Well, almost. A panel of judges has ruled Franken the winner over Coleman, finally, declaring the election fair and complete. That ought to finish it, but Coleman does have the option to appeal…and obnoxious ass that he is, you know he will, futilely dragging out the whole process to his inevitable final defeat.
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
What will be involved for the winner, in terms of catching up? Or will he just take a red eye and start work the next morning without an office set up?
Coleman will drag this out as long as he can. And when he finally loses, he’ll whine to anyone who’ll listen.
Say, would you mind trading your nice, shiny, new Frankin for my Cornyn? Your senator is intentionally funny, but mine is especially funny when he’s trying to make a point.
Way to go Al!
He still needs a certification signed from Gov. Pawlenty, who IMHO isn’t likely to give one any time soon.
No doubt whiner Norm will whine all the way to the Minnesota Supreme Court. Then, he’ll try to take it federal.
Pawlenty will dance to the RNC’s tune on this.
He needs to write a second edition to the Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot book.
Al Franken won the seat and you say Coleman is an obnoxious ass? I don’t know too much about Coleman, but “obnoxious” and “ass” are probably 2 of the first 10 words that come to mind when I think of Al Franken.
I think that there’s an additional factor in Normie-poo’s intransigence (apart from the obvious). He’s TERRIFIED of losing another election to an entertainer! I mean, let’s face it, he’s lost a major election to a pro wrestler, and only won the Senate when Wellstone was killed in a plane crash! ANd now he’s been beaten by a COMEDIAN! (I know, Franken’s more than that, but you can bet that’s how Normie looks at it!)
So he’ll keep trying–no matter what it does to him.
Goheels@6
That’s Senator Al Franken to you.
Oh for the love of god..
This is STILL going on? We already elected the guy who the lunatics still believe is an illegal immigrant, and your state is still fighting over a senatorial election?
All you boys and girls who said Bush had been elected, and get over it, despite the electorial irregularities?
There’s a saying about the nature of the sauce for the goose and it’s relation to the gander. Look it up.
pacoyogi@8
Thanks for the correction, Sir pacoyogi.
Where’s a biased Federal Supreme Court to step in and stop recounts when you need one?
Goheels@10.
It’s Ms.
ha!
Eric Black at MinnPost.com posted an article earlier today that predicted Franken would be seated as U.S. Senator from Minnesota by May or June. Black predicted that the court ruling would go in Franken’s favor by tomorrow (and it happened today) and that a unanimous ruling (it was) would leave Coleman little wiggle-room to make a case to the state supreme court. Black’s entire article is here.
Damn!! Guess we’ll have to wait until after the appeal to celebrate with Squeez-Bacon!
http://daveandthomas.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/squeez-bacon.jpg
Until the Governor signs off, Franken isn’t the Senator. And since he’s a Republican, no doubt the double-standard machine will keep churning out challenges, etc…
Congratulations to Senator Franken.
It is sad that Former Senator Norm Coleman doesn’t have the integrity to walk across the street to offer his congratulations. Sad. Maybe Goheels will buy Norm a bottle of rotgut.
… but he’s so cuddly!!
Coleman bows out on Wednesday.. that’s my prediction.
Yay!
Go Al, go!
Of course, will our dear governor Tim “women are stupid” Polente
sign the election certificate?
Well, it is a step in the right direction.
One more step in the right direction then the senator can go kick ass.
For the record, I don’t know enough about either candidate politically to have a preference for one. I just found it kind of impressive that PZ finds Coleman to be even more of an obnoxious ass than Franken.
Typical moron, commenting without knowing anything.
If you knew Coleman’s history, you’d know that calling him an ass (and not Franken) wasn’t a mistake, and it wasn’t hyperbole.
Actually, it was probably the most polite way to describe that blow-dried jerk-off sellout asswipe.
In other news, Michelle Bachmann called recently for a new revolution and the overthrow of the federal government. Not sure on what basis but it probably had to do with commies running it these days.
She is funny, but not funny haha, funny peculiar. How can the state that elected Al Franken keep reelecting someone with such a slim hold on reality.
