Minnesota Supreme Court: Al Franken Won

3:16 pm EST June 30th, 2009 | News | 50 Comments

This isn’t news to anyone that isn’t Norm Coleman, but it’s good to have it in the record. Again.

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered that Democrat Al Franken be certified as the winner of the state’s long-running Senate race, paving the way for a resolution in the seven-month fight over the seat.

Now Tim Pawlenty must certify Senator Franken.

UPDATE: Finally, Norm Coleman has conceded.

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50 Responses to “Minnesota Supreme Court: Al Franken Won”

  1. Mister Steve says:

    Even if/when they seat Franken, I have a feeling that Normy’s gonna drag this to the next level of the courts.

  2. Indeed says:

    Funniest.*
    Senator.
    Ever.

    *intentionally funniest

  3. MrGreyGhost says:

    If Coleman honestly feels that he got robbed (and if you’ve been following Franken vs. Coleman from jump, there’s plenty of evidence of just that) he has the same rights Gore did in ’00 to take this to SCOTUS. But either way, can OW or any other liberal seriously say with a straight face that they’re proud to have the likes of Al Franken in the Senate? Come now.

  4. I’m proud of having Al Franken in the Senate.

    But look at who he’s replacing.

    Republican Norm Coleman is a joke, it’s fitting he be replaced by a joker.

  5. Parthenon says:

    Bout effing time.

    And yes, I’m proud to have Sen. Franken as a US Senator.

  6. Zython says:

    and if you’ve been following Franken vs. Coleman from jump, there’s plenty of evidence of just that

    So getting more votes than the other guy is considered “robbing him”? I knew Coleman had entitlement issues, but DAMN.

  7. matt621 says:

    Awesome – the average IQ of both the United States Senate and the state of Minnesota are about to go up.

  8. CDWard says:

    Sorry Ghost-It was Bush who ran to the Supreme Court so that the 5 conservative judges could overrule the will of the people of Florida and get their guy in the Oval Office.

  9. Taking 8 months to get a decision is too long. We have to have a speedier legal system.

  10. Quaker in a Basement says:

    Rush compares the outcome of the Minnesota election to the Iranian election.

  11. Burn says:

    Coleman never honestly felt like he was robbed of anything. He just acted like a typical whining sore loser crybaby for 7 months. He should pay all of Franken’s legal bills.

    And how much money did Coleman get from the GOP coffers to keep up this ridiculous tantrum? More than a million?

  12. durablend says:

    Rush compares the outcome of the Minnesota election to the Iranian election.

    Actually didn’t he call it the obliteration of humanity?

  13. jr says:

    Congrats to Al. Billo will have to sexually harass more co-workers to cope with this.

  14. Duros62 says:

    Yes, I’m proud to have Al Franken in the Senate and ashamed to have Michelle Bauchmann in the House.

    And I don’t even live in Minnesota.

    And Coleman COULD do what Gore did in 2000 and concede.

  15. C.S.Strowbridge says:

    MrGreyGhost: “If Coleman honestly feels that he got robbed (and if you’ve been following Franken vs. Coleman from jump, there’s plenty of evidence of just that)…”

    Really? You have evidence? Put up or shut up.

    “…he has the same rights Gore did in ‘00 to take this to SCOTUS.”

    CDWard already pointed out where you are wrong here.

    “But either way, can OW or any other liberal seriously say with a straight face that they’re proud to have the likes of Al Franken in the Senate? Come now.”

    Yes.

    He’s smart, he’s politically intelligent, and he’s a strong progressive.

    He will help improve the country.

    Which is good, because every time the American dollar takes a hit, I take a pay cut.

  16. megamoze says:

    “he has the same rights Gore did in ‘00 to take this to SCOTUS.”

    Bush took the case to the SCOTUS, not Gore. It’s been pointed out above, but you simply can’t point out enough how conservatives are always wrong about everything.

    And btw, we all remember the respect and admiration the GOP paid to Gore for exercising his rights in 2000, right?

    “But either way, can OW or any other liberal seriously say with a straight face that they’re proud to have the likes of Al Franken in the Senate?”

    Compared to the likes of the GOP’s Michelle Bachmann? Sarah Palin? Mark Sanford? James Inhofe? You betcha.

