2009 Already Providing Tremendous Fodder For Talk Radio, Blogs
The Radio Equalizer: Brian Maloney — ... In Minnesota, the sleazy, ultra-partisan effort by Democrats to steal a US Senate seat for alleged comedian Al Franken has become so brazen that the Wall Street Journal now considers the process and Franken himself "tainted". Here, they've documented the thievery step-by-step. ...

No Laughing Matter
Daily Pundit — Funny Business in Minnesota - WSJ.com Minnesotans like to think that their state isn’t like New Jersey or Louisiana, and typically it isn’t. But we can’t recall a similar recount involving optical scanning machines that has changed so many votes, and in which nearly every crucial decision worked to the advantage of the same candidate. 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. If the Canvassing Board certifies Mr. ...

A real clown takes a Senate seat
Michelle Malkin — ... as Franken gained 200 out of the 935 absentee ballots they did count. Ballot challenge inconsistencies will have less of a chance, as those are inherently subjective and the court will give the Canvassing Board the widest possible latitude. In the end, a dead heat winds up getting decided by the incompetence of individual voters who under any other circumstances would not matter at all. That’s what we had here. May Minnesotans get what they deserve. *** WSJ spotlights the funny business in Minnesota: Minnesotans like to think that their state isn’t like New Jersey or ...

Burris Appointment Rejected; Coleman on Empty
Taylor Marsh — ... So, if you want to see an example of learning from Gore 2000, but also Kerry in Ohio 2004, see Al never give up the fight Franken. What a brawl he delivered. The Wall Street Journal provides the sound effects. Waaaaaah. ...

Yep, Franken Stole the Election
Ace of Spades HQ — Yep, Franken Stole the Election "Every single dubious ruling seemed to help Franken. [T]he board has been flagrantly inconsistent. Last month, Mr. Franken's campaign charged that one Hennepin County (Minneapolis) precinct had "lost" 133 votes, since the hand recount showed fewer ballots than machine votes recorded on Election Night. Though there is no proof to this missing vote charge -- officials may have accidentally run the ballots through the machine twice on Election Night -- the Canvassing Board chose to go with the Election Night total, rather than the actual number of ...

MN Senate Seat Successfully Stolen
Nice Deb — ... Nice going, Minnesota. You’ve got to hand it to the Dems for having the chutzpa to steal it in plain sight, too, as The Washington Times opines: 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. Minnesota Democrats Exposed ...

Cry (Lie) Me a River
Talking Points Memo — ... As you'd expect, the Journal editorial page is already coming up with a string of bogus insinuations about the Minnesota recount, all suggesting that the process has somehow big rigged in favor of Al Franken or even that there's some more Republican fantasy voter fraud involved. One point they don't mention though: the canvassing board, the outfit making all the key decisions has at least as many Republicans as Democrats, and may actually have more Republicans than Democrats. What's more almost every key decision has been made unanimously. ...

Al Franken Certified Winner
The Latest on Air America — ... Meanwhile the Wall Street Journal took potshots at this latest development, opining "suddenly the man who was insisting on 'counting every vote' wants to shut the process down." The economy is bad. Like Coleman said, why waste any more taxpayer dough on a foregone conclusion? Al Franken wins!

Shots from the Show 1/5
Tammy Bruce — **This post will be updated throughout the show** Bolton on Israel: The Three-State Option New Vaccine Fights Breast Cancer Tumors India. May she find all the catnip fields she ever hoped for. Send your prayers and good vibes to Bush and White House cat India, who has gone to the big Cat Condo in the sky. 18 years old--not a bad run. WSJ: Funny Business in Minnesota Dianne Feinstein jumps the shark and decides it's our nuclear weapons ...

Surprise, Surprise: Franken Catches All the ‘Breaks’
RedState: Conservative News and Community — The Wall Street Journal: 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. How have Democratic officeholders helped Franken so far? Read the whole thing, but here’s a ...

Will they be screaming about unfair, stolen elections now?
Wizbang — ... from the beginning what the outcome would be. No matter who the people actually voted for, Al Franken would be declared the winner. And that's exactly what will happen, because there is no other allowable outcome beyond a Franken victory. It doesn't matter whether or not Minnesotans want him; all that matters is that some crazy guy wants to be a Senator and he's got a (D) next to his name. Every single outcome of the recount, no matter what they find, will benefit Al Franken, as the Wall Street Journal is noticing . Under Minnesota law, election officials are required to ...

Will they be screaming about unfair, stolen elections now?
Stop The ACLU — ... from the beginning what the outcome would be. No matter who the people actually voted for, Al Franken would be declared the winner. And that’s exactly what will happen, because there is no other allowable outcome beyond a Franken victory. It doesn’t matter whether or not Minnesotans want him; all that matters is that some crazy guy wants to be a Senator and he’s got a (D) next to his name. Every single outcome of the recount, no matter what they find, will benefit Al Franken, as the Wall Street Journal is noticing . Under Minnesota law, election officials are required to ...

