Franken, If Up In Votes, Should Be Seated Before Legal Battles End: Klobuchar

With concern rising in Minnesota that the state could be without a Senator for the crucial early months of the next Congress, Sen. Amy Klobuchar weighed in with a significant proposal this weekend: seat the unofficial winner until all legal challenges are finalized.

"If the Canvassing Board declares a winner, that should be our senator," said the Minnesota Democrat. Even if a court challenge were to follow, she added, "[The Senate] could seat a senator pending the litigation."

Should Klobuchar's vision bear out, it would likely result in Al Franken taking over the Senate seat on a temporary basis. Democrats would get a 59th caucus member and a potentially important vote on key legislative matters.

The Minnesota canvassing board is set to certify the vote total from the election sometime in early January (a date is not yet official). As it stands know, Franken should emerge ahead in the count by a scant 47 votes. Sen. Norm Coleman would then have seven days to challenge the board's conclusion, a course of action his campaign has said it will almost certainly pursue.

The legal gridlock that would ensue could mean that there is no official Senate winner for weeks, if not much longer. Thirty-four years ago in New Hampshire, a similar situation took place, and the state was short a representative in the Senate for ten months.

At this point, there seems to be little political will from the Governor's office to resolve the problem. Republican Tim Pawlenty's office has said he only has the authority to appoint a replacement in the case of a permanent vacancy. So Klobuchar's statement, reported by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, carries particular weight.

There is, moreover, historical precedent for seating Franken on a temporary basis. In 1996, Mary Landrieu won the Louisiana Senate seat in a hotly contested race. But her opponent, State Representative Woody Jenkins, alleged that massive election fraud had contributed to his defeat. The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate agreed to look into the charges but allowed Landrieu to serve in the interim, pending investigation. The Rules Committee ultimately discovered that Jenkins had coached and paid witnesses to testify, thus discrediting his complaints of corruption and securing Landrieu's place in the Senate.

Comments

[THE JEDI 69]

yeah no kidding i thought it was just me..let me speak

[Blurp]

Ugh. Is this thing not over yet?

[hortonhearsawho2]

Gee Grandpa, were you born when the Mn. election started...were studying history and...sometime in the distant future.

[NathumusMaximus]

I live in the state, and i try to forget about it - it helps me sleep at night...

[tcuoohjohn]

Minnesota's election process is the most transparent in the nation. Allegations of fraud without corresponding evidence is ridiculous.

[fsmith]

Transparent, sure.

The problem is they still haven't learned to count.

[bygollymissmolly]

They are doing just fine with their counting. The only problems they are having is Coleman trying very hard to stop counting legitimate votes.

[RageCage]

I'm no fan of Coleman by any means, but Al Franken? Really? He really has the resume to be a United States Senator? What experience does he have? I know he went to Harvard but what did he major in? Did he graduate?

[poco767c]

Learn to google

[sanywhere]

lol

[shanghaislim]

Free Lessons at:

www.google.com

Type in Education+Rational Thought+Not Me

[hortonhearsawho2]

yeah, but which Internets is he is using?

[viflyer]

I wouldn't hold your breath!

[poco767c]

FYI "He attended Harvard College and graduated cum laude in 1973 with a bachelor of arts degree in general studies.[10] At Harvard, Franken washed dishes as a participant in the work-study program with Richard Honaker, who was nominated by U.S. President George W. Bush in 2007 as one of three U.S. District Judges from Wyoming.[11]" Wikipedia

[Bounceem]

So, the votes should be ignored because you're concerned he doesn't have sufficient experience?

Yes, he graduated cum laude in "General Studies."

[linaya]

I wish this was over!
Let us vote again. The outcome was effectively a tie. With the 3rd party candidate out, it wouldn't be a tie if we could just revote.

I don't care what Franken's degree in. It could be a degree in cooking omelets, he'd still be a better senator than Sleazy Norm. Is Franken qualified? Less than Caroline Kennedy, but at this point, who cares!

[shanghaislim]

In fact........what really qualifies ANYBODY for the senate anyway?????

Dennis Hastert was a High School Wrestling teacher. Tom Delay was a Bug Man.
Largent, Bradley, Kemp were pro athletes?? Mary Bono was a wife.
Just to name a few?

[deke4]

It puzzles me this experience thingy. Just take a look at what all those experienced hypocrites have got us into. What we need is a clean sweep of all those socalled paragons of virtue, many of whom would be behind bars if a thorough investigation of all of them, including their secret safety deposit boxes, freezers, backyard underground safes, and Swiss and offshore bank accounts. What we really need is people of moderate means or even below poverty to be elected. People who know what it is like to live from paycheck to paycheck and oversight that is unpenetrable. Even "Joe the Plumber" now admits what an idiot he was for backing someone who would never have his interest at heart.

[Omidal]

The issue must be resolved first.
Would' that be unconstitutional to be seat a person who is not yet a senator or presume to be senator in congress?

Are these people crazy? Resolve the election until there is a winner.

[mamacat]

Count the votes and then declare a winner. It's not rocket science.

[shanghaislim]

When the GOP are involved in is more like Trigonometry????????????

