Paul Schmelzer

Can Facebook users pressure Coleman to drop suit?

A Facebook group is hoping three days of phonecalls to Norm Coleman’s campaign office may convince the former senator to give up his lawsuit and let Al Franken get started in the Senate. The “Norm’s Gotta Go Virtual Protest,” an email and call-in campaign begun yesterday and running through Friday, attempts to hold Coleman to [...]

After exposing Cheney as a robot, paper calls for boycott of ‘Commie-sota’

The Wall Street Journal opining about alleged “funny business” in the Minnesota Senate recount is one thing. But when the Weekly World News — the paper behind exposés about Dick Cheney’s robotic innards or George W. Bush’s alien endorsement — weighs in on Loon State politics, it’s time to take note. Via the rightwing blog [...]

Kucinich: In Gaza, Israel has violated arms export act

Yesterday, Rep. Dennis Kucinich sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice arguing that Israel is in violation of the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 (AECA), which says U.S. military exports may not be used to escalate violence. In a statement on his Web site, Kucinich says, the “disproportionate and collective punishment nature [...]

Ellison on Al Jazeera: ‘Not much sympathy’ by U.S. for Palestinians

Many Democrats, including President-elect Barack Obama, maintain staunch support for Israel, despite its military crackdown on Hamas in Gaza over the past two weeks, but a few Minnesotans — including Reps. Keith Ellison and Betty McCollum and Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Norm Coleman — have taken more independent approaches. Discussing the conflict with Al Jazeera’s [...]

Majority Leader Reid calls for Coleman concession

Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader, is the latest to call for Norm Coleman to concede in Minnesota’s Senate race. While he’s technically correct that Coleman, the incumbent for office, is no longer a senator, the Nevada Democrat’s statement, given during his inaugural speech at the start of the 111th Congress today, seemed to go out [...]

GOP former guv joins Mondale in calling for Coleman to concede

With Norm Coleman set to address the media at 3 p.m. CST, speculation abounds about whether the now-former senator will file a lawsuit to prevent certification of a win by Al Franken or, less likely, concede. One GOP bigwig has weighed in, urging Coleman to step down: Former Gov. Arne Carlson, who attended the 1996 [...]

Video: Franken channels Mick Jagger

More unique attributes Al Franken will bring to the Senate: tight white pants and a killer Mick Jagger impersonation.
And: Four more Franken clips.

Appointed by Blago, Burris shut out of Senate

What fate might Al Franken have faced today had he tried to take his seat in the U.S. Senate today? Although unlikely, he could’ve ended up where Roland Burris did: shut out and in the rain. The senator appointed by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to fill the seat vacated by the election of President-elect Barack [...]

As Coleman fundraises for legal challenge, state puts recount cost at $200,000

Al Franken officially got more votes than Norm Coleman in Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race, but he won’t be heading to Washington today after all. Democratic leaders in the Senate now state they won’t try to seat him for swearing in of new senators. But here at home, talk is turning to money.

Forget Franken v. Coleman: Franken v. Coulter is more fun

With Al Franken poised to declare victory over Norm Coleman when the State Canvassing Board makes official his lead, unofficially at 225 votes, this afternoon, BoingBoing dug up an excellent video of Franken winning against another right-of-center figure: At the 2007 Connecticut Forum rightwing talker Ann Coulter said that, if she could come back as [...]