Blogs and Stories
How Cool Is Franken?
Brendan Hoffman / Getty Images
Not only does Al Franken’s hard-fought victory give Democrats a magical 60 seats, it gives the Senate its first genuinely funny ex-comedian. Eric Alterman shares memories of his friend and former neighbor.
Senator Franken? As long as it has taken, it’s still pretty hard to believe my friend and former neighbor is due to be sworn in early next week. He’ll be “Senator Franken” to the press and the lobbyists, and “my distinguished colleague” to the rest of that esteemed body. But as for the rest of us, I think we can safely call him “Al.”
The Al Franken/Norm Coleman saga is finally over. Three million or so votes decided by a difference of approximately 300. And with a filibuster-proof 60 votes in the Senate—including the switched-parties-for-personal-political-survival Arlen Specter, now Obama doesn’t have to play “Mr. Nice Guy” with the GOP. For if Al Franken is anything, he is a reliable vote for Barack Obama, and that, given the Republicans’ willingness to filibuster anything and everything they don’t like, is a game changer.
Is there any precedent for a person as cool as Franken becoming a U.S. senator? OK, he looks like a nerd, but he was a genuinely funny comedian, and this has never happened before.
Is there any precedent for a person as cool as Franken becoming a U.S. senator? OK, he looks like a nerd, and he worked like hell not only to educate himself on the issues but to take the entire crazy process of running for office as seriously as is humanly possible. But face it, he was a genuinely funny comedian, and this has never happened before.
One of his jokes—told in the guise of a brain-damaged guy, has been one of my stock lines every time the check arrives at a restaurant: “Hear about the mohel who did circumcisions for free? He only took tips…”
Franken suggested I retire that line about a decade ago, but I haven’t, and now my family fears I never will. It’s not for nothing that literally nobody in the U.S. Senate has a reputation for quick wit. (It’s one reason Barney Frank has had to remain a congressman all this time.)
How cool is Al Franken? Five years ago, I drove to Jones Beach to see the post-Jerry Garcia Grateful Dead in the pouring rain. It was idiotic, except that I ran into Franken and his wife, Frannie, and their daughter. We went backstage to talk to the band and they got us out of the rain and put us on the stage instead.
Franken was just thinking about running back then. He had been inspired by the loss of his friend, Paul Wellstone—perhaps the most progressive senator of all time—and the fact that though he lived off Riverside Drive, he retained a deep connection to Minnesota.
When I asked Franken how he planned to handle the carpetbagger issue, he said he could argue that, unlike Coleman, he was the New York Jew in the race who had actually grown up as a Minnesotan. He also confided that when Alan Keyes made his Illinois Senate race against a fellow with the funny name of Barack Hussein Obama, Franken got a tip that Coleman would be appearing on The Daily Show, so he called Jon Stewart and asked him to ask Coleman if he would vote for Keyes, whose carpetbaggery was so shameless as to be transparent.
Coleman took the bait, and Franken figured he had put aside the issue for good. And who knows, 300 votes—it could have been anything.
Bringing Down Bachmann
Benjamin Sarlin is a reporter for The Daily Beast. He previously covered New York City politics for The New York Sun and has worked for talkingpointsmemo.com.
America's Hot Jobs (and Not Jobs)
The Daily Beast is dedicated to news and commentary, culture, and entertainment. We carefully curate the web’s most essential stories and bring you original must-reads from our talented contributors.
Nicolas Cage, Compulsive Spender
Jacob Bernstein is a senior reporter at The Daily Beast. Previously, he was a features writer at WWD and W Magazine. He has also written for New York magazine, Paper, and The Huffington Post.
Why Democrats Are Smiling
Eric Alterman is a professor of English and journalism at Brooklyn College and a professor of journalism at CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. He is the author, most recently, of Why We're Liberals: A Handbook for Restoring America's Important Ideals.
The Speech of His Life—Again
Eric Alterman is a professor of English and journalism at Brooklyn College and a professor of journalism at CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. He is the author, most recently, of Why We're Liberals: A Handbook for Restoring America's Important Ideals.
