Coleman Diagnosed With Bell's Palsy

The condition is generally temporary, so best wishes to a quick and full recovery to the former Minnesota Senator.

Franken Wins

Note to Wendy Long: This is what a unanimous decision looks like.

I also want to express my near-total agreement with James Joyner:

I’ve maintained from the beginning of this fiasco that 1) the election was for all intents and purposes a tie and 2) Coleman, who was ahead when the initial counting stopped — and after the initial recount! — and saw some really weird things go against him, had every right to fight this in court but that 3) it has long been apparent that Franken was going to win and all Coleman’s tactics were achieving was denying Minnesotans their just representation in the Senate and therefore 4) he should have quit this farce some time back. It’s time to accept the inevitable and move on.

This was roughly my position too, and with Coleman agreeing to concede it seems as good a time as any to reiterate it.

Congratulations, Senator-elect Franken!

Eric Cantor: The Jewish Michael Steele

Matt Yglesias notes that with the defection of Arlen Specter and the defeat of Norm Coleman, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) is the sole remaining Jewish Republican in Congress. He titles his post "The Democrats' Jewish Problem".

Finishing Business

I've very deliberately avoided commenting on the ongoing Minnesota Senate drama. My reasons have been simple: In 2000, I believed that Vice President Al Gore had every right to litigate the outcome of the Florida election for as long as he believed (a) he actually received more votes than his opponent and (b) legal litigation was likely to change the result to reflect that outcome. Norm Coleman has that precise same right, and as long as he genuinely believes the preceding two conditions, he has the right to attempt to vindicate his rights in court.

But, it is becoming more and more clear that Sen. Coleman does not really believe either of these things. He is losing legal challenge after legal challenge, the courts are not budging to his interpretations, and now he's starting to convince folks to simply call a revote -- which boils down to "I admit that under the rules of the state of Minnesota, I lost the election -- but it was really, really close." That isn't good enough to support.

So when Michael Steele talks about "unfinished business" in Minnesota and asks contributors to "stop liberal Democrat comedian Al Franken from stealing Norm Coleman’s U.S. Senate seat in Minnesota," he's talking from nowhere. Al Franken is going to be seated as the senator from Minnesota because he won the race. By the skin of his teeth, after a recount, but he won the race.

Is it true that if Norm Coleman were Senator, it'd be more difficult for Barack Obama to pass his agenda? Sure. But that's only a relevant consideration if Coleman won his race. And he didn't.

UPDATE: Coleman makes it official; his attorneys are asking to set aside the election results.

Sunday Clearinghouse

Getting some tabs off my girlfriend's computer before I leave for Chicago tomorrow.

Reversing its previous stance, AirTran has apologized to a Muslim family kicked off a plane for discussing where the "safest" place was to sit. The family was cleared to fly by the FBI, but AirTran still refused to rebook them.

There are a bevy of international law analyses floating out there of Israel's Gaza operation: An overview written prior to the attack by Avi Bell and Justus Weiner, Eric Posner, Kevin Jon Heller, and Marko Milanovic. The most important things you can draw from them, collectively, are:

(1) The legality/morality of Hamas' attacks on Israel have little bearing on the legality of Israel's response, and vice versa;

(2) Most lay commentators don't know what "proportionality" means in the context of international law; and

(3) Determination of whether Israel is, in fact, violating international law in the current operation depends on a lot of facts that most of us simply do not possess. Speculation on either side of the question tends to simply mirror pre-existing political commitments and works to obscure more than it illuminates.

Norm Coleman is not thrilled with how the recount is progressing.

The Worst Americans of 2008.

Massachusetts police are balking at enforcing the state's newly relaxed laws on marijuana, which make it only a civil offense. The reason appears to be less a belief that pursuing marijuana users is a waste of police time, and more a protest against the new lenient law, which they view as fatally flawed.

Franken Squeaks Through

With all the challenged ballots allocated, Al Franken has opened up a 48 vote lead over incumbent Republican Senator Norm Coleman (MN). There are still a few things left to resolve (improperly excluded absentee ballots, potential duplicate ballots), so we can't call the race quite yet, and indeed won't have an official word until after New Year's. But neither of those two categories are expected to favor Coleman (indeed, the first likely points in Franken's direction), so at the moment we have to project an Al Franken victory.

Phew! Congratulations, Senator!

What's This Picture Worth?

This is the picture CNN has been using as its stock "Norm Coleman/Al Franken" piece. I like it, because it's spectacularly unflattering to both, yet entirely accurate. Coleman comes off as a slick loud-mouth jerk, which he essentially is. And Franken comes off as a know-it-all nerd with poor social skills, which is likewise pretty much true.

Score one for journalistic accuracy.

Return of the Tab Dump

Travel means falling behind on my tabs. Here are some things that caught my eye:

Don't mess with Valerie Jarrett.

The Agricultural Secretary is Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack. Although slightly better than some alternatives (namely, former Rep. Charlie Stenholm), I know Ezra Klein won't be thrilled to get someone who will continue our focus on the corporate-ag side of things, rather than get us looking at sustainable and intelligent food policy.

Stop the presses! Christian organizations hate governmental support for religion when the religion isn't Christianity (see also). The irony is that the putative "church/state violation" the Thomas More Center is whining about wouldn't qualify under even the most stringent separationist doctrine. A doctrine which, it can't be emphasized enough, the TMC normally loathes when they're not being shameless hacks. Also worth noting: the argument the TMC is pressing is one that, if successful (it won't be) would be lethal to the equalization of minority faiths in American culture.

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN), who may or may not have been elected to another term, has lawyered up in response to recent corruption allegations.

Pastor Rick Warren didn't think torture was worth discussing in his meetings with President Bush.

You Judge The Ballots

NPR has samples of some of the contested ballots in the Coleman/Franken Minnesota Senate election, and lets you vote on how you think they should be counted. Finally, a chance to prove you're smarter than a Floridian! Take a whack at it -- and remember, Minnesota operates under a loose "intent of the voter" standard.

My decisions:
1) Franken
2) Accept it (McCain)
3) Franken (this was, in my view, the closest call)
4) Franken
5) Franken ("Lizard People" wasn't bubbled in)
6) Franken
7) Coleman
8) Franken
9) Barkley
10) Barkley
11) Coleman

Norm!

I saw the second half of Sen. Norm Coleman's (R-MN) speech before the RNC. It was bad. I mean, bad. Nobody was into it, the crowd was tepid, at best, and the "theme" was utterly bizarre. "John McCain has a face that says yes"? The hell?

I always thought Coleman was known as a relatively effective pit bull politician. Is that incorrect? Or is the problem that the "serious" theme the RNC has had to put on due to Gustav means that their attack dogs aren't able to really get into their groove?

MN-Senate Poll

My dad will be thrilled to see these numbers:

Democratic Primary (MoE 4.5%)

Franken 42
Ciresi 18

General Election Matchups

Coleman (R) 40
Franken (D) 43.2

Coleman (R) 43
Ciresi (D) 38

Full results here.

My dad hates Norm Coleman. But, being a former attorney at his law firm, he loathes Mike Ciresi.

And as for me (I'm voting in the MN caucus)? Well, familial loyalty prevents me voting Ciresi (as do his pro-life attitudes). I wouldn't have a problem with Franken, except he was a complete and utter asshole to a friend of mine while at a Carleton rally earlier this year, for no good reason (this has turned many folks at Carleton -- who should be firmly in Franken's camp -- hardcore against him). Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer is an option, except I like for my vote to count.

Tough call.