Franken leads +225 (+21 and +14 of the "Nauen61" the Elections Contest Court has ordered into the "Ready to Count" pile at the the Secretary of State's office; all these voters have indicated they voted for Franken)= +260.
No orders of decisions from the Elections Contest Court as of this morning.
BUT some news from a shocking source that may indicate the ECC will put more Franken ballots on the pile than the 252 they argued for in Friday's closing.
Both sides filed their final paperwork: "Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law" to try to sway the court to view the evidence and law from their own perspective. On the basis of the botched witness testimony of Pamela Howell that the court up and sanctioned the Coleman team for for $7500, the Franken team asks the Court to order Coleman to pay the Franken attorney fees for those days...and maybe a whole lot more.
So if you're on the run today that's it. If you're strolling, come meander up to the Orange post and lean against it for a fill in...
As on Monday, yesterday saw no news from the Election Contest Court (ECC). The scraps and tidbits from around the web I tossed you yesterday you managed to make into 137 comments. This place IS full of political addicts!
Until about 8:00 last night I really didn't think there would be a diary today----- BUT its OK! You're reading it now, so its OK. (Slow deep breath in.....hold it.....now slow exhale through the mouth. Whew! Gotta be careful around here and quick with medical advice or someone could go into tantric withdrawal.....which has NOTHING to do with....stop that!)
Fall of St. Paul, Rising Mini-Apple
A weird phenom is happening in the Twin Cities. The Pioneer Press in St. Paul, which has shown signs of balance, journalism and dissemination of information (mostly thanks to Rachel Stassen Berger's reporting) has fallen through the ice the last few days. Over the weekend they ran a stinky editorial of Coleman talking points. Yesterday their main story reprinted verbatim Manu Raju's "Politico" column, passing it off as news.
You Kossacks were already dismantling Raju's gorbanza beans yesterday in the comment string, noting his 11 references to Republicans on the Hill and only 4 to Democrats.
And Raju writes:
Top Republicans are encouraging Coleman to be as litigious as possible
so there's your Re-thug stalling tactic confirmed. AND the Kos nation pulled up the roots of the funding behind "Politico"--- another in the dreary string of wingnut money guys who is funding "Junior's" little project. (We have 8 years of proof that would fill the Grand Canyon that shows this doesn't work!)
But while the Pioneer Press paid $25 for services rendered and 10 more for the room, the Star Tribune (REALLY! I kid you not) the Star Tribune had an outburst of journalism. (They would have won the daily award just by showing up but they went further than that; ran up the score a bit. GREAT!)
In Friday's closing arguments attorney Kevin Hamilton of the Franken team cited 252 rejected absentee ballots they believe meet the ECC's criteria for strict compliance with the laws for voting absentee. (As an aside there are 12 more from an early summary ruling and 35 from Swamp Fox Charles Nauen's group of 61. So adding those together is 252+12+35= 299.)
Well according to Doyle Team Franken filed the details of the 252 with the ECC in written form on Saturday (busy beavers they are!) But not just the 252..... but another 131! (Tuesday-- presumably alongside their proposed "Findings of Fact" that were due from both sides-- the Franken team submitted the Revised Standard Version of those 252 + 131 ballots.)
I'm going to press fair use to the 3 paragraph limit with this, but its good (and the 'graphs are short.)
In identifying the 252 ballots last week, Franken lawyer Kevin Hamilton described them as having proven all of the requirements for counting. The additional ballots included Saturday (the 131) may lack some of those elements but were identified by Franken and admitted into evidence during the trial.
We’re putting them all before the court for consideration," said Franken spokesperson Jess McIntosh. "We’re directly asking them to count 252."
Those more marginal ballots could help Franken if the panel accepts a version of the Coleman argument that it use "common sense" in deciding which ballots to count, rather than a stricter interpretation of state statute. Such a ruling would allow the judges to count many of the ballots the Republican has identified that otherwise might remain rejected, and Franken’s marginal ballots could be used to offset them.
Apparently about half of these 252+131 = 383 are from Franken counties and cities where Al's margin was better than 10 percentage points. In other words they are grape-picked (preparatory to making wine.)
On the flip side Doyle reports about 1/3 of the Coleman 1360 that THEY want the ECC to count are from areas where Norm's margin was better than 10 percentage points. In other words they are cherry-picked (preparatory to making Wisconsin Door County yucky sweet cherry wine.... while singing that song title (better than the wine) from Tommy James and the Shondells--- perhaps one of Norm's musical idols from those magical days of the late 60s.)
Now mind you these 1360 Coleman-chosen rejected absentee ballots are the ones Team Franken ran through their spreadsheets like a Light Sabered flour sifter and ginned those 1360 down to 6(!) valid ballots. Then too, 1/3 of 1360 = only 453 ballots are from where Norm could reasonably hope to score some gains.
This points to the continuing weakness from the Coleman side in doing numbers. I'm no Nate Silver, TomTech or VoteforAmerica but look:
Franken 252 solid
47 solid-er (voters have stated they voted for AL)
131 Ralph's Pretty-Good Grocery Store ballots
Total 430 ballots
To really understate it, suppose they go 75-25 for AL, or 322 to 108, net +214. Add Al's existing lead of +225 = +439.
On the other side: Coleman
453 congealed (not exactly solid)
907 iffy
Total 1360 ballots
If Norm gets the 453 NOT by 10% points but by 20% points, that is, they break for him 60-40 that = 272 to 181 net +81 to Norm.
