No Joke: Al Franken's Running For Senate

(AP)  Comedian Al Franken said Wednesday he will run for U.S. Senate in 2008, confirming his long-suspected plans to seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Sen. Norm Coleman.

Franken's announcement came on the final day of his radio show on Air America. The former "Saturday Night Live" performer's celebrity instantly makes him a heavyweight contender and brings national attention to the Minnesota race.

"Minnesotans have a right to be skeptical about whether I'm ready for this challenge and to wonder how seriously I would take the responsibility that I'm asking you to give me," Franken said in a video clip posted on his Web site.

"I want you to know: nothing means more to me than making government work better for the working families of this state, and over the next 20 months I look forward to proving to you that I take these issues seriously," Franken said in a transcript of the clip.

Though Franken has a well-known name and is likely to be well-funded, he's expected to be challenged by several other Democrats, including wealthy trial attorney Mike Ciresi.

His candidacy will also test whether Minnesotans are in the mood for another celebrity-cum-politician, after the 1999-2003 governorship of former pro wrestler Jesse Ventura. Ventura's fame and occasionally outrageous behavior regularly brought national attention to the state — but after a while, he also wore on the patience of many Minnesotans.

"He's serious. He's a comic but he's serious," Stephen Hess, a professor of political science at George Washington University, said of Franken. "He's not doing this as some folks have done it to give them better gigs on the Borscht circuit."

Franken, 55, was born in New York City but grew up in the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park. He graduated from Harvard University in 1973, and in 1975 he and writing partner Tom Davis joined the writing staff of "Saturday Night Live" during its first season. They soon started appearing in sketches, and Franken remained a fixture on the show well into the 1990s.

In 1996 Franken took his career in a political direction when he wrote "Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations," a broadside against the conservative radio host and other figures on the right. He's since published several other books critical of Republicans and the conservative establishment.

As early as 2003, Franken said he was considering a run for the Minnesota U.S. Senate seat previously held by his friend, the late Democratic Sen. Paul Wellstone.

In 2004 Franken joined the upstart liberal radio network Air America as its biggest-name host. He soon got more directly involved in politics, forming a political action committee that raised more than $1 million for Democratic candidates in the last election cycle.

In 2005, Franken and his wife, Franni, moved back to the Twin Cities, which was widely interpreted as laying the groundwork for a campaign. He announced a few weeks ago that Wednesday would be his last day on Air America, but continued to play coy about his aspirations while privately telling prominent DFLers about his plans to run.

Franken is stringing out his announcement over two days — Wednesday's announcement, and a scheduled first public appearance as a candidate Thursday morning at a clinic in south Minneapolis.

In his Web site message, Franken acknowledges he's not a "typical politician." But he stresses his Minnesota roots, talking about his father's decision to open a quilting factory in Albert Lea that failed after two years, prompting the family's move to the Twin Cities.

"I grew up in a hard-working middle class family just like many of yours. And as a middle-class kid growing up in Minnesota back then, I felt like the luckiest kid in the world. And I was."

Coleman defeated former Vice President Walter Mondale in 2002, just a few weeks after the plane crash that killed the incumbent Wellstone.

Coleman is viewed as vulnerable after several years of Democratic resurgence in Minnesota and the continued unpopularity of his fellow Republican, President George W. Bush. But his proven skills as a campaigner and adept fundraiser make him a formidable opponent.

Franken has had little good to say about his potential opponent. In his latest book, "The Truth (with jokes)," he criticized Coleman in not-so-flattering terms for his former chairmanship of the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

"The subcommittee's chairman, Minnesota Republican Norman Coleman, is one of the administration's leading butt boys," Franken wrote. "He hasn't held a single hearing on postwar corruption."

Hess, the George Washington analyst, said: "Whatever else goes on, Al Franken is going to make it an infinitely more interesting race. And he may even provide a few laughs, and that's not so bad either in the grim days we're facing."

[david1737]

Franken has been doing USO Tours for 20/30 yrs. He really supports the troops!

