Senator Franken? That's just stinkin' thinkin!

Unfortunately the reality is that Al Fanken will be seated as a Senator for Minnesota. It's more than just stinkin' thinkin'. This from the state that elected Jesse 'The Body" Ventura as Governor. True, some people will call shenanigans on the process that saw every vote not be counted. And there's merit to that claim;

Ginsberg said he believes 4,400 unopened absentee ballots should count, and called Monday's ruling "inconsistent with the Minnesota tradition of enfranchising voters."

But Rick Hasen, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles who runs an election law blog, called it "a careful, unanimous opinion" that is "unlikely to be disturbed on appeal."

Just because you carefully considered rejecting legal ballots, does not mean you came to a reasonable conclusion. Statistically speaking you've got an odd, unlikely result. So the claims of something untoward happening to get that win for Franken are legitimate.

But then there's reality.

There are two things missed here. Mondale, Ventura, Franken is not a track record of which to be proud.

Secondly and more importantly - every vote counts apparently holds true in Florida Democratic circles but not in Minnesota. Or more precisely, in Democratic circles it holds true when it helps Democrats, but when they are on the wrong side of that equation - shenanigans. Legal mumbo jumbo. Obfuscation, delay and misdirection.

CNN: from Al Gore "The first lesson is this: Take it from me -- every vote counts. In our Democracy, every vote has power. And never forget: that power is yours. Don't let anyone take it away or talk you into throwing it away. And let's make sure that this time every vote is counted."

It gets kookier.

Those who decry what they deem as an unfair election are clearly not up in arms over this Franken travesty, where an election actually has been stolen. But they will scream to high Heaven when they think they can get away with it.

What it boils down to, is that Minnesota will seat a loudmouth kook in the Senate. They got what they deserve for not turning out for Coleman in greater numbers, or for supporting this blight on rational and civil discourse. The problem is that unfortunately America has to put up with Minnesota's mistake.

Burris gets a seat. Obama gets a pass.

Politics with a difference. Change. Hope. Don't worry Barack, the media will carry your water on this one too. Blagojevich's appointment of Burris to Obama's vacant Senate seat was supposed to be rejected by the Senate. At least they did the public the courtesy of saying no for a day before back-dooring the appointee.

And Al Franken has apparently won the Minnesota seat, because Chuck Schumer declares the race settled, despite what the Minnesota Board stated about not declaring a winner. Again, Harry Reid will go to bat and Obama's hands can stay clean.

Bill Richardson pulls his name out of the running for Commerce Secretary so Obama doesn't have to undergo the scrutiny that the nomination would apparently have caused both of them.

Leon Panetta, a weird choice for head of the CIA is questioned as a choice by Democrat Dianne Feinstein because of lack of intelligence experience. But no worries Barack, Lee Hamilton and the Brookings Institute will go to bat for your nominee. And Dianne has fallen into line.

More and more this guy is starting to remind me of a cross between Bill Clinton and Pontius Pilot. Slick and at the same time, washing his hands of everything because his proxies are going to handle the issues so he can stay clean.

New Year's Predictions

My prognostication skills, beyond being adequate for NFL football, are notoriously flawed. Even my ability to predict election winners in the past has now faltered. With that in mind below are a list of predictions for 2009 - some tongue-in-cheek, some hopefully optimistic and some completely dispassionate and serious. I'll leave it to you to ferret out which is which.

1. The recession will continue throughout the year - unemployment will rise to 8.8%.


2. The credit crisis will continue and as a result the economy (as measured by GDP) will continue to contract throughout the year by 0.3%.


3. The price of oil, despite production cuts by OPEC will remain low - around $35 per barrel.


4. Obama's approval rating will remain above 62% for the entire year, but will drop from the current levels.


5. The Big 3 bailout will proceed as if nobody cares or is paying attention.


6. Norm Coleman will retain his Senate seat.


7. The Back Street Boys will be #1 again.


8. Gov. Blagojevich will name some names and a couple of others will be indited. If the names are high enough up the food chain, a special election may be 'imposed' on Illinois voters.


9. Captain Jack Sparrow will be named as the next CEO of Fannie Mae.


10. The Steelers will make it to the Superbowl (gulp).

That's probably enough rope to hang myself 10 times over. Maybe I should throw out there a few crazier ones for the sake of interest. If you've got any, feel free to post them in the comments section, comments are always most welcome - provided they aren't crude or racist wtc.

Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!

Franken campaign's absurd statement

In Minnesota, Mark Elias - Al Franken's campaign attorney is claiming they will win by 35-50 votes when the Senate recount is complete. The fact that the statement has been been is absurd.

1) If they know that is the case, then to paraphrase Corporal Hudin the movie Aliens, why don't we just put him in charge? Did his team count faster than the official recount?