Coleman's dwindling options
Political Animal — ... editorial in today's Wall Street Journal , which is based largely on the notion that its readers don't know that the Minnesota canvassing board is bipartisan, and has made a series of decisions unanimously. Let's not also forget, it was just two months ago that Coleman announced that ...

There’s An Election Being Stolen In Minnesota
Say Anything — ... As the Franken camp all but declares victory in the Minnesota election race, it’s worth noting that the people in charge of running that election should all be fired: ...

Did the Wall Street Jorunal Fire their Fact-Checkers?
FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right — The Wall Street Journal is bar none one of the best newspapers in the country -- except when its Editorial Board is having a bad day. And today the Board is having a very bad day, having published an editorial that declares Al Franken's provisional win in Minnesota, which the state ...

Angry clown certified as winner in Minnesota Senate race
Hot Air » Top Picks — ... Everyone’s already read the Journal’s analysis of funny business in the recount but I’ll link anyway. The last pre-certification court challenge having been ...

Late Monday links
Maggie's Farm — ... Broadway for 20 bucks. Hope and Change! 600,000 new government jobs. Heck, we all work for the gummint half the year already. Keep a civil tongue in your head for the next 365 days Obama's New Deal. Bad as the Old New Deal? Chavez' secret fan club Sea Ice back to 1979. The earth is cooling, but it doesn't fit the narrative. The funny business, in Minnesota. Related: Stop, thief cries Dick Morris Harry Reid's "worst President," ...

Al Franken's magic trick: 359 votes appear out of thin air
Doug Ross @ Journal — ... After a recount fraught with challenged ballots, county officials attempting to discern voter "intent" and mysteriously appearing and disappearing ballots, Franken leads by 225 votes. And now that he leads, Franken is demanding the recount process stop altogether! Some of the problems that have benefited Franken include : • 25 precincts now have more ballots than voters and a State Supreme Court Justice has acknowledged ballots were "very likely" counted twice. This double-counting appears to have added 100 votes to Franken's total. • When recounts benefited Coleman, ...

WSJ tankin' on Franken
Majikthise — ... takes the Wall Street Journal to task for several factual errors in the paper's op/ed on Al Franken's recent Senate victory in Minnesota. ...

Mean-Spirited Minnesotan Steals a Senate Seat
GayPatriot — ... Following a recount fraught with partisan shenanigans with more votes counted that people who voted, it looks like another such individual, a man of Bilbo’s angry ilk will now serve in the United States Senate. ...

The Coming Era Of Bipartisanship?
RedState: Conservative News and Community — We are presumably supposed to put aside partisan feelings–you know, the same ones that led to the demonization of anyone who worked in the Bush Administration–now that we are entering The Golden Age Of Obama. This despite: Fraud in Minnesota. Note that the incoming chairman of the Senate Rules Committee is setting things up to issue a kangaroo-court ruling in the event that matters concerning the Minnesota recount come before his committee. Efforts made to marginalize Republicans in the House, despite 2006 campaign promises of genuine ...

The Coming Era Of Bipartisanship?
A Chequer-Board of Nights and Days — We are presumably supposed to put aside partisan feelings--you know, the same ones that led to the demonization of anyone who worked in the Bush Administration--now that we are entering The Golden Age Of Obama. This despite: Fraud in Minnesota . Note that the incoming chairman of the Senate Rules Committee is ...

"Franken Stole the Election!!!"
Seeing the Forest — "Franken Stole the Election!!!" Now that he's lost, Norm Coleman plans to stink up the place. In his statement he revives some old claims that were knocked down weeks ago. The WSJ is on board. The odious Dick Morris is hard at work; presumably he's being paid. The national attack is being coordinated by the Swiftboater Benjamin Ginsberg . Hannity, Limbaugh, Coulter, Lott, and the WSJ have been flogging the "stolen election" idea for a month already, and now we can expect it to explode. They won't be able to keep Franken from being defeated, but ...

Dems Senate Shenanigans Continue
Flopping Aces — ... in the U.S. Senate. Only the black ones. On Monday, Al Franken was declared the winner of the extremely error laden (some would say fraud) election in Minnesota. Only a long shot court challenge can stop this clown from disgracing the U.S. Senate. The Wall Street Journal did an excellent job summarizing the fiasco: Funny Business in Minnesota In which every dubious ruling seems to help Al Franken. Wall Street Journal JANUARY 5, 2009 Strange things keep happening in Minnesota, where ...

Reid to Coleman: It’s time to go
Hot Air » Top Picks — ... . Follow the link for Politico video from the presser. Normally I look dimly at court battles in these circumstances, but given the stench of shenanigans plus the fact that we really are staring down the barrel of an Al Franken Decade, he might as well claw on to the bitter end. Embedded video from ...

Minnesota Canvassing Board Member Fires Back At The Journal
TPM Election Central — ... Yesterday, the Wall St. Journal published an editorial lambasting the Minnesota recount with arguments ranging from distortions to omissions to outright falsehoods. Now someone is firing back: Ramsey County (St. Paul) Judge Edward Cleary, an appointee of Jesse Ventura, who served on the state canvassing board that oversaw the count. ...

