Today, Minnesota takes the headlines.
Hard to imagine back in 2000 as things heated up between Bush and Gore that 8 years later we would be facing the same issues of recount, and questionable ballots. Government moves slow, but this borders on the ridiculous. Remember the hanging chad, the pregnant chad, the dimpled chad and all the other chad conversations around the water cooler? Well, the chad did not make an appearance in Minnesota but the mighty pen and the scribble have.
Challenges bring counter challenges which probably have bought retaliatory challenges and the escalation toped off at over 4,700 challenges. A bit much don’t you think? Obviously both the Coleman and the Franken campaigns did not think so until recently. On Wednesday November 26, 2008 the canvassing board rejected Al Franken’s bid to have all the absentee ballots rejected by the poll workers won’t be included in the Minnesota Senate Recount.
The interesting twist to all of this is that Franken’s campaign as well as Coleman’s campaign are discussing a mutual withdrawal of ballot challenges. It seems to me that this is a smart political move on both their parts. Neither can afford to look bad to the people, neither can allow the other to be more magnanimous or it just may turn on them.
Now the question here is, what does Harry Reid, the Senate’s Majority Leader, have to do with the Minnesota race? The states are the ones that are responsible for the elections, not the Senate. The States have the laws that define the count and recount procedures and the challenge process. The States define the escalation process.
Can someone show me in the constitution, in case law, or anywhere where Harry Reid has any jurisdiction what-so-ever in Minnesota? Can anyone show me where anyone in the Senate, whether republican, democrat or independent, has any jurisdiction in a state election?
Senators and Representatives from both parties, as well as ex presidents and ex vice presidents or candidates for either office have a perfect right to campaign for anyone on any state, till it goes to the voters. After that, once the polls close, then it is up to the State to apply the rules and ensure all are followed.
So, Senator Reid, why are you getting involved? How do you fit in all of this, in a legal and constitutional sense of the question?
The Lee’s Summit Conservative
