There aren’t a lot of investments paying good dividends these days. But the Republicans have definitely found one: funding Norm Coleman’s hopeless court suit to try to find some way to let him be senator again. As a matter of principle, I don’t really like when people try to shame candidates into throwing in the towel. Elections are important; candidates and supporters put immense energy, money and effort into winning them. So as long as a candidate thinks he or she won, they should be free to pursue whatever remedies and legal avenues are available. That said, it’s worth considering what Republicans are getting — not by keeping Coleman’s hopeless effort alive but far more importantly by delaying Al Franken’s swearing in.

The Stimulus Bill battle is a good example. The Dems needed Specter, Collins and Snowe to get the thing through. With Franken they would have needed only two of those votes. I don’t know precisely what each of them wanted. But I don’t think there’s much doubt that would have led to a less watered-down bill. And it seems quite possible that that missing vote will play a similarly consequential role in the weeks ahead. Perhaps in the months ahead.

The court process has to play itself out. There’s no way around that — though the judges seem ready to strangle Coleman. But we could do with a little more recognition of the fact that this is not about getting Norm Coleman into the senate. It’s about paying money to give the Republicans a few more months of leverage against the Democrats 59 seat majority.