Thank you all for your work on yesterday's diary. Excellent work on content, fun comments, good threads. Hat tip to JedL for a front page diary on the meta-picture of the race and what and how the US Senate and particularly Harry Reid can proceed, how he might proceed, and how he SHOULD proceed in seating the winner (cough*Franken*cough) of the MN senate.
But THIS is the big weekend (and please O Lord of all that is Holy and Merciful, the last weekend?) for the MN Senate recount finale. And its ALL going to be LIVE STREAMED by the (Temporarily) Semi-Official Live Feed Provider for State of Minnesota Stuffennen: The UpTake! http://www.theuptake.com/
The Uptake will have all the action, all the politics, all the speculation and all the left wing, liberal, reality-based, progressive bias a live feed C-Span broadcast can have!
So Forget Football... or Hockey....or Basketball!!! Forget Argentinian Rules Dress-age!!!! (Well, maybe not the dress-age....after all, ladies horsing around who forget their dress-age may catch cold in their cleav-age! ;-))
http://www.theuptake.com/
To the Cliff notes, recount infinity... and beyond!
This morning's Cliff Notes edition provided by Mike McIntee of the UpTake: (edited down even furtherby Cliff WineRev)
Canvassing bd. semi-
official tally: Franken +49.
Coleman campaign filed suit
saying some votes counted 2X. MN
Supreme Court (12/24) said that
2X vote issue needs to be filed
in an "election contest"in
court after Canvassing Board
certifies a winner.
Court ruled (12/18) counties
must count improperly rejected
absentee ballots (5th pile) but
gave C & F campaigns veto power
over which ones. Agreed upon
absentees scheduled to be counted
TODAY starting at 9am. Bottom of cliff.
Improperly Rejected Absentee Ballots
Friday was the final day of county & regional meetings to forward these "5th pile" ballots on to Ritchie's office.
...Hennepin County sent along 257 out of 329 such ballots (spread out over Wednesday and Friday; 329 was total from Hennepin County); for what its worth (and its not actually the pirate's code, you know, its more of a guideline) blogger Walt T from the UpTake offers: "Franken wins 149 to 108 on the 257.... gaining 41 (Hennepin Co. went 58%/42% for Franken)"
Minnesota Supreme Court Asks...
For responses in writing from the Franken campaign, Ritchie's Office and several counties as to how they did or did not comply with the Dec. 18th Supreme Court Order (the 3-2 decision that set up this 3-way agreement needed between the county, the Coleman and the Franken campaign for an improperly rejected absentee ballot to be counted.)
Stop the count? NO.
Throw out Coleman's petition? NO.
A hearing? NO, but could be scheduled for later.
The counties specifically ordered to respond: Hennepin (greater Minneapolis), Ramsey (greater St. Paul), St. Louis (greater Duluth), Anoka (ex-urban, northside of both Mpls. & St. Paul)--- all as expected, the 1st 3 for their size of population (and hence # of ballots), and Anoka, both for some of its size and maybe as contentious as their meetings got on Tuesday.
Also ordered to respond: Sherburne (ex-urban to rural, just NW of Mpls) part of MN-6 (Bachmann district) but very quiet as far as any voting events; Stearns (next county NW of Sherburne, city of St. Cloud--which voted against Bachmann but is in her district) again, Bachmann country but otherwise quiet.
And finally..... Pipestone County, in the far SW, lower left corner of the state along the South Dakota border....Huh? What the Sam Hill has been going on in the Pipestone County election board (or blocked from going on out there) that they are part of a Supreme Court order? ("Anybody? Bueller-son? Anyone?")
Late Friday Afternoon Report Hennepin County has already turned in their homework ie, they have formally responded to the Coleman suit and Supreme Court Order, turned in what they did and did not do regarding rejected absentee ballots. McIntee found something in their work about Hennepin County's piece of those 1346 ballots statewide:
Mike McIntee: Here's an interesting nugget from the Hennepin County filing: Both campaigns were required to state the reason why they wanted any "extra" ballots considered. Franken's campaign listed the reasons for its 30 ballots. Coleman campaign did not list the reasons for its 170 ballots.
