Video: Introducing the Junior Senator from the Great State of Minnesota

Part One of Two

Part Two of Two

Video: Norm Coleman's concession speech

It's over. Yay!

Norm Coleman lets go

Watching MSNBC. Norm Coleman is doing good. Minnesotans need two Senators. He congratulates Al Franken.

High marks for Senator Norm Coleman.

Mr. Franken goes to Washington (well, if Governor Pawlenty signs)

The MN Supreme Court ruled in favor of Al Franken, over Norm Coleman. Unanimously.

Norman Coleman to concede? Hmmmm....

I heard this today on the radio news in passing. I'm going to believe it when it actually happens. I'm going to be happy about it then too. But not until then.

Uptake Coverage Starts Soon: MN Supreme Court Hears Coleman V Franken

Franken - Coleman (kind of, sort of, maybe) final showdown begins Monday

The Minnesota State Supremes will hear the arguments regarding who won the Minneosta Senate race between Republican Norm Coleman, and Democrat Al Franken.

Franken is ahead by 312 votes, and if seated will provide the crucial 60th vote for the Democrats in the Senate, creating a filibuster proof majority. Well that is if recently minted alleged Democrat, Arlen Specter votes with the Dems.

Attorneys for Norm Coleman are expected to ask the Justices to open 4400 previously rejected absentee ballots for review.

The Uptake will be covering the proceedings and has this special reminder for anyone who might be interested.

Don't forget! Tomorrow, June 1, starting at 8:30 AM, we'll be broadcasting live the Coleman appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court. Tune in for the appeal, commentary, interviews and more. Drop by the live blog, too. See you then!

The Uptake provided a wonderful service during the recount process, and has done a terrific job of keeping Minnesotans, and the rest of us for that matter, informed about this critical Senate race.

Hey Governor Pawlenty: Certify Al Franken!

From The Political Carnival

Pretty Picture Time!: Senator Elect Franken and Vice President Biden

From the Organizing for America Blog

Video: Remember Al Franken?

Al Franken: "..and every once in awhile, I'll get grumpy... and I'll ask myself why am I grumpy? Oh I know why."

Minnesota Ad: Certify Al Franken

Al Franken says 'We will be seated...'

I look forward to it because I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and dog gone it, people like me.

Source: Minnesota Independent


“We will be seated,” Al Franken told a gathering of young Democrats in Minnesota today. “And by ‘we,’ I mean me.”

“When you win by 225 votes, it’s fair to say that no effort really went to waste,” Franken told the convention of MyDFL (Minnesota Young DFL) in St. Paul.

................

“It’s fair to say I wouldn’t have won this election — and I did — without you. So thank you very much. …

“You probably heard that (Norm) Coleman’s lead attorney went on talk radio and said they were going to lose – I don’t know why, but he did — and that they’ll probabably appeal to the state Supreme Court, and we are very confident that we’ll win that too and that then we will be seated. And by ‘we,’ I mean me.”

read more here

source: DU

Remember Bush v Gore? It's making a comeback in Minnesota.

Oh boy, oh boy,oh boy.

I'm double knotting my already crossed fingers that this one turns out differently than it did for George W. Bush.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The success of Norm Coleman's lawsuit to reclaim his Senate seat could depend on how willing the trial judges are to find a precedent in the U.S. Supreme Court ruling from another messy, political charged election battle: Bush v. Gore.

Republican Coleman's greatest hope to overtake Democrat Al Franken's 225-vote lead is his argument that about 11,000 rejected absentee ballots should be given another look by the three judges hearing the case. His lawyers argue that many were rejected while other ballots with similar mistakes were counted, that standards were applied differently from county to county in violation of the constitutional standard of equal protection.

