Senate Dems May Try To Seat Franken

UPDATE: Coleman's Senate office has been ordered closed, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports:

With the recount battle still underway, the doors to Norm Coleman's Senate offices were locked this morning at the direction of Senate rules committee officials who declared his term expired.

"They can't carry on Senate business," said Howard Gantman, staff director for the Senate Rules and Administration Committee.

Coleman, in a statement issued at mid-day, said "without question this is a unique situation in the history of the Senate, and specifics are still being determined as to the future of the Senate office."

CQ reports Senate Democrats may attempt to seat Al Franken as Minnesota's new Senator Tuesday, despite the objections of Sen. Norm Coleman and other Republicans.

Senate Republicans are gearing up to block any attempt to seat the Democrat until Coleman's continuing legal challenges are resolved. That could spark the first filibuster of the 111th Congress.

Jim Manley, the spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev., said Monday that there "likely will be an attempt to seat [Franken] this week."

A senior Democratic aide confirmed that Senate Democrats hoped to swear Franken in Tuesday, along with the rest of the freshman senators.

New York Sen. Charles Schumer seemed to endorse this move Sunday, saying the race was settled and that Franken had won the election.

"While there are still possible legal issues that will run their course, there is no longer any doubt who will be the next Senator from Minnesota," Schumer said. "With the Senate set to begin meeting on Tuesday to address the important issues facing the nation, it is crucial that Minnesota's seat not remain empty, and I hope this process will resolve itself as soon as possible."

Senate Republican leaders have said the chamber shouldn't seat Franken until all legal matters are settled, which could take months.

On Monday, the Minnesota Supreme Court rejected Coleman's request to count an additional 654 rejected absentee ballots.

Comments

[PallinAround]

Close your office down, Normie Boy! It's all over... don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya!

[Dave-O]

Norm "Cry me a River" Coleman just needs to take it like a man and get out. Don't let the Republicans to try to steal another election. I think it would be a travesty if the crooked Supreme Court supercedes another election. Our founding fathers would be rolling in their graves to see how the Republicans have bastardized the constitution and the systems of checks and balances.

[YellowDogInRedCounty]

"....take it like a man..." Don't you mean take it FROM a man?

[jazzycafe]

Tuesday ought to provide lots of political theater. Are the republican senators prepared to come out and look like complete whiners?

[Davwbaird]

Whining is all they know.

[DinkSinger]

I cannot imagine that the Senate will actually seat anyone (either Franken or Burris) before receiving the official Certificate of Election (or Appointment) from the state. The Minnesota law is very clear "No certificate of election shall be issued until seven days after the canvassing board has declared the result of the election. In case of a contest, an election certificate shall not be issued until a court of proper jurisdiction has finally determined the contest. (Minnesota Statutes Section 204C.40 Subdivision 2)." Coleman says he will file an election contest so it will be at least a few weeks before there will be an official result.

The Constitution imposes on each House a duty to "judge the ... returns ... of its members". How can the Senate judge a document that has not yet been issued? This is equally true of Burris. His Certificate of Appointment is sitting in the Illinois Secretary of State, Jesse White's office without his signature. Burris has filed suit asking the Illinois Supreme Court to compel Secretary White to sign, seal and deliver the certificate. Until he does, the Senate again has nothing to judge.

[milo h minderbinder]

Looks like you're right, they really shouldn't seat him until the certificate is sent out, which would be a week from now at the earliest, and likely later than that since Coleman will likely sue.

[MathIsTruth]

I suppose Franken could go to the Senate and say "I won the election, and here's the evidence I have to show that I did". Then the Senate could judge that.

In other words, the Constitution is pretty broadly worded in terms of what the Senate can and can't do.

[milo h minderbinder]

But if MN law says a certificate isn't issued yet, they're probably pushing their luck if they seat him before it is completely official per state law.

As frivolous as I believe Coleman's case is, I'd like to see them wait on Franken until the state says it is official instead of risking even the appearance of impropriety.

[milo h minderbinder]

The hypocracy of Coleman's people is unbelievable. After multiple lawsuits to keep ballots uncounted and after refusing to open 90% of wrongly rejected absentee ballots (Franken wanted to count all of them), his attourney has the nerve to make this statement:

“Given our campaign’s unwavering commitment to ensuring that the vote of no Minnesotan is disenfranchised, today’s ruling by the Minnesota Supreme Court is both disappointing and disheartening,” Knaak said in a statement.

He also said: “Today’s ruling, which effectively disregards the votes of hundreds of Minnesotans, ensures that an election contest is now inevitable. The Coleman campaign has consistently and continually fought to have every validly cast vote counted, and for the integrity of Minnesota’s election system, we will not stop now.”

Let me repeat that last part.

"The Coleman campaign has consistently and continually fought to have every validly cast vote counted"

Unbelievable. These guys should be ashamed of themselves.

[Icantbelieveher]

He meant to say that any vote should be counted if it was cast for him!

