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Funny Business in Minnesota In which every dubious ruling seems to help Al Franken.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123111967642552909.html ^ | January 04, 2009 | Wall St. Journal

Posted on 01/04/2009 10:28:36 PM PST by Steelfish

Funny Business in Minnesota In which every dubious ruling seems to help Al Franken. Strange things keep happening in Minnesota, where the disputed recount in the Senate race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken may be nearing a dubious outcome. Thanks to the machinations of Democratic Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and a meek state Canvassing Board, Mr. Franken may emerge as an illegitimate victor. Mr. Franken started the recount 215 votes behind Senator Coleman, but he now claims a 225-vote lead and suddenly the man who was insisting on "counting every vote" wants to shut the process down. He's getting help from Mr. Ritchie and his four fellow Canvassing Board members, who have delivered inconsistent rulings and are ignoring glaring problems with the tallies. Under Minnesota law, election officials are required to make a duplicate ballot if the original is damaged during Election Night counting. Officials are supposed to mark these as "duplicate" and segregate the original ballots. But it appears some officials may have failed to mark ballots as duplicates, which are now being counted in addition to the originals. This helps explain why more than 25 precincts now have more ballots than voters who signed in to vote. By some estimates this double counting has yielded Mr. Franken an additional 80 to 100 votes. This disenfranchises Minnesotans whose vote counted only once. And one Canvassing Board member, State Supreme Court Justice G. Barry Anderson, has acknowledged that "very likely there was a double counting." Yet the board insists that it lacks the authority to question local officials and it is merely adding the inflated numbers to the totals.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Editorial; News/Current Events; US: Minnesota
KEYWORDS: alfranken; coleman; colemanlegal; franken; mn2008; ruling
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To: Old Retired Army Guy
Two years? If Franken is declared the winner, he’s there for SIX (6) long years.

Doy! Yes, you're right. Wishful thinking on my part.
41 posted on 01/05/2009 5:36:19 AM PST by swatbuznik
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To: giotto
Minnesotans should demand a runoff election.

Franken would win easily. I think you've overestimated the intelligence of Minnesotan voters.

42 posted on 01/05/2009 5:42:27 AM PST by palmer (Some third party malcontents don't like Palin because she is a true conservative)
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To: Lancey Howard
At this moment, it is entirely natural for conservatives to feel depressed, disheartened and disenfranchised. Not only are the liberal Democrats about to leap into control of the entire government, but our own party - the Republican Party - is in full white flag mode, looking as though they are ready to toss conservatives and conservatism under the proverbial bus. As though Americans wanted and needed two parties dedicated to big-Government liberalism, we are now offered Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dummer.

But do Americans really want this kind of Janus-faced liberalism? Or are they just suffering from a prolonged lack of leadership and vision such that even a styrofoam cutout like Barack Obama could get elected by simply sounding like a true leader? That the words were empty of serious content seemed to matter not at all to a public weary of war and yet spoiled by unparalleled abundance. For their part, the Democrats succeeded by exploiting the former and by denying the latter.

And for their part, the Republicans failed by promoting as their standard-bearer a candidate who accepted all the important premises of the opposition. Having made a career of undercutting his own party's base at nearly every turn, he continued to do so until naked political calculus led to his selection of a conservative running mate - a great choice, but one made more of necessity than conviction.

Anyway, here we are, in the wilderness. Where we will be for a while. But "America" as you and I recall it is not yet dead. It's just gone underground, waiting for a leader and a cause, and for the right moment to reemerge. America feels the same way to me now as it did back in January 1977: the argument was over - the Left had won and controlled everything. A mere four years later, it felt very, very different. And much, much better.

Hope is not just for Democrats.

43 posted on 01/05/2009 6:24:26 AM PST by andy58-in-nh (Ronald Reagan had a vision of America. Barack Obama has a vision of Barack Obama.)
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To: Steelfish

MN is a joke / bump for later........


44 posted on 01/05/2009 7:18:18 AM PST by indthkr
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To: Lancey Howard
I don't think its' GOP rollover... They are not getting the press. When its' mentioned at all...dnc/media makes it sound like all is well and this is how its' done.

