Play "Seat the Senator!" Guess the day Al Franken will be sworn in as Minnesota's junior senator and win a prize from BuzzFlash

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTEST

Though author and comedian Al Franken declared victory in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race Jan. 6, he had to sit back and watch his future colleagues get sworn in without him that day. The canvassing board that gave Franken the 225 votes lead he deemed necessary to proclaim victory was challenged by the man who held the seat before Franken, Norm Coleman. As the soon-to-be former senator's lawsuit contesting the canvassing board's decision enters its fourth week, Minnesotans are finally losing their legendary patience. "When will it end?" they ask.

Well, rather than leave the Land of 10,000 Lakes answerless, we thought we'd turn to our readers. It's pretty clear that Franken will become Minnesota's next junior senator. But when he will be sworn in is another matter entirely.

Though clearly upset by the extremely sluggish pace of the current lawsuit and the long wait for the Minnesota Supreme Court to weigh in on a separate issue, Jay Weiner writes for MinnPost that the situation is affected by other events outside of the courtroom. Weiner notes that some think Coleman might give up sooner if it becomes apparent that fellow Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty won't run for reelection, giving Coleman a future political prize to focus on (after all this wouldn‘t be the first time Pawlenty took one for the GOP). Or maybe it's the Republicans in the U.S. Senate pressuring Coleman to keep on keepin' on so that the Democrats are denied that mythical 60-vote majority as long as possible.

Whatever the reason, this thing has been dragging on for quite some time. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is sweating, Franken is doing homework on Senate procedure and Coleman is fundraising.

And the rest of us are, well, guessing. Journalists have been crunching numbers for months now. And it's pretty obvious that Coleman has no chance at retaining his seat. But pinning down a swearing-in date is more art than science.

Which brings us to you, fair reader. You may be pleasantly surprised you stand to gain by this waiting game, even if you don't live in Minnesota. Join in the fun by playing our contest, "Seat the Senator: Guess When Al Franken Will Take the Oath of Office!"

The How-to:

• If you aren't already signed up with a username on the BuzzFlash Blog, click here to sign up. All you need is an e-mail address, and we promise we won't use it to do anything but contact you in the event that you win the contest.
• Go to the bottom of this story and leave a comment between now and 11:59 p.m. Central on Feb. 28, 2009 indicating the date upon which you think Al Franken will be sworn in as Minnesota's new U.S. senator.

The prize: 

• The Coen Brothers Movie Collection, which includes five DVDs of the Minnesotan sibling duo's critically-acclaimed films: Fargo, Barton Fink, Raising Arizona, Miller's Crossing and Blood Simple.

The specs:

• If more than one person picks the same winning day, each winner will be entered into a lottery and one prizewinner will be randomly selected.
• If no one picks the winning day, the person who picks the closest day to the one upon which Franken is sworn in wins.
• If Franken is sworn in before Feb. 28, the contest will be closed immediately and the person who picks the closest day to the one upon which Franken is sworn in wins.
• Otherwise, the contest will end when Franken is seated. A winner will be announced within 24 hours of his swearing-in and contacted via their e-mail address as registered with the BuzzFlash Blog.
• No purchase or donation is necessary to play.
• BuzzFlash employees and their family members are not eligible to win.