My attitude on this sort of thing is changing. I now believe that if a Republican is not smart enough to see this sort of thing coming and nip it in the bud then he's not smart enough to hold the office. Correct me if I am wrong, but AFAIK
Tom McClintock is the only Republican to outmaneuver a Democrat recount scam. Studying the management his last election campaign for Congress could prove salutary for many Republicans.
Absolutely right. This election was Norm Coleman's to lose, and he chose to lose it by voting for last October's $800+ billion stimulus bill. (Remember that one? Remember when $800 billion seemed like a lot of money?) Coleman chose to vote for that first bailout bill over the screaming objections of his constituents -- me included -- and that p.o.'d his base just enough to push about 17% of the vote over to a third-party candidate (Dean Barkley) who talked a really good libertarian line. *That single vote* is what made this election close in the first place.
Then, once it went into recount, Coleman chose to lose again, by conducting the court fight in a really stupid and inconsistent way, and conceding points he never should have conceded.
Short answer: Coleman chose to lose this one. And now the whole country is going to pay for it.