  17. Democratic Senator Al Franken is going to do a terrific job! Because he’s good enough, smart enough, and, doggonit, people like him!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvgMIerTXl4

    And to all of those angry, unhappy, dysfunctional Republicans, “is there any way you can get to a pound cake?”

  18. Jaim says:

    Why do Republicans suck so hard at Democracy? They constantly lose elections based on the will of the people, then they shit their diapers and cry out for activist legal intervention.

    WATB.

  19. Pryme says:

    Well, well: Bill O’Reilly isn’t hosting his show today. Shocker.

  20. ItchyBrother says:

    I’m proud of Senator Al Franken.

    If only the Supreme Court had allowed Florida to take as much care with their vote count in 2000. Justice Scalia made the statement that permitting Florida to exercise their States’ Rights(TM) and follow their constitution would “jeopardize the legitimacy of a Bush presidency”. That was the shove I needed to become a committed bleeding-heart liberal.

  21. Repack Rider says:

    Who wouldn’t be proud to have Al Franken representing them in the Senate? He’s smart (Harvard grad, math whiz), he’s compassionate, he’s articulate, he wrote the book called “Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them,” and showed it to Bill O’Reilly with the comment, “How do you like your picture? A little blotchy, don’t you think?”

    O’Reilly has never recovered from that moment, and made Al another cool mil-five by suing him for slander and shooting the book to the top of the charts while the judge laughed the lawsuit out of court.

    And one more thing…

    Al will own the GOP on Sunday TV talk. He is a TV professional with decades of experience, and he is smarter than any current member of the Republican Party.

    As Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart have shown, comedians are better equipped to discuss politics than politicians, because they make a living by puncturing arrogant buffoons, who have no natural defenses against intelligence directed with humor. Woe betide the GOP shill who takes on Al on live TV.

  22. Frank DiSalle says:

    Oh, yeah, a wise ass liberal on television — now there’s something new and different!

    I think that’s been done :

    Jon Stewart
    Steve Colbert
    Keith Olbermann
    Rachel Maddow
    David Letterman
    The Cast of SNL
    Bill Maher
    Conan O’Brien
    Every single sitcom on network TV

  23. Wise ass right wingers on television:

    Joe Scarborough
    Bill O’Relly
    Jay Leno
    Bob Schieffer
    Sean Hannity
    David Gregory
    Glen Beck
    Gwen Ifill
    The idiots on RedEye
    SouthPark
    Every single FOX show

  24. “Why do Republicans suck so hard at Democracy?”

    Because the right wing is inherently undemocratic.

  25. Michael Over Here says:

    I’m having a hard time following Frank’s argument here. Does he have one?

  26. Repack Rider says:

    Oh, yeah, a wise ass liberal on television — now there’s something new and different!

    TV networks need funny people. If you need someone funny, it kind of limits you to liberals. Now that’s funny!

    I guess you’ve noticed that conservatives don’t do humor well enough to get paid for it. Dennis Miller and Victoria Jackson are all you got? When was the last time either one got on TV?

    What will be different here is that Franken can bust the arrogant buffoons’ chops right to their faces now, instead merely satirizing them on a comedy show. I’m gonna love me some GOP squirming when he pwns them all!

    Come ON, didn’t you LOVE it when he asked Bill O’Reilly how he liked his photo on the cover of “Lies, and the Lying Liars Wgho Tell Them?” (A great book, BTW.) That’s the kind of chutzpah and personal presence that Stephen Colbert displayed when he told the president off to his face, and we need more of that.

    I’m looking forward to Franken telling Graham, McConnell, Hatch, et al to their faces that they aren’t smart enough, they aren’t good enough, and doggone it, that no one likes them.

    Aren’t you?

  27. Amused Observer says:

    I’m looking forward to getting a chance to see what Franken’s really got. Let’s see how he stands up to the real world before we get too giddy. He has come off as pretty liberal, we’ll see if he compromises himself in D.C. Obama certainly has.

    Your state is a bellwhether of where liberal thinking can take a government. That is the beauty of Federalism.
    With any luck, the rest of the nation will take note of California’s plight and try to keep from being in a trainwreck.

  28. Tyro says:

    I’m looking forward to getting a chance to see what Franken’s really got.

