Free Republic

Minnesota Republican Sen. Norm Coleman on Wednesday revealed that former President George W. Bush, who´s familiar with recounts, had contacted him to commiserate about his ongoing battle with Democratic challenger Al Franken. And Mr. Coleman said Minnesotans, not Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, will determine the outcome of the last undecided congressional race of the 2008 election, which Mr. Franken leads by 225 votes. "It's been surreal," Mr. Coleman said. "I tell people I'm a Jewish kid who has come to understand the concept of purgatory." He acknowledged that the extended contest has taken a toll on constituents,...

The three-judge panel assigned to oversee the upcoming recount trial between Norm Coleman and Al Franken heard arguments this afternoon on Franken's motion to dismiss the case. After lawyers for Republican Coleman and DFLer Franken made their cases, the judges said they would take the case under advisement. They gave no sign of when a decision would come. The trial is scheduled to begin Monday. Franken attorney David Burman argued today that both state law and the Constitutions of Minnesota and the United States limit what state courts may do in reviewing the recount, and that remaining issues should be...

A single sentence in Minnesota law allows Democrat Al Franken to at least temporarily join the U.S. Senate while Republican Norm Coleman's election lawsuit is pending, Franken's lawyers said Tuesday. Franken is up by 225 votes over Coleman after a statewide recount. Franken has asked the state Supreme Court to overrule decisions by Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie denying him an election certificate until Coleman's lawsuit is settled.... Coleman's lawyers have until next week to reply to Franken's brief arguing that he be seated. The state Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments Feb. 5. The...

In another twist in Minnesota's prolonged U.S. Senate race, Republican Norm Coleman's campaign has subpoenaed Secretary of State elections manager Gary Poser, claiming discrepancies between recount figures reported by local officials and those posted on the Secretary of State's website. Campaign attorney Tony Trimble said Coleman could have lost 10 to 15 votes because of changes the Secretary of State's office made to local recount figures. "It's a minor issue in the scheme of things," Trimble said. Still, in an election where final recount figures left Coleman trailing by only 225 votes, the subpoena underscores how he is leaving no...

Al Franken's legal team is arguing that Minnesota law allows the Democrat to get an election certificate to join the U.S. Senate. In a brief Tuesday, Franken's lawyers say that's because state law specifically mentions such a certificate could be revoked if a lawsuit overturns the results of a recount. Republican Norm Coleman is pursuing such a lawsuit.

I don't know about you, but the more I read about the Senate recount battle between Norm Coleman and Al Franken, the more upset I am with the slipshod way the election was conducted. Now, I want to make clear that I am not referring here to Morrison County Auditor Russ Nygren, his staff or this county's many election judges. This county was involved in six recounts (two city council, three legislative and the Coleman-Franken race) and except for a few counting errors, and perhaps one improperly rejected absentee ballot, no other mistakes were uncovered. The recounts of the council...

- - Will Ask Three Judge Panel To Determine Which Ballots Were Wrongly Rejected ST. PAUL – Fritz Knaak, lead recount attorney for the Coleman for Senate campaign today made the following statement: “Next week begins an important step in getting to an accurate and valid number, and to determine who really won the 2008 United States Senate election. As we indicated at the end of the canvassing board proceedings, we believe the process was broken. And, one area where it clearly broke and has yet to be fixed is in the area of rejected absentee ballots. The discrepancies, problems...

In town for the inaugural, Al Franken met party officials and held a fundraiser to beef up his coffers for court actions. A smiling Al Franken hosted an "inaugural brunch" fundraiser at the Willard Hotel on Sunday, a $1,000-a-plate event on his first trip to the capital since he was certified as the leader in the U.S. Senate race with Norm Coleman. Franken, accompanied by his wife, Franni, also met with wounded soldiers at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center for two hours Saturday, his second USO visit to the hospital. The Minnesota DFLer and former "Saturday Night Live" star...

Anyone following the recount has no doubt heard the bluster and bravado regularly coming from the Al Franken campaign. However, in recent days, Franken and his Washington legal team have seemed awfully desperate for a campaign that is trying to convince people they are winning. They have now tried to shove Al Franken onto the Senate floor through three separate venues – only be to be rebuffed and delayed because their effort clearly violates Minnesota law. Why, if they claim to have a lead, are they so desperately anxious to put Al Franken in a Senate seat? Simple: They know...

A special judges panel held its first meeting with campaign lawyers today, a day after DFLer Al Franken and Republican Norm Coleman dueled over how broad Coleman's legal challenge to the U.S. Senate recount should be and how long it should take. After the closed-door meeting in St. Paul, attorneys for both campaigns said the three-judge panel is likely to issue an order later today saying when the trial will begin and what the schedule will be. They also said a hearing will be held Wednesday at which the panel will consider Franken's motion to dismiss Coleman's lawsuit. One of...

