Photo: KARE 11

Photo: KARE 11

“This is not judicial fast food.” That’s a line that former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman has been using all month to defend himself against charges that his legal maneuvers are only delaying his elected successor, Democrat Al Franken, from gaining his old Senate seat. It’s an odd analogy coming from Coleman, who gets super-sized campaign donations from the nation’s fast-food industry.

Coleman is a Whopper, for example, when it comes to political contributions from the National Franchisee Association, a trade association of 1,200 Burger King owners. His $12,500 is the biggest helping they served to any member of Congress in the last election cycle, according to OpenSecrets.org.

Less than a quarter of the Senate got money from Taco PAC, the political organization for people who run Taco Bells, but the group’s $2,500 donation to Coleman’s 2008 campaign put him in a tie for ninth in line among office-seekers.

Taco PAC didn’t forget Coleman after last fall’s election. The group is on a list of donors to the Coleman Minnesota Recount Committee that was just released today.

The list also includes $500 from McDonald’s franchise owner Anderson Haughey, who hails from the town of  Hurricane, W.Va.

Looking beyond fast food, the broader food and beverage industry has been a special friend to Coleman as well. He ranked third in industry donations among all politicians not running for president last year (and eighth overall).

Coleman campaigned against the Employee Free Choice Act. The bill, which Franken backs, would remove barriers to union organizing that many employers, including those in the food industry, would rather leave in place.

Here’s the latest example of Coleman using the “judicial fast food” line, yesterday on KARE-11 (it’s at the 1:20 mark):