Polinaut: December 24, 2008 Archive

The Daily Digest: 12-24-08

Posted at 6:46 AM on December 24, 2008 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Daily Digest

Paging Senator Short! Senator Short? Oh, wait. It appears Minnesota may be one senator short when the U.S. Senate convenes on January 6th. Secretary of State Mark Ritchie said the recount could still be going on and on and on. MPR, AP, the Pi Press and the Star Tribune have stories.

Here's a timeline for those keeping score at home.

The Pi Press details the plan for rejected absentee ballots. The plan needs court approval first.

The campaigns are waiting for the Minnesota Supreme Court to rule on Coleman's argument that double counting occurred during the recount. The court held a hearing yesterday.

Harry Reid to Gov. Pawlenty: Drop Dead.

State Government

Gov. Pawlenty taps former acting MnDOT chief Bob McFarlin to a seat on the Met Council.

Pawlenty also asks for federal aid for Wilkin County.

Washington County looks to cut the budget as a result of a cut to state aid to local governments.
Congress

Congress moves to crack down on bailout recipients who aren't disclosing how they're spending taxpayer money.

Election Data Services says Minnesota will lose a congressional seat.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman sends his wish list to Washington.

Bloomberg says rail takes a backseat as states target the stimulus for roads. DFL Rep. Jim Oberstar is mentioned.

The SEC acts on credit default swaps. DFL Rep. Collin Peterson is mentioned.

Voyageurs Park prepares for the new handgun rule.

The court reinstates an air quality rule.

Economy

Economic data is expected to show more weakness in the economy.

Even Christmas tree retailers are seeing a drop in sales.

RNC

Nearly half of the RNC cases are thrown out.

Obama

President-elect Obama released a report saying the campaign/transition team had no inappropriate contact with the governor of Illinois.

Obama was also interviewed by the feds on the matter.

Obama will take the oath of office on a bible used by Lincoln.

2010

MinnPost handicaps the governor's race.

Finally

The blog is taking a few days off for the Holidays. We'll be back on Monday. Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah.

Court grants extension on rejected absentees

Posted at 10:27 AM on December 24, 2008 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Recount

The Minnesota Supreme Court has granted an extension to count the wrongly rejected absentee ballots. They basically agreed to the Secretary of State's timeline.

MN Supremes deny Coleman petition

Posted at 1:55 PM on December 24, 2008 by Tom Scheck

The Minnesota Supreme Court has just denied GOP Sen. Norm Coleman's petition to investigate whether double counting occurred in the recount.

Here's the reaction from Al Franken's spokesman Andy Barr:

"Minnesotans have waited a long time to find out who won this race - and today's unanimous ruling means that the process can move forward despite attempts to halt its progress and cast doubt on the result. Now we approach the end of a recount that Minnesotans can be proud of - and one that we strongly believe will result in the election of Al Franken."

Waiting for word from Coleman's campaign. Coleman's campaign has a 3:15 conference call.

Heading into Round 3

Posted at 3:27 PM on December 24, 2008 by Tom Scheck (5 Comments)

Coleman campaign attorney Fritz Knaak said he was deeply disappointed with the decision by the Minnesota Supreme Court. He said the decision "virtually guarantees that this will be decided in an election contest."

He added that a certificate of election will not be filed until the contest phase is settled and "it's highly unlikely that one senator will be seated on January 6th."

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