Al Franken Won

Submitted by dochoc on Wed, 04/15/2009 - 13:21

Image of Al Franken

The votes have been counted and recounted, and the result is clear: Al Franken, the former Saturday Night Live star, has won a U.S. Senate seat in Minnesota.

But his opponent, Republican Norm Coleman, and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, another Republican who must certify the election results, are obstructing Franken from taking his seat and representing the state. It’s a GOP ploy to manipulate the system to either declare Coleman the winner of the election somehow or to delay Franken from joining the Democratic majority in the Senate for as long as possible.

The latest news from Minnesota is that a panel of judges has declared Franken the winner with a 312-vote lead. Coleman has said he will appeal the decision to the Minnesota Supreme Court. He has even indicated it might take the issue to the U.S. Supreme Court as well. Meanwhile, Minnesota is left with only one Senator, and the situation could drag on for weeks or even months as Republicans continue to obstruct.

No one disputes this was an extremely close election, and it’s reminiscent of the 2000 presidential election between George Bush and Al Gore with one major exception: This time the GOP wants the recounting to go on. In the end, it’s typical, self-serving politics.

It would be inexcusable at this point to conduct another count of any votes or to just declare Coleman the winner in the election. If Franken is not seated, the election will seem corrupt and the overall Minnesota political system will seem corrupt. Certainly, the GOP should be disappointed, but in today’s political world elections are sometimes extremely close.

Minnesota Republicans should heed the advice of Bush’s 2000 campaign chairman, Don Evans, who said during the Gore/Bush morass: “Our democratic process calls for a vote on Election Day, it does not call for us to continue voting until someone likes the outcome.”

Franken won. Give him his Senate seat. The U.S. Senate needs his intelligence and creativity. The people in Minnesota deserve representation.

Give it up, Norm.