Well, seeing as he comes from MN, it probably would have taken him this long to dig his car out anyway. They probably didn’t expect him in DC before the thaw.
After the presidential election of 2000 and the Washington State governor’s race of 2004, I’ve come to the conclusion that recounting ballots is exactly the wrong approach to deciding close races. If there’s no statistically decisive victor after the first count, send it back to the voters for another round. That’s the way jury trials are decided: you don’t argue over how the votes should be counted; you just keep balloting until a clear, uncontrovertible consensus emerges. Seems to me that’s got to be a better solution than endless recounts, court cases, and arcane procedural maneuvering, which serve only to undermine confidence that the eventual outcome represents anything resembling the will of the voters.
I’ll believe Franken is Senator when I see him sworn in.
Funny, though, how these people fighting so hard (and so interminably) for this seat are the same people who ridiculed Al Gore for the Florida recount (especially when it was the Republicans who filed the first lawsuit!). Shit, Gore at least didn’t let the results dangle for more than five weeks. Minnesota has been dithering about this for over five months now!
And the sad thing is that a lot of people will listen to the RepublicanTs rewrite history, and not challenge it at all. They’ll even say that Franken started it all, Franken is the problem, Franken is trying to steal the election, Franken should concede for the good of everyone, and etc. Hell, people are saying that now.
By the way, since the term “trophy wife” has been used
frequently on the forum, Normy boy Coleman does maintain
one in Hollywood: Lori Coleman comes dutifully to ‘stand
by her man’ at election events and for lying commercials,
showing Norm carrying out the garbage.
True republican family values, so they are.
Guess the court is doing its part in removing garbage.
BTW: Isn’t Coleman the guy who lost to Jesse Ventura in a governor’s race?
@26
The continued efforts at rewriting history is only one of a thousand cuts. Among the (many) ongoing efforts by the GOP horde was McConnell urging Coleman to keep up the fight.
Ironically, it was Coleman who first suggested that he’d won (even before counting absentee ballots had ended) and that the honorable thing to do would be for Franken to concede. Ha.
~PX
Aquaria#28,
Yes, Jesse did beat Norm.
Ah. I thought that was Coleman. First he loses to a wrestler, then (most likely) to a comedian.
That’s sort of a sign, don’t you think?
If I were Norm, I’d get in a new line of work.
“If I were Norm, I’d get in a new line of work.”
You mean honest work?
Don’t you need ability for that?
I wish I could be sure of an expedited result.
According to AP, in addition to the appeal, Coleman can also initiate a new action on a federal level. Either side can appeal an eventual state Supreme Court decision to the U.S. Supreme Court or throw the disputed election before the U.S. Senate, which can judge the qualifications of its members.
The Republiscum strategy is to delay Franken’s seating in the Senate as long as they can. This keeps the Senate at 56 + Sanders + LIEberman vs. 40. Seating Franken then makes it easier to get some renegade to make it to the magic 60. So, it looks like Normy is taking one for the team, since he will be seen as damaged goods in any future election.
The same thing exists to a lesser extent for Pawlenty. His role in not ending this cannot be seen as a positive by MN voters in a re-election bid which is crucial for any national ambitions. On the other hand, if he signs off on Franken, his ambitions are doomed with Boss Limbaugh, McConnell, Cornyn and their minions. Gee, isn’t that too bad.
If Coleman takes this to the Minn. Supreme Court, as many as four of the seven justices could end up recusing themselves from the case.
You mean honest work?
Don’t you need ability for that?
:::Snicker:::
Of course, I didn’t specify what kind.
The RNC must be dangling some huge think tank job open for him if he continues to front for their delay tactics. Given how much he’s screwed over the people of Minnesota, Coleman must have the job sewn up. I suppose now the only thing left to determine is how much more he’ll get paid/how many more perks he’ll win if he does their bidding.
Yeah, the hypocrisy of the way the GOP is handling this, in light of Bush/Gore in 2000, is just astonishing. But so what else is new?
Ironic how it is Coleman who must go through a daily affirmation that he still has a chance of winning.
IIRC, the judge ordered Coleman to pay the court and legal costs for Frankin. The usually stops endless law suits.
