Isn’t It Time For Post-Partisan Politics?
Barack Obama campaigned on the claim that he’d be a post-partisan politician. With Senate Democrats talking about seating Al Franken against the will of the people of Minnesota, it’s time for President-Elect Obama to step forward and put an end to Sen. Reid’s hyperpartisan way and say that whoever wins the recount should be the next senator. (At this point, it’s looking virtually impossible for Franken to win.)
Finally, someone in the Beltway media started thinking that Franken’s Senate Option wasn’t such a viable option:
Speculation that the Senate might determine the contest between GOP Sen. Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken peaked after an attorney for Franken suggested in late November that the outcome could be decided by the Senate, and after Majority Leader Harry Reid for the first time publicly raised his concerns that some absentee ballots might not be included in the final count.
But that was before Tuesday’s Georgia Senate runoff victory by Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss, a development that dramatically altered the Democratic risk-to-return ratio. While the Constitution allows the Senate to be the ultimate arbiter of who serves in the chamber, there is far less political incentive to intervene now that a filibuster-resistant majority is no longer at stake.
“Saxby’s reelection ends the 2008 election for all intents and purposes. With Norm Coleman having won the Minnesota recount, the enthusiasm for overturning the results of an election will deflate rapidly,” said lobbyist Vin Weber, a former GOP congressman from Minnesota.
“The Franken campaign’s hopes that Minnesota would be the 60th seat are no longer relevant, and I suspect that moderate Democratic voices in the Senate will begin pouring cold water on the Franken-Reid effort to drag this matter onto the floor of the United States Senate,” he said.
Boy, don’t go too far out on that limb. I’ve just been saying that since Tuesday night. Congratulations on catching up with me.
The only time the Senate Option was a viable option was when the political gain was substantial. Right now, the political gain is practically nonexistent. Carleton College political science professor Steven Schier sums it up perfectly:
“If they do that, it would be like detonating a bomb on the Senate floor. I shudder to think what the partisan consequences would be if they refused to seat Coleman, if he was leading.” “This would be very unpopular in Minnesota if the Senate began playing partisan games. Minnesotans don’t want this continuing to go on, and don’t want the Senate to get involved,” he added.
When everything settles out, Norm Coleman will be returning to Washington for another term. The last thing Democrats want to deal with is having to justify their voting to seat Al Franken when Minnesota’s voters picked Sen. Coleman.
I’d further suggest that they couldn’t seat Al Franken because I think that’d require a vote. Anyone thinking that the Senate GOP wouldn’t filibuster that to death is kidding themselves.
This can all be avoided if President-Elect Obama showed some leadership on this and told his party that they should simply seat the man that wins the recount. I’m not holding my breath while waiting for that to happen, though.
Technorati Tags: Al Franken, Barack Obama, Harry Reid, Senate Option, Saxby Chambliss, Vin Weber, Steve Schier, Filibuster, Election 2008
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog