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Al Franken won Minnesota!

April 13, 2009 11:34 am The Head Elections, Finance

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Just in From MoveOn.org

Happy to hear the old comedian won!
America never ceases to amaze me.

Looks like the battle isn’t over for Al, so these is more of a fund raiser letter so I guess if you can chip in do so.
If not, I still believe that Al will have this seat for the next 2 years.
give it up Norm! You stopping Americas growth. Quit now, stop spending tax payer dollars to keep yourself where you have been voted out!
Time to move-on.

Ok now the letter:

Dear MoveOn member,

Norm Coleman knows Al Franken won.

The courts just finished counting and recounting all potential ballots,
and the results are clear: Al Franken got more votes than Norm Coleman
did. In fact, this last round of Coleman challenges actually widened
Franken’s lead.1

But Coleman is betting on the fact that Al Franken doesn’t have the funds
to keep fighting a long legal battle. So instead of conceding gracefully,
Coleman plans to appeal this final ruling, and drag this case through the
Minnesota Supreme Court for several more months.2

It’s cynical. It’s selfish. And it’s hurting Minnesotans–not to mention
Obama’s ability to pass real health care reform, create millions of green
jobs, and build a new-energy economy.

If Al Franken can show that he has the war chest to keep going, Coleman
won’t be able to justify dragging this out longer. All of us need to pitch
in and help send a strong message to Norm Coleman: Al Franken won this
election, and we’re sticking by him until he’s seated in the U.S. Senate.
Can you chip in $25 today?

http://pol.moveon.org/give/frankenmurphy.html?id=15909-9659800-TW1JuVx&t

Everyone knows this story ends with Al Franken being seated as a U.S.
senator.

The question is: Can Franken raise enough money now to prove that another
court appeal is pointless? Or will they have to duke it out in court for
months to prove that same point?

So far, Franken’s team has done a great job. For the last seven weeks,
Coleman made every conceivable legal argument he could to bolster his
case. They presented more than 20,000 pages of legal filings.

The outcome? Al Franken gained votes. He started with a 225-vote lead, and
now is up by 312 votes.3

Republicans in Washington know Coleman’s not going to win on the
merits. As one former Republican senator said, their attitude is, “We will
continue to fund you, just to keep the Democrat out of the Senate.”4

They want Coleman to keep flogging this legal case, depriving Minnesota
voters of their second senator for months or years more–and depriving
Democrats of a 59th vote that they won fair and square.

The better equipped Franken’s lawyers are to fight, the more easily
they’ll be able to defeat Coleman in court. Can you chip in $25 to
help Al Franken finally become Senator Franken?

http://pol.moveon.org/give/frankenmurphy.html?id=15909-9659800-TW1JuVx&t

And there’s another candidate who needs our help, too.

Democratic House candidate Scott Murphy–who President Obama called “the
kind of partner I need in Washington”5–is entering a long recount battle
of his own after the special election in New York’s 20th District.

That race is virtually tied, so Republicans are resorting to smearing
Murphy any way they can. If he’s going to make it to D.C. to help
Obama, he’s going to need real resources to defend himself and make sure
every vote gets counted and recounted. If you can, please chip in to help
Murphy at the same link above.

–Nita, Joan, Peter, Eli and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. “Absentees push Franken’s Senate lead to 312,” Associated Press, April
8, 2009, http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51304&id=15909-9659800-TW1JuVx&t
2. “Coleman team vows to appeal tally,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 8,
2009, http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51310&id=15909-9659800-TW1JuVx&t

3. “Absentees push Franken’s Senate lead to 312,” Associated Press, April
8, 2009, http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51304&id=15909-9659800-TW1JuVx&t

4. “The Conservative Case Against Coleman,” The New Republic, April 8,
2009, http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51307&id=15909-9659800-TW1JuVx&t

5. “New York congressional race tests Obama,” AFP, March 30,
2009 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51272&id=15909-9659800-TW1JuVx&t

For more on Murphy’s recount battle, check
out http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/ny-20/

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