On the iffys if Norm gets THOSE breaking his way 55-45, that is, by 10 percentage points (the Coleman team has been LOUSY on their numbers to date, why should they hit home runs now?)
then the iffys would be 499 to 408 net +91 to Norm.
And honey, 81+91 = 172 is still less than Franken's CURRENT lead.
Good move by the Franken Team but I really think its basically insurance against a really stretched ruling by this Court. But good on them for thinking of it....just in case....
I'll even give Doyle a link here (but you're still on probation from that craptastic piece the other Sunday, Pat)
http://www.startribune.com/...
__________
.......Oh and before leaving the Star Trib, the comment string on this story sounds a LOT like folks around here in the "when will this be over?" camp, so we are not alone. Naturally there are the rightists who got the memo and are reciting the "new vote, new election" meme.
And then, there was one patriot standing in defense of democracy and the law and fair elections whom the WineRev would be proud to go into the trenches with and slide my musket alongside his:
"I so sick of both Franken, Coleman, their Lawyers, Election officials...."
The election was a virtual tie and the balance of power in the U.S. senate hinges on the outcome. Should both sides give up? I love you guys pretending to be above it all. Let this process run it's course-it's the only process we have on our books right now. I would expect both campaigns to fight fiercely for their guy. Even though I hate Al.
posted by allen2u
Well done, allen2u, well done sir! Huzzah, and a tip of the three-corner to you! I'll buy the first round at the tavern to explain to you why you are all wrong about Al. You buy me the second round and tell me why I'm all wrong about Al. And I'll flip you for the 3rd round for the honor of the Constitution at work to let us have the first 2 rounds!
Legal Eagle Alert
Here we go. While we wait upon the ECC, some reading material to pass the time. A tip of the chapeau to Kossack mswojo who sent a late evening e-mail....... who came upon Rachel Stassen Berger's side column with the proposed "Findings of Fact" from each side. (Note, 77 page PDF for Coleman; Franken's converts over to Mac in Word into 72 pages-- in size 10 font.)
http://blogs.twincities.com/...
Jay Weiner at Minn Post reports they are about what you'd expect, both sides giving their side one more push.
http://www.minnpost.com/...
Haven't had a chance to plow through them yet but I trust you'll be up with lots of comments through the day. Have at it, briefcase swingers! The rest of us will kibbitz from the sidelines and ask nosy, dumb questions---- so you can make us all smarter. (After all thats how we learned about "Motions in Limine" and how to pro hac our vices, right?) So fill us in as you have time. The rest of us will be grateful.
Oh, and according to Doyle (good grief he must have either really enjoyed himself on St. Patrick's day, or he drank so much Guinness he forgot to be lazy) buried in the Franken filing is the money shot...... literally. They ask the Court to order Camp Coleman to pay costs for the 7 weeks (which is pretty well spelled out in statute) AND "attorney's fees in connection with Coleman's failure to disclose."
In other words, the Pamela Howell legal disaster howls again! The Court sanctioned the Coleman legal team (mostly Tony Trimble, and exonerating Joe Friedberg) $7500 for NOT disclosing Howell's notes to Trimble during pre-trial discovery. At the time there was talk if the Court would go further and maybe order the Coleman side to pay Franken's attorney's fees for the 3 days of the Howell howling (move to strike testimony, stricken, reinstated, re-stricken, sanction, re-instated in part).
Well here the Franken Team asks for just that..... and maybe more, a LOT more. I haven't come across the language by the dawn's early light but in Franken's filing they seem to have worded the request for attorney's fees in such a way that the Court could use the sanction episode as grounds for ordering Coleman to pay ALL of Franken's attorneys fees!
Franken asked for "reasonable costs and attorneys' fees in connection with [Coleman's] failure to disclose."
Asked whether the request for attorneys' fees was limited to fees involving the disclosure flap or other expenses, Franken lead lawyer Marc Elias said, "We're going to leave it to the court to decide that."
Well now! THAT is sticking the lever right through the "Coleman for Senate" organization and into the RNC coffers in DC and pulling on it here in MN--- Archemidies front and center! "Give me a lever long enough and a (fulcrum) to rest it on and I can move the world." For Elias, Lillehaug, Hamilton and crews and their law firms that would be one HELL of a stimulus package. (Who knows? Everybody who has contributed to Franken for the Recount might get refunds! We could see Al sworn in, the Reichwing mad enough to chew neutronium while we are laughing literally all the way to the bank. The perfect finish to the entire Recount!)
Almost Funny Pages
You know what a sharp dresser Norm Coleman is? Some of that is due to his friend Nasser Kaziminy who apparently saw to it Norm's suit collection could pave the way for a Sarah Palin clothes hogging pig out.
But the Politco, proving they aren't all bad, even if things go bad for Norm from March 16 to July 1, at least he'll have a nice suit to wear if he takes advantage of this special offer in the next few weeks! (Hurry for best selection!)
http://www.politico.com/...
Wednesday Morning Minnesota Media
Chris Stoller at the Minnesota Independent has up a story on a lobbying group that promotes US-Israel ties doing fund-raising for Norm Coleman. OK, so? Well the group seems to say Norm is a better friend of Israel than his opponent Al "Franklin". Yep, the direct descendant of Benjamin on the $100 bill was Norm's opponent in an error-filled election and recount that is just a "tragedy." (They really call it that.) So read all about Ben Al Franklin's not liking Israel enough here:http://minnesotaindependent.com/...
You know, we really are going to have to practice for withdrawal someday soon. If it stays quiet, and #106 does not appear on Thursday, you'll know why. Hope that'll hold you (especially the filings) because thats the latest from yust southeast of Lake Wobegon.
Shalom.