http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2009/04/06/7895/web_echo_chamber_going_strong_as_coleman_and_franken_camps_prepare_for_tuesday_vote_countWeb 'echo chamber' going strong as Coleman and Franken camps prepare for Tuesday vote count
By Jay Weiner | Monday, April 6, 2009
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But the rules of the game have changed, too, he said. When Sen. John Cornyn, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, says seating Franken will take years and cause "World War III" if it occurs before all Coleman appeals are exhausted, that's a whole new playing field.
"Those jerks have been doing that to us in Minnesota and in other states for a very long time," Durenberger said.
He spoke of the decision in 2002 by the White House to have Coleman run for Senate and Tim Pawlenty for governor, even though Pawlenty was eyeing the Senate seat, too.
"I don't know how the Democratic Party operates because I'm not one of them," Durenberger said. "But every time we had an opening, somebody like Karl Rove and (George W. Bush campaign manager) Ken Mehlman and the Republican apparatchiks in the White House decide who is going to represent Minnesota. Closed out the party, closed out everybody else. That's what's going on now … 'We will continue to fund you, just to keep the Democrat out of the Senate.' At some point, somebody has to deal with what's the will of the people of Minnesota."
With that sort of Washington power being flexed, Durenberger said, an individual like Coleman, who is not a rich man, "can't make practical decisions — you can't make your own decisions."