I have to agree with Ramesh Ponnuru; it's time for Norm Coleman to give up his fight for the Senate seat here in Minnesota.
Now, I'm not a fan of Coleman, but I did vote for him because he was and is a better candidate than Al Franken. Franken comes accross as mean-spirited and while Coleman has been faulted with doing what the political winds told him to do, he was at least independent enough to be respected. Franken is nothing more than a liberal yes-man who will add nothing new to the Senate.
That said, I think Coleman should give up his fight and let Franken have the Senate seat.
Why? For some of the same reasons, Ponnuru says, we have been deprived of a Senator, it makes him look like a sore loser, and so on.
Some Democrats and some in the media have long ago claimed that Coleman should do the honorable thing and drop out. Of course their claims were disingenuous, this wasn't an appeal to honor, as much as it was being "sore winners." (One doubts they would be asking Franken to do the honorable thing if the situation was reveresed.)
But, Coleman should drop out with honor while he still has some. After nearly six months, the people of Minnesota want this election resolved. Yes, it means that the GOP loses one more seat and yes, liberals will talk about how great they are. But that's what happens in elections: one person wins and another loses.
But the thing is, Franken may well be the vulnerable one here. Even if he is the winner, it is by a razor thing margin, which means that the Republicans will be lying in wait for 2014. If Coleman tries to keep fighting and manages to win, Democrats will see him as having stole the election and will make his next six years a living hell.
So, Coleman should step down. Do something else for a few years and try a run again in 2012 or 2014.
Sometimes one has to swallow their pride and let the other guy win. It's not fun and it sucks, but life sometimes sucks.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
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2 comments:
"Some Democrats and some in the media have long ago claimed that Coleman should do the honorable thing and drop out."
Oh, for goodness sakes. Coleman said the same about Franken right after the election, that he should spare people the costly process, etc.
It was a close race and both sides had the right to contest it by the means available to them.
But I agree that at this point it'd be better for Coleman to concede.
I feel sorry for your state. Franken is one of the worst people to ever grace the public stage. He's nasty, mean, partisan, and pathetic. He will make no effort to work with Republicans and will do nothing but piss on what's left of civility in the Senate. What a nightmare.
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