When the time comes to provide an election certificate to the winner of the Senate race in Minnesota, the process is: Governor issues it, then Secretary of State signs it, then it's official. So where do those two key players stand?
Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, who has been at the center of that Senate recount between Democrat Al Franken and Republican Norm Coleman, told First Read in an interview that his office reads the Minnesota state law this way: That "after final appeal in state court, the person who is judged to have won the election will get the seal."
Last night on MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Show, however, Republican Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty wasn't as clear. He hedged on whether or not he'd sign a state election certificate -- even if the state Supreme Court rules that one or the other is the winner. He said it was "premature to say."
Instead of just giving a firm opinion like someone with a spine (it's not like Pawlenty doesn't have access to a fleet of lawyers who should be able to provide a coherent legal opinion), Pawlenty hems and haws and goes full weasel.
At right is the video of his appearance on the Rachel Maddow Show. Watch how his body language and facial expressions betray how uncomfortable he is. He's clearly still awaiting marching orders from his Party bosses.
One of Pawlenty's ramblingly uncomfortable passages struck a nerve with me when he was dodging an answer as to whether or not he'd sign an election certificate:
We also want to have a chance to see what the case would look like at that point, in terms of how harshly or strongly the issues have been decided or dealt with by the Minnesota Supreme Court.
I don't know who the "we" is or what on earth Pawlenty means by "harshly or strongly;" but, what struck a nerve with me is that I can't fathom what Pawlenty wants "to have a chance to see" in terms of "what the case would like like at that point." I don't know if Pawlenty needs to go back to fourth grade civics class, but - simple checks and balances, here - Governors don't overrule Supreme Court decisions. Regardless of how "harshly or strongly" the state Supreme Court decides the case, the Governor doesn't have advise-and-consent prerogative over the ruling. I hope someone points out to Pawlenty the limitations of his gubernatorial powers.
I did very much appreciate the end of the Maddow-Pawlenty segment, when Pawlenty thought he was clever for a fraction of a second until Maddow knocked him down a peg (emphasis added by me):
PAWLENTY: How would you feel, Rachel, if somebody said your right to vote depends on whether the Bush campaign and the Gore campaign can agree on it. That's not how it works - that's not how it should work.
MADDOW: I would feel just as mad as if I heard the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee gleefully exclaiming about how he hoped this took years to resolve - almost holding the representation of the people of Minnesota in the United States Senate hostage so that the Republicans can keep one more likely-Democratic vote out of the Senate.
Holding a Senate seat hostage is exactly what this situation is shaping up to be. The Senate's Republican caucus could teach those Somali pirates a thing or two.
So as Minnesota's sole seated U.S. Senator, Amy Klobuchar, sees her office's constituent caseload skyrocket, the Minnesota DFL Party has put up a new website, GiveItUpNorm.com, along with a new web video illustrating exactly why Minnesotans desperately need their second seated Senator to represent them in the U.S. Senate and provide them with adequate constituent service:
