Will Specter's Switch Affect Norm Coleman's Position on the MN Election?

[msallied]

I ask because it seems to me he was partially obstructing the election results to keep the Dems from getting their 60 seats in the Senate. Now that Specter has switched and the Dems have their 60, will he fight harder or give up and let Franken be seated?

[WCGreen]

1. Franken makes 60....

[msallied]

4. Okay, thanks for clearing that up! I made a mistake in my math! lol

[enki23]

2. the dems would only have had 59. we need franken for 60

therefore, the obstruction will only increase, if anything.

[dubeskin]

5. Agreed. Coleman only has more of an incentive now

to keep it up - but on the other hand, by continuing this charade he's making his Party look more desperate. It's a two-way street. And on top of it all, if he goes all the way, he's opening up another can of worms that was shut with Bush vs. Gore.

[CreekDog]

25. nope, 60% of 99 senators is 59

if Spector's agreement was simply to support cloture on party matters, that would make a big difference across the board --including seating Franken.

[Hieronymus]

28. There will be 100 senators when Franken is seated. 50 x 2 = 100

[CreekDog]

32. yeah but if his seating is filibustered, i'd rather have Specter worried about a Dem Primary

than worried about a Republican primary.

[enki23]

37. it's not "60%" that matters in the senate. it's sixty votes.

it used to be 66.66666666% (ie. 67 votes), but they changed that rule in the seventies.

[GreenTea]

3. Now more than ever the republicans will prolong Franken from taking his seat, the republicans can

draw this out, drag their feet (and it's to the republicans benefit & they can) for a long time and the republican lawyers will time it, for the longest possible wait when submitting their bullshit case to the republican leaning US Supreme Court!

[babylonsister]

6. I think it will make Coleman dig his heels in deeper, and he'll have

a lot of GOP support.

[Cha]

8. And, it will be more obvious why

he's doing it. Not because he won but because he can't handle losing.

[babylonsister]

10. It's just another form of GOP obstruction. Now, they are truly desperate. nt

[Cha]

15. Rabid cornered Rats are

never a pretty sight.

[State the Obvious]

20. The GOP deserves its title: (G)rand (O)bstructionist (P)arty nt

[Cha]

7. Whatever the Number is..this Switch is not good PR for

the repukes..especially on the heels of the Democrat, Scott Murphy, winning in the republicon District # 20 in New York from a more well known candidate.

[msallied]

9. Oh I agree. I think this is very bad news for the GOP.

And when they dig their heels in supporting that crackpot Coleman, their public image will slip even further. 2010 is going to be a bloodbath.

[GreenTea]

13. Eight bad news for the REPUBLICANS, (the name they hate so much, they prefer you use "GOP")

EXAMPLE: "Democrats sue to make Rossi call himself "Republican" instead of "GOP"

OLYMPIA — The state Democratic Party filed suit Tuesday in an attempt to force Dino Rossi to list his party preference as "Republican" on the November ballot instead of "GOP Party."

Democrats say the Iraq War and low approval ratings for President Bush have left the Republican Party a damaged brand and that Rossi is trying to distance himself by using GOP as his affiliation.

Rossi is running against Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire. He lost to Gregoire by 133 votes in the 2004 election, and polls show this race to be close as well.

Polls by Stuart Elway have suggested many people don't know that GOP and Republican mean the same thing. One recent Elway poll indicated Rossi did better among voters if he used the "GOP" label instead of "Republican."

"There's no question we were shocked by the Elway poll," state Democratic Party Chairman Dwight Pelz said, adding that an internal poll by the party had a similar finding.

"We believe the law is being broken, and we're asking the court to step in and fix it," he said.

The lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court, names Secretary of State Sam Reed as the defendant.

State Republican Party Chairman Luke Esser questioned Elway's poll results. He also said the lawsuit is frivolous and that the party will step in to defend Rossi in court if needed.

"The idea that people don't know Dino Rossi is a Republican is just ridiculous," Esser said, noting that Gregoire's campaign and supporters have spent millions of dollars on ads making that clear.

A statement issued by Rossi's campaign called the lawsuit "an act of a desperate incumbent." Rossi has said that he's used the term GOP for years and isn't trying to confuse voters.

GOP stands for Grand Old Party, a nickname the Republicans picked up in the 1870s. The phrase is often used by the news media when referring to Republicans, but it hasn't served as an official party designation on an election ballot, until now.

The state's new top-two primary "says a candidate may list whatever party preference the candidate wishes," Reed said. "One person did Salmon Yoga Party."

[msallied]

16. I use GOP to save character space and type faster. lol

My decision went no deeper than that, truly. I've been using GOP for a long time now for that reason. :)

[LynneSin]

11. Norm is going all the way to the United States Supreme Court

There is no way the republicans will stand down on this one.

[vaberella]

14. Do you think he'll lose on at the USSC? n/t

[msallied]

17. I think so. On what grounds could he possibly win?

[LynneSin]

21. Depends on how Anthony Kennedy feels that day

He's the swing vote

You have Roberts, Scalia, Alito and Thomas on the right-wing nutjob sides. They'll support Norm 100%

You have Stevens, Ginsberg, Souter and Breyer on the left which will uphold the law.

Who knows what Kennedy will do? Sometimes he supports the law and sometimes he remembers he was appointed by Ronald Reagan.

[vaberella]

22. If Kennedy falls to the right...what can Franken do then? n/t

[LynneSin]

27. What did Al Gore do

:shrug:

[vaberella]

29. Are you fuckin' kidding me?! All that and Coleman wins in the end?

I hope the USSC comes through.

[LynneSin]

30. Really shitty ain't it

:shrug:

You better believe right now the republican machine is having talks with Kennedy to keep him in line with the rest of the repuke assholes on the Supreme Court.

[vaberella]

33. Shite. How does that jerk, Coleman, have a case?! n/t

[LynneSin]

34. How did Bush have a case in 2000 to end the vote count early

:shrug:

Great mysteries of life - like the Pyramids, Stonehedge and Easter Island.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

35. Bush's vote margin over Gore (at the time of Bush v. Gore) was higher I believe

Coleman hasn't won any of the vote counts and his main argument is that there were problems with the vote counting so he'd essentially be asking SCOTUS to simply throw out the election results that I guess would have to be settled in a new election or some other remedy proposed by the court. :shrug: There is no recount to stop in his race with Franken and Franken has been determined the winner in terms of the final vote tally so I'm not really even sure what might happen. Coleman can't seriously believe that he's going to be able to go to SCOTUS and have them declare him the winner despite him not getting a majority of the votes?

[msanthrope]

12. Coleman will hold on like grim death. n/t

[Cha]

19. Like he wasn't already..but now

his macabre greed will be more exposed.

[Thrill]

18. Yup. Its going to the US Supreme Court.

[vaberella]

23. What do you speculate might happen there Thrill with this case?!

I don't know. I feel this Specter thing might not make this go Franken's way even though he is in the win.

[Thrill]

24. I worry about it going there. The good thing is if they use Gore v Bush

Maybe they'll rule for Franken!!

[HelenWheels]

26. More money to Al

I just sent Al another donation to help pay for legal fees. Go Al!

[AtomicKitten]

31. Coleman will dig in his heels.

Polling shows some two-thirds of Minnesotans support seating Senator Franken. Pressure meet Pawlenty.

[windbreeze]

36. just thinking the same thing...n/t