I can hear it now, years in the future at a White House press briefing the announcement, “Ladies and gentlemen of the press, President Stuart Smalley.” :)
Coleman could go through a lawsuit, but what is the best scenario? Counting ballots that probably support Franken? Or have a new election, where the people of Minnesota probably are going to despise Coleman?
This is ridiculous.
For someone that loudly proclaimed that Franken should have stopped a recount for the good of the state right after the election, Coleman is sure dragging this out …
Polish politician fumes over gay elephant in zoo:
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/polish-politician-fumes-over-gay-elephant-in-zoo/90105-13.html
Good news. At some point Tim Pawlenty is going to have to write that election certificate.
Sheesh – that Polish pol needs to read some wikipedia. Apparently, elephant herds are adult females and children; adult males (14+; the elephant in the story is only 10) leave the herd and live solo or with small groups of other male elephants.
Also – only the dominant bull elephants get the privilege of mating with the female elephants, and they are usually between 40 and 50. So if you’re a typical male elephant, you’ve got 25-30 years of sexual maturity before you’ll get a chance at some nice cow elephant, and your trunk is nowhere near as flexible as a human’s right hand… no wonder some of them form small groups.
A direct quote from Wikipedia:
So… it appears that the normal male elephant is gay, but they’ll suck it up and do it with a female later in life. The females are also gay, but they want kids, so…
The Polish zoo actually has a normal elephant doing what normal elephants do.
(Gee, you learn something every day)
Al Franken won the seat and you say Coleman is an obnoxious ass? I don’t know too much about Coleman
Not even that he’s blocking the seating of Franken based on a completely bogus case, eh?
but “obnoxious” and “ass” are probably 2 of the first 10 words that come to mind when I think of Al Franken.
What mind? And why should anyone care?
So… it appears that the normal male elephant is gay
It’s hard to say what’s “normal” if the observations were primarily of elephants in captivity.
Coleman could go through a lawsuit
He just did go through lawsuit.
Counting ballots that probably support Franken? Or have a new election, where the people of Minnesota probably are going to despise Coleman?
What the heck are you talking about? The ballots were counted and Franken won. There’s no legal basis for another election.
IIRC, the judge ordered Coleman to pay the court and legal costs for Frankin. The usually stops endless law suits.
Not when they are being paid for by the Republican Party for the sole purpose of delaying the seating of the 59th Democratic Senator.
Yeah, the hypocrisy of the way the GOP is handling this, in light of Bush/Gore in 2000, is just astonishing.
How can what is entirely predictable be astonishing? When are people going to understand that intellectual honesty simply isn’t a value for Republicans — certainly not those of any rank?
Consider what Republicans call hypocrisy: make some criticism of a Republican politician or policy and Republicans will call you hypocritical for not having been equally critical of some Democratic politician or policy (without any knowledge of whether you were) while flatly denying that there’s anything wrong with the Republican politician or policy regardless of how obvious it is.
I’ve come to the conclusion that recounting ballots is exactly the wrong approach to deciding close races.
Fortunately, your irrational and uninformed opinion is not the law.
If there’s no statistically decisive victor after the first count
“statistically” is nonsense in that context; a plurality is decisive.
I’ll second what nothing sacred had to say about the Republicans not doing astonishing with dragging this out after the 2000 fiasco. These were the same people that hounded Clinton unmercifully for all 8 years of his term, then blubbered like 4 year olds with shit-filled pants at the faintest hint of criticism of Bush–when they weren’t getting obscene and/or violent.
Hypocrisy is their SOP. Just look at how many of them scream opposition to gay marriage–and then are caught in airport mens’ rooms, or have their IMs with underage boys exposed.
Back in the day, we didn’t call them the Greedy Old Perverts for nothing…
I personally read it as being that same-sex coupling had been observed regularly in the wild, with the 46% figure in captivity being provided because it’s a lot easier to do that sort of study on captive animals.
A source is provided, but it’s not an online one so I can’t clarify. Anyone know elephants and able to confirm?
