(Former) Sen. Coleman:
I will give you the benefit of the doubt (though I'm normally loathe to do so with a classless nonentity such as yourself), and give you credit for having fought the good fight. Now it's time for you to do the right thing and put the interests of the people of Minnesota above your own. For five and a half months, you've fought a rearguard action against what has increasingly come to be seen as the inevitable: you lost your re-election bid. Yes, it was close, and that sucks for you, but whether you're 300 or 300,000 votes behind Al Franken, the reality is that you received fewer votes...and that means you've lost. It's time for you to accept that reality, do the decent and grateful (if ridiculously belated) thing and step aside. Minnesota deserves to have it's full complement of two Senators. It's time that Amy Klobuchar no longer does both her job and that of an absent Senator. It's time that Minnesotans got what they deserve- and they surely deserve better than you employing every imaginable legal trick to block Al Franken from being seated as Minnesota's next Senator.
I get that you and your fellow Republicans loathe Franken, and that you'd sooner see Satan being sworn in to your private little club. Nonetheless, the people (and the courts) of Minnesota have spoken. Continuing your fight simply confirms the growing suspicion of you- that you and your Republican handlers care only about what's good for the party, and that you're willing to fight to the bitter end to keep Al Franken from being sworn in. What's best for the people of Minnesota isn't even on your radar screen.
I find it interesting that you find no irony in your position vis a vis Al Gore in 2001. Gore could have done what you've chose to do- fight until the last legal option had been exhausted. To his credit, he did what he felt was in the best interest of the country and stepped aside. In retrospect, we probably would have been better off for the past eight years if he hadn't bowed out gracefully. Nonetheless, he recognized that it wasn't just about Al Gore. Republicans demanded that Gore step aside, and after some sober reflection, Gore did exactly that. Losing sucks, but sometimes you have to realize that it's not about you. Al Gore was a big enough man to do just that.
Mr. Coleman, you are clearly no Al Gore. You've had numerous opportunities to do the right thing, and yet you continue to hold the state that you profess to love hostage to your pride and narrow self-interest. Losing sucks; I get that...especially when it's to a Republican who has mercilessly mocked you as George W. Bush's favorite "butt boy". I can understand your enmity for and loathing of Franken...but this is not about you. It's about the people of Minnesota having the representation that they voted for and and that they deserve.
I grew up in Minnesota, and I still care deeply about the fortunes of my childhood home. It saddens me to see you holding the entire state hostage to your pride and self-interest. It's time for you to display a degree of honesty you've previously demonstrated yourself incapable of. It's time for you to recognize and admit that the time has come for you to do the right thing and hold the interests of the people of Minnesota above your own. A growing chorus of voices in your own party is asking you to step aside, and Republicans aren't exactly renowned for being gracious losers. It's time that you took a moment to recognize the harm that you're doing both to the state you profess to love and your political future. It's time to go.
Mr. Coleman, you're out of bullets. Do the right thing. Step aside and recognize that you lost and Al Franken won. Stop holding Minnesota hostage and end this farce. Minnesota deserves better...not that you're likely going to recognize that.