How E.L. Doctorow Does It
Eric Alterman is a professor of English and journalism at Brooklyn College and a professor of journalism at CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. He is the author, most recently, of Why We're Liberals: A Handbook for Restoring America's Important Ideals.
This is a joke. Can't Minnesota ever get it right?
Don't be silly. Franken is a cum laude Harvard grad, majored in political science, has been politically active as a citizen for years, is bright and will do the right thing. Minnesota now has two fine people serving in their Senate.
Dear Maezeppa:
I trust all is well. Don't bother with robjh1 for although you can explain it to him, you can't understand it for him.
LOL
Bright, doesn't necessarily make Right. I hope he's a good senator, really.
" it gives the Senate its first genuinely funny ex-comedian. "
You said it . . . "ex-comedian."
As in formally funny, turned bitterly serious.
Another fine objective piece by Eric Alterman.
Will he ever write a biased column ?
Wow, can smell the Liberal Bias in this article or what?
Never mind that the recounts gave Franken more votes everytime they counted them. Doesn't that seem a little odd even to a Dem? I didn't think so, have another drink of the Kool Aide.
Minnesota will never be taken seriously again electing a clown for Senator
Actually they will begin to be taken seriously again now that they've gotten rid of that clown who was the republican senator.
To elect a person like Al Franken to congress is a slap in the face of every American who have ever died for our freedom. Where are the statesmen? Instead we have: Harry Reed, Nancy Pelosi, Barney Franks and now the highly respected statesman Al Franken!
When we lose our freedoms we only have ourselves to blame, we get the government we vote for my friend.
This user is no longer registered.
I might suggest reading one of Franken's books - perhaps the best candidate would be "The Truth (With Jokes)". He is quite astute on policy issues. I think it's quite wrong for you to suggest he won't be doing his own thinking.
Are you suggesting Democrats don't think for themselves?
I liked "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot" best.
I think he made it plain, Franken is going to be nothing more than a pawn used to keep Republicans from stopping the Dems palns.
You sound bitter.
"alcamadus", Could you be a Republican mouthpiece?
Alcamadus:
"Believe it or not, Minnesota has growingly become more conservative"
Precisely the reason more attention be paid to eduction. How has this conservative thing worked out for you bucko? Isn't the application of previously attempted solutions (whether they worked or not) to new and different problems,just intellectual laziness? And a for principles, Minnesotan, please...the only consistant principle Repugnican'ts ever have is to pay less in taxes regardless of what the real cost is. Have a nice day.
And Dem lemmings would jump off a cliff if Obama said to.
Have a nice day bucko.
.
.
There you go again--right wingnuts projecting their inadequacies on others. If you really believe that the Right doesn't slavishly follow the talking points of Fox News and Limbaugh, then you have a serious problem in reading comprehension.
What a joke, accusing someone of using talking points when every Main Stream Media outlet BUT Fox says exactly what the white house talking points are on a daily basis.
Believe it or not, Minnesota has growingly become more conservative. We still elected a lot of Republican Congressman.
Yes congrats on that; Bachman is quite impressive
Bachman!? Impressive? You must be joking...
This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.
I can see the letters coming in my mailbox from the local GOP pols saying they need money to stop Al Franken.
How embarrassing will that be? Guys with years of experience moaning over Al Franken? What a hoot!
how KEW-ELL will it be, having a court jester for Obama?
Thank God for Franken - now there's somebody to punch up all that dray legislation. A couple a jokes a page will do.
Mostly what this tells me is that Minnesota needs a more sensible election system - instant runoff, maybe - so that this sort of fiasco doesn't happen again.
I say this is exactly what SHOULD happen. It's Democracy, buddy.
Agree completely. It was a close election, and Franken won by 312 votes. And completely above-board recount procedures were used. It's exactly the way a democracy works. Shows you the value of going out to vote.
This user is no longer registered.
Hey! Charlie D!
