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WASHINGTON (CNN) – As Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has ramped up his national profile over the past year, he has focused primarily on domestic issues when criticizing the Obama administration.

But the Republican took aim Monday at President Obama's international posture, questioning whether the president's foreign policy agenda is making the country less safe.

"History proves that it is weakness, not strength, that tempts our enemies," Pawlenty said in an interview with the conservative Web site Newsmax. "And he is projecting potential weakness, and enemies may see that and their respect may be reduced as a result of that, or worse."

Pawlenty launched a political action committee earlier this month called "Freedom First" that allows him to travel the country in support of Republican candidates. Though he fashioned himself as a pragmatic Republican with working class appeal during his two terms as governor, Pawlenty has struck an increasingly partisan tone since announcing in June that he would not seek another term. That has led many political observers to speculate that he's positioning himself for a run for the White House in 2012.

In the interview, Pawlenty also accused the president of being "extremely partisan in his approaches," particularly with his health care reform agenda.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) – Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Thursday that his proposal to allow consumers to purchase health insurance across state lines is a "good idea" and is not intended to draw a contrast with President Obama's health care agenda in Washington.

Pawlenty, who is enhancing his national profile as he mulls a presidential run in 2012, argued that his plan would increase competition among insurance companies and drive down health care costs.

"It's not meant to contrast with anything other than to advance good ideas that will hopefully improve health care and the cost of health care and provide people more health care choices," he told reporters after a Washington fundraiser for his political action committee on Thursday evening.

The Minnesota governor sent a letter to the country's 49 other governors earlier this week urging them to band together to support his proposal.

"We are trying to promote good ideas, and I think those are good ideas," he said. "I don't think it's limited to being Republican or Democaat. We're hoping some Democratic governors will sign on to that as well."

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is holding the first fundraiser for his newly-formed political action committee Thursday night in Washington.

The fundraiser is actually two events: a low-dollar "Pretzel and Pints" event at a popular Capitol Hill bar, and a "Leadership Dinner" at the home of lobbyist John Milne and his wife Deb Anderson where guests are asked to raise or contribute at least $5,000.

The money will go to Pawlenty's "Freedom First" PAC, which was launched at the beginning of the month and gives the governor the ability to travel the country in support of other Republicans as he eyes a possible presidential bid in 2012.

The first event is aimed at introducing Pawlenty to young Republicans and Capitol Hill staffers - the kind of operatives who might make up the backbone of Pawlenty's staff if he seeks the White House.

"A lot of young people are really drawn to Governor Pawlenty's innovative and conservative record," Pawlenty spokesman Alex Conant said. "Meeting Pawlenty over some pretzels and pints is a fun bonus."

Four Republican members of Congress from Minnesota are listed as co-hosts: Reps. Michele Bachmann, John Kline and Erik Paulsen, as well as lobbyist and former Rep. Vin Weber.

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(CNN) – Even as members of President Obama’s fractured party appeared to warm to the notion of putting a so-called “trigger” on any public health insurance option in health care reform legislation, Minnesota’s Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty said the approach was a bad idea. He said it would not help create the bipartisanship the White House and some Congressional Democrats – particularly those in the Senate – are looking for in order to pass a health care reform bill by the end of the year.

Related: Senator signals possible health care compromise

“There’s lots of things we could agree to on a bipartisan basis,” Pawlenty said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union, “the public option isn’t one of them. The trigger option simply kicks the can down the road.”

Under the trigger proposal, a public option would become available later, should the private insurance industry not meet certain benchmarks on coverage and cost.

“If the Democrats embrace the public option,” Pawlenty also told CNN Chief National Correspondent John King, “even in the form of the trigger, they’re going to shoot themselves in the foot.”

Asked about the alternative of non-profit health care co-operatives, an idea championed by North Dakota Democrat Sen. Kent Conrad during bipartisan negotiations in the Senate Finance Committee, Pawlenty rejected the idea that co-ops could solve the problem of rising costs in the country’s health care system.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) - Al Franken says his main goal is to represent the people of Minnesota when he is sworn in Tuesday as the state's new U.S senator following an election that took almost seven months to decide.

