It’s Just The Normal Noises In Here

Joe Doakes from Como Park emails:

Minnesota election law requires party delegates at the convention to designate electors and alternates. Minnesota Republicans failed to do that at their convention so party big-shots designated some afterwards. Democrats correctly pointed out this duct-tape fix failed to comply with the law and asked the Supreme Court to strike Trump’s name from the ballot.

The Secretary of State objected that early voting starts in 11 days and they’ve already printed a million ballots so it would cost a fortune to change the ballots now. The Supreme Court decided the Democrats had waited too long to bring the challenge and ruled against them based on the ancient equitable doctrine of laches.

Laches? Laches?!? That’s Republicans’ ace in the hole? That’s their big defense?

Laches is one of those kitchen-sink defenses you throw into the Answer when you’re totally desperate and have no defense on the merits of the case. It’s for losers and scoundrels and weasels. A major political party trying to get a Presidential candidate onto the ballot shouldn’t be relying on laches.

They really are the Stupid Party.

Joe Doakes

But why did the DFL file the suit – which, but for logistics and the appeal to, ahem, laches, might have succeeded?

Michael Brodkorb, newly at MinnPost, breaks that down. Short story short; there are people who get paid to be cynical about things like rules.

Posted

September 14, 2016

Campaign ’16, Election Integrity, Minnesota Politics, MNDFL, The Racket

Mitch Berg

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Comments

6 responses to “It’s Just The Normal Noises In Here”

Deplorable Swiftee

September 14, 2016

Thanks Mitch, we are always, of course, interested in what Michael Brodkorb is saying over at the Minnpost, but what is Amanda Marcotte saying over at Jezebelle? Has Michael Moore weighed in?

For God’s sake, what is the dog woman saying about this?

Don’t let your readers sit out in the Dark, Mitch.
thorleywinston

September 14, 2016

Laches is one of those kitchen-sink defenses you throw into the Answer when you’re totally desperate and have no defense on the merits of the case. It’s for losers and scoundrels and weasels. A major political party trying to get a Presidential candidate onto the ballot shouldn’t be relying on laches.

That’s simply ridiculous.

A competent lawyer who zealously represents their client will use any reasonable argument that they will think will get a favorable result for their client. A suit that gets dismissed because of laches or because its barred by the statute of limitations is just as much a victory for the client as one that actually gets litigated – more so in fact because it’s usually disposed of more quickly and cheaply.

In this case, the attorney for the Minnesota Republican Party argued not only that the suite should be dismissed on the grounds of laches (that the plaintiffs waited too long too to file their suit) but also challenged it on the merits. They argued that the MN GOP had complied with the requirements of the statute because of a vote that the delegates took at the convention empowering the State Central Committee to take the action it took. They argued that any alleged deficiency in how the Presidential Alternates were elected had no bearing on whether Donald Trump should be on the ballot. They argued that the remedy sought was contrary to Minnesota law (including citing several cases where the plaintiffs had essentially argued the opposite of what they argued in this case).

But the first issue they raised was laches which by itself was enough to get the court to throw out this ridiculous lawsuit.

That’s good lawyering.
DMA

September 14, 2016

So if Hillary is forced to drop out will the democrats be forced to follow 50 different arcane rules jot by jot to get another one on the ballots? Or will we shrug our shoulders and say ah, good enough.
Joe Doakes

September 14, 2016

Thorley, I don’t object to Republicans winning by good lawyering; I object to Republicans NEEDING to win by good lawyering.
bikebubba

September 14, 2016

Brodkorb’s column really paints well why he so loved his position with the MNGOP, as well as why he got caught boinking a legislatress. More or less, he’s saying it’s a no holds barred, check your morals at the door kind of position, exactly why so many of us want to blow up the system.
kinlaw

September 14, 2016

VERY nice DTT reference