Time to step aside

Thursday, April 16, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.

More than five months have passed since Democrat Al Franken challenged incumbent Republican Sen. Norm Coleman in Minnesota’s November general election. The result was a nail-biter so close it triggered an automatic recount of 2.9 million ballots.

It took until early January to complete the recount, with the result showing Franken 225 votes ahead. Coleman, as was his right, challenged the recount in a lawsuit.

A three-judge panel ruled unanimously Monday that Franken won, with his lead growing to 312 votes.

In the best of circumstances, a person who constantly comes up short in a contest will eventually see the writing on the wall and turn gracious in defeat. But Coleman, who indicated he will appeal the panel’s ruling to the Minnesota Supreme Court, isn’t being gracious.

Coleman should realize by now that he has no chance of retaining the seat. All he can hope to accomplish is to continue to block Franken from taking his place for a longer period of time.

At this critical time, Democrats need every vote they can get to advance President Barack Obama’s agenda of reforms in education, health care, energy and the economy. Minnesota also cannot afford weakened representation in Congress.

As The New York Times reported last week, the inability of the state to fill its Senate vacancy has proved burdensome for Minnesota’s other senator, Democrat Amy Klobuchar. Requests from her constituents — from hunting down missing Social Security checks to solving disputes over veterans’ benefits — have skyrocketed, her phone banks have clogged up and her meetings with advocacy groups have increased by 30 percent. She cannot possibly be as effective as other senators while carrying such a heavy workload.

If Coleman had Minnesota’s best interests at heart, he would step aside so the state can regain equal representation in the Senate and fully participate in plans to help the economy recover. The longer he persists in his charade, the more he hurts his own state.