In the latest update to the Senate Election That Never Ends, the three-judge panel assembled to hear the contest of the election result of Al Franken’s 225-vote victory over incumbent Senator Norm Coleman resulted in Franken officially being declared the winner by 312 votes and a sound verbal lashing by a unanimous panel of judges.

Watching one's reputation being summarily destroyed must be enthralling. (image from theuptake.org)

ORDER FOR JUDGMENT

Based on the above findings of the fact and conclusions of law, and pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 209.12, the Court, DECIDES, DECLARES, AND ADJUDGES that Contestee Al Franken is the party to the contest who received the highest number of votes legally cast in the 2008 United States Senate general election and is therefore entitled to receive the certificate of election.

Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that:

1. Contestants’ Notice of Contest is dismissed with prejudice;
2. Contestee’s Counterclaims are dismissed without prejudice as moot;
3. Pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 209.07, subd. 3, costs of the contest must be paid by Contestants, and Contestee and the Court shall prove up the applicable costs by affidavit after all proceedings in this matter are concluded; and
4. For the reasons stated in the Court’s Order of March 2, 2009, imposing a sanction on Contestants, Contestee is awarded his reasonable costs and attorneys’ fees in connection with Contestants’ failure to disclose, such costs and fees to be proved up by affidavit.
5. Any request for relief in these proceedings not specifically granted herein is denied.

There being no just reason for delay,
LET JUDGMENT BE ENTERED ACCORDINGLY.

I personally find that last statement of legalese quite fitting. “[N]o just reason for delay”. But that’s exactly what the GOP is intending on doing — delaying this decision for as long as legally possible. They have 10 days to appeal. Make no mistake they’re going to use every last one of them.

They have no chance of winning this claim because, as it’s become painfully clear, it’s wholly without merit. Franken won and Coleman lost. That’s the fact. And those who vehemently disagree with Al Franken’s politics can rant and rave all they want about the “disenfranchisement” of voters in Minnesota, they care not one bit about the voters in Minnesota. They only care about that 59th Democrat vote not being in the Senate. And Sen. John Cornyn, the head of the NRSC, is all but gleeful in blocking Al Franken from being rightfully seated as the new Senator from Minnesota.

So here’s the short of it: The Republicans are going to hold this Senate seat hostage for as long they possibly can. And though they are the party that stands for “States Rights”, they will gladly walk the only possible ruling of the Minnesota State Supreme Court over the federal courts so they can hold it up longer. They do not expect to win, only to delay. Cornyn had clearly stated that he expects this process to take “years”. He’s not lying for a change — he really means that.

But this yet again illustrates a glaring problem that the GOP has struggled with time and time again — absolutely no long-term vision. They are only concerned with the immediate gratification they can enjoy, and fuck the long term. What they’re failing to see in this instance is that Norm Coleman will have zero chance of being elected for any office in the future, the Minnesota GOP will continue to watch their numbers in the state disappear with each passing election, and voters will remember this political game-playing when it comes time for the midterm elections in 2010. Translation: More Democrats in congress and a GOP reeling from the third national political drubbing in a row, struggling to maintain viability as a political party.

So as much as I’d like to watch Cornyn impeached from office for being the biggest political game player since Nixon, I’m much more content watching him flush the GOP down the toilet as a result of his lack of vision. The longer he holds the Senate seat hostage in the courts, the more this prophecy becomes self-fulfilling.