2) The comments mean nothing, since the recount is NOT FINISHED. On top of that it's inappropriate to claim victory during a recount. What happened to every vote must be counted? Is that only true when you're behind, Democrats?

3) How can they possibly know the outcome before it happens unless they know something others don't know? Which they shouldn't know by the way. If that's the case, then the fix is in - so why advertise it?

The real question is whether this election is being stolen. It sure seems like the recount will continue until the outcome Franken is looking for is accomplished. Sort of reminds me of 2000, when Democrats tried to steal the election from Bush. If indeed the election is being stolen, Americans have a right to know. This should be a more open process - as the rug is being pulled out from underneath Senator Coleman there needs to be brought into the light of day the underhanded tactics in play from the Franken camp.

Secondarily where is Coleman on these questions? I would be all over every comment out of the Franken camp. Decorum has no place in this situation. Every comment, no matter how inane has to be challenged and requests for tangible proof must be forthcoming. If I were part of the Coleman team, every day I would be talking to the media, explaining the latest Franken tactic and why each questionable one is being allowed and what it means for Democracy. This is a knock-down drag out fight being fought on one side and the Coleman camp has no reason to remain above the fray - they're in it whether they want to be or not. The votes are in, public image doesn't matter for these guys until 2014. So fight for every vote, procedurally and publicly. Make your case publicly because whether you want to admit it or not, public opinion can cause a bias on anyone, including election officials.

Lastly, the US Senate does not need another blowhard demagogue right now, and Franken fits that bill to a T. And if he's corrupt to boot, it compounds the image of the Blagojevich/Rahm scandal. Surely the electorate, particularly the Democrat electorate, is not so cynical as to say "who cares if he's a crook, he's on our side' he's the guy we want". And surely, if that's the case, the effort should be started right now, if evidence is there, use it to make the point about political corruption. This is not change, unless change for the worse counts as change. I guess technically it does, but I'm pretty sure it's not the change the Obamabots were voting to get. Then again, maybe it's not the type of change they are prone to want to notice.

Democrats drunk with power

Caroline Kennedy wants to be a Senator. That's her Christmas wish I guess the Democrats will deliver. No special election for Obama's vacant Senate seat seems likely. President-elect Obama is Man of the Year. Media bias is in high gear. What else could go wrong for conservatives? Plenty. President Bush has abandon any pretense of capitalism. Conservatives both moderate and real conservatives are eating their own. There's potential for a declaration of an Al Franken victory in Minnesota. There's going to be a Democratic Senator from Alaska (yes, Steven's could have let it stay Republican, had he stayed clean). A massive infrastructure spending is being proposed. Abortion legislation is going to be changed. New SCOTUS appointees are likely in the next few years, at least maintaining the status quo there, but possibly also pushing it left. And reporters are apparently being instructed on what to not ask of Mr. Obama;



The newly elected Executive and Legislative victors have not even been sworn in yet. How are things going to look in 2 months time? Or 12 months time. Different I expect. But how different is the real question. The fact that Obama has selected a good number of Clintonistas, and appears to be headed to the middle of the road, is no comfort. The Democrats have solid majorities in both the House and the Senate. They will want to push their own far left agendas. Obama will likely fall in line with them more often than not. Just like the Illinois go-along-to-get-along approach that served him so well in the past. And Obama himself is still has all of those radical associations in his closet.

Democrats are not likely to look for bi-partisanship now. They have no need to build bridges to conservatives. nor are they so inclined. Democrats are now where they were for a good portion of the 20th century - in power in at least 2 (in this case 3) of the 3 non-judicial pillars of government. In solid control in both legislative houses, and complete control of the executive. What do conservatives have to oppose them? The filibuster. Well you can't break that out on every single issue. It can't be part of every debate. We've got to pick and choose where to resist.

And in doing so I'd argue that where it is most needed are things that alter the playing field for time lines beyond 2010 and 2012. For example the Fairness Doctrine has far-reaching implications to Republicans. And the public probably doesn't care too much about it. It needs to be stopped if put forward. Illegal immigration and paths to citizenship - illegal immigrants are more likely to support Democrats than legal immigrants. That's another game changer. And that could be a positive one if framed right by the GOP and then the reasons for the position disseminated quickly, broadly and effectively.

As for the Democrats, they are likely to become more drunk with power over the next 12-16 months. What we can try to do to stop them, or hold them at bay, is not going to influence their decision to plow forward with every radical legislative idea they think they can get away with. The GOP has to draw a line in the sand somewhere, and be resolute in defending that line in any legal way possible. The battles are coming, we'd better be prepared with our resolve and get some tactics in place to support the strategic battles we need to fight.

We're on defence - it's not a pretty picture, but it needs to sink in that it's a siege and we have to hold the fort until the cavalry starts to arrive in 2010. Then again, we'd better get the cavalry suited up and armed PDQ as well.

I'm just saying.