"I'm going to work day and night to make sure our kids have a great future and that America's best days are ahead," Franken said Monday at a brief appearance with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to welcome the Minnesota Democrat to Washington.

A satirist and author who once was part of the "Saturday Night Live" cast, Franken defeated incumbent Norm Coleman by just over 300 votes out of more than 2.9 million cast in November. The Minnesota Supreme Court affirming the outcome last week.

Franken' s victory increased the number of senators in the Democratic caucus to 60, which is enough to overcome Republican attempts to mount a filibuster during floor debate.

However, it is unclear if the caucus will hold on upcoming contentious issues such as reforming the health care system and energy policy.
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(CNN) - The Minnesota Supreme Court's decision Tuesday declaring Democrat Al Franken as the winner of that state's long-disputed U.S. Senate race ends a prolonged legal and political drama exactly 34 weeks, or 238 days, after the election was held in November 2008.

At the time the court released its ruling, the state's second U.S. Senate seat had gone unfilled since Republican Norm Coleman's term ended on January 3, 2009, for a total of 178 days. The seat will remain unfilled for several more days until Franken officially takes the oath of office next week, when Congress returns from the July 4 recess.

This is the longest a U.S. Senate seat has gone unfilled since 1975 and the fourth-longest period a Senate seat has gone unfilled since the direct election of senators began in 1913. Illinois holds the record for the longest unfilled senate seat, when it took two years to replace a senator who had died in office.

The longest vacancy due to a contested election was in 1975 in New Hampshire. That election was held in November 1974 but was not fully resolved for 10 months. After a prolonged and inconclusive recount, the seat was officially declared vacant on August 8, 1975, at which point a temporary senator was appointed to fill the seat. A special election was held on September 16, 1975, and the winner took office on September 18, 1975.

A list of the longest Senate seat vacancies is after the jump

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(CNN) - Minnesota's Supreme Court has dismissed former Sen. Norm Coleman's challenge to the state's November election results and declared Democratic challenger Al Franken the winner.

The unanimous opinion ruled that Franken "received the highest number of votes legally cast" and is entitled "to receive the certificate of election as United States senator from the state of Minnesota."

The former "Saturday Night Live" writer and performer had declared victory in the disputed race after a recount ended in January, but Coleman - a Republican who had been seeking a second six-year term - went to court to challenge those results.

Coleman still could attempt to take the challenge to federal courts, but Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican, told CNN on Sunday that he would sign Franken's election certificate if the Supreme Court ordered it.

Updated: 2:25 p.m.

Full story

(CNN) - Nearly seven months after Election Day, the battle between Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken for a U.S. Senate seat from Minnesota heads to the state's Supreme Court.

But an eventual ruling by Minnesota's top court may not bring an end to one of the nation's longest-running election disputes in decades.

The justices on the state's highest court will hear arguments today on whether problems counting absentee ballots justify the reversal of a lower state court ruling that declared Franken, the former comedian and progressive radio talk show host, the winner by 312 votes over Coleman, the freshman senator whose term expired at the beginning of the year.

Coleman was ahead after election day on November 4, but he led Franken by just over 200 votes out of the nearly three million cast. That triggered an automatic recount. When that process was completed at the beginning of the year, it indicated that Franken led by a similar number of votes.

The Coleman camp quickly appealed that ruling to the state legal system.

Coleman wants the court to order that more than 4,000 absentee ballots that were rejected be counted.
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MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (CNN) - While he waits to see whether the latest court ruling will allow him to take Minnesota's open seat in the Senate, Al Franken has been lying low.

Five months after a loss on Election Day, four months after he won in a recount, a week after prevailing in a tedious trial, the comedian and author might well be on his way to becoming the 59th Democrat in the United States Senate.

Even though that seat's incumbent, Republican Norm Coleman - now referred to as "former senator" - has appealed to the Minnesota Supreme Court, Franken's campaign has done what it can to give the appearance that he's getting ready to take the seat when Coleman exhausts his challenges.

Since winning the recount, Franken has made a handful of visits to Washington and has met with majority leader Harry Reid to discuss Senate business, according to Franken aides.

And on Monday, he began hiring staff for a Senate office.

