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Arts and Culture

Al Franken: From ‘SNL’ to U.S. Senate?

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Posted on Jun 9, 2008
Franken
AP photo / Jim Mone

Al’s big night: Franken accepts the Democratic endorsement for U.S. senator from Minnesota on Saturday at the party’s state convention in Rochester, Minn.

Al Franken’s career arc has taken an unconventional turn: The comedian has nailed down the Minnesota Democrats’ endorsement for the U.S. Senate, following in former Gov. Jesse Ventura’s footsteps as a performer-turned-politician in the Midwestern state. Starting out in comedy may serve Franken well in Congress, where knowing how to work a tough crowd just might come in handy.


AP via My Way News:

Republicans have also hammered Franken for months on some of the more outrageous comments and writing from his years as a comedian, as well as problems with his personal finances. They promised to keep up the heat now that he is the chosen Democratic candidate.

Coleman campaign manager Cullen Sheehan attacked Franken as “unqualified, unfit and unprepared to be a United States senator.” He said the campaign will employ old Franken material.

“Al Franken wants to wants to talk about Norm Coleman’s record. We’re not going to be shy about talking about Al Franken’s record,” Sheehan said.

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By leftyrite, June 14, 2008 at 9:38 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Al Franken is an excellent candidate for the Senate precisely because he knows the importance of decent values and “spine”. But, right now, he must also speak to Minnesota’s heart. He cannot do that if he thinks that being “serious” is akin to coming across as an erstwhile douchebag. That’s Norm Coleman’s game, and Franken will never be as good at it.
Loosen up, Al. We need a with-it Will Rogers for our times, a warm, funny, quietly courageous, vulnerable man with a heart of gold. We don’t need another self-conscious (and manipulative) Fuller Brush man, who acts as if he’s mustering the courage to hit us for a favor.

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By Max Shields, June 13, 2008 at 10:30 pm #

Could someone tell me where Franken stood as Bush was to launch the Iraq invastion and for sometime after?

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By duf, June 13, 2008 at 8:59 pm #

don’t you people read faces?????.

Look at Frankens face until you see the level of greed there…....open your eyes and try to see with eyes that see…....

good grief, have you goofy liberals ever considered that if the media attacked liberal democrats the way they attack conservative republicans we would have witnessed the impeachment of every democrat president since I’ve been around….....that is since 1930…...........

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By duf, June 13, 2008 at 5:20 pm #

by the way, who benefits when american [especially politicians of the opposing party] bad mouth their president???

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By Deb Della Piana, June 13, 2008 at 5:20 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Hey, why not Al Franken? We’ve already got a bunch of evil clowns running this country. I say let’s bring Al in and let him help clean the place up.

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By duf, June 13, 2008 at 5:18 pm #

On Franken - excuse me while I vomit

On Tim Russert - I would take bets and give odds that Russert was on a statin to “protect” him against “high” cholesterol.

On Kucinich - one of the best of the Iraq monday morning quarterbacks -  have you ever looked at this man’s face? just a little angry man…....quite stupid…...does he intend to recommend impeachment of all those dems who were on board with the Bush admin way back when Saddam was doing all those horrendous things to innocent people and trying his darndest to appear to have WMDs???

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By JOY, June 12, 2008 at 10:11 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Well, we already know what the alternative is.  Norm Coleman is another Republican Bush suck up that for some reason doesn’t feel responsible for the mess the country is in.  And wants the opportunity to go back and do more damage.  I hope Minnesotans don’t make that mistake again. 

(Then again, I’m from Connecticut, the Joe Mentum state….  How embarrasing…)

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By Michael A Leyrer, June 12, 2008 at 6:47 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Go for it Al. With Al we get someone who will fight for the common man and not the corporations.  And he is not afraid to call himself Liberal… neither am I.  Conservatives suck!

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By Expatriate Scientist, June 12, 2008 at 5:14 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

A Nobel Laureate in Chemistry was considering running for the open seat in Minnesota.  I guess he realized he could never compete against a comedian and actor like Franken.  Too bad for the country.  It would have been nice to have a U.S. Senator without a pro corporate agenda who’s smart enough to understand what’s really wrong with the country.

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By SamSnedegar, June 11, 2008 at 8:23 am #

with his AA (air america) show, Franken had thousands of opportunities to talk about Iraq’s oil, and he never did ONCE. But then he depended on his publishers for income just like Scheer and Conason, neither of whom even order oil and vinegar on their luncheon salads for fear they will be accused of telling the truth about oil rather than ordering a salad.

It’s perfectly okay for you to think that we’d have invaded and occupied an Iraq which had no oil, because it is estimated that fully 99.5% of Americans are that stupid; just don’t try to tell ME that we’d have ONE boot on the ground in an oil-less Iraq.

The question which has yet to be answered is what will happen if we ever leave Iraq and the mideast in general; where will we steal the oil we HAVE to have for economic survival?

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By suziq, June 10, 2008 at 12:42 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

After listening to his AirAmerica radio show, I was also impressed that he would not accept a non-answer.  He is smart, well spoken, funny, but serious on issues of importance. And he is certainly not ‘old politics’.  GO AL!!!

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By MSA, June 10, 2008 at 12:41 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

As a comedian, Al Franken doesn’t fit my standards for senator, but as a satirist, he does.

As a comedian, Al Franken made me laugh only once, when he had Michael Jordan on his Stuart Smally show on SNL.  The rest was sort of amusing sometimes.

I never got to listen to his radio show, but I read his books, and he clearly gets what is wrong with politics, and has good solutions for Washington, D.C.

For his books, he did a good job of running his research staff, so his teamwork ethic is exactly what I want for a senator.

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By Purple Girl, June 10, 2008 at 7:30 am #

Red & Blue Traitors must be Run Out.
As a Michigander I am out to send not only Levin packing, but am pushing for investigations into his ‘Primary Date change’ Fiasco support and His Dereliction of Duty while sitting his useless ass on the Armed SErvice Com (Con)
In fact If I can vote them out in Nov- i will push for Recalls. I’ve already written AG Cox regarding the obivous Rigging which took place Before ,During & aFter our Primary.Even Promised I vote for Him if he Ran against Granholm ( another Covert operative, who has lead an watched as Our state has Circled the Drain for years/Decades!!Levin)
Such BS ‘Public Servants’ like Stabenow and Kildee shoudl also be dusting off their resumes if not gathering their Defense team.They Reek of Corp complicity.
They’ll be a new color added to the national Map this year- Purple..anything But Democrat and Republican will be the Motto voters go to th ePolls with this year.So Libertarians, Green party, Independents start backing your bags you are going to DC, Or Lansing.
The Only Dem I will be voting for is Obama- the rest are HISTORY (and future defendants)
“Start Wearing Purple ,Wearing Purple
Start wearing Purple for me Now
All YOUR sanity and wits they will all Vanish
I promise, It’s Just a matter of Time..”
Gogol Bordello


OBAMA/HAGEL ‘08

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By PatrickHenry, June 9, 2008 at 8:18 pm #

Al Franken would be an excellent addition.

All the states should vote out those tried and true incumbents. 

Start with a whole new slate.

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By alicecbrown, June 9, 2008 at 6:18 pm #

Let me share just one memory, multiplied 1000 times over: Al is interviewing some blowhard senator on Air America Radio; senator bloviates; Al catches him on it and asks questions that refuse to take ambiguous, lying answers.  That’s what we want in those Senate investigative committees.

That’s the caliber of person we want in Congress.  And being a fellow Harvard alum of Obama’s won’t hurt one little bit.

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