In both of those instances, the alternative was Norm Coleman.
I remember that! Jesus Christ squeeked out a narrow victory over Coleman when the absentee ballots mysteriously multiplied…
I’m not from Minnesota (though I have relatives who live there) but if a local hockey hero or an ice fisherman has graduated cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Harvard (the way Al Franken did), hey, that puts them way up there in my eyes. Franken has always been politically active. Why do people persist if spreading the myth that Frankin is just some local yokel yukker who decided to get into politics for shits’n’grins?
Um. Moron. Care to share just how Al Franken is not qualified to hold a senate seat?
Seriously, inquiring minds want to know.
Seriously, though… when I hear people equate Franken with Ventura, it just displays one of two scenarios:
- Willful ignorance
- Partisan bullshit
Care to fill us in on which one?
Ya fuckin’ moron.
Don’t you know? It’s only ok for entertainers (who are even less qualified than Franken) to get into politics if they’re Republican. Guys like Schwarzenegger or Fred Thompson. Then it’s ok, no matter how unqualified they are.
This is interesting.
Who Will Be Left On Minnesota Supreme Court To Hear Appeal?
I don’t have a solid opinion as to whether any of them should recuse themselves (though Dietzen…donated to Coleman? that seems a bit iffy) but I just thought I’d throw it out there for informational purposes.
Personally, I don’t see Magnuson & Anderson recusing themselves – they were on the Canvassing Board, which decided on how to read the marks on ballots. Coleman’s appeal (from current indications) will be that some ballots were not looked at when they should have been. Not the same issue.
And Page is even less likely to recuse himself – all he did was appoint judges to hear the contest, as required by law. And he seems to have been very fair in choosing appointees from Republican, DFL, and Independent Governors.
Dietzen is more questionable, but his donation was over 6 years ago, when Coleman ran against Wellstone (and then Mondale) – the last election. And he was not a Judge at the time, so not prohibited from making a contribution.
I think that the Court will consider this an important case, and want to have a full panel hearing it. So despite these items, I think they will consider the question asked of potential jurors: “can you render a fair and impartial decision in this case?” and all decide to not recuse themself.
If Coleman files a federal lawsuit alleging violation of constitutional rights under the United States Constitution, presumably the Fourteenth Amendment’s right to due process and equal protection, the courts cannot refuse to hear the suit. They will have to consider it, and dispose of it in the appropriate manner. Since it is quite possible that he will be able to raise at least a prima facie case of violation, it won’t be able to be dismissed on the basis of the original pleadings.
If Coleman wants to, assuming the federal court decisions go against him, he could appeal the ruling of the federal district court to the Circuit Court of Appeal, then to the Supreme Court of the United States (which DOES have the ability to turn him down, since the SCotUS doesn’t have to take your appeal/pet. for cert.). That whole process could take upwards of two years, or it might take some six months, depending on the district court and how it processes the case.
The only question of interest in that situation, however, is whether or not Franken can get seated in the Senate during the processing of the federal case. Gov. Pawlenty may well refuse to issue a certificate; uncertain if the Senate would continue to refuse to seat him under those circumstances.
Smells fishy to me.
Do not post personmal insults to other posters in this forum.
[ /Moderating ]
All I know about Al Franken is that he is a politically active comedian and Air America Radio. I did not know he was a Harvard grad.
shrugs
If people elect him, fine. My post was mostly tounge-in-cheek anyway. He certainly seems more qualified than Ah-nold.
It’s just weird to me that people like Ah-nold, Jesse Ventura, etc get elected at all.
Was Ronald Reagan the first actor turned politician?
Nope. I found at least one earlier: Helen Gahagan Douglas, who served 3 terms as Congressperson for California’s 14th District, and was best known as Nixon’s 1950 opponent for Senator in California, and immortalized by Nixon’s campaign as “the Pink Lady”. In return, Gahagan Douglas coined the nickname “Tricky Dick” for Nixon.
She was a Broadway star, then starred in the 1935 film version of H. Rider Haggard’s She.
Gov. Wendell Anderson won a silver medal in hockey in the Olympics.
Coleman has 10 days to appeal. I’ll bet he takes the full ten, since it seems obvious that this has become more about not seating Franken than finding the actual results.
Hmmm. Interesting. She’s the one that coined that phrase? Too funny, Nixon never lived that name down, and then he lived up to it!
No. George Murphy, a song-and-dance man and movie actor, was elected U.S. senator from (where else?) California in 1964: George Murphy - Wikipedia
Not an actor, but W. Lee “Pappy” O’Daniel, a radio star and country musician, was elected governor of Texas in 1939 and U.S. senator two years later: W. Lee O'Daniel - Wikipedia
Anybody who has never heard Tom Lehrer’s song about George Murphy referred to in the Wikipedia article should really give it a listen. Remember that this was written in 1965, which was before Reagan was elected governor, let alone President.
Similarly, country singer Jimmie Davis, best known for “You Are My Sunshine” was twice elected governor of Louisiana, in 1944 & 1960.
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2009/04/the_silence_is_deafening.php
The usual gang over at Talking Points Memo seem to think that the lack of a response from the Coleman campaign is telling. May well have a point, they should have seen this coming from a mile away, or at least the contingency, yet don’t have a response canned and ready for release.
Or? They changed their minds, had one ready to go but something has happened to give them pause. Did the aroma of coffee finally sink in? Some development in the (still minor) Coleman money-sucking scandal? Maybe Norm! has had enough of being the RNC’s sacrificial butt-boy?
Of course, idle speculation is beneath my dignity. But if its not beneath yours, you could slip it in pretending to respond, or even scold! “Oh, sure, 'luc, like you hadn’t heard about Norm’s attempted date rape of Annette Funicello!”
Not saying you should, or anything. Just sayin’, is all.