Sounds like Hennepin County reported to the Supreme Court that the Colemaniks don't do their homework.
From the Henn. Co. Response re: Petitioner (Coleman)
Nothing local election officials did in any way suggests the extraordinary relief Petitioner seeks is warranted under this Court’s Order or in order to secure equal protection of the laws.
Hennepin County also closed their filing with a Norm-berry Raspberry:
In accordance with the foregoing, Respondent, Hennepin County Auditor, respectfully requests this Court to deny Petitioner’s Motion for An Emergency Order
Sounds like Senator Horse Dentures just got a kick in the teeth...... by the way, starting soon, you can address the man as "FORMER Senator Coleman". His Term OFFICIALLY EXPIRES 11:00am CT, Jan. 3, 2009 at the end of the 110th Congress.
.....This latest Supreme Court Order was signed by Justice Alan Page. (You might recall the 3-2 decision was signed by Justice Helen Meyer). If I understand reading judicial tea leaves, on such a court the one who signs such a decision/order often/usually writes it with the concurrence of the others (or majority of others.)
Lawyers blogging away on TheUptake see some significance that it was PAGE who signed this one, particularly since he was in dissent on the original decision on 12/18. Some of them believe this MAY be a sign the court is following Page's direction in resolving this, but other lawyers (being lawyers!) disagree.
..... Some see the Coleman legal team REALLY treading thin ice (a very serious crack here in MN in January!) with their attitudes:
I've seen judges impose sanctions (fees/costs) for far less arrogant behavior than Coleman's attorney (the late 650, wasting taxpayer time and money, a late petition to consider the 650 to distract from the prior SCT Order, delaying county meetings with the extra ballot requests--all in bad faith).
Must See TV for Political Junkies I
This is it: 9:00am Central Time the Secretary of State's Office will begin opening and counting 953 previously rejected absentee ballots. These are 953 of the 1346 which all 3 parties (county, F & C) agreed should be counted.
The other 1346-953= 393? In limbo due to one of the 3 parties objecting, NOT being counted. All 393 voters whose ballots are in such limbo are being notified by mail of the situation and can actually file suit to get their voted counted (now WHO collects legal fees again? What profession designed this method? "Objection!" I thought so.) (Some rumors about that Franken campaign may help with filing, court and legal fees for such voters. Would be worth oodles of goodwill/ democracy points if Franken did so, regardless of who voter voted for!)
And by the WAY: While you are watching, all of you can strap THIS Talking Point into your slingshot and lash out at any Reich-winger in range who has the utter gall to say something like, "Well I guess we're seeing the latest batch of Franken votes being recounted for the X-th number of times...."
NAIL the tapir brained, single-toothed drooler RIGHT THEN with: "This is the FIRST TIME any of these ballots have been opened since the voter sealed them and the FIRST TIME they are being counted."
If they persist (WineRev goes over to wall-mounted control panel, speaks several numbers, characters and letters into panel. Panel makes soft glitching beep, performs retinal scan on WineRev and announces, "Authorized.") for this occasion I have disabled the Kos pacifist, non-violent safety protocols. If needed, you are free to impose guilt-free, pre-forgiven, karma-free, jack-booted fury in defense of democracy and free elections. Protocols will be re-instated at the end of the UpTake live-stream.
Where to Watch the Grand Opening and At LAST Counting?
Where ELSE?? TheUpTake!
http://www.theuptake.com/
Personally I'd like to see Franken's lead grow from his present +49 to somewhere north of +150 to +200. (+215 would be Glow in the Dark Karma: Coleman's initial lead the "morning after" election day was 215.) That size, Coleman's pseudo-case about the 125 + or - "duplicate/double counted" ballots might well be rendered legally moot. (As in dismissed, because even 125 all going to Coleman would leave Franken ahead with NO votes left to count.)
Ritchie says they will hand count all day until done....OR if there are other developments. And what would those developments be?
Must See TV for Political Junkies II
The MN Supreme Court gave the Franken campaign, the SoS office, the named counties, and any other county in the state (!--significant? I don't know) until.....TODAY, Saturday, 9:00am Central Time to respond to its order from yesterday. They will apparently be meeting to review what they get...... and could make a move/ issue an order at any time the Opening and Counting are going on.
