OK, this one was originally posted back on August 13th, 2008, over at MnBlue.com. I bring it up, because in less than one hour, ol' Smokescreen is holding a presser. I'm going, because I want to see if any "traditional, credentialled" media types will ask the question I write about, below: Who Is Paying Norm Coleman's Electric Bill? Keep in mind, that it's been 155 days since Mark Drake told the assembled "traditional, credentialled" media about that utility bill....
(Depending upon how busy Mike's schedule is today, he hopes to be updating us all on how his first day on the job goes. -- The Big E
Note: Representative Obermueller (has a nice ring to it!) is checking in on this diary and adding further notes in the extended entry -- make sure you check back frequently! I've also removed the "-elect" suffix from his title, since he's officially a member of the Legislature now. - promoted by Joe Bodell)
Hi! I'm Representative-Elect Mike Obermueller.
Today is a big day for me. In a short while, I'll be sworn in as the new State Representative from Eagan (District 38B). This will be my first term in office and I wanted to share the "opening day" experience with all of you so I'll be doing a bit of blogging as time allows.
I'm very excited to get started in this new role. Although I've been meeting with constituents and business owners nearly daily since the election, (I've even held a listening session in the district already), I can't wait to remove the "elect" from the new title and make the new job official.
Thanks to everyone who helped me get here today. I look forward to your ideas and advice going forward!
It's swearing-in day for the Minnesota House - opening day of the 86th Legislature in our state's history. Today is magical, for sure. In the marble halls and under the gold-leafed quadriga, 134 of us will answer the call of our names, and be inscribed in the book of history (literally). We'll then raise our right hands and swear to uphold the Constitution. It's a day for humility and celebration, both, and even more exciting for my 22 colleagues celebrating their first day (Rep. Greg Davids, the 23rd "freshman" is returning after one term away).
But, the mood around the Capitol the past few weeks has been sober - to say the least. We all face a daunting task - resolving a $4.8 Billion projected deficit for the 2010-11 state budget. I believe by the time the new economic forecast is released in February, that deficit will worsen, to somewhere between 6 and 7 billion dollars, almost 20% of our state budget.
My own perspective is a little more optimistic than most, it seems...
By most fair measures the 2008 election is over and Norm Coleman needs to get used to life as a formerly important person. He does have one tool still available to potentially create electoral chaos, however: Bush v. Gore.
Bush is, to put it charitably, not the most coherent opinion, and there is little agreement about what it actually means. The narrowest way to read Bush is simply that it was a one-off shot to put George W. Bush in the White House, and it has no precedential value beyond that. The broadest way to read it that is unconstitutional to count some ballots using one method and another set of ballots using a different method. There are numerous other ways to read the decision, and there are piles of academic literature advocating these views.
Go read it. As always, Nate's analysis is a good deal more reality-based than any you'll find in the right-wing talking points echo chamber. And the "good" news really isn't all that good:
Remember, the counties have already sorted through their absentees at least twice -- once on Election Night, and then a second time in accordance with the court order. Some counties, in fact, have even gone through their absentees a third time in accordance with the wishes of the Coleman campaign, and where they have, such as in Ramsey and Pipestone counties, the counties found that all the ballots on the Coleman list had been rejected properly. The process is somewhat analogous to vacuuming your floor; you aren't going to gobble up nearly as much dust on your second sweep through the living room as you did the first time around, even if you'd done a haphazard job. So this is problem #1 for Coleman. His list of 650 ballots is going to be significantly pared down, and will probably wind up closer to 65 than 650.
Secondly, those absentee ballots are sealed, so we don't know how many of them will turn out to be votes for Coleman. Presumably, the Coleman campaign thinks that the ballots are more likely than not to favor him, or he would not have included them on his list. But "more likely than not" might mean 50% Coleman ballots, 35% Franken ballots, and 15% other. If all 650 ballots were counted with those percentages, Coleman wouldn't get more than a 98-ballot net gain, less than half of his present deficit with Franken.
And so on. The bottom line is that the right wing, who so vehemently opposes Al Franken and the Employee Free Choice Act, is doing everything it can not simply to oppose Franken's tenure, but to delegitimize the process that got him there. These efforts should be seen for what they are: lies, falsehoods, and ridiculously illogical arguments designed to destroy the citizenry's faith in democracy.