The Minnesota Supreme Court said Wednesday it would consider Democrat Al Franken's request for an election certificate that could propel him to the Senate before a legal challenge by his opponent runs its course. The court said it would hear arguments on Franken's petition Feb. 5. The court order also granted Republican Norm Coleman's request to intervene in the case, which names Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie as defendants. The development extends an already lengthy fight over the last undecided Senate seat from the 2008 election.

Al Franken filed a petition with the Minnesota Supreme Court … that’s a bit like a bank robber stopping on his way out the door to ask the teller for a receipt.” That’s how an e-mail appeal for funds from the campaign of former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman described today’s legal move by the Al Franken campaign that asked the state’s high court to order the governor to issue an election certificate. In another response, Coleman attorney Fritz Knaak told reporters that Franken has gone beyond the “epitome of arrogance … [by] asking to go above the laws of our...

Three judges put on the bench by governors of three political parties will hear the highly charged election lawsuit that stands between Minnesota and its second U.S. senator. The panel named Monday by the state's highest court will preside over a Republican Norm Coleman's court case that seeks to overturn Democrat Al Franken's 225-vote advantage following a long recount. The case is expected to take months to resolve. The three district judges are:

FOX "The O'Reilly Factor"Video: "Minnesota Madness" Segment Aired Friday, January 9, 2008       Bill and two Republican guests(1) discuss Hollywood’s and George Soros massive donations to elected “Porn-o-Rama” Franken. This includes, a rare and calculated move(2), by George Soros who personally held a large post-election Franken fundraiser at his residence in New York City to support Al in the ballot recount/contest(3). I wrote about and published the list of Hollywood/high profile Franken donors three days before this news piece, not that this was new Soros Shadow Party news for anyone that has closely followed/been involved in this Coleman-Franken fiasco....

"Minnesota law is very clear on when a certificate of election can be issued. Neither the governor nor I may sign a certificate of election in the U.S. Senate race until all election contests have reached a final determination," Ritchie's statement read. "Even if the governor issues a certificate of election prior to the conclusion of the contest phase, I will not sign it." Pawlenty echoed Ritchie, saying it is clear the law won't allow him to issue a certificate while the race is being contested in court.

The Al Franken campaign sent a letter to Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Sec. of State Mark Ritchie on Monday asking the state to issue an election certificate so he could take office in the U.S. Senate. In letters, Franken’s lawyers argue a seven-day waiting period has passed and he should get the signed certificate. Franken led Norm Coleman by 225 votes after a statewide recount. After a Canvassing Board certified the recount, Coleman filed a lawsuit challenging the results. Minnesota law prevents the issuance of a certificate until that case is resolved. Franken attorney Marc Elias says the campaign...

If elected to the Senate, Al Franken would begin his term with negative approval ratings back home, according to a newly released poll. The protracted recount in the Minnesota Senate race, which followed a highly contentious campaign, has damaged the approval ratings of both Franken and Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.). And even though Franken was certified as the winner by the state’s Canvassing Board, that hasn’t changed Minnesotans’ perception of him. The poll, conducted by the automated firm SurveyUSA, shows that a 45 percent plurality of Minnesotans view Franken unfavorably, while only 37 percent view him favorably. Coleman’s approval rating...

- - Former GOP MN secretary of state says absentee ballots should not have been included in recount Former Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer is now criticizing the handling of the U.S. Senate election recount in the race between Democrat Al Franken and Republican Norm Coleman that ended with Franken on top. Kiffmeyer, R-Big Lake, now a freshman state representative from District 16B, did not speak publicly about the recount while it was ongoing, but is willing to talk about it now that the results are certified and the dispute has moved into the courts. Kiffmeyer, who from 1999 to...

Alan Page, the former NFL star and Minnesota Supreme Court justice who will choose the panel of judges that will effectively determine the next senator of Minnesota, is a staunch critic of the controversial method used to decide which absentee ballots would be included in the recount – a major complaint of GOP Sen. Norm Coleman’s campaign. State law says the chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, Paul Magnuson, should appoint the three-judge panel to hear Coleman’s appeal. Magnuson, however, served on the Canvassing Board that issued many of the rulings that the three-member panel will be asked to...

George Soros is the biggest sugar daddy of the Democratic Party, and naturally wants to ensure that the Democrats have a monopoly of power in America. Recently, I wrote an article for American Thinker on the role that George Soros has played in helping the Democrat Al Franken in his race against the Republican incumbent Norm Coleman for a Senate seat in Minnesota. However, there may be one other reason that Soros was determined that Norm Coleman in particular lose his seat. This was personal. Norm Coleman was the chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and as...