Larwyn's Links: Dead terrorists and missiles found at UN school in Gaza
Doug Ross @ Journal — [image] Hamas terrorists, missiles at UN school in Gaza : Gateway Pundit What Congress Knew About 'Torture' : Wall Street Journal Library of Congress photo stream : LOC Apostasy and Freedom : Pakistan Christian Post Why does the New York Times love Hamas? : Daily Beast Talking Joe: Biden makes news : Politico Reuters: in the service of Hamas : Pajamas Media (Bob Owens) The Franken Threat : Wall Street Journal True Evil Exposed: Hamas in the Schoolyard : A Blog for All Beyond the headlines: tragedy at the ...

Overtime in the Minnesota Senate election
Power Line — ... The Wall Street Journal editorial "Funny business in Minnesota" is representative of this strain of commentary on the canvas and recount. This commentary comes with the underlying theme that Senator Coleman is a victim of Democratic scheming. ...

Minnesota Senate Race:
The Volokh Conspiracy — ... following from previous posts: The media coverage of the events related to Minnesota's Senate election and subsequent recount has been so poor that it is difficult to determine what happened. The erosion of Senator Coleman's approximately 700 vote lead over Al Franken on November 5 to the emergence of Al Franken with a 225 vote lead over Senator Coleman on January 5 has given rise to implications that Democrats have stolen the election for Franken. The Wall Street Journal editorial " Funny business in Minnesota " is representative of this strain of commentary on the canvas and ...

Casting doubt
Political Animal — ... are repeating all kinds of nonsense, and the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal , which has never been truth-oriented, is apparently trying to lead the parade with this wretched editorial . Not surprisingly, the far-right arguments don't stand up well to scrutiny. Which is to say, their complaints are baseless. Earlier this week, Nate Silver went ...

Election Theft in Minnesota?
RedState: Conservative News and Community — ... The Wall Street Journal in an Op Ed published on Monday, Funny Business in Minnesota, made the case that funnyman Al Franken is stealing the disputed U.S. Senate election from Senator Norm Coleman in Minnesota.  After the first count of ballots, Senator Norm Coleman retained a 215 vote lead, but the margin of victory triggered a mandatory recount of the election.  After a recount, Franken emerged with a 225 vote lead.  This controversy will be resolved by the Minnesota courts, yet Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has already decreed, “Norm Coleman will ...

Bill O’Reilly Cites WSJ Article Which “Suggests” “Cheating” In Franken/Coleman Senate Race While Smearing Minnesota Secretary Of State
News Hounds — ... On Monday night’s (January 5th) Talking Points, O’Reilly claimed that “another embarrassment” could be “brewing” in Minnesota because the Wall Street Journal is “suggesting” that there is “cheating,” on the part of the state, with regard to the recount of the ballots in the Franken/Coleman race.(Comment: well, that’s it then, case closed, seat Norm Coleman because the WSJ says so.) Without noting that both Fox News and the WSJ are owned by the same parent company, Bill said that “the Journal backs up its opinion with a number of disturbing facts, including 25 precincts in ...

Minnesota Recount: Coleman files election contest
Hot Air » Top Picks — ... least play it as aggressively: The media coverage of the events related to Minnesota’s Senate election and subsequent recount has been so poor that it is difficult to determine what happened. The erosion of Senator Coleman’s approximately 700 vote lead over Al Franken on November 5 to the emergence of Al Franken with a 225 vote lead over Senator Coleman on January 5 has given rise to implications that Democrats have stolen the election for Franken. The Wall Street Journal editorial “Funny business in Minnesota” is representative of this strain of commentary on the canvas and ...

Johnson: Minnesota 101
National Review Online — ... all likelihood, the election-contest panel will declare Al Franken the winner, and Senator Coleman has already vowed to appeal the result to the Minnesota Supreme Court. What happened? The erosion of Senator Coleman s approximately 215-vote lead over Franken after the election canvass, and the emergence of Al Franken with a 225-vote lead over Coleman on January 5 after the recount, have given rise to the implication that Franken stole the election. The January 5 Wall Street Journal editorial Funny business in Minnesota is representative of this strain of commentary, which ...

In the End, What Doomed Norm Coleman Was His Leftward Drift
The Sundries Shack — ... on just what has happened since Election Day. The short answer is that Franken’s campaign team just outhustled Coleman’s at every opportunity. Johnson says that there really weren’t any Franken shenanigans, as had been thought by many folks including me and the ...

The Journal's missing facts
Power Line — ... ) this morning on the recount in Minnestota's Senate election. It was the Journal's original editorial on the subject that prompted me to write ...

When Does 'Close' Become Too-Close-to-Call?
FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right — The Wall Street Journal's Editorial Board, whose previous coverage of the Minnesota recount has tended to reflect a lack of command of the facts and circumstances of the case, is now back for another round, this time pressing for a re-vote: Even after the recount and panel-findings, the 312-vote margin separating the two men equals about .01% of the 2.9 million votes cast. Even without any irregularities, this is as close to a "tie" as it gets. And there have been plenty of irregularities. By the end of the recount, the state was awash ...