Full story

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (CNN) - Attorneys for Norm Coleman announced Monday afternoon they have filed an appeal seeking to overturn a District Court's decision that he lost his bid for re-election to the U.S. Senate last November.

The appeal, filed with the Minnesota Supreme Court, followed the lower court's ruling that Democrat Al Franken beat Coleman, a Republican.

"We do believe that the District Court got it wrong on the law and wrong because the Minnesota tradition and law are to enfranchise people, and their decision disenfranchises many Minnesotans whose votes have been wrongly rejected," said Coleman attorney Ben Ginsberg.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) – The legal battle for Minnesota's Senate seat may be far from over, but Democrat Al Franken isn't waiting for a resolution: on Monday, he announced his first Senate staff hire.

Franken said that Alana Petersen, a former staffer for Minnesota Rep. Jim Oberstar, will serve as his state director - even though the Democrat's election has yet to be certified. "I want Minnesotans to be able to rely on me for assistance with the federal government. Whether it's a Social Security check, a small business loan, or help for a returning veteran, my office will be there for the people of our state," Franken said in a statement. "Drawing on her wealth of experience and her ability to reach out to every constituency in Minnesota, when I have the privilege of being certified, she'll work with me to ensure that we hit the ground running on Day One."

State GOP chair Ron Carey derided the move as a "publicity stunt."

"This is another shameful episode of disenfranchising voters from Al Franken, and his disrespect for the constitutional rights of all citizens. While the due process and equal protection rights of our fellow citizens are being denied, Al Franken is determined to thumb his nose at the Minnesota Supreme Court," he said in a statement.

Monday's announcement comes exactly a week after a three-judge panel declared Franken the winner of the Senate race over Coleman, by a margin of 312 votes. Republican Norm Coleman has vowed to file an appeal of the decision with the Minnesota Supreme Court.

(CNN) - Five months after Election Day, the Democratic National Committee has a message for Republican Norm Coleman.

“Enough is enough,” a female voice says in a new DNC radio ad that is set to begin airing in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.

The release of the ad comes one day after a three-judge court in Minnesota ruled against Coleman in his post-election contest. Coleman filed a lawsuit in an effort to close a narrow lead Democrat Al Franken held after a recount in their razor-thin race Senate race. Coleman’s lawyer said Tuesday that the Republican plans to appeal the ruling to the state’s highest court.

The DNC ad encourages radio listeners to call Coleman – even providing his phone number - and tell him “to stop putting his political ambition ahead of what is right for Minnesota.”

“Al Franken won the election, the recount and now the legal challenge where his lead actually grew,” Tim Kaine, Democratic National Chairman and governor of Virginia.

“It's time for Norm Coleman to concede and for Al Franken to be sworn in as the next U.S. Senator from Minnesota.”

The new ad will air on news talk radio stations in the Twin Cities metro area, according to the DNC

Listen: 'Enough is enough,' DNC ad says

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Al Franken says a resolution is near in his marathon battle against Norm Coleman for the contested Senate seat from Minnesota.

Franken made his comments after meeting with Senate Democrats at their weekly luncheon on Capitol Hill. "What I did today was fill them in,” Franken told reporters he left his meeting with Senate Democrats. There's pretty much a light at the end of the tunnel so I kind of told them what was going to happen.”

His comments came 18 weeks after election day. For those of you keeping count, that's 126 days with no resolution.

Coleman, the Republican freshman senator from Minnesota, led Franken by 215 votes after Election Day, out of nearly three million ballots cast. That tiny margin triggered an automatic recount. Franken, the progressive radio host, comedian, and former Saturday Night Live star, led Coleman by 225 votes following the two month long recount.

Coleman contested the recount results, and a three-judge panel is currently considering which disputed ballots may be added to the recount. If Coleman loses the ruling, he could appeal to Minnesota's state Supreme Court.

(Updated with Coleman camp reaction after the jump)

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(CNN) - Minnesota's high court has denied Democrat Al Franken's request to force the state to issue a certification of election results in the U.S. Senate race while the case continues to be appealed.

Franken currently holds a 225-vote lead over Republican Norm Coleman, who has filed suit over his allegation that some valid absentee ballots may not have been counted. The state’s governor, Republican Tim Pawlenty, and Democratic Secretary of State Mark Ritchie have both said that they will not sign a certification of that election that would make the current count official until that lawsuit is resolved.

