U.S. Senate: Burning Down the House

[Lemur]

Here's the roundup:

The Coleman/Franken deathmatch appears to be falling to the coke-addled comedian rather than the suspicious present-taking former Democrat who celebrated his 20th birthday tripping on acid at Woodstock. Anyway ... looks like some Republicans plan to block Franken from being seated. That should be worth making popcorn for:

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) threatened Friday to filibuster any attempt to seat Democratic Minnesota Senate candidate Al Franken next week. The new National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) chairman said he had not whipped votes in the GOP caucus, but added that he could not imagine any members defecting and seating Franken without a certificate of election. Franken will not have that certificate as long as the election is challenged in the courts — a likely scenario, with Sen. Norm Coleman’s (R-Minn.) legal team already attacking the credibility of the recount process.

Meanwhile, the governor of Colorado is tapping the Denver Superintendent of Schools for a Senate vacancy. Hey, why not, right? At least the guy knows how to work a mimeograph machine without turning his shirt purple. We hope.

Gov. Bill Ritter is shattering conventional wisdom in tapping the popular but politically untested Michael Bennet, superintendent of Denver Public Schools, as the U.S. Senate replacement for Interior Secretary nominee Ken Salazar. The surprising move, expected at a state Capitol news conference Saturday, perplexed many political insiders, most of whom considered Bennet the darkhorse candidate in a field crowded with big name, political veterans like Bennet's old boss, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.

To some, the reaction wasn't head-scratching. It was jaw-dropping.

"I'm very surprised. He's improbable. He's risky," said pollster Floyd Ciruli, who figured the little-known Bennet would barely be a blip in the polls because he's so unknown. . "He's qualified, and he could be a really, very special and sensational senator. But at least initially, from the political side of it, you are puzzled."

Then we hear solid confirmation that Caroline Kennedy has been crowned anointed exalted enshrined appointed to her Uncle's Senate Seat. Except then we hear she hasn't. Except maybe she has. Oh, who knows, really. This dynastic stuff makes my teeth ache.

Last, and certainly not least, we have Blago and Burris and that whole slow-motion train wreck. Latest news bits: Harry Reid is going to try to do something and fail at it. 'Cause that's how he rolls, yo. Apparently the Illinois Secretary of State's threat to not certify Burris is all hot air, which is too bad.

A spokesman for Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White (D) confirmed to Election Central that White knows he does not truly have the authority to stop the appointment of Roland Burris to the Senate, but he withheld his signature from it earlier today in order to make a statement. But the door does appear to be open to some legal ramifications.

"His feeling is we studied the constitution of Illinois, we looked at the statutes, and there was nothing there that said he had to sign the paperwork," said David Druker, White's press secretary.

"We don't believe he has the authority to hold up the appointment or veto it, to put it that way," Druker added

I'm getting tired just listing all of these mini-dramas. Am I missing any?

[ICantSpellDawg]

Franken stinks. I hope he misses a few months.

[Xiahou]

"I'm very surprised. He's improbable. He's risky,"

...he was the highest bidder.
You know there had to be some serious quid pro quo going on there. The only difference with Blago is how blatantly ham-handed he was about it.

As for Burris, I'm really looking forward to watching the fireworks.

[CountArach]

Glad to see Big Bad John back on the political scene.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Glad to see Big Bad John back on the political scene.

That's hysterical!

[Lemur]

Looks like Burris intends to storm the doors of the Senate Chamber. He's gonna need ninjas. Lots and lots of ninjas.

Roland Burris touches down in Washington Monday afternoon, setting up a high-stakes showdown with Senate Democrats later this week.

Burris – traveling frugally — leaves Chicago's Midway Airport at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Southwest Airlines and is scheduled to arrive at Baltimore-Washington International Airport at 4:45 p.m., according to details released by his aides.

A defiant Burris told reporters in Chicago before his flight that he plans to tell Reid that "I'm here to take my seat."

[Lemur]

Franken stinks. I hope he misses a few months.

Actually, looks like things are breaking his way.

The state Canvassing Board will reconvene Monday to declare which candidate received the most overall votes in the election. Barring court intervention, it will be Franken.

Franken's lead now stands at 225 votes after gaining 176 votes more than Coleman in Saturday's review of the formerly sealed absentee ballots. Franken started the day with a 49-vote advantage.

The 933 absentee ballots were among those rejected by poll workers but later found to be excluded in error. The campaigns eventually agreed they should be added to the recount.

Unless Coleman wins a pending court petition that seeks to add hundreds more ballots to the recount, the counting is done and the Canvassing Board can sign off on the result on Monday or Tuesday. The result cannot be certified for at least one more week under state law.

I know very little about Coleman and Franken, beyond a few public factoids I can toss at either. Both Jews, both spent the majority of their lives as Democrats, both were countercultural hippies back in the day, etc. What's your basis for despising Franken, TuffStuff, beyond him being a Dem? Surely Coleman would qualify as a RINO in your book, yes?

[ICantSpellDawg]

Actually, looks like things are breaking his way.

The state Canvassing Board will reconvene Monday to declare which candidate received the most overall votes in the election. Barring court intervention, it will be Franken.

Franken's lead now stands at 225 votes after gaining 176 votes more than Coleman in Saturday's review of the formerly sealed absentee ballots. Franken started the day with a 49-vote advantage.

