The Minnesota Election Trial: Bad Comedy
Two funny moments today from the Minnesota trial:
Coleman lawyer Tony Trimble was asking Kevin Boyle, the election/records manager in Republican-leaning Dakota County, about the requirement that an absentee voter put his residential address on the ballot envelope, as opposed to a P.O. box where he might actually receive his mail. Quite a few ballots have been thrown out because of this.
So Trimble asked what the county would do if a voter gave his P.O. box for the purposes of paying his property taxes, clearly expecting a simple, common-sense answer that the county would accept the money:
Trimble: Is there any reason you would reject it?
Boyle: I think you're talking about property taxation--
Trimble: That's correct.
Boyle: --and I'm a bit unfamiliar with what their practices are.
Trimble then confirmed that property taxation is the office where Boyle works.
Also at a press conference today, Coleman lawyer and spin-man Ben Ginsberg hailed the precedent set by a court decision today to let in two-dozen previously-rejected Franken ballots, as it affirms their position that there remain votes to be counted.
Ginsberg also blasted Charlie Nauen, the lawyer for those Franken-voters, for filing a memorandum against the Coleman camp's "reverse class-action" lawsuit to force the review and counting of all 11,000 rejected ballots. Ginsberg said that Nauen's actions demonstrated "a Franken proclivity for cherry-picking like banshees."
Cherry-picking like banshees? What does that even mean???
(Ginsberg presser c/o The Uptake.)
Josh
Matt
Eric
Brian
Sweet Mother of God, make this nonsense stop!!
The simple reason you need a residential address is that it has to match the address at which you're registered and you can't register at a PO Box. I don't think the property tax office is terribly worried about people surreptitiously paying other people's property taxes.
When will they put a stop to this filibuster? Can't they have a cloture vote or something?
February 10, 2009 4:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Did Franken's cross make that point though?
February 10, 2009 4:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
They may not have had a chance yet, but they certainly ought to. Not that it will make any difference. This isn't a trial, it's a filibuster.
February 10, 2009 4:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
As a Minnesotan, I'd be glad to see this farce come to an end and that we get Franken seated.
From my reading of all the events that have happened at this "trial", I have yet to see the Coleman camp introduce anything that would be considered any different from the recount process. Didn't they (the Coleman camp) have their chance to object or try to get accepted absentee ballots during the recount? Didn't they, at the time, actively pursue a course of action to exclude these very same ballots that they're now trying to get included? How hard can it be for the judges to rule that the Coleman camp hasn't introduced anything new and are basically contradicting their earlier position?
Frustrating indeed.
February 10, 2009 5:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
OMFG! I had no idea that counties had so little protection against taxpayer-registration fraud!!!
Imagine the horrors of hordes of unscrupulous taxpayers sending in money for taxes on property they don't even own! And the sad part is they could probably get away with it!
Look, the real reason why PO-box addresses should be allowed on voter-registration rolls is to make it easy to change election districts without having to actually move. Whaddya gonna do if your ED has a boring primary for supervisor and the ED next to you has a really exciting one? I mean, moving really, really sucks donkey ding-dongs!
It's an obvious reference to The Real Ghostbusters animated series episode Banshee Bake a Cherry Pie?
Come on, Eric! Who ya gonna call???
February 10, 2009 4:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sounds like Ginsberg was having a Young Frankenstein moment: "Sedagive?!?!
February 10, 2009 5:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Cherry Picking Banshees!
It's not a Ghostbusters reference. The CPBs was the very short lived Neo - swing riotgrrl group that was lead by Kathleen Hanna and produced by Brian Setzer and Tessa Pollitt. The recordings were burned by Team Dresch in a guerilla statement over the personal as political. She later left to form first Bikini Kill and later Le Tigre.
Listen to Le Tigre's Deceptacon for to get a sense of what they sounded like.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SyBR-M2YvU
Who knew Ginsberg would have that secret side?
February 10, 2009 6:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
Aren't the Cherry Picking Banshees just a bunch of ACORNs in cahoots with the Lizard People?
February 10, 2009 6:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Most good and kind Mr. Kleefeld,
Did the Court rule yet on the Franken request that certification be issued while this happy horse hockey hobbles on forever?
Ever the Inquiring Guy,
RLA
February 10, 2009 7:00 PM | Reply | Permalink