Rep. Frank Hornstein (DFL-SD60B) regularly hosts events at which Jeff Blodgett talks about politics and strategy. Jeff Blodgett is most recently famous for running Obama's MN campaign. He's also famous for running Paul Wellstone's three campaigns and founding Wellstone Action after Paul's tragic death.
That's Jeff on the left and Frank on the right.
Last night, Jeff joined about 100 DFLers above Tom Braun's Wild Rumpus bookstore to discuss Obama's MN campaign.
Question - "What can you do, personally, to press both sides, the Israelis and the Palestinians, to reach an agreement this year?"
The President - "I can press when there needs to be pressed; I can hold hands when there needs to be -- hold hands." - The White House, January 6th, 2008
Fourteen more days; just fourteen more days. January 20th, 2009 will mark The End Of An Error.
Al Franken declared victory on the steps of his condo in downtown Minneapolis this afternoon. After a 62 days of what must have been a torturous recount process for him and his family (not to mention his supporters), Al said that he was going to go to Washingon, DC to "work for all Minnesotans."
"After 62 days, after the careful and painstaking hand inspection of nearly 3 million ballots, after hours and hours of hard work by elections officials and volunteers across the state, I am proud and humbled to stand before you as the next Senator from Minnesota."
"I know this is not an easy day for Norm Coleman and his family," Al said. "And I know that because Franni and I and the kids have had plenty of time over the past two months to contemplate the possibility that this election would turn out differently."
Al said he expects that Norm will file an election contest suit, but we will have to wait and see.
"There may still be additional legal proceedings related to our recount. But I'm now in the business of serving the people of Minnesota. And the best way I can serve the people of Minnesota right now is to focus all my attention and all my energies on getting to work for them on the issues we'll be facing together."
(One has to wonder at this point whether Coleman is hanging on simply to screw Franken out of seniority once he actually gets to Capitol Hill. Because get to Capitol Hill Franken will -- it's only a matter of how quickly Norm Coleman accepts the fact that his lawsuits have no merit, and he's already going back on his word with this little farce. - promoted by Joe Bodell)
For Sen.-Elect Franken, the Real Work is Just Beginning
Congratulations are in order for Al Franken, his staff, volunteers and supporters.
After one of the longest and most bruising political campaigns in our state's history, Franken has emerged as the winner of a very well-run, professional and fair recount of the 2.9 million ballots Minnesotans cast more than two months ago. Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and the countless others who helped this process deserve all the credit in the world, as well.
It would be easy to say that Franken's overcoming skeptical and hostile Democrats (like me), the right-wing attack machine, self-inflicted wounds and a media that pounced on every scandal (real and perceived) was a Herculean feat because, to a certain extent, it was.
But the real work, as Franken and his team know, is only beginning.
Via a tweet from the Uptake, the Minnesota Supreme Court has denied Norm Coleman's effort to get more than 650 correctly rejected absentee ballots from Coleman-leaning areas included in the recount.
Next question -- when do Coleman's cronies start trying to pin political gamesmanship on the Supreme Court?
Update (from The Big E)
Here's an AP article. Here's a statement from Mark Elias of the Franken Campaign (received via email):
"Today, the Supreme Court once again affirmed the validity of the rules under which this recount was conducted. Minnesotans have waited a long time for a winner to be declared in this race, and today, with the last attempt to halt the counting process now having failed, Al Franken will be declared the winner."
Update II
This means Norm's only recourse is a lawsuit to contest the election. This clears the way for the Canvassing Board to declare Al Franken the next Senator from Minnesota.
The Coleman campaign contends that there are 654 ballots, in addition to those identified by local election officials, that should be examined, but the Franken campaign disagrees. The Franken campaign has itself identified additional ballots that it contends may have been rejected in error, but the Coleman campaign disagrees. We [The MN Supreme Court] take no position on the merits of either campaign contentions. Because the parties and the respective counties have not agreed as to any of these additional ballots, the merits of this dispute (and any other disputes with respect to absentee ballots) are the proper subjects of an election contest under Minn. Stat. ch. 209.
(PDF of MN Supreme Court ruling on rejected absentee ballots, h/t Jason Barnett of The Uptake)
"Over 50 percent of our energy comes from overseas. Fortunately, a lot of it comes from Canada." -- George orWell Bush, Ontario, California, January 5th, 2002
While comedians and late-night talk show hosts will miss Boy Blunder, most of this great country - indeed, most of the world - will not. January 20th, 2009 will mark The End Of An Error.
