A source sent me picture of Senator Al Franken. He was flying in from DC Dulles and was wearing white sneakers. We don't see that everyday, don't we?
Showing posts with label Al Franken. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Al Franken. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Al Franken swearing in replay
If you missed watching Al Franken being sworn in on TV earlier today, there is a place that you can watch it online.
Al Franken swearing in on CSPAN
Al Franken swearing in on CSPAN
Monday, July 6, 2009
Franken swearing in ceremony to be on C-SPAN 2
Political Animal
By Bill Salisbury on July 6, 2009
C-SPAN 2 will provide live coverage of Sen.-elect Al Franken's swearing in ceremony from the Senate chamber Tuesday at 11:15 a.m. CDT. Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to administer the oath of office.C-SPAN 2 is available in the Twin Cities through Comcast on channel 104.
By Bill Salisbury on July 6, 2009
C-SPAN 2 will provide live coverage of Sen.-elect Al Franken's swearing in ceremony from the Senate chamber Tuesday at 11:15 a.m. CDT. Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to administer the oath of office.C-SPAN 2 is available in the Twin Cities through Comcast on channel 104.
Enough about Senate race and Jackson, Pawlenty says
On his weekly radio show this morning, Pawlenty used the same words - "time to move on" - to describe the orgy of media coverage about Jackson's death and the epic political battle won this week by Sen.-elect Al Franken.
Star Tribune July 3, 2009
Gov. Tim Pawlenty has had it, with both Michael Jackson and the Minnesota U.S. Senate race.
On his weekly radio show Friday, Pawlenty used the same words -- "time to move on" -- to describe the orgy of media coverage about Jackson's death and the epic political battle won this week by Sen.-elect Al Franken.
Asked by a caller about his reaction to resolution of the death match between Franken and Norm Coleman, Pawlenty said, "I think we're all relieved the Senate race is over. There's been some frustration over how long it took."
Referring to his fellow Republican, Pawlenty added: "I wish it had come out the other way. [But I] respect the court process.
"[It's] time to move on." He opened his portion of the show talking, unprompted, about the Jackson coverage. "You can't get away from it. ... I've had enough of it.
"It's time to pay our respects and move on."
A lot of Americans share that sentiment: A poll conducted earlier this week found that nearly two-thirds said the wall-to-wall coverage has been too much.
BOB VON STERNBERG
Star Tribune July 3, 2009
Gov. Tim Pawlenty has had it, with both Michael Jackson and the Minnesota U.S. Senate race.
On his weekly radio show Friday, Pawlenty used the same words -- "time to move on" -- to describe the orgy of media coverage about Jackson's death and the epic political battle won this week by Sen.-elect Al Franken.
Asked by a caller about his reaction to resolution of the death match between Franken and Norm Coleman, Pawlenty said, "I think we're all relieved the Senate race is over. There's been some frustration over how long it took."
Referring to his fellow Republican, Pawlenty added: "I wish it had come out the other way. [But I] respect the court process.
"[It's] time to move on." He opened his portion of the show talking, unprompted, about the Jackson coverage. "You can't get away from it. ... I've had enough of it.
"It's time to pay our respects and move on."
A lot of Americans share that sentiment: A poll conducted earlier this week found that nearly two-thirds said the wall-to-wall coverage has been too much.
BOB VON STERNBERG
Senator Al Franken: Goodbye to the Class Clown
By all accounts, Sen.-elect Al Franken will downplay humor and focus on policy when he takes his seat.
By KEVIN DIAZ and PAT DOYLE, Star Tribune staff writers
Last update: July 4, 2009 - 8:49 PM
After Al Franken is sworn in to the U.S. Senate this week, the nation will be watching to see how the former entertainer performs in a theater where cooperation trumps controversy and wise politicians survive wiseguys.
Preparing for his new role, one of the first people Franken sought out was Tamara Luzzatto, chief of staff for Hillary Clinton when she was in the Senate.
"A number of people have told me to study the Hillary model of being a senator," Franken said after they met last February. "Put your head down and do the work."
Franken appears determined to establish credibility as a serious lawmaker. No acerbic wit. No bombastic attacks on conservatives.
Goodbye Stuart Smalley, the goofy, mincing self-help guru from "Saturday Night Live." Hello, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."
"We're going to see a new Al Franken," said analyst Steven Schier, who teaches politics at Carleton College. "Or at least the same Al Franken we've seen in recent months, an Al Franken on Valium, so to speak -- very low-key."
Franken's attempts at a muted tone will likely be tested by the news media horde that will greet his arrival in the Capitol, along with a jam-packed legislative agenda.
"It's going to be about as crazy as one can imagine," said longtime Franken friend and Congress observer Norman Ornstein, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. Without a chance to catch his breath and ease into the job, Ornstein said, Franken's arrival will be "like being dropped into the middle of a tsunami."
He will also have to contend with an emerging Republican strategy to treat him as a symbol of the filibuster-proof super-majority that his victory could deliver to the Senate's Democratic caucus.