The circumstances are different, but Coleman's effort strikes the same legal notes as the Supreme Court lawsuit that handed George W. Bush a victory in Florida and put him in the White House. In that case, Bush's lawyers got the Supreme Court to agree that Al Gore's push to recount ballots in four Florida counties would have resulted in

"It's a long shot," said Jan Baran, a Washington election attorney and former general counsel to the Republican National Committee. "But it worked for Bush v. Gore." source: Yahoo News/AP

The picture is included in the post just because I miss seeing and hearing from Michael Jordon sometimes. He was always good at making long shots. I also hope that he voted for Barack Obama.

Anyway.

Senator Al Franken (D-MN). Senator Al Franken (D-MN). Senator Al Franken (D-MN).

Live Coverage from The Uptake: Coleman v Franken Election Contest Trial Begins 1 PM CST, Monday, January 26, 2009

Also, if you are interested,

click here

for recent video of Al Franken addressing his 'radio base' a

and briefly discussing the trial.

Video: Senator-elect Al Franken speaks to 'radio base'; Franken ready as the challenge trial begins today in Minnesota

Senator-elect Franken uses President Obama's biblical reference to 'giving up childish things' to make fun of himself, and reaffirm his commitment to bring about change in Washington D.C. saying 'I can't wait to get there...'.

US Senate candidate Al Franken was loose and making jokes as his legal team prepared for Monday's election contest trial that could determine who is Minnesota's next US Senator.

After a state-wide hand recount, Franken holds a 225-vote lead over former US Senator Norm Coleman. Coleman is taking the election to court claiming irregularities on how some of the votes were counted and handled. You can watch that trial live on The UpTake starting Monday at 1pm CT/ 2pm ET/ Noon MT/ 11am PT.

Partial transcript at The UpTake

Bad Form or Practicality? Norm Coleman's contact information is no longer on Senate phone list

I guess it isn't exactly finalized yet, due to Coleman's lawsuit challenges of the Minnesota Senate race, the final recount of which awarded Democrat, Al Franken with the most votes.

Vice President-elect and recently sworn in Senator from Delaware, Joe Biden, is however, on the list.

Kind of sad though, if you have a heart.

That's politics.

Norm Coleman Removed From Senate Phonebook

By Eric Kleefeld - January 8, 2009, 1:33PM

...Mother Jones reports that the updated Senate phone listings have just been printed out -- and Norm Coleman's name isn't in them. After all, his term expired this past Saturday, and he's now in court to force the election results to be changed so that he's winning instead of Al Franken.

source: Talking Points Memo

Al Franken gets certified, but in a good way

Update: Monday, January 05, 2009 at 6:50 PM CST

The next Senator from the
Great State of Minneosta

(barring any Coleman lawsuits)

Democrat Al Franken has been certified as the winner of the Minnesota U.S. Senate election, but incumbent Republican Norm Coleman's office says a legal challenge "is now enevitable."

The state Canvassing Board certified the recount this afternoon, showing that Franken had won by 225 votes. But no election certificate can be issued for at least a week.

The board's action came hours after the Minnesota Supreme Court rejected Coleman's petition to include hundreds of rejected absentee ballots in the recount. source: USA Today

Kind of reminds me of former Governor Jesse Ventura.


Never be ashamed of having funny in your past.

Minnesota Recount: Final Tally

I think Al Franken will make a good Senator and that Paul Wellstone would be proud and honored to have Franken take his seat in the Senate.

I am very, very biased though. Very biased.

I would know nothing of who Paul Wellstone was if it weren't for Al Franken.

Breaking Out of Minnesota

01.03.09 -- 7:26PM

By Josh Marshall

With the recount now complete, absentee ballots have pushed Franken to a 225 vote lead over Norm Coleman, making Franken's eventual victory now appear all but certain. source: TPM

Franken-Coleman recount live on the Uptake right now

Watch it live

952 Absentee Ballots Being Counted Now

Coleman campaign files request for an emergency order from the Minnesota Supreme Court.

See the spreadsheet we use to keep track of the votes counted today. It changes as we update it. Also, see our vote totals in a popup.

1/3/2009 16:09:14	Before Today	Added Today	Total Votes	Difference
.	Franken	1211950	0	1211950	49
.	Coleman	1211901	0	1211901	-49