It is interesting that, in November, Norm Coleman was suggesting that Al Franken concede graciously when it looked like the Republican had a very small lead. Now, as we can see, the now certified loser won’t take his own advice and is going to take the results to court in the face of Franken’s 225 point lead.
Governor Pawlenty (a Republican) and Secretary of State Ritchie (a Democrat) haven’t yet signed the Certification as pronounced yesterday by the state Canvassing Board, so the Senate minority led by Mitch McConnell is putting up opposition to seating Franken, which means he won’t be sworn in today. While no problem is anticipated with Ritchie’s signature, Pawlenty may hold until Coleman takes this to the US Supreme Court. This could go on for months and get very expensive.
In the long run, this will make Coleman, who, with his staff, was locked out of the Senate offices that he held by the Rules Committee (his term officially ends Saturday), look even worse. Why the Minnesota Republican Party wants the state to spend this amount of money for what is likely to be embarrassing results, is a mystery.