(Certainly, though, homosexual acts, both male-male and female-female, are prevalent enough in the animal kingdom that it would not be surprising to see it in elephants)
Seems to me that the real problem with an election as close as this is,are these really all the ballots,did everyone who wanted to vote get to vote,did the voting machines count correctly,were people influenced in their vote,stuff like that….
So that when you have to recount,you are getting the real result,esp.if its down to a few votes.
I thought “obnoxious and “ass” were prerequisites for actually being funny. Al Franken’s political acumen is a plus in this arena.
I personally read it as being that same-sex coupling had been observed regularly in the wild
So what? I said if if the observations were primarily of elephants in captivity. There’s no support in the text for your “personal” reading, difficulties in observing elephants in the wild are well known, as are significant changes in animal behavior when in captivity.
Because he’s good enough, he’s smart enough and, gosh darn it, people like him.
I am starting to think that Coleman and his party will find a way to contest this thing until what would have been Franken’s term is over, or at the very least until the 2010 election. Every day Franken is kept from his rightful position is another day he cannot vote to break a fillibuster, vote on a budget, or confirm a judge.
This sounds like a script from Get Smart so I’ll bite:
“I doubt it.”
Well, would you believe Franken’s *dog* has just been declared senator?
“I don’t think so.”
Well, good luck getting rid of the Dubbyah wanna-be.
Republican/christian – thought that were the two main labels to identify American assholes. Didn’t get that wrong, did I?
Why isn’t Robert G. Ingersoll around when he is needed the most??
I never realized that the “Al Franken Decade” referred to the length of time the obstructionist Republicans would prevent him from taking his Senate seat.
Nothing:
Got anything useful on finding the source on elephant sexuality?
Robert:
I dinnae find anything with a quick look about, but if you are interested in these fine animals, start with the Iain Douglas Hamilton book “Among the Elephants” One of the best works IMHO in field biology. He and his wife are sort of the Goodalls of the elephants.
As for the Elephant Party, loathe as they are to admit it, they have their share of gay toe tappers. And yes, the national party has a real stake in dragging this out just as long as they can. Cue the Supreme Nine…
Why would you call Norm Coleman an ass?
Norm Coleman November 5th: “I would step back.”
Coleman spokesman Ben Ginsberg on April 8th: “We will be appealing this to the Minnesota Supreme Court.”
Eidolon, the source cited on Wikipedia is:
Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin’s Press, 1999; pp.427-430
Robert:
Thanks for the info.
Will the fundy (majority) wing of the Republican party insist on changing the party symbol now that the depravity of elephants has been revealed.
Coleman’s Law of Politics: Keep counting until you get it wrong.
I can’t wait until this is over finally and Franken can get to work. This has lasted longer than his fake presidency.
http://www.giveitupnorm.com/
Pawlenty probably won’t sign until after Norm’s (inevitable) appeal to the MN Supreme court. That’s OK, Norm has shown no data that there was anything wrong with the election.
As (many of you are) scientists, you will know that our experiment (casting ballots, counting ballots, re-counting ballots) does not have the resolving power to find a difference in votes this small (approx. 0.01 percent, 1 part in 10,000.)
Therefore, we have a process defined by law by which the result is determined. The process (which we acknowledge cannot discern this difference reliably) cranks throough its steps and a result emerges. And that is the winner. Short of criminal activity or some major oversight, nothing will change that result. The special court has determined that no serious issues occurred with the election. The MN supreme court is very unlikely to overturn the result. The US supreme court will likely decline to hear it. It’s over.
However, Norm is playing his national GOP part: He’s keeping one additional Dem senator out of the US Senate for as long as he can. That’s all it’s about right now. The RNC has asked him to do this, I’m sure (while destroying his political career.) I don’t envy him his position, a nasty dilemma: Wreck your political career or piss off your political superiors.
I would like to remind everyone what Norm said on 5-Nov-2008:
“The prospects of overcoming 725 votes is extremely, extremely, extremely, extremely remote,” said Coleman, speaking at his campaign office in St. Paul late morning [5-Nov-2008].
“If you ask me what I would do, I would step back,” said Coleman.
