It is clear these Republicans are intent on stalling a recount process and on the march to empty a bag of snakes on the table and then say, "Undo it."

With Pawlenty at the head of the march, no less, STRIB REPORTING:

But the prospect of a long recount creates intriguing possibilities. If it continues past the scheduled Jan. 3 inauguration, Gov. Tim Pawlenty would continue as chief executive while the legislative session gets underway. Republican legislators could act quickly to send a budget-cutting bill to Pawlenty to sign rather than waiting for a likely veto should DFL gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton prevail in the recount.

"It might well be that Governor Pawlenty will sign the bill," said Sen. David Senjem, R-Rochester, this year's Senate minority leader who's hoping his caucus will make him next year's majority leader. Referring to possible GOP control of the House, Senate and governor's office, he said, "If we get a budget early on ... we've got a trifecta."

Senjem later said the idea hasn't been considered, adding, "I'm not suggesting we're going to do that." However, he said if the recount continued well into the 2011 session, "It's not inconceivable."

"We have to do this with some level of style and dignity and involvement with the minority party," he said of passing a budget. "But it's our turn to lead."

[bolding added]

"Style and dignity," this Senjem fellow says. Get real. From the party that ran Tom Emmer??? Get real. Tom Emmer Jr., who brought up Tom Emmer III [aka "Tripp"] into what "style and dignity" mean??? Get real.

Mark Ritchie should do an expeditious recount to confirm, in his mind, a result, and certify it. If Pawlenty refuses to sign off, throw it in court with the charge being exactly what this Senjem fellow let out of the bag. THE GOP PLAN (aka: Stall a recount, snake things all up, and then say, "Undo it").

Pawlenty, if not signing off on the certifying by the duly elected Secretary of State of a fair AND EXPEDITIOUS recount would make himself the focus of charges. As would be wholly proper.

Dayton IS the next Governor. Voters voted. Dayton won.

There is no practical way that Emmer can find a swing of 4500 votes.

The Franken recount proved that a swing of 600 might exist, statewide, but it also proved that number as in the reasonable expectations plus or minus another hundred or two, in any recount process.

Allow that large a margin of variance, and Emmer with an additional eight hundred, Dayton with eight hundred less, it is still Governor Dayton, clearly so, and that's how it is.

The Republicans are clearly committing to a disingenuous course, and it should be judicially disallowed, if that step is needed, to have the third constitutional branch determining the outcome of dispute between the other two branches. And that is with the court stacked against things via the Pawlenty appointments. And the Republicans would do this even with it standing to make Minnesota the laughingstock of the nation and the world. They appear to not care, and their having Michele Bachmann among their ranks is consistent with actually courting laughingstock status.