It turns out that Norm Coleman is still a member in good standing of the Senate Republican Conference — in fact, it just so happens that he attended today’s party lunch meeting on the Hill, and was also there for Inauguration Week.
What makes this remarkable is that Coleman isn’t actually a member of the United States Senate anymore. Remember that his term expired this past January 3, and Minnesota has been without a Senator because of his lawsuit bottling up Al Franken’s amazingly-narrow win.
“He’s always welcome,” Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) told TPMDC, adding that “we still think he has a very good opportunity” to win.
It’s unclear whether Alexander has actually been watching the trial, which has seen some key rulings lately going against Coleman’s position, diminishing the likelihood of a Coleman victory. In fact, the Coleman camp’s press operation has taken to openly attacking the court’s rulings.
We will say this: The fact that Coleman doesn’t actually have a vote probably makes Jon Kyl’s whip operation a lot easier.