[Bozwellian]

naw, NOT "trig", more like cheet sheets and cliff notes oozing blathering chutzpah to overwhelm common sensibilities and deny reality !!!

[hortonhearsawho2]

ever see a rocket in Mn., well then mr. smarty pants.

[YouDisgustMe]

i know right?? lool

[jazzybo]

Norm Coleman says,Welcome to Walmart ! He has such a big bright smile!

[hortonhearsawho2]

to think, when shopping there that could be the last face you see...

[shanghaislim]

worse yet.......

.........you could see it over and over and over again and again and again EVERY time you need a cheap Chinese lawn chair or perhaps a polka dot pull over jumper from Sri Lanka

[RickCoMatic]

OK. We can't send Al Franken to Washington, yet.
Rules is Rules.
So, send Coleman and tell him to stay until his term expires.
Then, tell him to clear-out his office and bring all his personal stiff home.
Once his term expires ...
Then, send Al Franken.
Let Franken do the job better than Coleman ever thought of doing until all the "i's" get dotted and the "T's" crossed on Franken being the rightful winner of the recount and close the book.
Just don't let Coleman hold-up Franken from being Senator Al Franken because of sour grapes.
I think we all know the kind of cloth Coleman is cut from.
He's got suits galore!

[stagebandman]

I really want Franken to become senator. But, I really want it to be fair and legal. Please, do not push for a Repub-like ending to the election. If he has rightfully won, and again, I pray that's the case, then he can take his seat with no possible recourse. This is the only right thing to do. We on the left have to be better. We have to be more moral, more honest, more thoughtful, and more respectful of our process. Let's not ever be thought of as bad as the debacle of 2000. As far as the chair, I don't see where an empty seat will hurt for a few weeks, until this is completely and legally decided. As Wilford Brimley would say, "it's the right thing to do".

[garylucy]

Well said! Let's lead by example.

[CessnaDriver]

From what I have gathered, it does not seem that the Governor of Minnesota has the power under law to appoint a "seat filler" to the Senate, unless there is a permanent vacancy. Norm's term ends on Jan 02, and he cannot start the next congress as a Senator unless he has been certified by the State that he was elected to the post.

Since the seat is empty because of a lack of certification, the Governor can't appoint a seat filler, and the Senate won't seat one. There is precident for this, including Gov. Huey Long, who was elected to a Senate seat, but left it empty for two years until he finished his term at Governor. I believe at the time he wanted to appoint a person to serve on a temporary basis, but the Senate refused.

Perhaps some of the scolars and researchers among us can publish some citations in the Jefferson Manual or the like to enlighten us.

[MuchMadness]

Amendment 20 states "the terms of Senators and Representatives [shall end] at noon on the 3d day of January ... and the terms of their successors shall then begin. "

Now, what if no successor has been chosen? Amendment 17 states "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state, elected by the people thereof, for six years ... When vacancies happen in the representation of any state in the Senate, the executive authority of such state shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, that the legislature of any state may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct. "

Since an election has already been held, it would be contrary to the spirit, if not the letter, of the constitution for the legislature of Minnesota to empower the governor to make a temporary appointment. There is still a bit of time left for Minnesota to certify a winner of the recent election so that the U.S. Senate can seat a second senator from MN when the congress convenes on January 6.

[SparkyDash]

Cessna 170B - tail dragger

[Indubio]

The canvassing board is set to certify Franken and once it does that it shouldn't matter what Coleman does and what Coleman threatens to do shouldn't affect the canvassing board.

[Truthandreason]

Another stolen election by the Democrat party.
Reminds me of the contest of Gregoire vs Rossi in Washington state.
Every time Rossi would pull ahead, the Dems would find another box of uncounted ballots.
Typical Democrat strategy; keep recounting until you are ahead, then stop the recount and declare victory.
America is becoming a banana republic.

[callanish]

must have learned all that from Bush and co.

[CessnaDriver]

It's the Democratic Party, Nimrod. Actually, in Minnesota it's the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party (The DFL).

Truthandreason, my a*ss

[elcojonu]

Good, it's about time we started stealing them again, after all, we used to be pretty good at it.
We're back dude, get used to it.

[Lion24]

Two words. Pompous dullard.

[JhNyc]

It must be awful to be completely irrelevant.

[Mort]

He should be senator because he's good enough, he's smart enough, and doggoneit, people like him!

[mamacat]

You betcha!

[linaya]

Never say "You betcha" regarding MN again. That's officially an Alaskan phrase now.

[iPolitics]

There is some political strategy for you. Tough to unseat him after he's been on the job

[linaya]

Yeah, ask Dean Barkley how tough it is to unseat someone who's been on the job.

[shockmagog]

Well, if Franken was seated in the Senate pending appeal, it may be hard to pry him back out of there if the court ended up ruling against him. In the meantime, pressure could mount against Coleman to drop the canvassing board challenge.

The Klobuchar plan to seat Franken in the first place seems like a long shot. If he was seated, there could be growing pressure against Coleman not to appeal as time and delays went on.

This is all assuming the canvassing board gives those 47 votes to Franken.

[Yermammy]

Get em Al! Finally. Now we Democrats can tell the rethugs to shove off. WE are the masters of the Universe NOW! LOL!