Originally Posted By ecdc <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/28/specter.party.switch/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITI...dex.html</a> Wow! Assuming Norm Coleman continues to have courts rule against him, Democrats just got their 60 vote, filibuster-proof majority.
Originally Posted By mele I am so tired of politics. I hate that people don't just have beliefs but can switch between party labels. Meh. I don't trust politicians much but one who changes his party? Seems even sillier to me. Do we really want Specter?
Originally Posted By gadzuux Yes - we want the 60th vote. And I actually admire him for this, and believe that he's doing it for principled reasons and not just jumping to the other side for political gain.
Originally Posted By dlkozy It will be 60 only if Al Franken holds his current lead in the disputed Minnesota Senate race.
Originally Posted By dlkozy Specter knew that there was a BIG chance that he was not going to win the Republican vote again in 2010 so he switched sides. Yeah, I am not so sure that I would be wanting him as my new team mate either.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>It will be 60 only if Al Franken holds his current lead in the disputed Minnesota Senate race.<< Which, by all accounts, he will. At this point Coleman seems to know he's going to lose, but he's dragging it out at the behest of national Republicans who see the writing on the wall but don't want to lose another seat any sooner than they have to.
Originally Posted By mele Lame. How much longer can something like this drag on? It's almost May for crying out loud. This has taken 6 months!
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder Let's put this Specter thing into perspective, though. He's 79 years old, and finished a second bout with Hodgkins Disease last summer. He's up for re-election. I'm not sure the Dems are getting all that much here.
Originally Posted By alexbook >>Lame. How much longer can something like this drag on? It's almost May for crying out loud. This has taken 6 months!<< The Minnesota state supreme court has a hearing scheduled for June 1st. The ruling will follow some time after that. If they rule for Franken, Coleman could appeal to the Federal courts. If they rule for Coleman, it goes back to the local court which already ruled for Franken. The local court would then have to decide whether to confirm or change their original ruling. Whichever side loses could presumably appeal again. Crazy, huh?
Originally Posted By gadzuux Anyone with any integrity would not put the people of MN through this - placing GOP political interests ahead of the business of the state and the nation. Tells you pretty much everything you need to know about what a weasel Coleman is - and how corrupt GOP priorities are. He's lost three court challenges in a row, and the margin of votes between them has only increased with every recount. Man up and bow out, Norm - you lost.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <If they rule for Franken, Coleman could appeal to the Federal courts.> Do you know that for a fact, or just thinking it might go that way? I thought the state supreme court was the ultimate authority for an election within that state, but maybe I'm wrong. At any rate, remember the hue and cry when Gore didn't concede immediately? And that didn't take anything like this long. And can you imagine the conniption the noise machine would be having if the situation were reversed, the MN courts had favored Coleman, and Franken was going for appeal after appeal?
Originally Posted By alexbook >><If they rule for Franken, Coleman could appeal to the Federal courts.> Do you know that for a fact, or just thinking it might go that way? I thought the state supreme court was the ultimate authority for an election within that state, but maybe I'm wrong.<< It seems that Coleman "hasn't ruled out" appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court. There's a chance that Franken could be seated while that appeal is pending, but that might depend on how the state supreme court rules and what the governor does. Then again, IANAL, so what do I know? <a href="http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/senate/43429282.html" target="_blank">http://www.startribune.com/pol...282.html</a> <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090324/pl_politico/20423" target="_blank">http://news.yahoo.com/s/politi...co/20423</a>
Originally Posted By utahjosh <Lame. How much longer can something like this drag on? It's almost May for crying out loud. This has taken 6 months!> <Tells you pretty much everything you need to know about what a weasel Coleman is - and how corrupt GOP priorities are. He's lost three court challenges in a row, and the margin of votes between them has only increased with every recount. Man up and bow out, Norm - you lost.> Tell it to Al Gore.
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh <Anyone with any integrity would not put the people of MN through this> Sure. But Mr Franken preferred to try to steal the election.
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh <At any rate, remember the hue and cry when Gore didn't concede immediately?> Of course, unlike Sen Gore, Sen Coleman won the count, and the recount.