Rightee-o, Norm. Can you say not exactly true, Norm? Sure you can. Can you say lying bag of shit, Norm? Sure you can.
I could only get through about 20 or so comments before my breakfast wanted to come back up.
The only fair way for this election to have been finalized was to have a run-off without Barkley. The whole process was remarkably similar to the 2000 Washington state governor race, and just doesn’t pass the smell test.
As for the end results, we would have been better off with Dean Barkley; Norm is just a carpetbagging RINO, and Franken is as smarmy, loathsome, smug, detestable, and generally disgusting, as any politician ever coming out of Minnesota. An unfunny bastard, too.
If Norm appeals again I will have to disconnect my TV and internet for 6 months until I cool down. This is the worst case of “I’ll take my ball and go home” I’ve ever seen. He has failed to prove any serious problems with the election results and is threatening to appeal simply because of the result: he lost.
Would you believe Franken is finally declared our state Senator?
Don’t get ahead of your good self.
He hasn’t been seated yet. And that grinning geek Normie still can go to the MN Supreme Court, which is not a sure thing either way…
Don’t misunderestimate the depths of GOPuke obstructionism…
So – Hockey Bob:
Take one too many checks into the boards? Here’s the thing. As pointed out by J @70 there is a process and you don’t get to change the process because your guy got his lunch handed to him. If you have any evidence beyond your informed opinion, you have an obligation to share that ASAP with the appropriate parties. Otherwise, STFU.
@71:
“The only fair way for this election to have been finalized was to have a run-off without Barkley.”
I would have liked to have had instant run-off. That requires a change in law (at minimum), and I think it would require an amendment to the MN constitution.
“Franken is as smarmy, loathsome, smug, detestable, and generally disgusting, as any politician ever coming out of Minnesota. An unfunny bastard, too.”
(Ooh, why so angry?) I’ve never seen anything from Franken (not in a comedy routine) that conforms to this description. Compare his behavior before and after the election with Norm’s. Franken wasn’t my top choice by any means (I would have prefered Susan Gaertner); and Norm hasn’t been as bad as I had feared (amazingly, he stuck to his guns on ANWR, for one thing.) I think that’s why the election was so close.
Norm is sort of an ultimate flip-flopper. My wife marched in a DFL parade with him not too long ago … He’s also a very skilled speaker and politician. He may be screwing himself right now.
“RINO”
I think we can detect the political bent here (and throughout the comment.) I could bring up Florida in 2000 but …
Also, considering that he is sacrificing himself in the breach right now in order to hold off the evil hordes of US Senate Dems for the RNC, I’d seriously question the INO part. ;^)
“we would have been better off with Dean Barkley”
I’ve seen no data that support this assertion. Our experience with Independence Party public servants hasn’t been great … That said, he’d probably be OK. Franken will be OK. Norm was OK (not as bad as I had expected.) No great choices this time around.
@#74
And you wonder why atheists are seen by the general public as condescending elitist pricks…
My guy was Barkley, asswipe – I can’t stand the other two bastards.
@Hockey Bob:
Obnoxious, much?
“…Funny, though, how these people fighting so hard (and so interminably) for this seat are the same people who ridiculed Al Gore for the Florida recount…”
That’s the yellow elephant party for you. They are textbook projectionists. They would scream to high heaven that it is only they that are applying the laws properly, and they would of course say that Gore had no chance of winning. Republicans are the ultimate in hypocrisy.
Now, a national senatorial race remaining undecided for six months is less important than say, the presidency remaining so for that long. But the argument is still precious that Gore was somehow in the wrong and should have immediately conceded, but that Coleman is right to drag things out for six months is the face of inevitable loss anyways. How trial lawyer of them.
And this is exactly why your uninformed moron option on this matter means precisely dick.
But good news, sport – you can STFU and GTFO, and nobody will ever bother thinking about you ever again. So, how about it, champ? Are you willing to buck up, tiger, and mosey along? Come on, junior. Pack up and go.
That’s Mr. Asswipe to you, dickhead. Skewered on your rapier wit, I retire, daunted by the ferocity of the taunting.
Nothing like trolls to confirm the concept that conservative thought is an oxymoron.
