I always figured the Republican leadership supported Coleman with the intent of keeping Franken out of the Senate to help the GOP "filibuster"; i.e. enforce the 60 vote threshold that apparently must be met to pass any legislation important to Democrats.

Maybe the GOP figured it wouldn't make much of a difference anymore with Specter switching to the Democrats.

Whatever the reason it's about damn time.

I would like Senator Al Franken to be seated in time to confirm Sonia Sotomayor as the new SCOTUS Justice. In July. (Of 2009).

It could be the start of reinventing himself as a reasonable person. Someone who could be governor of a blue state.

What hypocrites they are, after the the packed SCOTUS installed Bush as president to "stop the counting".

All it takes for the Republi-fascists to show a shred of ethical behavior is enough people paying attention to what they're really doing.

permission?

Since the loser is liable for the legal fees of BOTH parties, and they can run insanely high for an appeal to the SCOTUS, I'm sure Coleman never really had it in mind to push it, if it looked particularly bleak, but of course it would make no sense to let the dems off easy by letting them know that.

The current governor, Tim Pawlenty, just announced this week that he won't run for a third term, clearing the way for a whole host of Republicans to toss their hats into the ring. I suspect Norm believes he may fare better in a gubernatorial race, though I'm skeptical about his chances there too.

Norm almost became governor in 1998, but was edged out by Jesse Ventura who, despite all his negative press, assembled a pretty good and truly centrist record. His problem lay in the fact that both Republicans and Democrats in the state legislature teamed up against him in their effort to preserve the rotten duopoly.

The irony is that the Democrats' putative agenda would've been much better served if they'd aligned themselves with Ventura. But because they put party before politics, they ended up getting virtually demolished with Pawlenty's subsequent victory. Pawlenty has governed from the hard right and has taken Minnesota backwards in most respects. As usual, state Democrats have proven themselves impotent in nearly every important issue.

His political career is over. He has proved himself a buffoon so many times now, I don't think many Minnesotans could take him seriously enough to elect him to public office again.

I think for the last 6 months, his singular role has been to block Franken's vote in the Senate for as long as humanly possible. Now that that's reaching its final conclusion, I expect Norm to fade away.

While I cant embrace Coleman, Al Franken is an embarrassment.

New Deal Democrat says it's because Coleman might want to run for governor.

I think it's because Pawlenty is eyeing a run for President or Vice President. Pawlenty is now trying to make himself look reasonable, after years of vetoing just about everything, not raising taxes (hence causing property taxes to go sky high), etc.

That's why Pawlenty went on T.V. and said he'd certify Franken. (He said it's because it's the law, but when has the law ever stopped Repugs?)

Just my two cents' worth.

Why? How can you tell? He hasn't served a single day in the Senate yet. For all you know he might end up being an extremely effective Senator.

From what I've seen of his opinions and statements (outside of his earlier comedy carreer) he seems intelligent and well informed.

I live in the Twin Cities, and most of the scuttlebutt here is that Pawlenty will not run for a third gubernatorial term in order to pave the way for a Senatorial run, not a Presidential run, at least in the next round of elections.

I'll leave it to the rest of the pundits to ponder what it means that Coleman would step back and allow Pawlenty to certify Franken for Senate, thus clearing the way for Pawlenty to run against Franken the next time around.

It's been a frustrating experience for us Minnesotans, but watching Coleman undo decades of resume building is not without it's entertainment value. The hypocrisy of this man and the entire GOP is amazing!

I live in the Twin Cities, and most of the scuttlebutt here is that Pawlenty will not run for a third gubernatorial term in order to pave the way for a Senatorial run, not a Presidential run, at least in the next round of elections.

I live in the Twin Cities, and I haven't heard anyone say that. How does that make sense? The next senatorial election is in 2012, and that's Amy Klobuchar's seat. Why would he leave office three-and-a-half years before that? And Franken's seat will come up in five-and-a-half years, so leaving office now means even less political sense.

Now that he's announced he's not running for governor, I think he's more likely to hold up Franken's certification (if he can find some sort of justification), not less. Now he's playing to the national Republican party, who want to keep Franken out as long as possible, not to Minnesotans, who just want it over with.

kzzbj1:

"While I cant embrace Coleman, Al Franken is an embarrassment"

dc eric:

Why? How can you tell? He hasn't served a single day in the Senate yet. For all you know he might end up being an extremely effective Senator.

From what I've seen of his opinions and statements (outside of his earlier comedy carreer) he seems intelligent and well informed.

Duh. It's because he's got a D after his name. kzzbj1 doesn't need to know anything more than that. Informed?? Intelligent?? These things matter not to a republican. (See Bush, George W.)

Meanwhile, for those based in actual reality, there are fewer things more embarrassing than watching George Galloway tear Coleman a new asshole in his congressional testimony. Enjoy...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7883488/

I just wonder if, when finally seated, Senator Franken will introduce a bill to make Talk Like a Pirate Day a federal holiday? While I certainly hope he does, all we can really do is watch, wait, and keep our fingers crossed.