Roll Call reports that Norm Coleman might throw in the towel if the Minnesota Supreme Court rules that Al Franken won last year’s senate race:
Senate Republican leaders appear willing to go to the mat for former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), but it’s unclear whether Coleman wants to go to the mat for himself.
….Sources close to Coleman say the former Senator would likely give up his legal battle and accept defeat if the Minnesota Supreme Court decides in Franken’s favor. That’s because Coleman anticipates that Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) would ultimately sign Franken’s certification papers.
OK, this is pretty iffy. The only backup is “sources close to Coleman,” and those sources only say it’s “likely” that he’d give up the fight, and even then it’s only if Pawlenty signs the certification papers. So who knows?
Coleman’s appeal is based on the contention that different counties used different standards for counting ballots, and as it happens, I’m tolerably sympathetic to this argument. I’d like to see states do a better job of ensuring equal treatment for ballots in a variety of respects. But my opinions don’t matter. What matters is past precedent and accepted practice, and on that score Minnesota actually seems to have handled the recount quite admirably. Legally, Coleman really doesn’t have a leg to stand on, so maybe he and Pawlenty will do the right thing after all. We’ll know in a few weeks.