Option = opinion. Curses and condemnations.
Wait, what? Barkley is a conservative? Or I am, for voting for him? Is that what you are trying to say?
How the fuck am I a troll for saying the other two candidates are contemptible extremist jerks?
As for having an “uninformed moron opinion”, simply because I supported Dean Barkley, does that mean that the US voters here on Pharyngula who voted for non-Democrat or non-Republican candidates are also “uninformed morons”? That people who supported Cynthia McKinney, Chuck Baldwin, Bob Barr, or Ralph Nader, are “uninformed morons”?
No, that can’t be it, because it’s totally incorrect. (Not to mention completely against the principles of democracy our country was founded upon.)
So what is it?
IIRC, the judge ordered Coleman to pay the court and legal costs for Frankin.
What, he couldn’t get the Boys and Girls Clubs of New York to spring for it?
HBob @82:
I have no issues with your opinions (other than the obvious one that I don’t agree with them — and who cares about that?) For all I know, you may be right about Barkley. Time may tell.
I did vote for Franken, and on the assumption that he would be a solid Dem vote. I don’t expect much more. Maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised.
I think the GOP tide is ebbing in MN (except for certain areas such as the 6th Congressional District http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2008/11/the_battle_for_bachmanns_seat.php.) I think Minnesotans have seen the true colors in Bush II and the Gingrich crowd; and they don’t like the view.
I’ve spent a lot of time in low tax states — and I’ve always chosen to live in high-tax states. I don’t want to live in a low-tax state. If MN becomes one, I’ll move. (My family makes enough that we are off the tax tables in the back of the MN I-tax return book, by a long ways, and we have a nice house in the inner suburbs, so I’m one of those paying a lot of those taxes.)
“IIRC, the judge ordered Coleman to pay the court and legal costs for Franken”
He brought that case, it was his risk. It’s only fair that the loser pays, especially if they are the plaintiff.
The other comments are right that the RNC will be paying (somehow). It’s all about blocking Reid, Pelosi, and Obama at this point.
Hockey Bob- Go fuck yourself and while you’re at it, GO SWIM TO THE VATICAN. A nazi like you would love it there.
@25:
“If there’s no statistically decisive victor after the first count, send it back to the voters for another round. That’s the way jury trials are decided: you don’t argue over how the votes should be counted; you just keep balloting until a clear, uncontrovertible consensus emerges.”
That’s easy with the 6-12 people, all co-located, of a jury.
We are talking about discerning a 1-vote margin out of over 1-million votes on each side: Detecting less than 1 part per million. It can’t be done reliably. It doesn’t matter how many times you re-do it, it will still be inside the error bars.
Your proposal would also disenfrachise all absentee voters. The number of absentee voters in the MN 2008 election was 288,000 (including me.) That was 9.9% of the total vote, which, it seems to me, would invalidate the proposed method.
I would like to see instant run-off voting.
As it stands, we have a process and it produces a winner. That’s it. It may not be the person for whom more people voted/attempted to vote. The process cannot determine that reliably. Unless Norm can show subversion of the process, which he can’t, the result will stand.
It’s all foot-dragging at this point.
It’ll still be months before our governor is forced to sign Franken in. However, it’s all but inevitable. Thank god Senate seats are only up every 6 years. If it was two, we’d be close to halfway through the term before this stupid thing got played out.
BTW, I find it delicious that Franken is reclaiming the seat of his friend Paul Welstone from that asshole Norm.
Oh, and yes, he is an asshole. I’m friends with three women who’ve told me that he either hit on the directly or at least were made to feel very uncomfortable by his “friendly” nature. One’s my wife. Family values my ass…
@#86
AHA! I get it – Dean Barkley is a nazi! I *knew* it! No wonder you’re you’re pissed at me for supporting him.
/snark
Oh, and why would I want to go to the vatican, anyway? A) I’m a pro-choice atheist; B) I really only like spaghetti; and C) I’d rather not have any cardinals trying to teabag me. Thanks for the offer, though.
