Going to be a long weekend in Minnesota for all the Democratic operatives. They are going to have pour the coals to creating, oops, I mean finding a 1000 or so ballots with Al's named checked off on them. At least it's not like they haven't done it before though.

Now who in their right mind is going to think that either of these candidates is going to agree or disagree with counting those 6000+ challenged votes depending on the outcome. If including those ballots favor Coleman then he'll agree and Franken will disagee. If including those ballots favor Franken then Franken will agree and Coleman will disagee.

On the other hand if Coleman holds the lead after the recount is completed but before the challenged ballots are considered then Franken has no choice but to disagree with the outcome until the challenged ballots are considered. So if the  challenged ballots are allowed and counted and Coleman still holds the lead then it is time that Franken pack it in.

Now if you can follow what I have just stated above then you are much better at figuring out the mess in MN than I am.  

The gig is UP, Norm

You were just warming the Senate seat
(and getting some free rent in the process)

Senator Franken !!

MSierra, SF (Sent Friday, December 05, 2008 1:20 PM)

\\\\\

How does crow taste in SF? Like chicken?

This is a sign of why the stupid and ignorant should not be allowed to vote. You people of Minnesota the 1.200.000 million kool aid drinkers that would vote for Franken should be moved to San fran freeko.

Republicans are not happy unless they steal at least one election.
June Bug (Sent Friday, December 05, 2008 1:35 PM
What are this woman's qualifications?
================================================
June Bug
According to Article I, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, a senator must be 30 years of age, a citizen of the United States for 9 years, and must reside in the state he or she represents at the time of election.

Btw: in addition to those qualifications, race, gender, and religion do not preclude qualifications.
=====================================================
Jim,
Chelsea Clinton does not qualify since she is only 28.

C A, Tuscaloosa, AL

Your last statement, at least, is correct, since you seem to be under the mistaken impression that there is some controversy as to whether the challenged ballots ought to be counted or not.  There isn't and both campaigns agree that they ought to be counted.  I assume you're confused by the distinction between challenged ballots and rejected absentee ballots.  There is some controversy as to whether the latter ought to be reviewed to determine whether they were correctly rejected according to Minnesota law and, if they weren't, whether they ought to be counted, though the controversy so far has mostly focused on whether such a review of rejected absentee ballots ought to occur as part of the recount process or not.  I haven't yet read any arguments that improperly rejected absentee ballots ought never to be counted, though I fully expect such arguments to materialize when the recount is done and one of the campaigns goes to court to force them to be reviewed.

how in bl**dy h*ll are they going to settle 133 missing ballots?   those alone could just about swing the election.... can you just say oops and  leave it at that?

Franken, I fear he may go on a shooting spree after this is over!

Obama can do a wise thing here. Take one step back in order to take two forward. Already he wont have the 60 seats. Why not intervene somehow to convince Al Franken to back down. Give the Republican that one seat and hopefully that might gain him some two votes from the Republicans in votings. Plus I think this is a wise way of reaching across the aile.

Maybe they should just do a run-off election. I know that's not cheap, or easy to put together quickly, but nobody's gonna be happy when the outcome of the election hinges on 6000 rejected ballots, even if the reason(s) they were rejected are invalid.

Romanus in Al, I can answer why Pres-elect Obama doesn't intervene and that is because the other candidate is Norm Coleman, GWB's personal "yes man". It would benefit the nation, not just MN, if Franken wins.

Franken, I fear he may go on a shooting spree after this is over!

Free American Tehachapi Ca.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not much to worry about. There's a better then 50-50 chance he hasn't a clue what end of the gun to hold.

[Now if you can follow what I have just stated above then you are much better at figuring out the mess in MN than I am.]
C A, Tuscaloosa, AL
--The 6,000 challenged votes are going to be counted.  Some of those votes will go to Frankin and some to Coleman.  A number of those will go to neither.  By Frankin's standards (and his count obviously skews in his direction), he will lose by four votes.  The real question is those rejected absentee ballots--which were rejected before this close election.  If Frankin can get those counted, then he stands a shot.  I don't know the legaleze behind those.

--I just can't have Frankin winning by one vote, or my mom will kill me.



--And all of those who are so focused and intent on Caroline Kennedy's qualifications for Senator.  Forgive me, but I don't understand why in a government for the people, by the people that there is some sort of imaginary bar that somebody has to bypass in order to run for office.  That is just somebody's way of slimming down the competition.  But our nation wasn't founded on "qualifications"; no, it was founded on an idea (or a set of ideas and ideals).  So, I say let the people with the best ideas, the best character and the will to follow through succeed.  Meh, there are plenty of "qualified" people who aren't worth a grain of salt.

It sure seems like there at at least 18 million people out there who care more about so-called qualifications of a politician than who they are and what they represent.  And that is a shame, what is wrong with you people?!?!

