It’s not good news for Minnesotans.

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter switched Tuesday from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party. The move gives Democrats 59 seats in the Senate, one away from the filibuster-proof level of 60 seats. Now, all eyes turn to the marathon recount of the Senate race in Minnesota.

Sigh. You know what this means.

There is even greater pressure now for Norm Coleman to stall, stall, stall to keep recount leader Al Franken from being certified as a senator.

Remove those politics and all that pressure from your viewpoint. Remove which side of politics you favor or oppose.

The fact is, the people of Minnesota have had one senator for four months going on five. Coleman falls further behind with each recount.

While he and his lawyers quibble over who best should represent Minnesota, the voters are left without full representation in the U.S. Senate. Someone is better than no one.

While he and his lawyers worry about disenfranchising voters, the voters’ enfranchisement has been nonexistent. How can anyone disenfranchise what is not enfranchised? Votes were meant to result in a senator, not a months-long court battle.

Our concern is for the people. While Democrats might rejoice at Specter’s decision, we worry that it only adds pressure to drag out the Coleman-Franken case.