal]

My God, it's full of... ethics violations.

[protagonia]

2010 reference.

Very nice.

[Chillinout]

Alright, is there one Republican that is honest and has integrity?

[willfarnaby]

... crickets ...

[coreyishere]

*chirp chirp*

[Carolab]

People seem to like Chafee. And he did endorse Obama.

[funkalicious]

It looks like Coleman has a case of the dropsies..­.
i guess the NRSC knows a guy like that will stink up the joint.

Go Al Franken..
Are we supposed to send lawyer money to http://www.alfranken.com/

Cause Al is too close for Coleman's comfort

[ArmyCentrist]

How did Minnesota go blue for Obama, but re-elected Bachmann and maybe Norm Coleman?!?! You guys can't have buyers' remorse over Obama yet, he hasn't even sworn in yet! This is still, and always will be Bush and Co.'s fault, and that includes Coleman/Bachmann! C'mon MN! YES YOU CAN!!!

[proggirl]

Minnesota is a unique place. We think as individuals, not monolithically.
Besides, the whole state didn't vote for Bachman, just a plurality of her district (and a narrow plurality at that). So it's unreasonable and unfair to hold the entire state accountable for her measured victory.
Outstate Minnesota (the rural regions beyond the Twin Cities) tend to be more conservative. As a state, we tend to have fairly equal representation between the two major parties, and more independents holding office than in many other parts of the country.
As for Franken, hey, I voted for him. I'm just waiting for the count to be done.

[Carolab]

Not true--the entire Iron Range is bluer than blue.

[Mickey7]

Sadly, yes. The glory days of and outstanding and dominant Minnesota Democratic party seem to be gone. It's really only been since the 2000 election that Minnesota was first characterized as a potential swing state, though. Even then, most Republican politicians from MN tend to be moderates. Bachmann is an outlier and I think you are being very PC and gracious and grown up about her election. So I'll be the juvenile brat about it and just come right out and say it: St. Cloud and environs are NOT very 'Minnesota Nice' places (although I'm sure there are some wonderful people there) what with the skinhead and militia problems, known issues with inbreeding (this is not a dig--it's actually true. Lots of genetic disorders up there from too few families intermarrying for far too long) and dogmatic Christianists. There really is no reasonable excuse for her reelection and it is embarrassing for those of us who believe our state deserves and can do better.

[afgail]

Not sure I agree with your ssessment of Minnasota. Afterall you guys elected that joke of a candidate Jesse Ventura.

[Carolab]

Bachmann's "election" never seemed "legitimate" to me...furth­er, her district has been gerrymandered to scoop up the far right-wingers in the outlying rural areas.

[Cinnamonape]

Bachmann is in a gerrymandered wingnut district. Getting close to half of those people to vote for Jesus Christ (D) is near high impossible. Coleman only was able to be in this race because there was a third party libertarian candidate. Consider that 65% of the populace voted against the incumbent.

[Wilbur]

How can a member of a minority party (i.e., Sen. Cornyn) oversee a committee that would look into the allegations against Coleman? Would not a member of the majority party, i.e., a DEMOCRAT, oversee that committee?

Wilbur

[KansasWrangler]

The committee is composed of 3 Dem and 3 Repub. Barbara Boxer is the Chair and Cornyn is the Assistant Chair. In as much as there is a 3-3 split, Boxer is the Democrat head and Cornyn is the Republican head.

[osusana]

Cornyn is, just like Bush, 'all hat, no cattle'. He's not going to head up ANY committee, and he's worthless to Texans.

[Cinnamonape]

Cornyn is not the Majority Chair, he is the minority Chair. All Committees have two "Chairs" although the minority party chair really doesn't have much power except over their own Caucus. They can issue the dissenting view in reports, if necessary. Sometimes the Majority Chair will allow the Minority Chair to take the gavel during hearings and meetings where they are absent. But that mainly presents a parliamentary role.

[DFL]

I HOPE THE RECOUNT IS AS HONEST AS HIS TV COMMERCIALS WERE.

[nellie]

It's would be tough being the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee when you're not in the senate...

[texanna]

Coleman's assertion that he is going to focus on the recount campaign is a lot like McSame suspending his campaign to rush to DC to work on the economic crisis back in Sept. And, I suspect his efforts will be about as successful as were McSame's. After all, it's a recount that is being done according to MN state law, what on earth can Coleman do but wait for the result?

[PT6]

What exactly can he do in the RECOUNT? That is an HONEST STATE DOING AN HONEST RECOUNT!

I think he believes he is losing!

[Jaxy]

Of course Norm has to drop everything to focus on the recount.

Allegedly, he accepted bribes, funneled through his wife, because Sentaors don't earn beans. Can you imagine how much loot he'd have to have funneled if he actually lost that Senate seat?

[Carolab]

Sure because Cornyn would give Norm a pass.

[Gidster]

Hell that is the Republican way! Stevens could possibly get a pardon for his seven felonies! What kind of message does that send?

[Forester]

its called the golden rule
those with the gold or power in this case, make the rules