[Megaflow]

The last eight years is proof: these guys are NEVER ashamed. Shame is a thing of the past in the Republican party.

[scorpioleidy]

Go, Frankie ... go go Frankie!

[EllisWyatt]

Are the members of the canvassing board partisans?

[milo h minderbinder]

I believe a majority of them are republicans.

[milo h minderbinder]

Sorry, I just read two dems, two GOP, and one independent. The MN supreme court is majority GOP.

[MNmommy]

Watch Franken get certified live!

http://theuptake.com/

[EllisWyatt]

Did you hear those explosions?

[PallinAround]

You mean your head, and O'Reilly's and Limbaugh's and Hannity's and Coulter's? Yep, sure did hear them!

[JinMN]

Wow I wonder if the race is done even though they certified it-because I smell lawsuits! Go Franken!!

[raker]

Republican tool Neal Conan of NPR just now said that Coleman should sue to delay Franken's taking office because otherwise - get this - it would "disenfranchise people who voted for Coleman." Huh? Earth to brainy NPR guy: the candidate with the most votes wins the election. You don't automatically get to steal the election just because you're a Republican. It's been that way for some time. Is there a single Republican with an ounce of integrity? (Abraham Lincoln doesn't count.)

[StrangerThanFiction]

ABSOLUTELY WELL SAID!!! YOU HAVE HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD!!!

REPUBLICANS, ASIDE FROM THE FACT THAT THEY DON'T GET WHY PEOPLE HAVE TURNED ON THEM, ARE UPSET BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T CHEAT THEIR WAY INTO OFFICE THIS TIME!!!

SOMEHOW, AMERICA'S VOTING POLICIES, VARYING FROM STATE TO STATE, BUT BASICALLY ONES THAT WORK IF NOT MANIPULATED WITH, DID FUNCTION THIS ELECTION SINCE ALL EYES WERE ON THE POSSIBILITIES OF WHAT THEY HAVE DONE...AND COULD DO...TO DESTROY AND STEAL ANOTHER ELECTION PROCESS!!!

THIS SITUATION, WITH FRANKEN AND COLEMAN IS SOMEWHAT UNIQUE, BUT AFTER THE STATE SUPREME COURT "LAID DOWN THE LAW " TODAY...THERE SEEMS ADEQUATE REASON TO SEAT FRANKEN IMMEDIATELY!

COLEMAN, WHO THOUGHT THAT VOTE MANIPULATION WOULD SOMEHOW WORK TO HIS BENEFIT, IF HE PUSHED, SHOVED, AND FOUGHT FOR IT...SEEMS TO HAVE GONE NOWHERE AS MINNESOTA'S BOARD OF ELECTIONS HAVE BEEN VERY PRECISE IN THEIR COUNTING AND LEGALLY APPROPRIATE IN THEIR ACTIONS!

COLEMAN AND HIS COHORTS NEED TO ACCEPT DEFEAT AND MOVE ON!!! AT LEAST McCAIN KNEW HOW TO LOSE WITH DIGNITY!!!

[Wilson201]

Franken, take a seat!! :-)

[kid5rivers2]

Correction! "Franken, take YOUR seat!! :-)"

[Politisizer]

I don't see why people are saying 'Burris' and 'Franken' are the same thing. One was elected, pending the outcome of Coleman's appeal which has very little merit, and the other was appointed by someone who almost everyone agrees is a crook.

I don't know Burris but I wonder how desperate he had to be to accept the nomination from a crook - knowing full and well what Blago had done. Not only that, unless Burris has the brains of a fish, he surely realised that THE MAIN REASON HE WAS PICKED was so that the race card could be played when Democrats refused to seat him.

[PATina]

Because the appointment is a legal process described in our Constitution. The Senate doesn't get to say who gets appointed. According to our Constitution... the Governor of the state w/ the vacant seat does. Right now... Blagojevich is the ELECTED (by the people) Governor of Illinois. Therefore... he gets to choose who gets the vacant seat. It doesn't matter what he's accused of... or how slimy he seems. He's the Governor and the choice was his to make.

[darleneslee]

I live in Illinois. Burris is a good person, but his being used as a pawn was a horrible decision as far as I'm concerned. Please let them seat Roland Burris . He is not my choice, Tammy Duckworth, Jan Shcahowsky or Lisa Madigan would have been fine with me, but the down side for not seating Burris could be disastrous for the Obama administration and the democratic party. The race card was played and now we have all these activist that are working to get democrats to sit in for the net election. Blago has really pushed the dems into a quagmire and I don't see a resolution.

[mitsie]

This is not about race, it's about procedure and having the correct papers signed and legal. Burris is not sqeeky clean, and I have a problem with his giving Blango $11000 for his last campaign, and Burris' consulting company received thousands of dollars in contracts with the state. If they seat him, he may be investigated to see if there is any connection between Blango and Burris. I just get frustrated and angry when people try to play the race card here.

[jolebo]

Do you think that now since Barack has been elected, just maybe we could do away with that deck of cards?