"What each party needs is a piñata from the other side," Schier said. "Clearly the Republicans are looking for a flamboyant, inviting target for their fundraising and media strategy, and Franken probably suits that role better than anybody on the Senate side."
Republicans will get plenty of help from conservative pundits outside Congress who want to keep a target on Franken's back.
"They're going to have some eager allies," Ornstein said, "Because [conservative talk show hosts] Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly have all felt his barbs."
Franken first made a splash as a political satirist with his 1996 book "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot (And Other Observations)." He initially dubbed his liberal talk radio show on Air America "The O'Franken Factor," just to goad O'Reilly. Fox News sued over the name and Franken won.
Franken's temperament also could be tested inside the Senate, which still places a premium on an old-school collegiality. One of his assignments is the Judiciary Committee, where some of the Senate's biggest egos delight in taking on judicial nominees and, occasionally, one another.
"If Franken can turn his edginess into a sort of frank authenticity, I think he can do well," said St. Olaf College political science Prof. Dan Hofrenning. "Some people might say that on the campaign trail he wasn't funny enough, wasn't edgy enough."
But on one occasion, he might have been a bit too edgy.
A former leader of Carleton College Democrats recalls Franken crossing the line in exchanges with a conservative student, Peter Fritz, over economic issues during a 2008 appearance in Northfield.
"Franken was aggressively challenging Peter on why he supported tax cuts," recalled Pablo Kenney, 22, who was president of Carleton Democrats. "He was ... dismissing his arguments in a very, in a light way, in a mocking way. I thought it was inappropriate ... the tone that he took with him."
Franken was "playing to the crowd," when he "probably should have just walked away from that conversation," said Kenney, who voted for Franken.
After Franken's appearance, spokesman Andy Barr was quoted in an e-mail saying that Franken recalled having a "spirited" conversation with a "College GOPer" at the urging of some of the student's Democratic friends. "Seemed like everyone was having a good time, or as good a time as you can have debating Reaganomics," Barr wrote.
Constituent work first
In Franken's first months in the Senate, battles over weighty national issues may take a back seat to the more parochial matters of constituent service.
Advisers such as Drew Littman, who organized Clinton's Senate office, have counseled Franken to focus on Minnesota issues and the details of policy.
"It's tempting in the Senate to see it as a place where you can work on any national issue," said Littman, Franken's new chief of staff. "He's going to dig in on the local stuff."
Clinton, who played down her celebrity as former First Lady, answered many of her early critics by working hard in the Senate and doing well for her adopted state of New York.
"With her, it was about whether she'd be a work horse or a show horse," Franken said, adding that he wants to copy Clinton's no-nonsense style, even at the risk of being boring.
"She came to her committee meetings well-prepared, she worked across party lines, and found areas of agreement. She impressed her colleagues as someone who was going to work, not take the spotlight."
Will he also copy her run for the White House?
"Not that part," Franken said.
To Littman, it's all about building relationships in the Senate. "Despite what they say on the campaign trail or in their fundraising letters, they don't care how ideological you are, as long as you're a reasonable person they can work with and you won't embarrass them."
Stance on health care
Franken has, at times, been decidedly left-of-center on health care, and once said he wanted to be a senator "so we can go to universal health care." During the campaign he said he supported a hybrid system where states cover their residents using federal funds and all minors fall under a single-payer system like Medicare, although he stopped short of an all-out endorsement of universal single-payer health care.
In an interview last week, Franken said he supports universal care that is "accessible and affordable."
Franken wrote in 2008 that he supports a cap-and-trade system for regulating carbon emissions, and he criticized the Bush administration for rejecting the Kyoto Protocol -- an international commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
He would also like the country to launch an Apollo-style effort to fund research of renewable fuels -- especially corn and cellulosic ethanol, which have become a major business in Minnesota.
Franken's Judiciary Committee assignment will put him at the center of the looming confirmation debate over Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.
Though it will not likely be an issue in that confirmation, Franken told Minnesota Public Radio in 2007 that he would "most likely vote against" a nominee opposed to Roe vs. Wade, the landmark abortion rights decision.
However Franken positions himself on the issues, his advisers say he will generally leave humor aside -- a prospect, they say, that might ultimately cause the national media to lose interest.
"It's basically about countering a set of expectations," Ornstein said. "I don't think he's going to have enormous difficulty overcoming that, because he is basically a policy wonk."
kdiaz@startribune.com • 202-408-2753 pdoyle@startribune.com • 651-222-1210
By KEVIN DIAZ and PAT DOYLE, Star Tribune staff writers
Last update: July 4, 2009 - 8:49 PM
After Al Franken is sworn in to the U.S. Senate this week, the nation will be watching to see how the former entertainer performs in a theater where cooperation trumps controversy and wise politicians survive wiseguys.
Preparing for his new role, one of the first people Franken sought out was Tamara Luzzatto, chief of staff for Hillary Clinton when she was in the Senate.
"A number of people have told me to study the Hillary model of being a senator," Franken said after they met last February. "Put your head down and do the work."