If there is somebody who cuts bait for a living, who has an idea to make this country a better place and he or she decides to run for office, I, for one, am completely for them so long as they have the drive, the determination, the intellectual curiousity, the ingenuity and whatever else to bring his or her idea/ideal to fruition.  (It is up to me to vote whether I agree with his or her ideals or his or her character--my mom and I are less inclined to Frankin's character).  It certainly doesn't matter if they are "qualified" with a fancy law degree.  And THAT is what makes our country great and THAT is propelled our country to where we are today.  To hell with qualifications, it's about ideas and character that count, and I'm sure my friends Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Roosevelt and Reagan can attest to that.

Obama can do a wise thing here. Take one step back in order to take two forward. Already he wont have the 60 seats. Why not intervene somehow to convince Al Franken to back down.

True, except that the Democrats have made some political hay out questioning the process, the system, and blaming Republicans for not wanting to count all the votes. That's the game Franken is playing now. Then all the conspiracy lovers in the weird wing of the Democratic party, a fairly large wing I might add, will have something to rail against for the next election.

Now who in their right mind is going to think that either of these candidates is going to agree or disagree with counting those 6000+ challenged votes depending on the outcome. * * *C A, Tuscaloosa, AL

CA

You're confused a challenged ballot is a ballot that either candidate has "challenged", there are ballots that are clearly for Franken that Coleman has challened for bogus reasons, and vice a versa, and there are votes that are clearly invalide, either the voter voted for two candidates for Senate, or no candidate, and either Franken or Coleman has challenged claiming the voter intent indicates the voter intended to vote for them. Many ballots both Franken and Coleman have challenged, either Coleman claiming the vote shouldn't count for Franken, and Franken counter challenging claiming it should count, or both Franken and Coleman claim the ballot should count for them.

Most of the challenged ballots will be easy for the canvas board to decide, which is why the Franken campaign has a good idea of the total gap right now. Some of the challenges are such a joke, both campaigns should be embarassed, which is why Franken withdrew over 600 challenges yesterday, and Coleman followed suit today. Both campaigns will withdraw more of their bogus challenges before the state canvas board meets to decide the challenged ballots, the canvas board will decide all challenged ballots that the candidatews don't voluntarily withdraw, the candidates don't get to consent on allowing the canvas board to decide "chakllenged ballots" it is state law.

 An example of one of Coleman's common challenges is claiming that in ballots where the voter failed to make a mark for any Senate candidate, but voted for McCain, they intended to vote for Coleman, and he should get their vote. I'm serious this has happened dozens of times! He will not get one of those votes, despite the Coleman's campaigns belief a person can vote for Mccain and not want Coleman (hence leaving the senate race blank), or even vote for Franken (Coleman has challenged several ballots where the voter voted McCain and then voted for Franken, under the belief, the voter made a mistake and intended to vote for Coleman, because according to Coleman no one who would vote for McCain could possibly vote for Franken)

First read, you really haven't followed the recount at all. Go to the papers web site, and you'd know why the difference in vote totals. And your guess was wrong. The Trib hasn't counted the one precinct left(how could it, when it hasn't been completed!!!!!!) Instead the Trib started with the 215 pre-recount vote gap and the difference between the candidates is dependent on the number of votes they pick up or lose in the recount. For example after the 3rd day before the campaigns went nuts with their Challenges Coleman's lead was down to 96, because Franken had picked up 119 votes, closimg the gap to 119. Actually he didn't necessarily gain 119 votes, in most counties both candidates lost votes in the recount (some due to BS challenges, others due to ballot errors discovered on the hand recount)The Trib uses the "net gain" to increase or decrease the vote difference between Coleman and franken. For example in Benton county Coleman lost 25 votes and Franken 24 in the recount, so Franken has a net gain of 1 in that county. In Carlton county Franken lost 40 votes, and Coleman 17, so Coleman has a net gain of 23. Challenged ballots are not counted in the vote totals, even if they are BS challenges. That's why both candidates know with a reasonable degree of probability the actual gap right now. They know which challenges they have a shot on, and which they don't. For example in order for Franken to lose the 40 votes in Carlton county Coleman challenged 47 ballots. In Fillmore county Coleman challenged 27 ballots and Franken lost 15 votes from the orginal count, most likely when the canvas board meets Franken will not only get all those 15 votes back from Fillmore county, but probably a good number of the 12 other challenges.  

Amazing how many responses the Caroline Kennedy post received.  Didn't give me time to respond to the individual who claimed she's more qualified than Sarah Palin.  Little difference there:  whether you hate her or not, and most people on this site appear to, the people of her state elected Sarah Palin, so they found her qualified.  Caroline Kennedy, while clearly intelligent and accomplished, doesn't bring much to the Senate except her name.  And for the individual who claimed she was qualified because of her father and uncles, I guess that would make Jenna Bush qualified as well, because of her father and grandfather.

I think they should count all the ballots that show voter intent.  Republicans always want to keep people from voting and then they do everything possible from keeping the votes of people who are new to voting from counting their ballots.  Haven't we learned anything from Florida for goodness sake?

Jon, Washington, DC (Sent Friday, December 05, 2008 4:34 PM)
Jon:

Thanks for keeping me straight.

PLEASE, NO Al Franken. He is going to go ballistic and will end up in a federal pen after going nuts and a shooting spree which he will blame (of course) George Bush for his ANGER! I guess he will have to remain a plain mediocre comedian.

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