Chambliss's Victory Might Have Saved Norm Coleman, Too...

Matt Lewis | December 04, 2008 11:04 AM

Earlier I noted that it's possible for the Dems to "steal" the MN senate seat, because the senate gets to decide who "wins". On the other side of the argument, however, is

Michael Barone who makes a particularly noteworthy point: A consequence of Chambliss winning is that Al Franken’s importance as a possible addition to the Democratic Senate bloc diminishes...

This is especially true because getting Franken in the Senate would entail Obama (and the Dems) expending political capital that could be better used on other things. What is more, getting Franken in the Senate might not be worth the predictable backlash that would ensue if it were perceived to have been done in a heavy-handed manner.

Here's a excerpt of the Barone piece:

Chambliss's victory over Jim Martin means that the Democrats will not get 60 seats in the Senate, even if Al Franken somehow manages to overcome Norm Coleman's circa 300-vote lead in the Minnesota recount. Franken's only apparent recourse is to the courts or to the full Senate; I doubt he'll get anywhere in the courts, and I doubt that Barack Obama will want the Democrats to take on a bruising partisan fight to get a 59th seat in the Senate (though labor leaders, eager to pass the card check bill and knowing that Arlen Specter voted to cut off the filibuster against it in the outgoing Congress, may press for that).

In short, Chambiss's victory might have also saved Norm Coleman...