Potential Franken Victory Sends GOP into Paranoid Fits

[marmar]

via AlterNet:



Potential Franken Victory Sends GOP into Paranoid Fits

Posted by Sam Stein, Huffington Post at 12:19 PM on December 25, 2008.

When Republicans lawyer up, that's just preserving the sanctity of the vote; when Dems do it, they're 'stealing' ... something.



The possible, perhaps, impending victory of Al Franken to the Senate has sent GOP officials into a paranoid tizzy.

In an "urgent message" to supporters, the Republican National Lawyer Association accuses Franken and his "liberal allies" of "working feverishingly to steal the Minnesota Senate election."

"As you may know, the precinct recount phase of the Minnesota Senate race was won by Sen. Norm Coleman on Election Day," reads the petition, signed by the group's executive director, Michael Thielen. "But Al Franken still won't concede. Instead, Franken raised millions of dollars from liberals in New York and Hollywood to fight a "legal" battle to undo the will of the voters. He even got the Minnesota Supreme Court to order canvassing boards to consider about 1600 previously rejected and questionable ballots. Now, Republican Norm Coleman has until December 31st to fight against Franken's liberal legal team to keep his Senate seat. RNLA and Norm Coleman are fighting for every vote -- literally!"

From there, the RNLA asks readers to donate money so that it can uphold the sanctity of the Minnesota election and prevent Franken from "stealing" the Senate seat.

For those following the recount closely, the letter is filled with a variety of obvious misinterpretations and inaccuracies. For instance, the RNLA gives the impression that during the canvassing process, officials "found errors favoring Franken so incredibly statistically improbable that statisticians are questioning the officials in these counties." It's not clear which statisticians the RNLA is referring to. But a study done by a Dartmouth professor actually predicted the very gains made by Franken. ........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/115385/potential_franken_victory_sends_gop_into_paranoid_fits/

[Botany]

1. I hope they stew in their own juices

bush v Gore
bush v Kerry
Schmidt v Hackett
Pryce v Kilroy

What they fail to say is that when all the votes which were cast
legally are counted Al Franken will win ..... their straw man arguement
about New York nad Hollywood liberals is just trying to change the subject.

[ProfessorGAC]

8. Change The Subject? Ignore The Facts? Can't Be!

Not repub lawyers. That just can't be true, can it? :sarcasm:
GAC

[mnhtnbb]

2. Looks like they didn't rig enough votes for Coleman to steal it.

[Orsino]

3. Whereas it should send *us* into paranoid fits.

Without hand recounts, Minnesota's system of optical scans and challenges would have flipped the election the other way. Not by much, but enough to tip a US Senate race.

[wellstone dem]

4. As a Minnesotan, 10 reasons I am proud of our election system and how we have handled our recount.

#1 We have same day registration.
#2 We have a paper ballot verification of every vote.
#3 We have an automatic hand recount for very close elections, which recognizes that machines are not perfect.
#4 Our recount is based on voter intent, which allows those who are disabled or otherwise not able to exactly fill in a tiny circle on a ballot to have their vote counted.
#5 Our recount was open and observed by both campaigns. In my county we could even watch the recount on line.
#6 Every challenged vote was viewable on-line.
#7 The canvassing Board was composed of two Supreme Court justices--both appointed to the Supreme Court by a Republican Governor, a state district court judge appointed by an independence party governor, a state district court judge who was not appointed but elected to her position, and the Democratic Secretary of State.
#8 The proceedings of the canvassing board were viewable by all.
#9 Each ballot ruled on by the canvassing board was viewable on-line, along with information about the ruling.
#10 The Supreme Court ruled that absentee ballots not validly excluded must be counted.


Our entire system is open, and is geared to enable as many voters to vote as possible, and to ensure that the the intent of each voter is counted.

[Historic NY]

5. I was amazed by the efforts ur state has to make it open & accessible...

its put out there for all to see good or bad. That would never happen here in NY.

[Vickers]

6. Translation: "Send more money, you ignorant fucks."

:P

[Frank Cannon]

7. Conan, what is good in life?

To see the Republicans driven before you.

And to hear the lamentation of the pundits.