Al Franken’s decisive Senate vote

last updated 8 January 2015

Democrat Al Franken is Minnesota’s newest U.S. senator, said Jay Newton-Small in Time, following a unanimous state Supreme Court ruling, a graceful concession from rival Norm Coleman, “nearly eight months, millions of dollars in legal fees, two appeals, and a recount.” On paper, this gives Senate Democrats a coveted filibuster-proof 60-vote majority. But with Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd on “indefinite medical leave,” Franken’s impact may be limited.

That leaves Democrats with “almost the worst of all possible worlds,” said Kevin Drum in Mother Jones. They have the “illusion of control of Congress but not the reality.” Thanks to the “corruption of the filibuster,” Democrats need 60 votes to pass anything—not an easy task, given the six or so “non-liberal” Democrats in their caucus. Franken will “make approximately no difference at all.”