The drama possibilities are so strong the UpTake apparently will have people and camera standing by at the Supreme Court for any announcements, and will carry it LIVE stream if it happens.
And....it could (longshot, but nuttier things have happened, like the Vikings winning the division) order a halt to the Sec. of State's counting. So we'll see.... and hear.
Must See TV for Political Junkies III
Think you're tough? Got street smarts? Political moxie? Progressive chops? A second pair of pajamas in your parents' basement?
Think you are an UTTER political fanatic? Then this is your chance to prove it! Watch this!!
You know all those ballots Ritchie's office is going to start Opening and Counting today? The ones you'll be watching with every other screaming Orange fan? Blogging about in this diary's comment thread ("C'mon AL! Doggone it, you can do it!")
Well each and every one of those ballots is like any of the other almost 3 million in this race.... and is subject to challenge by either camp. The final challenged ballot count (before withdrawals) was 6655, but that was only an unofficial number. TODAY that one-time total could rise as the rumpled Coleman guy looks at the Traverse County ballot dated 10/31 (you won't actually know where a ballot is from for voter privacy reasons) and says in that pimpled, Cullen Sheehan (TM) style whine, ground through his nose like a bad country song, "Challenge by Coleman, for aroma of stale Halloween candy."
Of course you may also hear from that elegantly dress-aged lady with the Barbara Jordan air who sees a lizard scale and a business card from "Hitmen R US-- Discount on Libruls" fall out of a ballot envelope. Her Lauren Bacall voice snaps like 50 feet of 1 inch ice under a Limbaugh weigh-alike Dittohead, "Challenged by Franken for statutory cause: identifying mark-- the business card."
All of those challenged ballots will be reviewed and ruled on by the State Canvassing Board meeting in a Special Sunday, January 5 Session. Time: TBA
Where to watch the last episode of "The Challenged Ballot Channel"?
YOU KNOW!:http://www.theuptake.com/
Must See TV for Political Junkies IV!
I kid you not.... Part IV! Monday, Jan. 5 at 2:30pm CT (assuming the MN Supreme Court does NOT prevent them from doing so by Order or Stay (or Sit.. or Heel)) the State Canvassing Board will meet to check their math one more time and then sign a BIG piece of paper with ribbons and raised-ink lettering. (WineRev would like to see Quill or Spencer Steel-Nib dipping pen used)
Then as some LIVE STREAM video source takes up (!) the story and focuses on the sheet you can see the wording begins, "This here BIG piece of paper with ribbons and raised-ink lettering and all our names signed down below, along with the Secretary of State's signet ring and hot wax stampy thingy, says that we CERTIFY that all the votes in the United State's Senate race of 2008 have been counted, recounted, counted long, counted late but DAMMIT counted RIGHT! And the one with the biggest number of votes is...."
Aftershocks?
A candidate on the wrong end of a certified election count has 7 days to file an "election contest." Chief Justice Magnuson would appoint a 3 judge panel to hear the con-TEST. Proceedings to begin within 20 days of filing. Full courtroom tools available to both sides (forensics--WineRev whips off CSI Miami sunglasses, "I certainly hope so my friend."-- affidavits, witnesses, the whole package.)
Decision by majority vote of 3 judges. Appeals to MN court of appeals and MN Supreme Ct. available to both sides.
US Senate has (see Mary Landreiu, LA) precedent for seating a certified winning candidate while legal maneuvers back home continued.
Some of you might have missed my little reference yesterday to a well worn piano with 2 plaques, the one over the keyboard saying, "Harry Truman played here" and the other on the lid saying, "Lauren Bacall lounged here." Well here is the Vice President of the United States at the time and a pretty good piano player, showing that even in the 1940's Hollywood was in the tank for Democrats.
So OK thats the latest (until its all out of date by today's events) from the other side of Harry Truman's keyboard, gazing into Lauren's eyes, from yust southeast of Lake Wobegon.
Shalom. ("And you know how to say shalom, don't you?" "Sure. You just put your lips together......")