The decision means the trial, now wrapping its sixth week of testimony, will continue uninterrupted.

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MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (CNN) – Perhaps laying the groundwork for an appeal to a higher court, Republican Norm Coleman’s attorneys are beginning to publicly question the three-judge panel presiding over his post-election legal battle, saying Wednesday that the judges are creating a "real problem” by not reconsidering their ruling from Friday that put a damper on much of Coleman’s case over rejected absentee ballots.

“The court creates a real problem for itself and the reliability of these proceedings,” said Coleman attorney Ben Ginsberg, adding that it could create a “legal quagmire that makes ascertaining a final, legitimate result to this election even more difficult.”

Coleman’s attorneys maintain the judges’ Friday order that threw out certain rejected absentee ballots and ruled them unlawfully cast due to certain errors fails to account for “thousands” of absentee ballots that could have been accepted while still containing the same errors.

According to Ginsberg, “illegally cast ballots under their definition are included in the counts.”

The types of ballots ruled taboo by the judges include categories of absentee ballots submitted by non-registered voters, absentee ballots inside a return envelope not signed by the voter or absentee ballot applications that were not signed, and absentee ballots that were dropped off in person on election day.

Ginsberg said that about 100 ballots allowed in to the count during the recount process would have fallen under the new outlawed categories.

The Coleman campaign’s press release does not say whether or not they are currently pursuing other legal avenues or setting up an appeal.

Asked if that were the case, Coleman spokesman Mark Drake said only, "We're concentrating on the 3-judge panel and hoping they cure the defect they've created.”

A spokeswoman for Democrat Al Franken Jess McIntosh said Coleman's lawyers are "denegrating" Minnesota's election process "in order to set up their appeal."

Franken held a slight lead of 225 votes after the recount was completed. The trial is now in its fourth week of testimony with no apparent timetable for a speedy conclusion.

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (CNN) - The courtroom battle over Minnesota’s Senate race wraps up its first week Friday, beginning the day with the testimony of Ramsey County elections manager and former state elections director Joseph Mansky.

The first week has primarily been centered around presenting background information and details of the election process to the three-judge panel, and Mansky's testimony is no different.

Earlier in the week, Deputy Secretary of State Jim Gelbmann - a central figure in the both the election and the recount process - testified for about a day and a half on procedures and details, from the training of local election judges to the level of back-and-forth on a myriad of issues between each campaign during the recount.

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MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (CNN) – As former Republican Sen. Norm Coleman's lawsuit contesting the results of a hand recount in Minnesota begins today, his lawyers are predicting a 'very, very tedious proceeding."

The three-judge panel overseeing the suit will convene at 1 pm CT Monday. Coleman is contesting results that gave Democrat Al Franken the edge with 225 votes out of approximately three million ballots.

On a conference call Sunday, Coleman lawyer Joe Friedberg said he expects a "very, very tedious" proceeding. Friedberg, a prominent Minnesota lawyer, will present opening arguments in the case.

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ST. PAUL, Minnesota (CNN) – The three-judge panel overseeing former Republican Sen. Norm Coleman's post-election lawsuit announced at a pre-trial hearing Friday that the trial will commence "promptly" at 1 pm central time on Monday.

The judges said that starting Tuesday, the proceedings will follow a regular 9 am to 4:30 pm schedule, with an hour break each day for lunch, adding that they aim to make the process speedy as "there is some urgency to this matter."

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MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (CNN) – One of two men charged with disrupting the Republican National Convention in early September has pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of aiding and abetting possession of an unregistered firearm.

Bradley Crowder of Austin, Texas, has been in custody in Minnesota since being indicted September 22.

An FBI affidavit alleges that Crowder and David McKay bought supplies necessary for building Molotov cocktails at a store in St. Paul, Minnesota, the location of last year’s convention. It goes on to allege the two men were overheard by law enforcement officers plotting to throw the handmade explosives into a parking lot patrolled by U.S. Secret Service and military personnel.

Crowder’s sentencing date has not yet been set. The jury trial for McKay is scheduled to commence January 26.