Senate GOP prepared to fight early Franken seat

by Chris Welch, CNN: Sen. John Cornyn, the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, is weighing in on Minnesota's close and still unresolved U.S. Senate race, saying Friday that no one should be seated until a winner is made official by both the Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Currently, Democratic challenger Al Franken holds a slight lead of about 50 votes over Republican incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman, but this number does not reflect what could be more than a thousand improperly rejected absentee ballots still to be tallied, which would sway results.
Tags: Al Franken, Harry Reid, John Cornyn, Ken Blackwell, Minnesota, Norm Coleman, US Senate To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Cornyn, a Republican from the state of Texas, said a filibuster may be in order if Franken were seated before an official certificate is signed by Ritchie and Pawlenty. "There will be no way that people on our side of the aisle will agree to seat any senator provisionally or otherwise," he told reporters on a conference call. The new Congress will be sworn in Jan. 6, and it's unlikely a certificate would be signed by then. Speculation over what could happen in the interim included the possibility that the Democratically-controlled body would provisionally seat Franken if he remains in the lead. The Coleman campaign is hoping the Minnesota Supreme Court will intervene over the issue of the improperly rejected absentee ballots because they say there is no uniform standard for local officials and the campaigns to review and count them.

It's also possible for an election contest to be filed after the Secretary of State certifies the results. The Coleman campaign has hinted at the increasing likelihood that they'd again go to the high court, which could mean a resolution would still be weeks away. The secretary of states office is scheduled to tally improperly rejected absentee ballots this weekend and could have a result as early as Monday, though the meaning of any such result without a governor's signature remains to be seen. . . . [Full Story]

by David A. Patten, Newsmax: GOP leaders reacted angrily Wednesday to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's tactic of all but projecting Al Franken the victor over incumbent GOP Sen. Norm Coleman, even as Minnesota election officials continue to count the votes. "At this stage, it appears that Franken will be certified the winner by the State Canvassing Board,” said a statement Reid’s office released Tuesday. “We're keeping abreast of the situation and will make a decision with regard to Senate action at the appropriate point in the process."

Former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, a leading contender for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee, blasted Reid for politicizing the recount. "The American people will see right through Harry Reid’s crass partisan power grab,” Blackwell tells Newsmax. “He wants to manufacture a filibuster-proof majority to push through his liberal agenda. Americans expect fairness, but Reid is offering political games. There are over 1,300 disputed ballots in Minnesota that must be resolved before anyone is seated.” Adds Blackwell, "This is just another example of the sleazy political boss antics that has Harry Reid at risk of losing his own Senate seat in Nevada." . . . [Full Story]