[Note: Posting of the following was delayed because, as I feared, I am blocked from signing in to TypeKey at my work computer. Likely y’all will be seeing vastly fewer comments from me as long as registration stays in place.]
Aquaria:
Indeed. More to the point, if these people knew Franken’s story, they’d know better. In my experience, comments about what an ass Franken is usually come from people who only know his SNL work, movies, and perhaps the smartass titles (but not the contents) of his political books. Of course, for much of his life, it was Franken’s job to be a smartass… but if you listened to his Air America show, or actually read his political books, you’d get a whole different picture… a picture of a smart, thoughtful, committed, and deeply
humane person who cares so much about making this country better that he’s willing to take a huge pay cut (again, since his Air America gig was almost certainly a huge pay cut, too) in order to devote himself
to public service.
Ahh, but probably not. More likely, the people calling Franken an ass probably just hate Democrats, and will trash him in whatever terms they can think of.
Franken is as smarmy, loathsome, smug, detestable, and generally disgusting, as any politician ever coming out of Minnesota. An unfunny bastard, too.
This establishes you as a loathesome, smug, detestable, and generally disgusting person. As for Franken … not.
Wait, what? Barkley is a conservative?
Who said that, cretin?
Or I am, for voting for him?
Or that?
Is that what you are trying to say?
The stupid burns.
Note: Posting of the following was delayed because, as I feared, I am blocked from signing in to TypeKey at my work computer. Likely y’all will be seeing vastly fewer comments from me as long as registration stays in place.
Finally a real reason to be unhappy about registration. Sniff.
Bill: What about GroupID? Will that work for you?
Nothing:
I fear I characterized ol’ Bob as a conservative, which he claims he is not. My error – sorry to all.
Of course, voting for a 3rd party candidate is to deny the reality of American politics. That’s not such a bad thing either. Ever watch the “winner” in Israel try to put together a functioning government? Our systems are different, but I could see a lot of de facto similarities. protest voting might feel good but look at what was gained by the protest vote in 2000 for Nader.
The whole issue comes down to the desire for some independents and rethuglicans to try to find some way to work this into a win by changing the rules of the process. Don’t like the results? Change the process but until then, STFU. Christ on a stick – the high pitched whining is starting to make my fillings ache.
My p
Hockey:
I guess we will all see if you’re a troll or not, eh? If you find the comments here enough to cause a review of your morning meal, you might just be troll. Or not. Maybe you just figured coming out swinging was a good opener.
In my experience, comments about what an ass Franken is usually come from people who only know his SNL work, movies, and perhaps the smartass titles (but not the contents) of his political books.
Yeah, but remember, we’re a nation with tens of millions thinking that a bearded guy in the sky is always watching them. And they think that movie stars are just like the characters they play in real life.
Worse, they care about Brad and Angelina and Jennifer and all that other crap that keeps OK! and US on the newsstands. Never did get any of that, and that’s getting worse with age. I knew I was getting out of touch when I saw a tabloid cover and wondered “Who the fuck is that?” about everyone on it.
If the Franken fiasco isn’t enough to make you sick, how about the NY-20 special election? This is the region near Poughkeepsie, Saratoga and Columbia counties and etc.
The shenanigans of the MN GOP look positively mild compared to what’s happening in this district between Scott Murphy (D) and Jim Tedisco (R).
From TPM:
Of course, the GOP says it’s “offended” and trots out the “some of my friends/family are Jewish” line, but honestly, do we think people who wade in so much shit are ever really offended?
Pull the other one.
I am struck, not just in these comments but across the media, at the willingness, no, eagerness shown by right wingers to point out how horrible and mean and nasty Al Franken is. Heh heh heh. Al Franken.
Seriously, this thing where people can consider themselves human American citizens while claiming perspectives that are so obviously a mish-mash of ONLY what Hannity, Limbaugh, Weiner, Beck, and Bill’O have said, it’s getting old. Al Franken is a mean and horrible person? Oh, you must only have read the TITLE of the book he wrote. And then believed the people he wrote the book about (the book where he documented what liars they are.)