When dnc/media is in an uproar... then people will be in uproar... when dnc/media pretends all is well and/or covers for dnc... then people accept it. Dnc/media will destroy this once great country... infact, they are pretty dam close to it.
45 posted on 01/05/2009 7:50:00 AM PST by Strutt9
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To: Steelfish
The Coleman campaign clearly misjudged the politics here, and the apparent willingness of a partisan like Mr. Ritchie to help his preferred candidate, Mr. Franken.

Typical Republican move. Why any Republican ever puts even a shred of trust in these cheating, thieving, traitorous Democrats is beyond me. They should just expect that from the lowest city council Democrat flunky all the way to the top dog of that rotten party that they will subvert any rule of law involved and they should protect themselves. It's now election by theft nationwide for these thugs.

46 posted on 01/05/2009 7:53:47 AM PST by Reagan is King (Every immigrant who comes here should be required within five years to learn English or leave.)
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To: giotto
"Minnesotans should demand a runoff election. This one is hopelessly bolloxed and too close. No matter who is declared the winner of the Nov. 4 election, he will be forever considered illegitimate."

You're absolutely right, except "bolloxed" doesn't even come close, lol!

The question is, will they demand a run-off?

Ironic (or intentional?) there's all this yakking about Blago's corruption "tainting" his nominee Burress (sic) and not having a "special election" for the Illinois Senate seat, when that's only for two years of Obama's first term (right?)...like Franken isn't "tainted" by his association with these mind-reading election-board people, double-counting judges and etc...

47 posted on 01/05/2009 8:52:43 AM PST by 88keys (I'm not a racist, I just don't want Socialists running my country)
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To: Steelfish
Thanks for post - we need to know about this!

Freepers, contact your Senators and make sure they know this too...Franken can not be allowed to be seated until this election undergoes better/outside scrutiny...

They're the "august body", a group of only 100...do they really want Franken to be one of their 100, given the exceptional circumstances??? Not to mention his "track record"...ugh! You'd think even the Democrats would find him a complete embarrassment?!

48 posted on 01/05/2009 9:06:23 AM PST by 88keys (I'm not a racist, I just don't want Socialists running my country)
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To: Steelfish

Minnesota will get what it deserves. The ironic thing to me is that so many, including here on FR, love to deride Florida for the 2000 election fraud perpetrated by the dems, yet New Jersey elects the corrupt, New York elects miss Carpetbagger, Minnesota elects jokers and wrestlers, and Mass elects the likes of Eddie Kennedy and John-Vietnam-Kerry!

Yet “Floriduh” is a “dumb” state. FReeper please.


49 posted on 01/05/2009 9:28:42 AM PST by subterfuge (BUILD MORE NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS NOW!!!)
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To: andy58-in-nh
But "America" as you and I recall it is not yet dead. It's just gone underground, waiting for a leader and a cause, and for the right moment to reemerge.

Funny you use the term "dead." And I don't menan ha-ha funny. The previous America you mention may not ever return as it may be too late. And if some semblence of sanity returns it will only be because of a catastrophic event like a MAJOR terrorist attack. And probably not even then.

50 posted on 01/05/2009 9:34:19 AM PST by subterfuge (BUILD MORE NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS NOW!!!)
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To: subterfuge

As much as it may seem at this miserable moment that the Old America is pushing up daisies, has shuffled off this mortal coil, has joined the bleedin’ choir invisible, or is pinin’ for the fjords, I think it still lives and breathes. Among other places, it lives right here on this page.


51 posted on 01/05/2009 9:40:34 AM PST by andy58-in-nh (Ronald Reagan had a vision of America. Barack Obama has a vision of Barack Obama.)
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To: subterfuge

Agreed. But you forgot California with its two left-wignuts senators.


52 posted on 01/05/2009 10:03:17 AM PST by Steelfish (Our Winning Video)
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To: NorthWoody; Manic_Episode; mikethevike; coder2; AmericanChef; Reaganesque; ER Doc; lesser_satan; ...

WELCOME TO FREE REPUBLIC’S MINNESOTA PING LIST!

121 MEMBERS AND GROWING...!

FREEPMAIL ME IF YOU WANT ON OR OFF THIS LIST!


53 posted on 01/05/2009 10:08:32 AM PST by MplsSteve
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To: Lancey Howard

Conservatives and only SOME republicans are causing a little uproar, but everyone else, including my lib friends are saying “hey what can we do now...he won!”

