Back in May, Norm Coleman and some of his fellow Senate Republicans slandered a member of the British Parliament who then appeared before their committee to answer their spurious charges. That MP, George Galloway, smacked Coleman around a bit before knocking him out:

“Now I know that standards have slipped over the last few years in Washington, but for a lawyer, you are remarkably cavalier with any idea of justice.”

Now Coleman finds himself with a job most would balk at: leading the charge to defend Karl Rove in the court of public opinion. But Coleman seems to relish his chance to grab a little camera time that doesn’t include getting pissed on by Galloway. Here’s Coleman’s first move:

Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) issued a statement calling on Democrats to “cool the rhetoric” on Rove and allow the investigation to run its course.

“My Democratic friends would be doing the nation a great service if they spent half as much time getting legislation passed that will benefit the country as they do in attacking Karl Rove,” he said.

So Coleman’s not only cavalier with justice, he’s cavalier with the truth as well. We’ve spent a lot of time covering what passes for priorities in the Republican controlled White House and Congress. From the President threatening his first ever veto on a stem cell bill to the absurd boutique legislation produced during the Terri Schiavo case to Bill Frist‘s cockfighting bill to the proposed flag-burning amendment, hot button political issues have been addressed at the expense of, as Coleman calls it, “getting legislation passed that will benefit the country.”

But those examples are a few weeks old now, and maybe the Republicans have rededicated themselves to issues with a bit more substance. Maybe not. Yesterday, Senate Democrats tried to pass a bill that would have revoked the security clearance of any government official who leaked classified information. Republicans voted it down. Next on the docket is a bill to shield the gun industry from civil lawsuits. Maybe Coleman thinks that pay-for-play legislation is in his constituents’ best interest. The 2006 elections are going to judge harshly the representatives who played games while the American dream slid away.

Senator Coleman, until you figure out what the people of Minnesota set you to Washington to do, Shut The Fuck Up!