Franken appears determined to establish credibility as a serious lawmaker. No acerbic wit. No bombastic attacks on conservatives.
Goodbye Stuart Smalley, the goofy, mincing self-help guru from "Saturday Night Live." Hello, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."
"We're going to see a new Al Franken," said analyst Steven Schier, who teaches politics at Carleton College. "Or at least the same Al Franken we've seen in recent months, an Al Franken on Valium, so to speak -- very low-key."
Franken's attempts at a muted tone will likely be tested by the news media horde that will greet his arrival in the Capitol, along with a jam-packed legislative agenda.
"It's going to be about as crazy as one can imagine," said longtime Franken friend and Congress observer Norman Ornstein, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. Without a chance to catch his breath and ease into the job, Ornstein said, Franken's arrival will be "like being dropped into the middle of a tsunami."
He will also have to contend with an emerging Republican strategy to treat him as a symbol of the filibuster-proof super-majority that his victory could deliver to the Senate's Democratic caucus.
"What each party needs is a piñata from the other side," Schier said. "Clearly the Republicans are looking for a flamboyant, inviting target for their fundraising and media strategy, and Franken probably suits that role better than anybody on the Senate side."
Republicans will get plenty of help from conservative pundits outside Congress who want to keep a target on Franken's back.
"They're going to have some eager allies," Ornstein said, "Because [conservative talk show hosts] Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly have all felt his barbs."
Franken first made a splash as a political satirist with his 1996 book "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot (And Other Observations)." He initially dubbed his liberal talk radio show on Air America "The O'Franken Factor," just to goad O'Reilly. Fox News sued over the name and Franken won.
Franken's temperament also could be tested inside the Senate, which still places a premium on an old-school collegiality. One of his assignments is the Judiciary Committee, where some of the Senate's biggest egos delight in taking on judicial nominees and, occasionally, one another.
"If Franken can turn his edginess into a sort of frank authenticity, I think he can do well," said St. Olaf College political science Prof. Dan Hofrenning. "Some people might say that on the campaign trail he wasn't funny enough, wasn't edgy enough."
But on one occasion, he might have been a bit too edgy.
A former leader of Carleton College Democrats recalls Franken crossing the line in exchanges with a conservative student, Peter Fritz, over economic issues during a 2008 appearance in Northfield.
"Franken was aggressively challenging Peter on why he supported tax cuts," recalled Pablo Kenney, 22, who was president of Carleton Democrats. "He was ... dismissing his arguments in a very, in a light way, in a mocking way. I thought it was inappropriate ... the tone that he took with him."
Franken was "playing to the crowd," when he "probably should have just walked away from that conversation," said Kenney, who voted for Franken.
After Franken's appearance, spokesman Andy Barr was quoted in an e-mail saying that Franken recalled having a "spirited" conversation with a "College GOPer" at the urging of some of the student's Democratic friends. "Seemed like everyone was having a good time, or as good a time as you can have debating Reaganomics," Barr wrote.
Constituent work first
In Franken's first months in the Senate, battles over weighty national issues may take a back seat to the more parochial matters of constituent service.
Advisers such as Drew Littman, who organized Clinton's Senate office, have counseled Franken to focus on Minnesota issues and the details of policy.
"It's tempting in the Senate to see it as a place where you can work on any national issue," said Littman, Franken's new chief of staff. "He's going to dig in on the local stuff."
Clinton, who played down her celebrity as former First Lady, answered many of her early critics by working hard in the Senate and doing well for her adopted state of New York.
"With her, it was about whether she'd be a work horse or a show horse," Franken said, adding that he wants to copy Clinton's no-nonsense style, even at the risk of being boring.
"She came to her committee meetings well-prepared, she worked across party lines, and found areas of agreement. She impressed her colleagues as someone who was going to work, not take the spotlight."
Will he also copy her run for the White House?
"Not that part," Franken said.
To Littman, it's all about building relationships in the Senate. "Despite what they say on the campaign trail or in their fundraising letters, they don't care how ideological you are, as long as you're a reasonable person they can work with and you won't embarrass them."
Stance on health care
Franken has, at times, been decidedly left-of-center on health care, and once said he wanted to be a senator "so we can go to universal health care." During the campaign he said he supported a hybrid system where states cover their residents using federal funds and all minors fall under a single-payer system like Medicare, although he stopped short of an all-out endorsement of universal single-payer health care.
In an interview last week, Franken said he supports universal care that is "accessible and affordable."
Franken wrote in 2008 that he supports a cap-and-trade system for regulating carbon emissions, and he criticized the Bush administration for rejecting the Kyoto Protocol -- an international commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
He would also like the country to launch an Apollo-style effort to fund research of renewable fuels -- especially corn and cellulosic ethanol, which have become a major business in Minnesota.
Franken's Judiciary Committee assignment will put him at the center of the looming confirmation debate over Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.
Though it will not likely be an issue in that confirmation, Franken told Minnesota Public Radio in 2007 that he would "most likely vote against" a nominee opposed to Roe vs. Wade, the landmark abortion rights decision.
