Al Franken Won: Minnesota Supreme Court - Coleman Concedes
In a 5-0 decision, the state's highest court ordered that Al Franken be declared the winner. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled today that Democrat Al Franken won the U.S. Senate election and said he was entitled to an election certificate that would lead to him being seated in the Senate. "Affirmed," wrote the Supreme Court, unanimously rejecting Republican Norm Coleman's claims that ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on June 30, 2009 14:40
No Preconditions
Andrew Sullivan writes that "No Recognition Of Ahmadinejad" must be considered "the first and absolute requirement of all Western governments." In my New Atlanticist post "Negotiating with Iran without Preconditions," I recall this famous exchange from the July 24, 2007 CNN/YouTube debate: More commentary and analysis at the link.Posted in Outside The Beltway on June 17, 2009 12:17
Arlen Specter Switching Parties - ‘Loyal Democrat’
Arlen Specter is switching party labels to go along with having long switched sides ideologically. There have been rumors on Twitter all morning and WaPo's Chris Cillizza has confirmed. Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter will switch his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat and announced today that he will run in 2010 as a Democrat, according to a statement he released this ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on April 28, 2009 11:11
Lieberman as McCain’s Running Mate
Ben Smith quotes lawyer A.B. Culvahouse explaining legal obstacles to Joe Lieberman's having been John McCain's running mate. "Five states have sore loser statutes ... [making] it very difficult for someone who's not a member of the Republican Party to become the vice presidential nominee if they only switch parties to become a Republican shortly before the convention,' Culvahouse said in ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on April 18, 2009 06:27
Hillary’s Debt
Hillary Clinton still owes a lot of money from her ill-fated run for president. She owes $2.3 million just to consultant Mark Penn. So, naturally, Clinton's pals are holding various fundraisers to pay down said debt. Ezra Klein asks an uncomfortable question: Between 2004 and 2006, tax documents show that Bill Clinton earned $51 million. Put differently, erasing his wife's campaign debt ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on April 17, 2009 09:36
Time for Coleman to Concede Election
Yesterday's ruling by a three-judge panel that "The overwhelming weight of the evidence indicates that the Nov. 4, 2008, election was conducted fairly, impartially and accurately" and that Al Franken "received the highest number of votes legally cast" and "is therefore entitled to receive the certificate of election" should, but likely won't, put an end to the nightmare that was ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on April 14, 2009 06:39
Palin Too Sexy for White House?
A new report in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology finds scientifical proof that Sarah Palin's hotness was a drag on the Republican ticket. The study by University of South Florida researchers Nathan Heflick and Jamie Goldenberg, cleverly titled, "Objectifying Sarah Palin: Evidence that Objectification Causes Women to be Perceived as Less Competent and Less Fully Human ," found: Although a ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on March 5, 2009 12:31
Obama the Big Spender: Who Knew?
Christopher Buckley, who announced to great fanfare last October that he was voting for Obama, took to the same forum yesterday to announce his misgivings about Obama's spending. Government is getting bigger and will stay bigger. Just remember the apothegm that a government that is big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take it all ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on March 3, 2009 07:32
Obama Backers Denied Jobs
In my New Atlanticist piece "Obama Advisors Stiffed on Administration Jobs," I tackle the hurt feelings of the preponderance of the 300 Obama foreign policy advisors who didn't get administration jobs for their efforts. The conclusion: It's worth noting, too, that most senior level political appointments, especially in technocratic fields like foreign- and national security-policymaking, have historically gone to people with ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on February 11, 2009 13:36
Roland Burris Denied Senate Seat
As promised, the Senate has refused to seat Roland Burris. [caption id="attachment_29592" align="alignright" width="248" caption="Illinois U.S. Senate Appointee Roland Burris arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)"][/caption] Roland Burris failed in his bid to take President-elect Barack Obama's Illinois Senate seat on Tuesday in a scripted piece of political theater staged just before the opening of ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on January 6, 2009 15:32
Blagojevich and the Constitution
[caption id="attachment_29454" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Gov. Rod Blagojevich's decision to appoint former state attorney general Roland Burris to the U.S. Senate has sparked controversial reaction throughout the political world. (Getty Images/AP Photos)"][/caption] While it may be galling for Rod Blagojevich to get to appoint someone to fill Barack Obama's Senate seat while he's under federal indictment for trying to sell said seat, ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on January 3, 2009 13:55
Norm Coleman to Lose Seat Before Losing It
Norm Coleman is likely out of a job, despite his election contest not being settled. [caption id="attachment_29449" align="alignright" width="300" caption="When the 111th Congress convenes, Coleman may be out of an office. Photo: AP "][/caption] Coleman’s first term officially expires at noon on Saturday, and he is locked in one of the closest Senate races in history, with Democrat Al Franken clinging to ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on January 3, 2009 13:39
Senator Al Franken
A ruling by the Minnesota Supreme Court has all but officially made Al Franken the winner in the Senate recount. A state Supreme Court ruling Wednesday narrowed the options available for Sen. Norm Coleman to erase a slim lead held by DFLer Al Franken in the Minnesota election dispute, and Coleman's campaign threatened a court battle that could leave the Senate ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on December 25, 2008 07:33
No More Minnesotas
Patrick Ruffini is tired of seeing Democrats win close elections that were apparently won by Republicans on Election Day. He contends, "we are inviting a crisis of confidence in our election system if it looks like the winner is dependent on the time we count ballots: usually a Republican on the day of the election when standard procedures are followed, ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on December 20, 2008 07:31
Minnesota Recount Follies
[caption id="attachment_29028" align="alignright" width="225" caption="Lizard People ballot"][/caption] Both Al Franken and Norm Coleman got good news yesterday, as the courts continued to make up rules well after the election. The Hill: A state Supreme Court ruling, which may exclude hundreds of ballots that Al Franken (D) had sought to include in the recount, could help Sen. Norm Coleman (R) in Minnesota’s contested Senate ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on December 19, 2008 10:01
