🚀 go-pugleaf

Funny how Republicans are always bad winners but even worse losers.

Yeah, they will tell you what they WOULD have done, had God let them
lose.  But it is always God's will.  Uh, unless they lose.  Then screw
the Almighty.  They dump Jesus and reach for a higher Savior, a
lawyer.  Just like Bush when he became the pResident of the Supreme
Court...


Coleman Should Concede to Victorious Senator Franken


Brian Normoyle
Posted January 3, 2009 | 11:34 PM (EST)

On the morning after the November 2008 election in Minnesota,
incumbent Senator Norm Coleman prematurely declared victory in his
long, hard-fought reelection bid against opponent Al Franken.

After stressing on national television the importance of a "healing
process" and the costliness of a recount, the Republican tried to take
the moral high ground by adding, "If I were trailing, I would step
back." Well, Norm, it looks like you finally got your chance to do
something right and good for Minnesota.

It has been nearly two months. After all legally cast votes were
counted and then recounted by hand, after thousands of challenged
ballots were adjudicated, and now that nearly 1,000 improperly
rejected absentee ballots were opened and counted by agreement of both
campaigns, Al Franken has not only reversed Coleman's unofficial
election-night lead, he has surpassed it and widened his own lead to
225 votes. The contest, however, seems far from over.

Coleman's earlier admonishments about healing quickly and sparing
taxpayer dollars, and his stated "confidence in the Minnesota
[election] system," have given way to a stubborn refusal to be a man
of his word. Considering his promise of "inevitable" legal contests
(among the several lawsuits he already filed) and the threats by his
GOP buddies to filibuster the seating of an imminently victorious
Franken, Coleman-and-Friends seem destined to drag this out in the
courts for weeks or even months. But to what avail?

Coleman's only conceivable bases for an election contest would rest on
having to prove dubious assertions. The campaign contends the
bipartisan canvassing board erred in their decision to revert to
election-day totals for a single precinct that lost ballots during the
recount--a decision that netted 46 votes for Franken. But Coleman
ignores the fact that dismissing altogether legally cast votes from
election-night due to a clerical error weeks later disenfranchises
voters.

He also is hanging his hat on the tenuous allegation that slightly
more than 100 votes for Franken were "double-counted"--despite the
lack of clear evidence to substantiate the claim. The math, however,
is abundantly clear: even if the Supreme Court is moved by both weak
arguments, Al Franken still wins the election.

Of course, Coleman now wants to add nearly 650 more rejected absentee
ballots to the count. But this strategy poses two major
public-relations disasters for the campaign: the new ballots are
overwhelmingly from cities and precincts that Coleman won on election
night--making him seem like a disingenuous cherry-picker. And local
election officials from these predominantly red precincts continue to
stand by their original decisions to reject the improperly cast
ballots--rendering his request legally shaky and seemingly desperate.

Embarrassing as it may be to to fall so far behind in votes on the
very day his Senate seat expired, the (former) senator should stay
true to his word from last November. With no votes left to count, he
is "trailing" and it is time for him to "step back" and concede.

C'mon, Norm... start the "healing process."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-normoyle/coleman-should-concede-to_b_155041.html