However Franken positions himself on the issues, his advisers say he will generally leave humor aside -- a prospect, they say, that might ultimately cause the national media to lose interest.
"It's basically about countering a set of expectations," Ornstein said. "I don't think he's going to have enormous difficulty overcoming that, because he is basically a policy wonk."
kdiaz@startribune.com • 202-408-2753 pdoyle@startribune.com • 651-222-1210
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
GOP activist seeks rejected absentee Senate ballots
Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune
June 9, 2009
GOP activist and blogger Michael Brodkorb has asked for copies of rejected absentee ballots from areas where for the most part Republican Norm Coleman ran strongly in the disputed November election for U.S. Senate.
Brodkorb filed a Minnesota Data Practices request with Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Olmsted, Sherburne and Washington counties, and in the cities of Edina, Minnetonka, Orono and Plymouth.
Statewide, local election officials rejected about 12,000 absentee ballots on Election Day for failing to meet legal requirements. Nearly 1,300 were eventually deemed legal after reconsideration by the officials, representatives of Coleman and fellow Senate candidate Al Franken, and judges who heard the U.S. Senate trial. But the rest remain excluded because the judges said they lacked evidence they were cast by registered voters or met other state law requirements.
Brodkorb said he wants to post copies of ballots from the selected areas on his website. It's part of an effort by Republicans to draw attention to rejected ballots they continue to argue should be reconsidered.
State law classifies sealed absentee ballots as nonpublic prior to their opening by an election judge. In cases where rejected ballot envelopes are unopened, Brodkorb wants election judges to open them to copy the ballots.
PAT DOYLE
June 9, 2009
GOP activist and blogger Michael Brodkorb has asked for copies of rejected absentee ballots from areas where for the most part Republican Norm Coleman ran strongly in the disputed November election for U.S. Senate.
Brodkorb filed a Minnesota Data Practices request with Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Olmsted, Sherburne and Washington counties, and in the cities of Edina, Minnetonka, Orono and Plymouth.
Statewide, local election officials rejected about 12,000 absentee ballots on Election Day for failing to meet legal requirements. Nearly 1,300 were eventually deemed legal after reconsideration by the officials, representatives of Coleman and fellow Senate candidate Al Franken, and judges who heard the U.S. Senate trial. But the rest remain excluded because the judges said they lacked evidence they were cast by registered voters or met other state law requirements.
Brodkorb said he wants to post copies of ballots from the selected areas on his website. It's part of an effort by Republicans to draw attention to rejected ballots they continue to argue should be reconsidered.
State law classifies sealed absentee ballots as nonpublic prior to their opening by an election judge. In cases where rejected ballot envelopes are unopened, Brodkorb wants election judges to open them to copy the ballots.
PAT DOYLE
Minn. court orders Coleman to pay $95,000 to Franken
Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune
Associated Press
June 10, 2009
Republican Norm Coleman owes Democrat Al Franken $94,783 stemming from his Minnesota Senate election lawsuit, with the amount subject to interest.
A Ramsey County court administrator officially entered the judgment on Wednesday. It's a holdover from the two-month trial that ended with Franken up by 312 votes.
Minnesota law required Coleman to cover some of Franken's court costs because he didn't change the outcome of the race. The judgment excludes Franken's attorney fees.
Franken's lawyers had pressed for as much as $161,500.
The one-page declaration says interest will accrue from the day the judgment was entered until it's paid off.
The Minnesota Supreme Court is still considering Coleman's appeal and hasn't said when it will rule. The court held oral arguments in the case on June 1.
Associated Press
June 10, 2009
Republican Norm Coleman owes Democrat Al Franken $94,783 stemming from his Minnesota Senate election lawsuit, with the amount subject to interest.
A Ramsey County court administrator officially entered the judgment on Wednesday. It's a holdover from the two-month trial that ended with Franken up by 312 votes.
Minnesota law required Coleman to cover some of Franken's court costs because he didn't change the outcome of the race. The judgment excludes Franken's attorney fees.
Franken's lawyers had pressed for as much as $161,500.
The one-page declaration says interest will accrue from the day the judgment was entered until it's paid off.
The Minnesota Supreme Court is still considering Coleman's appeal and hasn't said when it will rule. The court held oral arguments in the case on June 1.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Minnesota's Senate race now comes down to 5 votes
By PAT DOYLE, Star Tribune
Last update: May 30, 2009
Now it comes down to five votes.
Almost seven months after a U.S. Senate election that was too close to call, five justices of the Minnesota Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday on whether problems with absentee ballots justify reversing a lower-court ruling that declared DFLer Al Franken a 312-vote winner over Republican Norm Coleman.
Partisans across America will be watching, pronouncing judgment on a thousand blogs. The case may cast a blinding national spotlight on the state Supreme Court.
A decision upholding the lower-court ruling could end the protracted struggle and allow Franken to join the Senate, giving Democrats an invincible majority. A ruling for Coleman wouldn't return him to the Senate, but could keep his hopes alive and delay a final decision for months.
