Delay Delay Delay Franken

In complete candor, I can't say I blame Republicans for pushing Norm Coleman's court case as a means of delaying Democrat Al Franken's ascension to the U.S. Senate. After all, with one extra vote in their pockets, Democrats will have an even easier to time of passing their legislation, needing only one Republican of the Collins-Snowe-Specter troika to switch sides to overcome any filibuster on key legislation. For this reason, after reading this Politico piece of GOP efforts to bolster Coleman, I really can't disagree with the Republicans, at least on the tactical political merits.

All of that being said, it is a near-certainty that Al Franken will be seated in the Senate. With 58 votes right now, Democrats will never allow Coleman to be seated, even if he somehow is able to change the outcome -- currently showing a 225-vote win for Franken -- in court. It just ain't happening. If that were to happen, Democrats would bottle the issue up until the end of time. Also, as the article notes, the body in charge of examining any seating issue, the Senate Rules Committee, is chaired by one Charles Schumer, one of the shrewest men in Congress today, the former head of the DSCC, and one of the most bare-knuckled partisans in recent political history. In the immortal written words of Stan Lee, 'nuff said.

Months ago I noted that it was Coleman's choice if and when to bow out. I posted that calling on a man to just give up after losing by less than 0.01% of the vote was something I would not do. While I still feel that way, it has been several months, and Norm Coleman has to decide whether he wants to keep pushing a fruitless case and being a pawn of his former colleagues. Then again, maybe he has no choice, and if he gives up to easily, he won't have a cushy landing as a lobbyist via his GOP friends. In Washington, DC, I would not dismiss that possibility.

This one is moving closer to a conclusion, likely with Al Franken occupying a regal desk on the floor of the United States Senate. Who would have seen that coming a few years ago?