Coleman Might Actually Win Recount

Or, rather, be acknowledged by the counters as having won the recount, which is always the more difficult part for Republicans. Somehow, in close races, Democrats always find more votes than we do.

Maybe not this time -- Coleman's still ahead by 172 votes with 74% of the recount complete, and Franken partisans' attempt to expand the "recount" to reconsidering already-disqualified ballots has been rejected.

Coleman has occasionally earned the RINO label. Anyone want to trade a RINO for Al Franken? What we actually need is more conservatives, not fewer moderates. We need greater numbers in absolute terms of both -- let's not just attempt to change the ratio between them of a dwindling absolute number.

So says Jim DeMint:

Now, there are some people who believe we need to purge certain parts of the Republican Party -- say, moderates or social conservatives. Is that something we should consider?

....No, I think a lot of Republicans we call moderates believe in the same principles we do, but their constituencies are a little different and sometimes the way our policies are presented by Republicans who are conservative like me are seen as "single issue" or things that don't relate to their part of the country.

What we do need to do is recruit the best candidates we can for positions. We need to equip our candidates with the core principles of the Republican Party that they can translate for their constituents in a way that inspires them.

So, I am not trying to divide the party between moderates and conservatives. But, ...those of us who believe in these core principles do need to talk to our colleagues, talk to a national audience, and show some of the folks here who are not voting like I am that these are winning ideas. If we take them boldly to the American people, they will send us back to office.

More: Almost 200 votes with 80% in-- Franken's numbers are not going the right way.

But check out this ominous twist:

Perhaps the most intriguing wrinkle to consider when looking at possible litigation is the makeup of the canvassing board. Minnesota Supreme Court justices Eric Magnuson and G. Barry Anderson are both serving on the panel. This means that they would need to recuse themselves from any litigation related to the senate recount that comes before the state’s top court. Given that both were GOP appointees, this would seem to be an unwelcome development for the Coleman campaign. “It gets two potentially partisan Republicans off, although I don’t think they’re that partisan myself,” Schultz says.

posted by Ace at 03:03 PM

| Access Comments