We just went through a "sad commentary on the state of things in this country" -
Eight years of George W. Bush! I agree, he was nothing to laugh about!
This user is no longer registered.
Do you have a specific criticism of him that is rational? Have you read his works? Are you whining because Coleman and Barkley lost? Have you no decency (sound familar...)?
This user is no longer registered.
What about it, Charleston? What are your specific charges about Franken?
How is he scum? What have you listened or read (besides Fox)?
Give us some specifics instead of name calling, then we can discuss it.
Hey, Charleston, it's the next day. Where are your specifics? Put your money where your big mouth is, OK?
I love the sound of wingnut heads exploding in the morning.
If I were Eric Alterman I wouldn't presume such familiarity.
Al Franken is a very funny guy. I love his comedy.
His record on walking the walk is deplorable; another one of the
everyone-else-pays-taxes-not me crowd.
Foul-mouthed with the best of 'em. Stay tuned.
Soon-to-be-Senator Franken isn't what I'd call a true liberal--he was the most centrist of the original Air America lineup--but he's a bright, capable man and will do Minnesota proud.
Thank you, Ardeth. Finally someone who actually says something accurate about Franken. The naysayers and will be surprised.
Franken should vote what Minnesota wants not what Obama, Pelosi and Reid want. That is a true test. I can assure he will fail it!
Oh I'm super excited! The Republicans certainly failed at everything.
And right now the Dem lemmings are really ruining our country with legislation that will impoverish tax payers.
I doubt it. It was the Republicans that got us here.
I thought the official Minnesota Congressional Comedian was Michele Bachmann.
No, she's just so stupid she's laughable. There is a difference...
I'm glad someone on this thread finally brought up Dean Barkley, because I never heard his name mentioned by anyone in the news media during this whole Minnesota recount process.
While I do not claim to be an expert on Minnesota politics, it has always seemed very clear to me that if this guy had not been in the race, Franken would have had a decisive win on election night. Barkley's only place in politics is that he was appointed by Jesse Ventura to replace Wellstone. Not exactly the most honorable resume there. But yet no one brings up that his being in the race damn near threw an obvious win for Franken to obviously not-going-to-win Coleman. I wish someone would call this Barkley guy to account.
i am looking forward to another al franken decade!
Yess!! Well said! And, as I reminisced in another threat, there's his brilliant SNL sketch on the final days of Nixon.
I thought Franken was good when he was a comedian, and brilliant as a debunker of political bs in books like "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them, which are brilliant, well researched and, well, funny. I'm happy to see someone else join Jim Webb, the Republican from VA, as intelligent, honest people in the Senate. I don't always agree with Webb, and I probably won't always agree with Franken, but smart, honest politicians are rare animals.
Last I checked Jim Webb was playing for the other team...
He plays for the legislative branch. He plays for Virginians who voted him in. He is not 'party first' which we had enough of with the Republicans. And we see what happened to them.
"... it gives the Senate its first genuinely funny ex-comedian." There are plenty of comedians in the Senate, he will simply be another. And why an "ex-comedian"? I think he will be funnier in the Senate than on television. Ventura to Franken. What happened to Minnesota?
Al Franken is many things. But, cool?
Funny, sometimes, I'll grant. Although, it's been awhile since he was that.
He's also a master mathematician. If anyone could blow the whistle on Wall Street, he could. If he wants to. The rest of Congress/Senate are bamboozled.
Give me a break - this is just a continuation of the left-wing celebrity culture. Al Franken is not a political mastermind. He is not a master mathematician. He's a failed comic, a failed radio host, a con artist (look at how he bilked Air America), and a disgrace to his nation. His 'election' was the most openly fraudulent nonsense we've seen in recent history - excepting the ACORN-led fraud that brought us Obama.
I can prove my point about Franken's politics very easily: if he were truly a smart man, with an understanding of our national and governmental principles, he would be a Conservative. But he's just another rich left-winger wanting power.
Congrats to Franken. Having worked with him, I only hope he tames his temper down for the Senate. There are times when he is seriously not funny!
