BS: Al Franken endorsed for US Senate!

Subject: BS: Al Franken endorsed for US Senate!
From: GUEST,Saturday Night Live Fan
Date: 08 Jun 08 - 08:23 AM

Franken wins endorsement for Senate in Minnesota

16 hours ago

ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) — Al Franken has won a resounding endorsement for U.S. Senate from Democratic activists at the Minnesota state convention.

The former "Saturday Night Live" writer and performer beat college professor Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer on the first ballot Saturday. Franken had just given a speech to delegates apologizing for past jokes that offended some fellow Democrats.

Subject: RE: BS: Al Franken endorsed for US Senate!
From: Amos
Date: 08 Jun 08 - 11:01 AM

Wow--that will lliven up the old Senate halls!! I think it is an excellent idea.


A

Subject: RE: BS: Al Franken endorsed for US Senate!
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Jun 08 - 12:57 PM

Another interesting race to watch.

Subject: RE: BS: Al Franken endorsed for US Senate!
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 08 Jun 08 - 01:02 PM

My wife was at that convention as a Nelson-Pallmeyer supporter and delegate. She came home rather disappointed.

I dunno. I listened to the speeches on the radio and I was rather impressed with Franken. (I hadn't been paying much attention previously.) Franken is certainly the better speaker. My wife says Nelson-Pallmeyer is a bit left of Franken. I couldn't tell you the specifics.

Franken has been catching hell for some allegedly bad-taste jokes he has made (in the distant past) about sex and drugs. Even one of our current Democratic representatives denounced him. I haven't read the actual jokes, but I think they should cut him some slack on this one.

Franken made a pretty good apology:

"It kills me that things I said and wrote sent a message to some of my friends in this room and people in this state that they can't count on me to be a champion for women, a champion for all Minnesotans," Franken said in a speech before the first ballot. "...I'm sorry for that, because that's not who I am.... For 35 years, I was a writer. I wrote a lot of jokes. Some of them weren't funny. Some of them were inappropriate. Some of them were downright offensive."

I predict more of this. The Republicans will be combing through everything he ever wrote, everything he ever said (and there is a lot of it; he had a daily talk-show on Air America for three years) to find things they can quote out of context.

Subject: RE: BS: Al Franken endorsed for US Senate!
From: gnu
Date: 08 Jun 08 - 01:50 PM

Al for Senator? President would be better.

Subject: RE: BS: Al Franken endorsed for US Senate!
From: kendall
Date: 08 Jun 08 - 02:41 PM

ANYTHING to piss off that loud mouth, O'Reilly

Subject: RE: BS: Al Franken endorsed for US Senate!
From: John on the Sunset Coast
Date: 08 Jun 08 - 04:57 PM

Will they hire an official drummer to do the rim shots of Franken's speeches in the Senate Chamber. Might maybe keep some of those fossils awake.

Subject: RE: BS: Al Franken endorsed for US Senate!
From: PoppaGator
Date: 09 Jun 08 - 01:07 PM

Amen, J.o.t.S.C.!

For years, most of the truly incisive political commentary in our culture has come from the comedians, much moreso than from the supposedly "serious" commentators on the op-ed page and the networks.

Maybe next time around, we'll have the opportunity to vote for an Al Franken/Jon Stewart ticket. (Al gets the top spot thanks to his experience in that congressional seat he's about to win.)

Subject: RE: BS: Al Franken endorsed for US Senate!
From: gnu
Date: 09 Jun 08 - 06:37 PM

But... can an honest and true man win?

Subject: RE: BS: Al Franken endorsed for US Senate!
From: John on the Sunset Coast
Date: 09 Jun 08 - 07:25 PM

Poppa, I think my comment was meant to be more ironic and less of an endorsement. Hell! I know it was not endorsement.

Subject: RE: BS: Al Franken endorsed for US Senate!
From: GUEST,JTS
Date: 09 Jun 08 - 07:39 PM

In the Senate, Frankin would be as good as many, better than some.

As for statewide office in that state, he is more qualified and eloquent then Jessie Ventura was when he first ran.

Subject: RE: BS: Al Franken endorsed for US Senate!
From: GUEST,Fantasma
Date: 10 Jun 08 - 08:41 AM

Yeah, I don't think he'll make an effective senator, but I'm voting for him just to get rid of the demon Coleman.

It will be a very tough race for him to win, though. The resources of the entire Republican party are going to be thrown at him to hold the Senate seat for the Republicans.

Coleman isn't very popular, but the Republicans will do a great job eroding support for Franken using his writings from his comedy days.

Franken won't even call himself a comedian, BTW. He is a 'satirist' don't you know.

I love him. I really hope we can get him elected. But anyone who thinks he will be Mr. Hilarious is dead wrong--Franken looks lobotomized when on the campaign trail.