The embittered Minnesota Senate race between Democrat Al Franken and Republican Norm Coleman has finally been decided in the Minnesota Supreme Court, which definitively declared Al Franken the winner by a 5-0 vote.

The election, which originally showed Coleman ahead by 215 votes, has been subject to a recount which and various legal challenges.  (The recount put Franken ahead by 225.)  Coleman’s main bone of contention presented to the high court was that 4,000 absentee ballots that were ruled invalid should be counted.  Despite the appeal, the court’s ruling noted that “Al Franken received the highest number of votes legally cast,” and that he’s therefore entitled to the election certificate needed to fill the MN Senate seat that’s been sitting vacant since November.

Norm Coleman accepted the Court’s decision and has officially conceded the race, saying that any further challenges would be a detriment to Minnesota’s unity as a state.

Part of the GOP’s concern over this race stemmed from Arlen Specter’s departure.  With Specter as a Democrat and Franken filling Minnesota’s seat, Congress is now a filibuster-proof Democratic majority.  (Well, sort of – Democrats disagree with each other all the time, and assuming that all 60 will vote together is like assuming that a roomful of dog trainers will agree on methodology.)

And so we award a Fantasy T-Wearer Award to Al Franken today, with the “Sorry to have kept you all waiting” T-shirt, at left.

Wear it wisely, Senator.

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Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter shocked the nation this week when he announced that he’d be switching political parties after 29 years and 5 terms in office as a Republican.  Specter is the 12th most senior member of the Senate, and the 5th oldest Senator.  This is the second time Specter has switched parties; he was a Democrat until the mid-60’s.

Specter cited the reason for his departure as being “increasingly at odds with the Republican philosophy and more in line with the philosophy of the Democratic Party,” then noted that “I have traveled the state and surveyed the sentiments of the Republican Party in Pennsylvania and public opinion polls, observed other public opinion polls and have found that the prospects for winning a Republican primary are bleak.”

Specter’s announcement has infuriated some (most notably the RNC), and his liberal voting record (he most recently in favor of the stimulus package) have left others with a “good riddance” philosophy.  Some more moderate Republicans, however, are concerned about losing an influential, moderate party member and what it might mean for the future of the Republican party.  As for Specter, it seems that his party switch is likely to earn him re-election.

One of the main points of concern over Specter’s defection is the numbers: Congress is now one vote shy of being a filibuster-proof Democratic majority.  (Well, sort of.)

And that, improbably, leaves the Congressional balance of power in the hands of Stuart Smalley Al Franken.  The embittered Al Franken vs. Norm Coleman Senate race recount is still officially undecided due to various legal challenges, though a recount and a trial have Franken as the winner by a whopping 312 votes.

What will happen in Minnesota and its practical effect on Congress has yet to be determined.  In the meantime, we bestow a Fantasy T-Wearer Award to Senator Arlen Specter this week, with the “Switch Hitter” T-shirt pictured above.

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While this Presidential election was won by a large margin, the Senate election in Minnesota hearkens back to a previous Presidential election.  Too close for comfort, the Minnesota Senate race between SNL-alum-turned-Air-America-Reporter-turned-politican Al Franken and incumbent-likes-ads-with-bowlers-Norm Coleman is still undecided after Franken demanded a recount.

Hand recounts are required in Minnesota in races wherein the margin of victory is less than 1/2 of 1%.  On election night, Coleman was reported to have won by several hundred votes out of the nearly 2.9 million cast.

The bitter rivalry between the two candidates ensured that nobody would go quietly.  The race is still underway a month later, though it’s reported that Franken is leading by a few thousand votes. The recount has involved thousands of challenges, hundreds of lawyers and the State Supreme Court.  Most recently, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a Coleman challenge that 130 ballots were counted twice.  There’s also an issue with 1600 “improperly rejected” absentee ballots.

Which is to say that this race shows no sign of being over in 2008.  It’s too bad that former Governor Jesse Ventura isn’t still in office, as a WWE throwdown for the office might be considerably less bloody.

And so we award two Fantasy T-Wearer awards this week, though being that these are two campaigning politicians we’ll switch the t-shirt to a button.  May both men sport a “Never, never never give up” button with pride.  Appropriately, this is a Churchill quote.

And if they can’t even agree on wearing the same button, we have an alternate for Norm Coleman.

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