The people that voted for Stuart Smalley are the same people who get their news (and political opinions) from the Daily Show and SNL.
"Hey this guy's really funny....and Jon Stewart's laughing with him instead of at him!"
The most useful thing about the Franken election is that it provides a useful guide to how to steal an election. When the original results were announced in November, I knew Franken would win, because I had total confidence in the ability of the Democrats running the process to "find" enough votes to put him over the top.
For those saying he only won by 200 "votes," I say, so what? He won. The problem with too many crooks, like, say Ahmadinejad, is that they aren't content with winning; they want to run up the score to such a degree that it just pisses off the losers.
fenngibbon: Surely the most impressive way to steal an election is to have the Supreme Court vote you in, a la 2000.
Oh, you mean when the U.S. Supreme Court ordered an unconstitutional partial recount ordered by the Florida Supreme Court stopped? If you think the definition of "steal" is "follow the Constitution," I have to ask, who wrote your dictionary? George Orwell?
Oh, and just to remind you, after the dust had settled, all sorts of news organizations did their own recounts and, to the best of my recollection, they all found that Bush won. Sorry.
Hey Gibbon: SCOTUS overturned 225 years of precedent when they intervened in Florida by stopping the recount ordered by the Florida Supreme Court. As a matter of fact, SCOTUS specifically stated that Bush v Gore was NOT to be used as case law precedent. So don't try to bullshit us about Bush winning Florida in 2000.
And Franken won by 312 votes via a completely above-board recount process that found previously overlooked paper ballots. It was a unanimous decision by the MN Supreme Court, of which at least 4 justices were appointed by Republican Governors. It was obvious during argument that th Court was going to find against Coleman because they dragged his lawyers over the coals for not having adequate evidence of fraud or other vote-influencing.
Hey roger: it isn't exactly unprecedented for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that a state court's decision was unconstitutional, which is exactly what they did (they found that the partial recount violated the Equal Protection Clausel, and a plurality agreed that the FLSC's involvment also violated the state legislatures' exclusive role in determining the selection of electors as laid out in Article II--and they cited precedents to support the Supreme Court getting involved, so your "unprecedented" claim is a load of crapt). In point of fact, 7 justices (Rehnquist, Scalia, Thomas, Kennedy, O'Connor, Breyer, and Souter) found the actions of the Florida Supreme Court unconstitutional; Breyer and Souter wanted to wait until after the recount before taking any action. Their logic seems to have been that if the recount supported Bush, then any further action would have been unnecessary, but they seemed to have failed to consider what a HUGE can of worms would have been opened if that recount, which they deemed unconstitutional, had given the election to Gore.
But this is all moot, because, as shown by the efforts of different media organizations after the election, regardless of how the Supreme Court might have ruled, Bush actually did get more votes in Florida. You seem a bit slow, so let me repeat that: Bush. Got. More. Votes. It's been nine years; get over it.
The equal protection argument is laughed at as a total stretch by SCOTUS. In fact, their intervening with State election process was completely unprecedented, and that's why they cautioned that future decisions of this nature were NOT to use Bush v Gore as precedent.
Of the 100 clowns in the Senate, Frank's the only one who's intentionally funny.
Uh-oh, Mr Alterman, methinks you shouldn't have mentioned the Franken-Daily-Show collusion. Conservatives will have a conspiracy theory spun out of it before the day is out.
all the dodos who bemoan an ex-comedian (like so many rightwingnuts) have no knowledge of history - don't forget Senator George Murphy - ex-hoofer and dance partner to Shirley Temple - whose most remembered senatorial statement was noted in Wikipedia:
Murphy had stated that Mexicans were genetically suited to farm labor; because they were "built lower to the ground," it was supposedly "easier for them to stoop."
Thank you.
As a first time user, your comment has been submitted for review. It can take anywhere from a few hours to a day or two for your comment to be reviewed, depending on the time of week and the volume of comments we receive.
Please log in to leave comments.