Norm Coleman hired to bring excitement, Jewishness to Mitt Romney's campaign

Norm Coleman, Mitt Romney: In total, these two are 50 percent Jewish.

​Mitt Romney's campaign complained a while back that conservative Jewish voters were supporting Michele Bachmann out of confusion, thinking that Minnesota's most outspoken Evangelical Christian was Jewish herself.

So Romney's campaign found the perfect solution: hire Norm Coleman, an actual Jewish person who sort of used to be from Minnesota sometimes. Coleman's on the board of directors at the Republican Jewish Coalition, and Romney's probably hoping that'll boost him some among temple-going donors and voters.

There's also a good financial reason to hire Coleman -- or, more to the point, there are 26 million financial reasons to hire him. Since losing his airtight election recount to Al Franken in 2009, Coleman has worked the highly lucrative shadows of modern political fundraising and spending.

His political organization, American Action Network, spent $26 million during the 2010 election cycle, without having to report a single donor's name. In March, AAN was the subject of a complaint by Citizens for Responsibilty and Ethics in Washington, which alleged that its 401(c)(4) designation shouldn't allow for political spending.

"Despite the fact that AAN told the IRS only a minor portion of its activities would be political, AAN extensively participated in political campaigns throughout the 2010 campaign cycle," read CREW's complaint to the IRS.

Michele Bachmann: Just ask her to spell "yarmulke."

​Well, oops. As that thing works its way through the system, Norm might be looking for other work. So, why not latch on to the Romney campaign, which could use a little more tall, thin, white male-ness.

Coleman announced his support in a statement which, as quoted by Politico, made specific reference to a certain country where a lot of people of a certain religion live:

Whether it is turning around our struggling economy or maintaining our relationships with international allies, the next President must have the experience and leadership to keep America strong at home and abroad. As a strong supporter of Israel, I am also confident that he is the best candidate to restore America's relationship with Israel.

Translation: Mitt Romney isn't Jewish. Neither is Michele Bachmann. I, Norm Coleman, am definitely Jewish, and I'm telling you to donate to Mitt Romney, not Michele Bachmann.

Related:

• Report: Michele Bachmann isn't Jewish
• City Pages to Norm Coleman: Kindly step aside
• Norm Coleman's campaign is accused of leaking 500,000 donors credit card info