Senator Norm Coleman wants to trash the recount rules he agreed to

January 1, 11:20 AMSouth St. Paul ExaminerRob Shirk

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Recount official

Landslide Norm Coleman wants to undo the process both campaigns and the secretary of state agreed to on Christmas Eve. The campaign wants to throw out the recount results of wrongly rejected absentee ballots and come up with new rules.

The Landslide Norm Coleman campaign is attempting to invalidate the Minnesota Senate recount, sending a warning letter to the Minnesota secretary of state Mark Ritchie threatening that unless the rules for sorting out the wrongly-rejected absentee ballots are changed, the whole thing will be "invalid and unreliable". By using the terms "invalid and unreliable" it virtually guaranteed a court battle after the winner is announced. That is, unless Landslide Norm Coleman wins.

In theory, Minnesotans whose absentee ballots were rejected, reconsidered, then rejected again have a last chance to get their voice heard before the end of the state's U.S. Senate recount. The Supreme Court has given them until the end of business Friday, Jan. 2. A result could be announced by Tuesday, Jan.6, the day senators are inaugurated in Washington

Landslide Norm Coleman lawyer Tony Trimble openly accused the state officials of being in the tank for Landslide Al Franken, singling out Deputy Secretary of State Jim Gelbmann's directives to counties on sorting wrongly-rejected absentee ballots.

He's gone out and done their work. He's gone out and advised county officials to simply count those the Franken campaign wants. - Tony Trimble.

Trimble also referred to

this very biased, joined-at-the-hip approach" of Gelbmann and Democratic Secretary of State Mark Ritchie.

So, at this stage of the game, the Landslide Norm Coleman campaign has utterly reversed themselves from when they initially were ahead. They will argue their case in front of the Supreme Court but if the rules remain the same, the winner (Landslide Al Franken, at this point) will be declared, maybe as early as next week.

With 90 percent of the ballots reviewed, Landslide Norm Coleman wants a "do--over." The Republican argument, as reported by the Minneapolis SrarTribune has reached such a panicked frenzy, they have even thrown out an election officials ballot, despite the judge, in dripping irony, voted for...Landslide Norm Coleman.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press has an in depth report by Rachel E. Stassen-Berger about the hysteria.