Posted on 12/02/2008 11:49:14 AM PST by Gary Johnson in 2012
Today’s Senate runoff between Jim Martin and Saxby Chambliss has drawn national attention in large part because of the possibility that a Martin victory would give Democrats 60 seats in the Senate, enough to close off filibusters.
However, Sen. Jim Martin would become that 60th vote only if Sen. Al Franken became the 59th. And that seems highly unlikely. Franken has fallen behind by more than 300 votes in the Minnesota Senate recount (although the Franken camp claims the real margin is less than 80), with less than 10 percent of the votes still to be recounted.
According to The Hill, Franken’s camp is even considering taking the fight to the floor of the Senate:
“Al Franken’s (D) campaign may ask the Democratic-led Senate to intervene on his behalf to allow some disqualified absentee ballots to be counted in his quest to unseat Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.).
Franken attorney Marc Elias made the case to reporters Monday that as many as 1,000 absentee ballots were improperly disqualified and that the Senate or the courts may need to step in to resolve the issue.
“No recount can be considered accurate or complete until all the ballots cast by lawful voters are counted,” Elias said of the recount that became necessary when only about 200 votes separated the two candidates on Nov. 4.
Minnesota’s Board of Canvassers ruled last Wednesday that it would not revisit the improperly disqualified ballots. The bipartisan board ruled unanimously that it did not have the authority to order that the ballots be reviewed and counted.
Elias said that of the 12,000 disqualified absentee ballots in the race, “as many as 1,000” ballots were improperly excluded, and should be counted. He added that the campaign would appeal to the Board of Canvassers, courts or the U.S. Senate to ensure those ballots are counted. Last week, Elias had indicated that the campaign would not directly appeal the board’s ruling.
The U.S. Constitution allows each congressional chamber to be the “Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members.”
Taking it to the Senate would be a big mistake, and Senate Democrats ought to refuse to get involved if Franken dares to push things that far. Franken has the right and even the obligation to press Minnesota officials to count every legal ballot, but in the end the decision should be made in Minnesota, not by politicians in Washington.
They just ‘found’ 172 ‘uncounted’ ballots.
Rumor is that Reid will declare Franken the winner due to “Republican fraud” and Franken will be seated in the Senate anyway. Dems know only how to cheat.
How are things looking for Chambliss in Georgia. He HAS to win
What rumor?
This has happened twice in the past I believe; both times being democrats taking the a Congressional seat away from a certified republican winner. And democrats have the nerve to talk about republicans stealing elections?
Saxby has GA.
That best remain a ‘rumor’ and nothing else.
The one I started.........
Why let the idiots decide? Surely, Harry Ried knows what's best for them and for the nation. Some things are just too important to leave to the masses, after all.
Are grown-ups going to eventually force Stuart Smalley to shut up and sit down? I would not even be surprised if 0bama would not mind not having 60 votes b/c he can blame the failure to pass FOCA and Card-Check on a GOP filabuster.
I heard that Franken has reached out to the Senate for “help” on this. I personally doubt that the Democrats will help him. Not because of any idea of honesty, but because Franken would be too much of a headache even for them.
Time will tell. I could be wrong!
I thought so.
Don’t count your chicken before they hatch........
The AJC editorial board is so screamingly and incompetently liberal, they have managed to have a falling circulation while Atlanta metro is growing by leaps and bounds . . .
bttt
Thanks MN.
Bad for Franken = Good for America.
The Dims used to be able to “buy” a vote for a pack of smokes or a pint of Ripple.
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