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Sen. from Minnesota is???

From The Minnesota Independent-

Quote:

Norm Coleman’s already grim prospects for prevailing in the ongoing U.S. Senate contest were dealt another significant blow this afternoon. The three-judge panel hearing the case ruled that only 400 rejected absentee ballots should be considered for inclusion in the final vote tally. The contested ballots will be delivered to the Minnesota Judicial Center for examination by the judges at a hearing next Tuesday.

This doesn’t mean that all 400 ballots will ultimately be added to the vote tally. But even if every single one of these ballots were to be deemed valid, the math is ugly for the Coleman camp. To close Democrat Al Franken’s current 225-vote lead, the former Republican senator would need to outpoll him by a 313-to-87 vote margin. But even that scenario isn’t realistic, considering that Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley garnered 15 percent of the vote and likely pulled some votes from the pile of 400 rejected absentee ballots.

“The math is the math,” said Marc Elias, Franken’s lead recount attorney, on a conference call with reporters this afternoon. “Obviously the math is going to be very difficult for former Sen. Coleman and his legal team at this point.”

Coleman’s legal team criticized the order for disenfranchising voters and promised to continue the legal battle. “As a result, this leaves us no choice but to appeal any final decision that includes these errors to the Minnesota State Supreme Court,” Coleman attorney Ben Ginsberg told Minnesota Public Radio.

At the start of the legal contest, Coleman’s legal team gauged the universe of wrongly rejected absentee ballots at nearly 5,000 — easily the largest potential pool of additional ballots in the election contest. But by the close of the seven-week trial that number had been whittled down to 1,360. Franken’s lawyers, by contrast, argued that just 430 rejected absentee ballots should be opened and included in the final tally.

Today’s order makes clear the daunting legal logistics faced by the three judges — Kurt Marben, Elizabeth Hayden and Denise Reilly — over the last two months. The court reviewed more than 19,000 pages of legal pleadings, 1,717 individual exhibits, and testimony from 142 witnesses. “The trial evidence comprised exhibits compiled in three-ring binders that, when stacked, equaled over 21 feet of paper copies,” the order observes.

Tuesday’s examination of the 400 ballots should clear the way for a final ruling by the three-judge panel. But barring an unlikely change of heart from the Coleman camp (and his enablers in Washington), the legal battle will continue. Next stop: the Minnesota Supreme Court.

MI story here

Sounds like Coleman's odds are shrinking by the day.

Though Fox does make it sound more rosy for him-

Quote:

A court has ordered further review of 400 unopened absentee ballots in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race, more than the current vote difference between Al Franken and Norm Coleman.

Three judges presiding over Republican Coleman's lawsuit decided Tuesday that the ballots merit further consideration and possible counting.

It wasn't immediately clear which candidate stood to gain the most. Franken leads the race by 225 votes.

The three judges ordered that the ballots be examined on April 7.

Fox story here

I don't have a dog in this fight. Don't know much about Coleman. Have a couple of Franken's books. He's like many out there, sounds good until you start fact checking him.

Anyone from the area know more about these guys or what really going on?

Not from the area, but here's my brief input anyway.

Neither are great, but Coleman is the bigger douche. This recount has turned into a joke, and while I understand fighting for the win to a point, Coleman has demonstrated significant hypocrisy here. When he was winning, he wanted Franken to cease challenging the outcome for the good of Minnesota and the electoral process. Now that Franken is leading after the courts continually rule in his favor regarding the absentee ballots, Coleman is complaining that less valid absentee ballots aren't being counted, because they're just about the only way he has a chance of winning at this point. The guy who tried to make Franken look like the bad guy by claiming he should just let it go is now dragging the process on WAY beyond what is reasonable.

You nailed it SecretMethod. It's hypocrisy to the highest degree, and it's hurting the taxpayers of that state who, by the way, aren't supposed to be taxed unless they're fairly represented. . . Just sayin'. . .

I agree, hypocrisy and general douchebaggery is the name of Coleman's game.

I think it's unfortunate that it's April, and they still haven't seated a Senator to represent Minnesota. We're facing major legislation re: the budget and economy, and Minnesota has half the votes of every other state in the Senate. If I lived there (which I obviously don't), I'd be fightin' mad.

I hope Coleman keeps this going just long enough to destroy any possibility that he will ever be elected to public office in MN again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by filtherton (Post 2617594)

I hope Coleman keeps this going just long enough to destroy any possibility that he will ever be elected to public office in MN again.

the fact that Minnesotans have voted for Franken, Ventura and Bachmann is enough to consider taking their right to vote away

Bachmann I'll give you- she's definitely a blight on the reputation of MN; she's like a less intelligent Ann Coulter. Ventura actually wasn't that bad- he had a level of candor that was refreshing. He was miles better than Pawlenty. As for Franken, well, I'm fairly certain he'll be able to muster a level of douchebaggery sufficient to fit right in in the halls of Congress.

Quote:

Originally Posted by filtherton (Post 2617625)

Bachmann I'll give you- she's definitely a blight on the reputation of MN; she's like a less intelligent Ann Coulter.

Yes, but she was running against El Tinklenberg, who is the Urkel of politicians. I'm not terribly surprised that she won, even though I have a feeling she's not overly liked by most Minnesotans.

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Ventura actually wasn't that bad- he had a level of candor that was refreshing.

Ventura was an asshole. I worked in MN during his reign. He was so busy coming up with new "media jackal" press passes for us, and screaming at the congresspeople that even when he had a good idea, he couldn't get it done because he had alienated everyone. He was a complete joke, which is a shame because some of his ideas were actually pretty good.

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He was miles better than Pawlenty.

Kinda like saying "well, he's smarter than W."

Quote:

Originally Posted by shakran (Post 2617645)

Oh yeah, he was totally an asshole, and he hated most of the local the media (some of them deserved the hate then and still do). I remember seeing him so upset during an interview that he was literally rocking back in forth in his seat.

I wasn't saying that he was great, just that as far as governors go, he didn't seem that bad to me.

Quote:

Kinda like saying "well, he's smarter than W."

I know. It's just that I keep hearing people criticize Minnesotans for their voting record, but their criticism generally focuses on politicians who we/aren't that bad. Norm Coleman is just as much of a clown as Al Franken is. Tim Pawlenty is just as much of jackass as Jesse Ventura was.