Not in my eyes, he didn’t win...he STOLE!


54 posted on 01/05/2009 10:16:24 AM PST by VanillaBlizzard
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To: piytar

“and gee, who is going to win that fight, the feminized leftist ‘male’? i don’t think so...”

one shouldn’t underestimate these adolescent, psychotic punks dressed in adult clothing, playing adult games. they’re intent on getting power and just itching for anyone to challenge them; the bottom line is that they have their comrades at their back who are ready to assist them
by subverting whatever laws are necessary.

dangerous times dominated by dangerous leftist scu&bags.

IMHO


55 posted on 01/05/2009 2:42:09 PM PST by ripley
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To: Lancey Howard

This is just so WRONG!


56 posted on 01/05/2009 3:25:47 PM PST by buffyt (Peace will come to the Middle East when the Arabs love their children more than they hate us. G Meir)
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To: Lancey Howard

“But I smell nothing but another GOP rollover here. Pathetic.”

When the other side is in charge of counting all you have left is to sue.

After 2000 Florida and 2004 Ohio, the Dems decided to take scty of state positions seriously. Soros funded campaigns for these races. They installed a Dem-Rat MoveOn.org type person in the position in Minnesota that is in charge of this recount.

That’s the real story here - the Dems took the issue seriously enough to have their guy in there.

Yup. Stalin was right. Its not the votes that counts, its who counts who cotes.

Please - FREAK OUT on this. Write letters to the editor. Explain how it stinks to high heaven. repeat after me: Franken, selected not elected.

Whatever it takes so people are made aware of this travesty. No one will get outraged if you dont speak out on it.


57 posted on 01/05/2009 5:33:29 PM PST by WOSG (Obama - a born in the USA socialist)
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To: Steelfish

Coleman is a semi-milquetoast who had to be dragged kicking and screaming by his constituents to fight against the Open Borders debacle that was going on during the summer of ‘06.


58 posted on 01/05/2009 6:11:48 PM PST by redstates4ever ((Liberalism is a mental disorder.))
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To: Steelfish

Happy New Year!


59 posted on 01/05/2009 7:54:35 PM PST by neverdem (Xin loi minh oi)
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To: Steelfish

Don’t believe the the old lie that “Minnesota is a clean politics state”. That canard has been advanced for at least 50 years in order to cover up shady dealings by the Democrats here in the northland.

Since the Dems own the news media both in the Twin Cities and nationally, it’s hard to get out the truth about the DFL (Democrat Farm Labor) party here.

Probably the most infamous case of dirty tricks happened in the 1960’s, when after Orville Freeman left the Governor’s office to become Kennedy’s Sec. of Agriculture, the following election saw Elmer L. Anderson, a somewhat liberal Republican businessman elected to the office. He was a fairly good governor. When he came up for re-election, the DFL led by Hubert Humphrey decided that they wanted the office back again. This happened during the massive construction of the interstate highway program. So, about one month before the election, when Gov. Anderson opened up Highway 35 from the Twin Cities to Duluth in a ribbon-cutting ceremony, the DFL went into combat. With the aid of the Minneapolis Star & Tribune, and WCCO they began to hammer Anderson for some sort of so-called shoddy negligence in the construction of the highway so Anderson could speed up the process to open up the Highway in time for this publicity. The newspaper and TV news folks kept repeating this lie which was entirely concocted as a “scandal”. Of course, it turned out to be a false accusation.

The purpose, of course, was to elect the DFL candidate, who was a rather stupid, chronically drunk, alcoholic named Karl Rolvaag. Their insidious plan worked, and Rolvaag won by less than 100 votes (and I would not put it past them to have padded his numbers in the Minneapolis precincts). Believe me, Al Franken is not the first DFL candidate to win who has caused lots of embarrassment to our state.

It’s easy to say a state is clean, if you are only looking at whether or not the GOP is corrupt. Indeed, in Minnesota we have had very few scandals of any sort in the GOP, but the DFL’s scandals have been plenty, but have been almost universally covered up. Making up phony scandals and damaging people’s reputations is not my idea of clean politics.

Folks. Take it from me. I’ve seen lots of scandal in MN politics and it’s mostly all on the Democrats side!


60 posted on 01/06/2009 4:41:06 AM PST by Gumdrop
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