    You know, the impression I get from having read and listened to Franken is that he puts a lot of thought into politics and policy. Something you don’t see Republicans do, because it seems that every time a Republican opens his mouth, from the lowliest loudmouthed “everyman” to the most powerful politician, all they do is mouth pre-written, identical talking points when they flap their gums. One fewer of these jokers in the Senate will be a welcome change. Maybe in the future Republicans will have something to say, but at the moment we have to deal with the deranged babblings of Inhofe. It will be helpful to have a voice of knowledge like Franken to counter these ignoramuses rather than a mindless toady like Coleman.

  29. Apparently, some of you don’t know the difference between a comedian, a humorist, and a wise ass.

    Bill Maher is a wise ass.

    Jay Leno is a comedian.

    Bob Schieffer, David Gregory and Gwen Ifill are not funny, nor are they even moderate , let alone “right wingers”

    Dennis Miller is a humorist (or humorous commentator)

    David Letterman vacillates between humorist, comedian and wiseass.

    My point was a simple one: There is a surfeit of left – wing wise asses on television right now. Sen Franken will barely be noticed. I predict that if he ever gets to the talking head shows on Sunday, he will use the same preposterous language the other talking heads use.

    The best description of it I ever read was provided by authors Lionel Tiger and Robin Fox, in “The Imperial Animal”. They said that if someone like you or I walked into a Police Station, and spoke like the President of the United States, we would be committed to the nearest psychiatric hospital within the hour. What exactly did they mean by that? If you can’t even imagine what they meant, then go get the book, and read the whole thing — you will be amply rewarded for doing so.

  30. Zython says:

    Every single sitcom on network TV

    King of the Hill is liberal? Shocker.

    And as I say, it’s better to be a wise ass than a dumb ass.

  31. Quaker in a Basement says:

    we’ll see if he compromises himself in D.C. Obama certainly has.

    Whoa, whoa, whoa! AO, you’re straying pretty far from the party line there. Ever’body knows that Hussein X Obama has been the most antiamericanleftwingsocialistsecretmooslimcommieterrorist ever to hold elected office.

    Well, except maybe for Jerry Brown.

  32. Quaker in a Basement says:

    Oh, and by the way, can anybody explain to me what the deal is with Norm’s teeth? Did he get like a transplant from Secretariat or something?

  33. “I’m having a hard time following Frank’s argument here. Does he have one?”

    Rarely, if ever. He just makes stuff up as he goes along.

    Reading right winger “Frank DiSalle’s” “arguments” is like walking through a Fun House Of Mirrors: Everything is warped, distorted, and a little unreal.

    It’s hard to tell if “Frank DiSalle” is drunk, high, addled, off his meds, or just painfully ignorant.

    To me he’s the crazy guy in nearly every big city that demands your attention, screams something bizarre, and then nods smugly at themselves as if they’ve won an argument.

    It’s ironic that “Frank DiSalle” sums up exactly how I see him: “if someone like you or I walked into a Police Station, and spoke like the President of the United States, we would be committed to the nearest psychiatric hospital within the hour. What exactly did they mean by that?”

    Indeed.

    I can understand how hard it would be for a right wing authoritarian extremist like “Frank DiSalle” to understand why showing up at the Police Station and acting like he’s the President of the United States is crazy.

    It sums up “Frank DiSalle” perfectly.

  34. Michael Over Here says:

    Frank just listed everyone he agrees politically as a comedian and everyone he disagrees with as a wise ass. You have to lack a large degree of self-awareness to make a post like that.

    It’s been an interesting day here in the OW comments section. I think we’ve seen our normal cabal of wingnuts go manic with the Franken win and a few other recent developments. Amused Observer has descended into crypto carny speak. Frank has started making semantic definitions based on politics as if it were some type of argument. Usual Suspect, just a day ago, started making ridiculous assumptions about someone just because they’re Canadian and liked their health care.

    I’m not saying these guys aren’t usually crazy or stupid, it just seems like the dam has broken and all the sudden they’re wearing all their insecurities on their sleeves.

  35. I'm a Hick says:

    Franken is beginning to strikes me as more of a wonk who became a comedian than as a comedian who became a wonk. No ones a bigger wise ass than Dennis Miller, who I like, too. ass.

  36. I'm a Hick says:

    Even with preview.

  37. And as I say, it’s better to be a wise ass than a dumb ass.
    And yet, Zython, somehow you are both.

    David Letterman vacillates between humorist, comedian [emphasis added - fd] and wiseass. Yeah, I said that , Michael.

