Al Franken: Another Senate seating ruckus?
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WASHINGTON — Roland Burris isn’t the only would-be U.S. senator whose arrival in D.C. will be scrutinized.
Al Franken, a Democrat who left the wacky world of comedy for the wacky world of politics, is preparing to take his seat as the junior senator from Minnesota now that the Canvassing Board in his state this afternoon has certified his 225-vote recount victory over incumbent Republican Norm Coleman.
Speaking in Minnesota a few minutes ago, Franken said: “After 62 days of careful, painstaking hand inspections, I am proud to stand before you as the next senator from Minnesota … I know this isn’t an easy day for Norm Coleman … Norm Coleman has worked hard for this state and country and I hope to ask for his help.”
Franken might not want to seek that help just yet considering that Coleman hasn’t given up. Coleman lost a round in the Minnesota Supreme Court today when the court refused his bid to have hundreds of rejected absentee ballots included in the recount.
But a spokesman signaled that that Coleman will proceed with a lawsuit that asks the Minnesota Supreme Court to review the certification. He has seven days to file the suit.
Coleman is contending that hundreds of absentee ballots were not properly counted and that other ballots were counted twice. He would first have to persuade a three-judge panel that more counting should be done and then make up the 225-vote difference when those disputed ballots are re-examiuned.
Roll Call newspaper reported this afternoon that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., intends to try to seat Franken as early as today.
National GOP chairman Mike Duncan served noticed that Coleman has allies in D.C.
“The efforts of Al Franken, Harry Reid and (NY Sen.) Chuck Schumer to steal this election and seat Al Franken despite not having an election certificate are unprecedented,” Duncan said.
If Franken’s election is upheld and Illinois settles on a junior senator that Democrats can agree on, Democrats would have 59 seats — one short of a filibuster-proof chamber.
There would be no such issue if Minnesota had IRV (Instant Runoff Voting). The senate winner would have been known immediately saving the state a lot of $’s and the voters a lot of grief.