[milo h minderbinder]

The downside of seating Burris seems worse to me, if they accept him then we'll never hear the end of "the dems accepted a senator appointed by a criminal" and the guilt by association that goes with it.

It would be a bummer to leave the seat vacant until Blago is gone, but I don't see it as a huge political problem, certainly not worse than the alternative.

One possibility is that the dems refuse to seat him but are forced by the courts to do so - that gives them political coverage and deniability and they still get the seat filled.

[scorpioleidy]

Well said! I live in IL, too, and I agree with you. The people commenting against him don't live here and certainly don't know Roland Burris or his service to our state.

[Martha12]

Like I said a COMPLETE crackpot! Here is a link to the monument ( tomb) he built for himself, anouncing that he is a "trailblazer" and an extensive list of his "accomplishments'. IF he were so revered and accomplished, he would not have to do THIS for himself;

http://www.flickr.com/ photos/ southbound_07/ 2750018934/ sizes/ o/

[Martha12]

Burris is a crackpot, a complete and utter crackpot and a racist to boot;

Burris To DC: "The Lord Has Ordained" This



In 1985, Rolando Cruz was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death for kidnapping, rape, and murder along with a co-defendant in a DuPage County Circuit Court. In 1992, Assistant Attorney General Mary Brigid Kenney, whom Burris had assigned to fight Cruz's appeal, sent Burris a memo identifying numerous errors in the investigation and trial in Cruz's initial conviction.[10] Burris ignored Kenney's warnings, and she resigned in protest.

In September 1995, DNA tests showed that neither Cruz nor his co-defendant were the contributors of the semen found at the crime scene.[11] On November 3, 1995, a DuPage County judge acquitted Cruz on the basis of recanted testimony, the DNA evidence, and the lack of any substantiated evidence against Cruz. He was fully pardoned by Governor George Ryan in 2002.[12
In 1995, he ran for mayor of Chicago, losing to incumbent Richard M. Daley. In 1998 and 2002, he again unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party nomination for Governor of Illinois, running in 2002 against, among others, Rod Blagojevich. ] In 1998, Burris caused a controversy by referring to his Democratic primary opponents — Jim Burns, Glenn Poshard (who eventually won the nomination) and John Schmidt — as "nonqualified white boys."[9]. The statement was considered to be prejudice by many and backfired politically.

[Chris]

Dems will not seat the legally appointed Senator from Ill but wnat to seat the possible winner of a dispouted election even before he has been declared the winner.

The canvassing board has not yet delcared a winner. How does Chuckie Shcumer know who has won?

[PallinAround]

So once the canvassing board declares Franken the winner, we can expect you to see that your point is moot, right?

[Chris]

Actually

The Canvassing Board _ made up of four judges and the secretary of state _ was to meet later Monday to go over the final results and sign off on them. That would trigger a seven-day waiting period before an election certificate is signed by Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Democratic Secretary of State Mark Ritchie.

This is from a sotry on this site.

[LABC]

wait for it - he has to get his next set of crazy talkin' points...

[milo h minderbinder]

The canvassing board meets in less than ten minutes. Obviously the seating of Franken assumes they declare him the winner.

[Jethro13]

Franken will be seated it's just a matter of time. Burris won't because Jesse White refused to sign his appointment making the appointment from Blago not valid. so seating him would not be possible anyway. Good try on the spin though.

[MNmommy]

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[buckbuck11]

It's time to invoke the Nuclear Option.

[kid5rivers2]

lol

[Jethro13]

I say do it. the Republican threated it and the Democrats wet themselves. Do it. It's only fair. What's Democratic if a minority of people can stop legislation for whatever reason. A majority is a majority and should rule!

[DrDidLittle]

Hmm, I think trying to seat Franken tomorrow is a bad idea and too in-your-face for the opening session of Congress when we are all hoping that the tone in DC will change with Obama's election. Why start off on a bad note? Franken will get the seat eventually, and if the legal steps make it possible for Coleman to win (and I really hope he doesn't), then that's the way it is and we'll just have to wait for the next election - or until Coleman is indicted. What's the rush? And speaking of Rush, why give him more fodder!

[CessnaDriver]

Former Sen. Coleman would have to get 67% of the ballots he is challenging in order to win-a pretty tall order, especially in consideration that there was a third party candidate involved (Former Sen. Dean Barkley of the Independence Party).

[PallinAround]

Sorry to disagree, but I think it's the perfect note on which to begin this session -- no nonsense. The problems of the country are huge and the days of petty, partisan game playing need to stop. They need to get to work and act like the "public servants" they are.

[nevadagirl]

By all means, let's not get Rush worked up into a lather! Gosh, I wonder what his opinion of Al Franken is?

[jazzycafe]

You can't work around what Rush will or will not say. The guy will make fodder out of everything. He'll just push a lie and make fodder of it.

[zoozey]

Rush will find fodder with the Obama girls starting school today. He found fodder making fun of Chelsea and Hillary early on in the Pres. He just makes up his own fodder, anyhow. Why try to placate him?