    Two more very funny (unfortunately, deceased) left wing comedians : Mort Sahl, Lenny Bruce. A third (also, deceased, not nearly as funny) George Carlin.

    Also, naming left wing comedians is an easy task: Nearly every comedian is a left wing comedian, with the exception of a handful.

    The most interesting thing I have observed in recent years is how Dennis Miller was a darling of the left, until he began to support Pres Bush’s war on terrorism. Then , he not only ceased to be a darling of the Left , but, mysteriously, he was judged by them to be “unfunny”. Even when I have outgrown a comedian’s humor, or have just become weary of it, I still never take the self-centered view that the comedian has become unfunny.

    Case in point for me : Wanda Sykes and George Lopez. I think they are both hilarious; I just don’t laugh at their jibes aimed at conservatives.

  38. Italics should have ended before “Yeah, I said that Michael”

  39. locus says:

    Umm…Frank,

    You should refer to him as SENATOR Wise-Ass now.

  40. Amused Observer says:

    Quaker,
    What ever do you mean? Sure Obama is a socialist but that doesn’t mean he won’t compromise his values or his rhetoric.

    Mikey,
    Deranged carny speak, nice touch. Franken doesn’t phase me much. Perhaps he’ll surprise me and make an intelligent contribution to the nation. Stranger things have happened. More likely he’ll prove to be a lying liberal hypocrit seduced by power, incapable of giving a honest answer.

  41. Mister Steve says:

    Oops, strike that assumption in the first comment.

    I’m delighted that Coleman took the high road, finally.

    Franken might be a genuine policy wonk but I wonder how he’ll fit into the good old boys and girls club that is the U.S. Senate.

  42. Todd Dugdale says:

    I’m proud that Franken is a Senator (Senator-elect, technically). I even voted for him.

    It seems that nearly every Republican these days thinks that Bush was an idiot, mostly because he didn’t go far enough Right. It’s a bit difficult to find Republicans willing to admit that they voted for Bush, in fact.

    Well, Coleman backed Bush and Bush’s policies 100%. Why would Republicans want someone like that in office, if Bush was such an idiot? The answer, of course, is that he is a reliable foot-soldier who votes the way he told to by Party leadership and has no substantial views of his own. But how does this make Coleman such a ‘better’ Senator than Franken?

    On virtually every issue of import, Coleman is on record as supporting both sides, depending on who is front of him at the moment. And he votes as he is told to, regardless of what he has said to either side in the past. For a Party that seems to want to get back to ‘core principles’ and ‘true believers’, Coleman in the Senate would be a step backwards. You do know that Coleman used to be a pot-smoking Democrat, right? Face it, the GOP dodged a bullet here.

  43. You have to work on that reading comprehension, “Newsie”.

    I said , “They said that if someone like you or I walked into a Police Station, and spoke like the President of the United States, we would be committed to the nearest psychiatric hospital within the hour.”

    You said, “I can understand how hard it would be for … “Frank DiSalle” to understand why showing up at the Police Station and acting like he’s the President of the United States is crazy.”

    See, “Newsie”? I never said anyone would be acting like the President; I said they would be speaking like the President. And, of course, I never said I didn’t understand how that would be so, let alone that I was unable to understand.

    You see, I have read the book, and you have not. It is the seminal work on biogrammar, and the zoological approach to human behavior. Since you and your colleagues think you know everything, “The Imperial Animal” is undoubtedly yet another book you would never read.

  44. canadian bacon says:

    “… the zoological approach to human behavior.”

    Why read the book considering the last 8 years? Sums of the GOP I’d say.

  45. Right winger “Frank DiSalle” misreads the book “The Imperial Animal” and thinks that it means that a domineering thug like him should be able to dictate to others, and especially women.

    Sorry, “Frank DiSalle”, just because you read a book that you didn’t understand and can’t articulate doesn’t mean you get to pretend to have the authority you crave.

  46. Duros62 says:

    <>

  47. Duros62 says:

    Dammit, did I break the intertube again?

    <>

    Works great in preview.

  48. Duros62 says:

    Oliver, a little help? I can never get this right.

  49. Duros62 says:

    BTW.

    Groucho Marx is a comedian.

    Will Rogers is a humorist.

    Andy Dick is a wiseass.

    Carry on.