[david1737]

At least Fraken has some "family values"

[motherjones-2009]

"The last thing the DEMOCRAT Party needs is another bombastic Socialist/Marxist/Lenninist in its midst".
processor2, where do I begin?

First off, Democrat is a noun; Democratic is an adjective. "Democrat Party' is grammatically incorrect and anyone who uses this term exposes themselves as an ignoramus. It's like calling someone a "Jew boy" instead of a "Jewish boy". It's a not too thinly veiled insult. How would you like it if we started calling your kind "Repubs"?

Second, Al Franklin is a liberal Democrat in the noble tradition of Franklin Roosevelt. Anything good that has happened in this country since the last Gilded Age, you have liberals to thank.

[motherjones-2009]

"The last thing the DEMOCRAT Party needs is another bombastic Socialist/Marxist/Lenninist in its midst".
processor2, where do I begin?

First off, Democrat is a noun; Democratic is an adjective. "Democrat Party' is grammatically incorrect and anyone who uses this term exposes themselves as an ignoramus. It's like calling someone a "Jew boy" instead of a "Jewish boy". It's a not too thinly veiled insult. How would you like it if we started calling your kind "Repubs"?

Second, Al Franklin is a liberal Democrat in the noble tradition of Franklin Roosevelt. Anything good that has happened in this country since the last Gilded Age, you have liberals to thank.

[huskerarmy]

"Its called the scientific method, you get the system in place, measure the results, evaluate and then fix."

Funny isn't it that "science" only means something to righties when they're being patronizing dilholes.

[huskerarmy]

"The last thing the Democrat Party needs is another bombastic Socialist/Marxist/Leninist in its midst."

I think it's possible that the reason the right is loosing the battle of public opinion is that, in their comfort, they failed to change tactics or vocabulary. The more relevant, though artificial, reactionary terms for progressives these days would seem to be "aid and comfort to the enemy," "support for the terrorists," etc. If you're not going to update your draconian tactics, at least update your vocabulary. Calling liberals "Leninists" does not resonate in todays environment and just makes one look obsolete.

[huskerarmy]

"I miss the old Democrat Party that used to say "Ask NOT what your country can do for you, but rather, what YOU can do for your country""

The part you seem to miss processor is the "...What you can do for your country." It's the right that tells people "Don't worry about the war. The poor kids will fight it for you. All you need to do is pay for Exxon's record profits, put a ribbon on your car and go shopping." In reality, the neo-cons have been telling america "Ask nothing of your country (Katrina), but rather, what you can do for Exxon Mobil, Halliburton and Pfizer." Americans, those who have been paying attention, are fed up. You can keep waiting for the great "trickle down" from your heros in the mansions on the hill, but you're going to have to get used to it... American's are demanding better government. And that will require some sacrifices from, less subsidies to, your treasured corporate plutocracy.

[karlimhof]

The gravest dangers facing our existance are;

1- an environmental disaster
2- nuclear war

These are preeminent policies needed to protect the Nation.

What has Bush done with regards to ensuring these policies are seriously followed?

The answer is nothing; he has boycotted Kyoto sending a clear signal; and NPT (non-proliferation treaties)has been for practical purposes ignored.

Therefore this president has allowed the most important work facing this country to be put aside and instead has taken us to war on false pretenses.

[dallison7]

Please, run along and go talk to a lib about bush hating..i have actual policy im interested in.
Posted by aa36042

Liberals in this country historically are responsible for EVERY piece of legislation that benefits the citizens. Social security, medicare, civil rights, etc. You want to spread your blather about Bush policy, why do you hide from the truth? Instead of coming onto these sites and trying to present yourself as something more than you are, why don't you get right down to it and show us that you are a superior intellect? You rant on about the thoughts of others then site 'no child left behind' as your only shining example. Maybe you aren't bright enough to know that is just another program that Bush threw out there to pretend he is doing something constructive, like the bogus 'health care reform' he is now talking about. You may be aware of another program that liberals put in place to turn losers and dropouts back into productive citizens... it's called the GED. You should probably take advantage of it.

[dallison7]

LOL

'No child left behind' is just another of Bush's failures.