BREAKING -- Minnesota SC rules in favor of Franken

It's just coming over the wires now, but the Minnesota State Supreme Court has handed down it's ruling. Get ready for Senator Stuart Smalley:

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered that Democrat Al Franken be certified as the winner of the state's long-running Senate race.

The high court rejected a legal challenge from Republican Norm Coleman, whose options for regaining the Senate seat are dwindling.

Justices said Franken is entitled to the election certificate he needs to assume office. With Franken and the usual backing of two independents, Democrats will have a big enough majority to overcome Republican filibusters.

Coleman hasn't ruled out seeking federal court intervention.

Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, said the earliest Franken would be seated is next week because the Senate is out of session for the July 4 holiday. ...

The unanimous court wrote that "because the legislature established absentee voting as an optional method of voting, voters choosing to use that method are required to comply with the statutory provisions."

They went on to say that "because strict compliance with the statutory requirements for absentee voting is, and always has been required, there is no basis on which voters could have reasonably believed that anything less than strict compliance would suffice."

Aside from the fact that Senator Coleman's team obviously didn't do a decent job of arguing that there were a number of irregularities with the absentee ballots (more than one district noted it had more ballots than registered voters), we don't see this winning in federal court. His lawyers could cite Bush v. Gore as precedent, but it's doubtful the federal courts would entertain that argument.

You know what's at stake in this decision? Can you say Crap and Tax? The Senate has the bill (more like an idea as there isn't a written bill that's been entered into the record) right now. The 4 July recess starts this week, and Reid is intent to seat him next week. With Specter jumping to the Democrats a couple months ago the Democrats picked up their 59th seat in the Senate. When Franken is seated, he'll be number 60, giving the Democrats a filibuster-proof majority. That means that the Democrats can ram whatever they want through the Congress with little fear of opposition.

Thanks to the Minnesota State Supreme Court, the system of checks and balances within the Congress are now null. Republicans would have to rely on congressional rules and procedures to befuddle the Democrats, or try to peel Democrats away from their caucus. That's not likely to happen with Reid running the show in the Senate. It's also evident from Crap and Tax and the Pork-A-Palooza passed back in February that the only Democrats that join Republicans in certain votes are those that have been given a pass by either Reid or Pelosi, and only after they're assured they have the votes to pass a bill.

To the voters of Minnesota, no offense, you voted for this idiot. When he embarrasses you, don't come whining to any of your fellow citizens. You were warned, and you chose not to heed those warnings.

Publius II