Was there some other horrible mean thing he did that I am not aware of that accounts for the tremendous (and bizarrely clueless) vehemence with which they attack the respected Senator (to-be) from Minnesota? Besides being a ground-breaker in and the poster-boy for progressive talk radio, I guess. I’m pretty sure it’s more the book(s) than the radio thing…
As a MN expat who still gets a thrill thinking about the night of Paul Wellstone’s first election night, I am looking forward to the end of Coleman’s senatorial career.
MN politics are waffles in a pancake world.
nothing’s sacred;
I was referring to the erroneous comment (since graciously retracted by Eidolon – thank you!) that said…
“…Nothing like trolls to confirm the concept that conservative thought is an oxymoron…”
Which referred to me, and my admission of supporting Barkley. Pretty easy to follow, if you had bothered to try. Cretin.
(Sorry – that was uncalled for.)
Eidolon, your comments about 3rd party candidates is well taken. It is often a gamble to vote that way, but as long as I have the right to cast a vote, ***I*** will decide who is deserving of it; there is no such thing as a wasted vote, except the ones that never get cast (or just not allowed, like the NY-20 special election Aquaria mentioned a few posts before me).
I think the bottom line for us Minnesotans is to let Al Franken do his job; if he screws up, only then is criticism warranted. Time will tell, indeed.
On a totally unrelated note, the weather has gotten so nice here, I can finally open the windows! (We Minnesotans are easily pleased – at least this one is.)
Aquaria:
Dunno; I’ll check tomorrow.
Aquaria:
Yeah, just when you thought it couldn’t get weirder!
Bill D:
OMFSM! The Senator who isn’t in the state had her ballot challenged because she’s serving her constituents in Washington as a Senator!
How lame is that?
What a bunch of fuckers.
Bill @ #103—amazing that somehow the democratic process is ‘served’ by voter suppression, that the greater assault on democracy as a whole is seemingly irrelevant to these fucking idiots and that somehow they are able to cotort their rationale for this attack until it is more twisted than a contortionist hooker at a GOP convention.Most amazing that anyone still buys it–and I have plenty of family members that still buy into this shit.
HockeyBob, the fact that your childish rant about Franken bing a meanie devolved into a “give my candidate the job” poutfest is damn fine evidence that you’re a moron. Or disingenous. Or both.
And I disagree with reballoting being only fair – we count all the votes that have been cast. There is no margin of error when you count the entire set, only when you take a sample and extrapolate.
Stogoe, since the thread is only 106 comments long – as of then I typed this one, anyway – feel free to go back and read my comments (a mere handful), and point out exactly where I said, as you just asserted, to “give my candidate the job”. Again, here’s a hint for you – my candidate was Dean Barkley.
Al Franken is as politically qualified to be a senator, as Sarah Palin was to be vice president.
Actually, Franken’s as qualified as, oh, John Adams had to be to join the Continental Congress. Or as qualified as Ronald Reagan was to be governor of CA.
Being a professional politician does not mean one is the best qualified candidate.
And of course, the other difference is: Franken has a working brain and Palin does not.
Aquaria, I know you’re right about Palin, and I hope you’re right about Franken.
Aquaria @97:
“Worse, they care about Brad and Angelina and Jennifer and all that other crap that keeps OK! and US on the newsstands. Never did get any of that, and that’s getting worse with age. I knew I was getting out of touch when I saw a tabloid cover and wondered “Who the fuck is that?” about everyone on it.”
Total agreement here, on all points including the realization part!
Hockey Bob @101:
“Eidolon, your comments about 3rd party candidates is well taken. It is often a gamble to vote that way, but as long as I have the right to cast a vote, ***I*** will decide who is deserving of it; there is no such thing as a wasted vote, except the ones that never get cast (or just not allowed, like the NY-20 special election Aquaria mentioned a few posts before me).
Total agreement. Good onya.
I think the bottom line for us Minnesotans is to let Al Franken do his job; if he screws up, only then is criticism warranted. Time will tell, indeed.
On a totally unrelated note, the weather has gotten so nice here, I can finally open the windows! (We Minnesotans are easily pleased – at least this one is.)”
Hockey Bob @101
That last came out mixed up somehow. This is better. Total agreement. Good onya.