The 933 absentee ballots were among those rejected by poll workers but later found to be excluded in error. The campaigns eventually agreed they should be added to the recount.

Unless Coleman wins a pending court petition that seeks to add hundreds more ballots to the recount, the counting is done and the Canvassing Board can sign off on the result on Monday or Tuesday. The result cannot be certified for at least one more week under state law.

I know very little about Coleman and Franken, beyond a few public factoids I can toss at either. Both Jews, both spent the majority of their lives as Democrats, both were countercultural hippies back in the day, etc. What's your basis for despising Franken, TuffStuff, beyond him being a Dem? Surely Coleman would qualify as a RINO in your book, yes?

Coleman is no RINO. He's pro-life, pro war in Iraq, pro-gun, etc. I can't even really think of a single position that would put him at odds with the party platform, which is weird. Pro-life jews in higher US politics are the most rare thing imaginable. Until Cantor, Coleman was THE ONLY one and around 45 of our Senators and Representatives are Jewish (around 9%). I'm not so sure that I trust Coleman, he seems like an opportunist, but Franken stands agaisnt everything I beleive in AND I hate his personality.

The only consolation is that Minnesotans elected a total lunatic to the Governorship in Ventura. Nobody expects much more than some novelty from that State, so I wouldn't be suprised to see a B comedian and a B WWF wrestler run the state. Maybe they could elect a bunch of actual clowns and mimes to the House? They could all carpool to DC in a tiny car.

[InsaneApache]

I read Frankens book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right a couple of years back. It started off well enough but then it just got tedious basically re-telling the same things. A good few laughs in it though.

Looks like he might have upset a few folks on the right. Not entirely a bad thing.

[Fisherking]

Pardon me for being cynical, but I am cynical.

So far as I am concerned every race in every election is subject to serious tampering.

Now I don’t really expect a Republican to win in Minnesota, regardless of the vote.

Maybe it is a bit like the previous Governor’s Election in Washington, count the votes till the Dems win. This time they avoided the recount by frontloading the fraud.

I believe people deserve the government they elect, but the Parties are choosing for us and the whole system need an overhaul.

Remember that saying…No matter how you vote today, when you die, you’re a Democrat…

It doesn’t matter which party or if both parties do it, it needs to be fixed or just forget about elections.

I wouldn’t trust a dogcatchers election these days.




someone voted for that guy?

[Askthepizzaguy]

Franken stinks. I hope he misses a few months.

I'm an independent giving Obama a chance.... I still think it's actually a good thing that neither Coleman or Franken has the seat.

Neither one of them impress me. Both losers in my opinion.

[Lemur]

Looks like some financial shenanigans are emerging about Coleman. Not that this should hurt his plan for years-long litigation over the Senate seat; he can continue that from prison if need be.

The former finance chief of a Texas company controlled by Nasser Kazeminy, a close friend of former Sen. Norm Coleman, said in a deposition last week that Kazeminy ordered $100,000 in fees be paid to a Minneapolis insurance agency where Coleman's wife was employed.

B.J. Thomas, who was chief financial officer of Deep Marine Technology Inc., said that $75,000 of that sum was paid to Hays Companies even though he saw no evidence of Deep Marine receiving any consulting services from Hays. [...]

Doug Kelley, Norm Coleman's attorney, said Wednesday that no matter how much money Deep Marine paid to Hays, "I can assure you that not a penny found its way to Laurie Coleman or Senator Norm Coleman. Period. End of story.''

Hays' attorney, Doug Peterson, said he hadn't seen the transcript of Thomas' deposition and couldn't comment. Hays hasn't disputed that it received $75,000 under a consulting contract with Deep Marine. But the company has previously insisted none of the money went to the Colemans.

[KukriKhan]

B.J. Thomas, who was chief financial officer of Deep Marine Technology Inc., said that $75,000 of that sum was paid to Hays Companies even though he saw no evidence of Deep Marine receiving any consulting services from Hays. [...]

Hooked On A Feelin' I guess that singing career didn't pan out after "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head".

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Looks like some financial shenanigans are emerging about Coleman. Not that this should hurt his plan for years-long litigation over the Senate seat; he can continue that from prison if need be.

I don't know for sure, Lemur, but you may have hit upon an excellent solution for Congress in general. Elect whichever thief you want, but then jail them before than can take office and avail themselves of immunity while in session. If we can incarcerate enough of them, maybe we can really limit the ongoing damage.

[Lemur]

Speaking of which, Rep. John Murtha (D) is refreshingly honest: "If I'm corrupt, it's because I take care of my district."

-edit-

Another update from the no-longer-funny debacle in Minnesota:

Texas Sen. John Cornyn is threatening “World War III” if Democrats try to seat Al Franken in the Senate before Norm Coleman can pursue his case through the federal courts.

Cornyn, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, acknowledges that a federal challenge to November’s elections could take “years” to resolve. But he’s adamant that Coleman deserves that chance — even if it means Minnesota is short a senator for the duration. [...]

Cornyn believes that Minnesota can’t certify Franken the winner if Coleman seeks review from the U.S. Supreme Court or files a new federal case. And Ben Ginsberg, a Coleman attorney and a central player on the Republican side in the 2000 Florida recount, says it’s “an open question” whether a federal court challenge puts a pause on the certification process.