What is Norm Coleman, the former Republican Senator who lost to Democrat Al Franken last fall, doing in Minnesota with his never-ending appeal of his election defeat? He’s doing the GOP’s bidding. It’s no coincidence that Ben Ginsberg, a top (and nasty) Republican political operative here in DC, is Coleman’s lawyer.

The national Republican party sees never-ending appeals in this case as a win-win. In the end, there are two outcomes, both of which help the national GOP. 1) Coleman wins on appeal (by a fluke, but an infinitesimally small chance of victory is better than no chance of victory, which is what Coleman would have if he finally conceded). 2) Coleman drags this case out for years, and not only is Al Franken not seated, which is a form of personal victory if Coleman is really taking the race that personally, but more importantly for the Republicans, Obama is denied another Democratic vote in the Senate – a vote that would put the Dems perilously close to a filibuster-proof 60 votes in the Senate.

Ever since Bush v. Gore, the Republicans started shifting their election strategy from winning enough votes to winning in the courts. The Coleman strategy dangerously take this one step further. Even if they can’t outright win in the courts, they’ll deny their opponent victory for years in never-ending judicial appeals. It’s Norm Coleman’s version of the never-ending death row appeal.

What’s worse – if the Republicans are willing to do this in a Senate race, it’s only a matter of time before they refuse to seat a Democratic president. And judging by the non-response from Democrats on this issue, don’t be surprised if the Republicans get bolder and bolder in the future. And they might just get away with it.

The latest on Norm’s folly here.