There has been some uncertainty recently as to whether or not Senate Democrats will move to seat Al Franken on Tuesday when the new Senate convenes. While Minnesota's newly senior Senator, Amy Klobuchar, has called for seating Franken pending litigation, promises of a filibuster by Senate Republicans and mixed signals from Majority Leader Reid's office have led many to believe that Minnesota will be underrepresented for weeks or even months into 2009. However, Senator Schumer's statements today are a promising sign that we may have a Senator Franken as soon as Tuesday.
Following the completion of the counting of improperly rejected absentee ballots yesterday, Al Franken had a 225 vote lead in the U.S. Senate race in Minnesota. On Monday, the State Canvassing Board will meet to announce the winner of the Minnesota recount. Seeing as how there are no more ballots to count, that winner will be Al Franken. Unfortunately, no election certificate can be issued by the Governor and Secretary of State for at least 7 days according to Minnesota Law. During those 7 days, the Coleman campaign will have an opportunity to contest the election. The election certificate cannot be issued until all litigation is complete.
Many observers have already pointed out that Coleman has very little chance of making up Franken's now sizable lead. Coleman could object to the use of election night tallies for the 133 missing ballots in Minneapolis (which favored Franken by 46 votes) or throw out the alleged 100 or so duplicate ballots that favored Franken, but he still wouldn't be able to make up the 225 vote deficit. Indeed, his best shot is to get the MN Supreme Court to force the Canvassing Board to count 654 absentee ballots from Republican precincts that local election officials have already rejected twice while simultaneously preventing Franken from adding his own rejected ballots into the mix (Not going to happen).
Now, back when Franken had a mere 46 vote lead, Senator Klobuchar called on the Senate to immediately seat whoever was declared the winner by the Canvassing board:
"If the Canvassing Board declares a winner, that should be our senator," she said, even if a court challenge were to follow. "[The Senate] could seat a senator pending the litigation."
Following her remarks, the Senate Republicans, who seem to think their opinions still matter, basically dared the Democrats to try to seat Franken. Senator John Cornyn had this to say:
"I can assure you there will be no way that people on our side of the aisle would agree to seat any senator provisionally or otherwise unless there is a valid election certificate and all legal issues with regard to who got the most votes is finally decided,"..."It is the height of arrogance for any political leader in Washington, D.C., to tell the people in Minnesota whose votes should count and whose votes should not count ... It is so important for us to allow this process in Minnesota to be concluded according to Minnesota law ... before the Senate is called upon to act."..."It would take 60 votes to basically tee up the question, and I cannot imagine that would be allowed ... It would be terrible precedent ... Anybody who would be inclined to jam this question through ... would have to consider the damage to the Senate and its reputation as an institution ... It would be a recipe for chaos."..."Can you imagine being seated under a cloud like that? I can’t imagine that anyone would want to be seated with that cloud remaining over their head and that be the start of their career in the United States Senate."
It seems to me that Cornyn thinks the Senate Republicans have a hell of a lot more power than they do. Given the ridiculousness of Cornyn's argument that seating the declared winner of the election would be "the height of arrogance," I think the Senate Democrats should force a vote and show the Republicans just how out of touch and out of power they are.
Unfortunately, Senator Reid has been sending some pretty weak signals on the subject. As late as yesterday, there was talk of negotiations with Senator Coleman to keep his office and voting rights.
It is possible, however, that all of Coleman's privileges may remain intact should the two parties reach an accommodation, and aides signaled that talks were occurring on the matter through Friday.
"We are still reviewing the situation," said Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).
However, things are looking much better today. Senator Schumer, the 4th ranked Democrat in the Senate, declared Franken the winner and called for him to be seated on Tuesday with the rest of the new Senators.
"With the Minnesota recount complete, it is now clear that Al Franken won the election. The Canvassing Board will meet tomorrow to wrap up its work and certify him the winner, and while there are still possible legal issues that will run their course, there is no longer any doubt who will be the next Senator from Minnesota,"..."With the Senate set to begin meeting on Tuesday to address the important issues facing the nation, it is crucial that Minnesota’s seat not remain empty, and I hope this process will resolve itself as soon as possible,"
Given Schumer's high rank in the Senate, close relationship with Majority Leader Reid, and tendency to only take a position on an issue once it has already been decided, I'm hopeful that Minnesota will have Al Franken as our new Senator come Tuesday.