Minnesotans want the dispute to end, recent polls show. Most people say Coleman should concede. Nearly two-thirds believe that Franken ultimately will be declared the winner.
But several former Minnesota Supreme Court justices say current members will consider the case carefully, ignoring outside publicity and pressure.
"The impatience of the people just has to be put aside," said former Associate Justice Jim Gilbert, who served on the court for seven years with most of the justices hearing the case. "You want a correct decision at this stage, not a fast decision.
"They will not be reacting to talking heads or political action groups ... or anything like that," Gilbert said. "This decision has to stand the test of time. It will be gone over with a microscope."
Former Chief Justice Russell Anderson agrees.
"They understand every decision they make has the potential to go to the United States Supreme Court," Anderson said. "They're not going to decide this on the publicity. They're going to decide this on the law."
One former Minnesota justice knows what it's like to issue an opinion in a politically overheated election case.
Five days before the 1990 gubernatorial election, then-Associate Justice A.M. (Sandy) Keith, once one of the state's most prominent DFL politicians, agreed with others on the court on a key issue: that Arne Carlson should take the place of Jon Grunseth on the ballot after Grunseth withdrew as the Republican candidate for governor. The ruling paved the way for Carlson to defeat Gov. Rudy Perpich, a DFLer who had just elevated Keith to take over as chief justice.
"I still carry that with me," said Keith. "The governor [Perpich] thought I was responsible for it. He tried to take the position away from me -- thought about it. He wouldn't even come to my swearing-in.
"I think it was the right decision, and I never had any hesitation about that," Keith said.
While Monday's hearing will produce yet another dramatic climax in this seven-month saga, some believe it will be mostly anti-climactic for the justices, who weeks ago received detailed briefs from the lawyers in the case.
"These justices will have had over two weeks, including three weekends ... to work on the case," said Richard Hasen, an elections expert at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles who has followed the case closely.
"It would not be surprising to me that they would come into the arguments with their minds mostly made up, [and] also with drafted opinion or opinions in front of them."
Keith said arguments delivered in court rarely swayed him in the end.
"In many instances, I had made up my mind in the sense I thought it was going in this direction," he said.
The court and the challenge
The court will have two fewer members hearing the case than its usual seven because Chief Justice Eric Magnuson and Associate Justice G. Barry Anderson sat on the state Canvassing Board for the recount and have declined to participate in related court proceedings.
Minnesota Supreme Court expert Peter Knapp, a William Mitchell law professor, has watched the remaining five in action. His thoughts:
• Alan Page: "Well aware of the importance common sense plays in the life of the law. You'll see opinions of his that remind the court, sometimes gently and sometimes not so gently ... that when a decision doesn't reflect that kind of common sense it may be out of kilter with where the law should go."
• Paul Anderson: "Really appreciates the value of history in shaping the law ... to a greater degree than some of the other justices."
• Lorie Gildea: Dissented when she "believed the court was making a decision that really belonged to the trial judge."
• Helen Meyer: "Writes opinions that I think reflect her experience and her values."
• Christopher Dietzen: A recent appointee with fewer written opinions, "It's much harder to tell ... anything about his particular cast of mind."
The five have ruled unanimously on earlier matters in the case, but split on the issue of allowing Coleman and Franken to veto the counting of some disputed absentee ballots. Paul Anderson and Page dissented.
On Monday, each side will have 25 minutes for arguments, with Coleman allowed an additional 10 minutes for rebuttal. He has the burden of proving that the three-judge panel that heard the trial made sufficient mistakes to overturn their verdict.
His legal team turns to Joe Friedberg to make their case, a veteran, high-profile criminal defense attorney but relative novice at election law. "Norm decided ... Joe is the best guy to make the argument," said Coleman legal spokesman Ben Ginsberg.
Franken will rely on Marc Elias, a national Democratic Party lawyer who specializes in election law.
Court experts will watch to see whether the justices direct more skeptical questions to either Coleman's or Franken's team. But such questioning could merely reflect a devil's advocate approach, in which judges interrogate the very side they are leaning toward.
Wide discretion
A Supreme Court decision could take days to months, with the prime options being upholding the lower court ruling for Franken or reversing it and ordering the panel to reconsider aspects of the case.
The court "cannot say that Coleman won," said University of Minnesota constitutional law expert Fred Morrison. "A Coleman 'victory' in the Supreme Court would mean several more weeks or months of more recounting-type stuff."
Aside from attacking the merits of Coleman's case, Franken argues that the Republican's key claims should be dismissed because he didn't bring them early enough in the trial.
"I think the justices will at least consider whether or not the public interest and timing is a relevant factor" before examining Coleman's claims, said Edward Foley, an election law expert at Ohio State University.
But Knapp said the high court has wide discretion to ignore procedural arguments and consider the main question: Were the election and recount fair and accurate enough to bring this dispute to an end?
Pat Doyle • 651-222-1210
Last update: May 30, 2009
Now it comes down to five votes.
