Coleman Lawyer: Maybe -- Not That I'm Saying So -- Somebody Stuffed The Ballots?
Sometimes you have to wonder if there's a method to the madness of Joe Friedberg, Norm Coleman's top lawyer -- or whether he's just plain mad.
Each side has raised concerns about precincts where fewer ballots ended up getting tallied during the recount than were recorded as cast on election night. The reason why is a bit complicated, but it has to do with how the campaigns and election officials dealt with damaged absentee ballots that had been duplicated -- and which the Coleman campaign wants to undo in places where it hurt him.
Naturally, both campaigns have focused on precincts where the loss of votes created a net "gain" for the other guy, in protest of what seems like an obvious disenfranchisement -- though as the Franken campaign notes, it was under a set of rules that everyone agreed to going in, and it cut both ways.
Friedberg had a very odd alternative explanation for a precinct that created a net gain of four votes for Coleman. "Well," he asked Dakota County elections manager Kevin Boyle, "Couldn't a dishonest person have picked up 24 ballots, run them through the machine, and then made them disappear?"
"It seems unlikely," said Boyle. "But I suppose that is possible."
"Well, I assure you that I'm not assuming there are a lot of dishonest people running around Dakota County -- not more than anywhere else," said Friedberg. "But there are a lot of dishonest people out there, yes?"
So here's Friedberg's alternative explanation: A dishonest election worker could have stuffed the ballot box on Election Day, thinking they would never get caught -- and then gone into the voting machine and destroyed the additional 24 ballots right after doing this, just to make sure.
Friedberg did add, though, that he wasn't directly accusing anybody of anything -- only posing the scenario.
Franken lawyer David Lillehaug later revisited this:
Lillehaug: And under that hypothetical, the person would have to cast eight ballots for Coleman, 12 ballots for Franken, and four ballots for someone else, correct?
Boyle: Yes.
Lillehaug: Does that sound very likely to you, sir?
Boyle: It sounds highly unlikely.
Josh
Matt
Eric
Brian
Coleman has no case. He is flailing about try to see what sticks all to delay this as long as possible. Isn't it time we started to call him out on this in a very public forum?
February 11, 2009 6:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Coleman camp's message is clear: Count EVERY ballot, let EVERY vote count. Except for these, they are fake.
February 11, 2009 6:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
So instead of just stuffing the ballot box with four Franken ballots, this dishonest election official stuffed the ballot box with 24 extra votes, but split the votes to give Franken a net gain of four?
I'll never understand why this hasn't been laughed out of the court.
February 11, 2009 7:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, and if you're wondering about the Coleman/McKim case- no court date until April.
So I suspect Coleman will delaying all the way up until then, in the very least.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6248983.html
The guilty delay, delay, delay.
February 11, 2009 7:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe things are different in Minnesota, but in California election workers have to work in pairs whenever ballots are handled and transported.
Draw your own conclusions.
February 11, 2009 7:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
AHhhh, I can't take it. I say Minnesota should have to forfeit a senator for not being able to wrap this up. 1 senator until 2014. 39 is the new 40.
February 11, 2009 9:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ah, but these dishonest vote stealers are pretty crafty people. Sure it doesn't make any sense that someone stuffing ballot boxes wouldn't just stuff votes only for the person they want to win. That's just what they want you to think. That's why they stuffed 8 for Coleman, 12 for Franken and 4 for somebody else. They're just trying to throw you off their trail. They're pretty crafty, I tell you. Pretty crafty.
February 11, 2009 9:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
With the offer of a job with the Republican Jewish Coalition, could Coleman have been asked to draw this out as long as possible in order to keep Franken from taking his seat during these early, critical votes, and as a way of draining Franken's war chest?
At this point Coleman comes across as either a glutton for punishment, a crank or both. But if he was in effect "paid" to hang in there, hurting his own reputation might seem like a reasonable thing to do if whoever arranged this job, asked him to go through this charade for the sake of the GOP.
February 11, 2009 10:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ah, Normie is a true 60s radical cum politician, so his nose turns whichever way the wind blows.
Don't forget, he was the GOP point man on uncovering the huuuge UN oil for food 'scandal', bravely stumping until George Galloway, promptly disemboweled him verbally. After that, I assume that his GOP masters felt the smokescreen was no longer necessary, and called him off.
Norm is like Elmer Gantry, a true believer whose self-interests always align remarkably with the opportunities in front of him. I think he's just too venal to give up his catbird seat so easily.
February 11, 2009 11:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Follow the money.
Coleman is not personally financing this travesty. If you want to know why Coleman's attorney is stretching this out, find out who is paying his bills.
February 12, 2009 8:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
You are spot-on, my friend. See my post further down the page...
February 12, 2009 1:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
How long until Coleman tries suing God for making him lose the election?
February 11, 2009 10:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Big fundraiser for Coleman:
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/polinaut/archive/2009/02/nrsc_to_hold_fu.shtml
February 12, 2009 12:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
When is this going to end? We need Al Franken.
Senator Boxer said that in 2-3 weeks there is going to be an Energy Bill out. We need every Democratic Senator we can find to pass this. No more tax cuts to oil companies. Instead use the Energy Bill to truly create a green economy.
February 12, 2009 2:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
So what Coleman does is to sit in the corner, hold his breath and turn blue, thereby giving the Senate GOP one more no vote. Since when do non Senators get to vote in the Senate ??
February 12, 2009 9:00 AM | Reply | Permalink
Is Coleman really trying to win this thing, or his just thwarting democracy because he can?
February 12, 2009 9:03 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yep. You got it. Bingo!
Without Al Franken, the number of GOPers needed to be peeled off to break a filibuster is two, a lot harder than just strong-arming or cajoling (or, God-forbid, appealing to the nature for the good of the Republic) one GOP Senator with Al Franken seated.
The 'meta' issue here is keeping the ultimate weapon, a 60-seat majority, out of the hands of the Dems. They'll grasp at whatever straw presents itself.
The previous poster, richardxx, is dead-on. Who IS paying for this? (Hint: It AINT grass-roots Repugs...)
February 12, 2009 10:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
My friends in Minnesota are sick to death of both these guys. They are looking forward to the next election to pick someone else.
February 12, 2009 9:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
If only Franken could get his ass in the seat perhaps he could change some of your friends' minds. But of course that is the idea here. On the last day of the term Sentor Franken will be sworn in and his Republican opponent will say the bum didn't do a thing.
February 12, 2009 10:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
Why are your friends sick of Franken? He strikes me as having been remarkably cool-headed through this entire thing. The lawsuit is entirely Coleman's doing.
But then, this is typical GOP strategy. Turn the whole thing into such an obnoxious travesty that people quit following the facts and just throw up their hands saying "these damn politicians are all alike." By being assholes, the Repubs achieve the objective of bringing down their opponent's positives as well.
February 12, 2009 11:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
It only works because the voters are stupid enough to fall for it.
February 12, 2009 11:52 AM | Reply | Permalink