A decision is expected soon in the Minnesota Senate recount trial, and that decision is not expected to enable Norm Coleman to make up his 225-vote deficit to Democrat Al Franken. But his former GOP colleagues are urging him to fight as long as possible — and mentioning Democrats’ least favorite Supreme Court decision, reports Politico:
Top Republicans are encouraging Coleman to be as litigious as possible and take his fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if he loses this round, believing that an elongated court fight is worth it if they can continue to deny Democrats the 59th Senate seat that Franken would represent.
And in pushing a possible Supreme Court conclusion, Republicans are raising case history that makes Democrats shudder: Bush v. Gore.
Coleman’s team says the different methods Minnesota counties use for counting absentee ballots violated the Constitution’s equal protection clause — echoing the same 2000 Florida recount case that effectively handed the presidency to George W. Bush. By making a constitutional case, Republicans are already looking ahead to federal court.
“The Supreme Court in 2000 said in Bush v. Gore that there is an equal protection element of making sure there is a uniform standard by which votes are counted or not counted, and I think that’s a very serious concern in this instance,” said Texas Sen. John Cornyn, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. “I’m not making any predictions, but I wouldn’t be surprised” if it ended up in federal court.
Democrats believe Coleman is just running the clock, delaying the inevitable.
“He’s lost the election. What he should do is save the people of Minnesota a lot of money and allow them to have a representative here,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told POLITICO. “I mean, everybody knows that he’s lost the election. Talk to anyone who’s watched the proceedings the last week or two.”
Asked whether Franken should appeal if he loses, Reid smiled and said: “He won’t lose.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Friday first blessed the idea of encouraging Coleman to take his fight into federal appeals court and potentially all the way up to the Supreme Court. On Monday, several top Republicans continued pushing the federal courts angle, which could delay the Minnesota Senate race for several more months.
“The state court is not the final word on that, because the question in federal court is whether the guarantee of equal protection under laws in the U.S. Constitution has been violated by an inconsistent policy with regard to counting ballots,” said Judiciary Committee member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.). Sessions said he “absolutely” would encourage Coleman to take his fight to federal court if he loses.
“From what I can tell, there are legal issues well worth taking up in the [Supreme] Court,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). “I think the whole Bush v. Gore — using the same standards to count votes is a big issue.”
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