Almost seven months after a U.S. Senate election that was too close to call, five justices of the Minnesota Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday on whether problems with absentee ballots justify reversing a lower-court ruling that declared DFLer Al Franken a 312-vote winner over Republican Norm Coleman.
Partisans across America will be watching, pronouncing judgment on a thousand blogs. The case may cast a blinding national spotlight on the state Supreme Court.
A decision upholding the lower-court ruling could end the protracted struggle and allow Franken to join the Senate, giving Democrats an invincible majority. A ruling for Coleman wouldn't return him to the Senate, but could keep his hopes alive and delay a final decision for months.
Minnesotans want the dispute to end, recent polls show. Most people say Coleman should concede. Nearly two-thirds believe that Franken ultimately will be declared the winner.
But several former Minnesota Supreme Court justices say current members will consider the case carefully, ignoring outside publicity and pressure.
"The impatience of the people just has to be put aside," said former Associate Justice Jim Gilbert, who served on the court for seven years with most of the justices hearing the case. "You want a correct decision at this stage, not a fast decision.
"They will not be reacting to talking heads or political action groups ... or anything like that," Gilbert said. "This decision has to stand the test of time. It will be gone over with a microscope."
Former Chief Justice Russell Anderson agrees.
"They understand every decision they make has the potential to go to the United States Supreme Court," Anderson said. "They're not going to decide this on the publicity. They're going to decide this on the law."
One former Minnesota justice knows what it's like to issue an opinion in a politically overheated election case.
Five days before the 1990 gubernatorial election, then-Associate Justice A.M. (Sandy) Keith, once one of the state's most prominent DFL politicians, agreed with others on the court on a key issue: that Arne Carlson should take the place of Jon Grunseth on the ballot after Grunseth withdrew as the Republican candidate for governor. The ruling paved the way for Carlson to defeat Gov. Rudy Perpich, a DFLer who had just elevated Keith to take over as chief justice.
"I still carry that with me," said Keith. "The governor [Perpich] thought I was responsible for it. He tried to take the position away from me -- thought about it. He wouldn't even come to my swearing-in.
"I think it was the right decision, and I never had any hesitation about that," Keith said.
While Monday's hearing will produce yet another dramatic climax in this seven-month saga, some believe it will be mostly anti-climactic for the justices, who weeks ago received detailed briefs from the lawyers in the case.
"These justices will have had over two weeks, including three weekends ... to work on the case," said Richard Hasen, an elections expert at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles who has followed the case closely.
"It would not be surprising to me that they would come into the arguments with their minds mostly made up, [and] also with drafted opinion or opinions in front of them."
Keith said arguments delivered in court rarely swayed him in the end.
"In many instances, I had made up my mind in the sense I thought it was going in this direction," he said.
The court and the challenge
The court will have two fewer members hearing the case than its usual seven because Chief Justice Eric Magnuson and Associate Justice G. Barry Anderson sat on the state Canvassing Board for the recount and have declined to participate in related court proceedings.
Minnesota Supreme Court expert Peter Knapp, a William Mitchell law professor, has watched the remaining five in action. His thoughts:
• Alan Page: "Well aware of the importance common sense plays in the life of the law. You'll see opinions of his that remind the court, sometimes gently and sometimes not so gently ... that when a decision doesn't reflect that kind of common sense it may be out of kilter with where the law should go."
• Paul Anderson: "Really appreciates the value of history in shaping the law ... to a greater degree than some of the other justices."
• Lorie Gildea: Dissented when she "believed the court was making a decision that really belonged to the trial judge."
• Helen Meyer: "Writes opinions that I think reflect her experience and her values."
• Christopher Dietzen: A recent appointee with fewer written opinions, "It's much harder to tell ... anything about his particular cast of mind."
The five have ruled unanimously on earlier matters in the case, but split on the issue of allowing Coleman and Franken to veto the counting of some disputed absentee ballots. Paul Anderson and Page dissented.
On Monday, each side will have 25 minutes for arguments, with Coleman allowed an additional 10 minutes for rebuttal. He has the burden of proving that the three-judge panel that heard the trial made sufficient mistakes to overturn their verdict.
His legal team turns to Joe Friedberg to make their case, a veteran, high-profile criminal defense attorney but relative novice at election law. "Norm decided ... Joe is the best guy to make the argument," said Coleman legal spokesman Ben Ginsberg.
Franken will rely on Marc Elias, a national Democratic Party lawyer who specializes in election law.
Court experts will watch to see whether the justices direct more skeptical questions to either Coleman's or Franken's team. But such questioning could merely reflect a devil's advocate approach, in which judges interrogate the very side they are leaning toward.
Wide discretion
A Supreme Court decision could take days to months, with the prime options being upholding the lower court ruling for Franken or reversing it and ordering the panel to reconsider aspects of the case.
The court "cannot say that Coleman won," said University of Minnesota constitutional law expert Fred Morrison. "A Coleman 'victory' in the Supreme Court would mean several more weeks or months of more recounting-type stuff."
Aside from attacking the merits of Coleman's case, Franken argues that the Republican's key claims should be dismissed because he didn't bring them early enough in the trial.
"I think the justices will at least consider whether or not the public interest and timing is a relevant factor" before examining Coleman's claims, said Edward Foley, an election law expert at Ohio State University.
But Knapp said the high court has wide discretion to ignore procedural arguments and consider the main question: Were the election and recount fair and accurate enough to bring this dispute to an end?
Pat Doyle • 651-222-1210
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Capitol Hill restaurant has testament to Franken's pre-election confidence
Pioneer Press 5/26/09
By Anne Schroeder Mullins Politico
Updated: 05/26/2009 08:49:50 AM CDT
It's not quite a John Hancock moment, but Senate candidate Al Franken left his mark on one of Washington's elite power restaurants.
Trattoria Alberto of Capitol Hill is a quaint Italian restaurant on 8th Street Southeast, blocks from Capitol Hill, that is frequented by myriad representatives and senators.
So many happen upon the fine establishment — it's a favorite of lobbyists, as well — that a few years ago the restaurant started asking lawmakers who dined there to autograph the restaurant's own copy of a facebook. (It speaks volumes about the restaurant that it even has a facebook. A facebook, to those uninitiated, is a yearly booklet that has pictures of and information about all the current members of Congress.) Representatives like John Sullivan, Jerry Lewis, Corrine Brown, Vern Buchanan, John Boccieri and Dennis Kucinich and Sen. George Voinovich have all come, eaten and happily signed. One person familiar with all these signings was overheard saying, "I don't know if they like it, but they sign it."
Another person who has signed the facebook without his face even being in it? Al Franken, who's still in an ongoing battle with Norm Coleman for one of Minnesota's U.S. Senate seats. Franken came to the restaurant a few months before the election, we're told, and signed away — only he signed on top of Coleman's signature.
In the book, he drew a big box with an "X" inside it, signed his name and then, over to the right, put the election percentages, with the header: "CNN DECLARES FRANKEN."
After Franken's name, there's a "53%" and after Coleman's name there's a "47%."
So he's off, by a little.
Franken, always the jokester, was confident even then.
As for those in Franken's camp, they didn't comment.
Coleman spokesman Tom Erickson told Shenanigans in response to Franken's antics: "Proof positive that leopards never change their spots."
By Anne Schroeder Mullins Politico
Updated: 05/26/2009 08:49:50 AM CDT
It's not quite a John Hancock moment, but Senate candidate Al Franken left his mark on one of Washington's elite power restaurants.
Trattoria Alberto of Capitol Hill is a quaint Italian restaurant on 8th Street Southeast, blocks from Capitol Hill, that is frequented by myriad representatives and senators.
So many happen upon the fine establishment — it's a favorite of lobbyists, as well — that a few years ago the restaurant started asking lawmakers who dined there to autograph the restaurant's own copy of a facebook. (It speaks volumes about the restaurant that it even has a facebook. A facebook, to those uninitiated, is a yearly booklet that has pictures of and information about all the current members of Congress.) Representatives like John Sullivan, Jerry Lewis, Corrine Brown, Vern Buchanan, John Boccieri and Dennis Kucinich and Sen. George Voinovich have all come, eaten and happily signed. One person familiar with all these signings was overheard saying, "I don't know if they like it, but they sign it."
Another person who has signed the facebook without his face even being in it? Al Franken, who's still in an ongoing battle with Norm Coleman for one of Minnesota's U.S. Senate seats. Franken came to the restaurant a few months before the election, we're told, and signed away — only he signed on top of Coleman's signature.
In the book, he drew a big box with an "X" inside it, signed his name and then, over to the right, put the election percentages, with the header: "CNN DECLARES FRANKEN."
After Franken's name, there's a "53%" and after Coleman's name there's a "47%."
So he's off, by a little.
Franken, always the jokester, was confident even then.
As for those in Franken's camp, they didn't comment.
Coleman spokesman Tom Erickson told Shenanigans in response to Franken's antics: "Proof positive that leopards never change their spots."
Thursday, April 16, 2009
C' mon, T-Paw make up your mind!
Governor Tim Pawlenty need to make his mind up on what he want to do with US Senate election. Minnesota Citizens like myself deserve two US Senators. other 49 states that have 2 senators which isn't fair. I don't care if it's Franken or Coleman. I feel that Senator Amy Klobuchar is overwhelmed and stressed out with huge pile of casework and constituent workload.
Since he is one who sign election certificate along Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, he just need go ahead and sign it so we could have 2nd US Senator. We need fair representation. I am very frustrated just like Minnesota citizens. We are not Florida. Mark Ritchie isn't Katherine Harris, he is doing good job and he have been very careful with the process.
Norm and Tim, If you are reading this: I know we don't discuss politics but we all need to get over this and join other 49 states that have two US Senators so the US Senate could have full quorum in case if there need to be tie-breaker. No hard feelings but we need to get what Minnesota Citizens deserves: two US Senators. You need to allow Amy Klobuchar take a break since as I mention she have huge pile of caseloads that one Senator really can't get all done at once.
Since he is one who sign election certificate along Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, he just need go ahead and sign it so we could have 2nd US Senator. We need fair representation. I am very frustrated just like Minnesota citizens. We are not Florida. Mark Ritchie isn't Katherine Harris, he is doing good job and he have been very careful with the process.
Norm and Tim, If you are reading this: I know we don't discuss politics but we all need to get over this and join other 49 states that have two US Senators so the US Senate could have full quorum in case if there need to be tie-breaker. No hard feelings but we need to get what Minnesota Citizens deserves: two US Senators. You need to allow Amy Klobuchar take a break since as I mention she have huge pile of caseloads that one Senator really can't get all done at once.
Monday, April 13, 2009
FRANKEN WON AND COLEMAN LOSES.
According to court today, Al Franken has won after grueling 7 weeks in court. Judges have announced that Franken is the winner. As for Norm Coleman, he decided to appeal at the Minnesota Supreme Court.
For months I have been not involved with US Senate race drama because I just don't want to be involved.
KARE 11 on court's decision.
Since the election certificate isn't signed, Franken can't be Senator unless Coleman drop his appeal.
For months I have been not involved with US Senate race drama because I just don't want to be involved.
KARE 11 on court's decision.
Since the election certificate isn't signed, Franken can't be Senator unless Coleman drop his appeal.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Coleman's office to remain open until Feburary 4, 2009.
Good News for Norm Coleman fanatics...
His offices in St. Paul and Washington DC will remain open until February 9, 2009. The US Senate and court ordered the office to remain open so staff can archive and transfer constituent case files.
Coleman want his office to open for 60 more days to finish up about 400 constituent requests instead of referring them to other US Senator Amy Klobuchar or other Minnesota Representatives.
Coleman's offices was closed on January 5 after State Canvassing Board declared Al Franken a winner but Coleman chose to file lawsuit. The Senate Election is tied up in court's hands as right now.
Many of cases are being handed to Senator Klobuchar's office.
His offices in St. Paul and Washington DC will remain open until February 9, 2009. The US Senate and court ordered the office to remain open so staff can archive and transfer constituent case files.
Coleman want his office to open for 60 more days to finish up about 400 constituent requests instead of referring them to other US Senator Amy Klobuchar or other Minnesota Representatives.
Coleman's offices was closed on January 5 after State Canvassing Board declared Al Franken a winner but Coleman chose to file lawsuit. The Senate Election is tied up in court's hands as right now.
Many of cases are being handed to Senator Klobuchar's office.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
A STATEMENT FROM THE GOVERNOR REGARDING SENATE RACE CERTIFCATION
Here what I found on Governor Pawlenty's website regarding article I wrote few days ago on why he refuse to issue Al Franken the certificate of election.
A STATEMENT FROM THE GOVERNOR -- January 12, 2009
Saint Paul
– The following is a statement from Governor Tim Pawlenty regarding the request
from Al Franken’s attorney to issue a certificate of election.
“I have a duty to follow state law and our statutes are clear on this
issue. I am prohibited from issuing a certificate of election until the election
contest in the courts has been resolved.”
Please see Minnesota Statutes 204C.40, Subdivision 2:
204C.40
CERTIFICATES OF ELECTION.Subdivision 2. Time of issuance; certain offices.
No certificate of election shall be issued until seven days after the
canvassing board has declared the result of the election. In case of a contest,
an election certificate shall not be issued until a court of proper jurisdiction
has finally determined the contest. This subdivision shall not apply to
candidates elected to the office of state senator or representative.
Online at https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/statutes/?id=204C.40&year=2008
Source: http://www.governor.state.mn.us/mediacenter/pressreleases/PROD009295.html
Monday, January 12, 2009
Franken Camp requested certificate to take seat
Al Franken's campaign requested Governor Tim Pawlenty and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie to grant him certificate so he could be in United States Senate. Right now Minnesota have only one Senator, Amy Klobchar just for now until the court settle down on lawsuit that was bought by Former US Senator Norm Coleman.
Attorneys for Franken said that 7 days waiting period has passed and Franken was supposed to get signed certificate so he could go to Washington DC. The State law says that a candidate have seven day waiting period after final counting.
Gov. Pawlenty rather not to issue Franken the certificate until Coleman's lawsuit action are done and then they will see what will happen. A trial on lawsuit shall be taken up within three weeks after a person filed a lawsuit according to state law. As for Coleman's case, He will have three judges hearing his case and they haven't selected judges yet.
Attorneys for Franken said that 7 days waiting period has passed and Franken was supposed to get signed certificate so he could go to Washington DC. The State law says that a candidate have seven day waiting period after final counting.
Gov. Pawlenty rather not to issue Franken the certificate until Coleman's lawsuit action are done and then they will see what will happen. A trial on lawsuit shall be taken up within three weeks after a person filed a lawsuit according to state law. As for Coleman's case, He will have three judges hearing his case and they haven't selected judges yet.
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