Al Franken's Blog, page 36
November 1, 2014
Go vote this weekend!
Did you know? You can go vote this weekend!
As Franni outlined it in her message to supporters: you can request, receive and cast an absentee ballot in one visit to your county election office. Some cities and towns also provide absentee ballots at their offices.
This weekend, absentee voting locations will be open on Saturday from 10am to 3pm. Some local jurisdictions may provide additional absentee voting days or hours beyond the above required days and times, so be sure to find and call your local jurisdiction for up-to-date information.
If you live in Minneapolis or St. Paul, you can vote absentee in person on both Saturday and Sunday.
Minneapolis
St. Paul
Not registered to vote? No problem — If you are not registered to vote, you will need to complete a voter registration form and provide proof of residence in any number of ways, outlined here: http://mnvotesinfo.sos.state.mn.us/voters/voter-registration/register-on-election-day/
So grab a friend—and head to the voting booth early this year.
The post Go vote this weekend! appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.
October 30, 2014
RELEASE: Final ad features Senator Franken’s hard work for Minnesota
Newspapers across Minnesota agree: Franken has delivered for Minnesota
ST. PAUL [10/30/14] — The Franken campaign today released its final ad of the election, highlighting the growing number of newspapers across the state that are backing Senator Franken for his record of working across party lines to deliver concrete results for Minnesotans.
The 30-second statewide ad, titled “Delivered,” talks about the hard work Senator Franken is doing for Minnesota, whether that’s helping break through the gridlock and passing a five-year farm bill, passing a major bipartisan workforce-training bill, standing up for Main Street over Wall Street or his work to help Minnesotans refinance student loans.
In the final weeks of the 2014 election, Senator Franken has received endorsements from newspapers across the state — including the Star Tribune, ECM newspapers, the St. Cloud Times, Winona Daily News, Rochester Post-Bulletin, Insight News and the Minnesota Daily — encouraging voters to send him back to the Senate so he can keep working hard for all Minnesota families.
Here’s what Minnesotans have been reading about Senator Franken:
ECM: “Campaign rhetoric is one thing; getting results in Washington is something else … It is also evident that Franken has made a determined effort to work across party lines and achieve bipartisan agreements.”
STAR TRIBUNE: “Franken has kept his head down and delivered on what this page asked of him when he belatedly started his term in 2009 — policy work that benefits residents of this state. In many cases, he’s done so while working with Republican colleagues.”
INSIGHT NEWS: “Senator Franken exemplifies fearless, principled representation for the people of Minnesota; and for the nation.”
ST. CLOUD TIMES: “…Franken still stood up for Main Street over Wall Street, for a reasonable farm bill, and for better matching people with employers through education.”
MINNESOTA DAILY: “We support Franken in continuing what he started: serving Minnesotans, especially students. Franken has enacted a number of measures benefiting students. As a co-sponsor of the DREAM Act and student loan and open-textbook bills, Franken supports getting everyone in Minnesota a quality education… Franken has promised to continue fighting for students to be able to refinance their loan debt…”
STAR TRIBUNE: “[Sen. Franken] added common-sense provisions to the bipartisan Violence Against Women Act to help protect victims of domestic violence and sexual assault from financial harm… He has also championed food safety, job training, renewable energy, Internet neutrality, funding for Native American schools, student debt relief and privacy-rights measures.”
WINONA DAILY NEWS: “Five years later, with an impressive record of legislation on technology and privacy, consumer rights, agriculture, transportation and other issues — not to mention an important amendment ensuring the effectiveness of the Affordable Care Act and saving consumers billions — Franken is asking Minnesota voters to send him back for a second term. We should.”
ROCHESTER POST-BULLETIN: “We feel [Sen. Franken] has been a leading force the state needs on many issues, and we hope he can build on his first-term achievements.”
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The post RELEASE: Final ad features Senator Franken’s hard work for Minnesota appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.
Did you see: The Rochester Post-Bulletin endorses Al
Ryan Furlong, Press Secretary
Add Rochester’s Post-Bulletin to the list of Minnesota newspapers lining up behind Al:
When Franken sat down to talk with the Post-Bulletin Editorial Board earlier this month, it was clear he knew his opponent was pointing out 159 of his 161 Senate votes sided with President Obama’s administration. As a result, Franken tended to point to bipartisan efforts as he listed his Senate accomplishments, which include working with Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn, and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., for passage of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and the creation of health-care tax legislation with Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill.
…
That’s why the Post-Bulletin Editorial Board is endorsing Sen. Al Franken for a second term. We feel he has been a leading force the state needs on many issues, and we hope he can build on his first-term achievements.
We also found he was gracious in his acknowledgment of our decision to endorse Coleman six years ago. “I think people didn’t know what to think of me,” he told us. “I cut a lot of slack to everybody because I had been a comedian. I understood what I was doing; I knew what that arc was.”
But he also noted something we can definitely agree with after his first six years in office: “I get things done. I believe I’m very, very, very much in the Minnesota tradition of working for a middle class that is strong.”
Click here to read the full endorsement >>
The post Did you see: The Rochester Post-Bulletin endorses Al appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.
October 29, 2014
RELEASE: Minnesota Professional Fire Fighters Endorse Al
Press Statement of Chris Parsons, President, Minnesota Professional Fire Fighters, [10/28/14]
Today, the Minnesota Professional Fire Fighters (MPFF), an organization consisting of 1,600 members of the International Association of Fire Fighters in over 40 local communities across the state representing full-time firefighters and emergency medical technicians, is proud to endorse Al Franken for US Senate from Minnesota. This decision was unanimous by our executive board.
In his nearly six years in the US Senate, Al Franken has worked diligently across the party-divide to support and pass legislation to benefit firefighters and our mission to protect the lives and property of the citizens of Minnesota. Year after year, Senator Franken has supported legislation that has helped struggling cities retain and hire firefighters in difficult economic conditions. His support for the SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) and FIRE ACT Grants has helped scores of Minnesota fire departments keep firefighters in the fire stations and off the unemployment line, which has directly improved response times and service levels for communities all across Minnesota. The SAFER Grant alone has provided over 22 Minnesota fire departments with over $11 million on Al’s watch.
Al has been an accessible and responsive US Senator. He has a keen understanding and appreciation of the risks and hazards firefighters face on a daily basis. When the family of a fallen Minnesotafirefighter needed help securing Hometown Heroes Act benefits, Senator Franken did not hesitate to weigh in on the families behalf ultimately leading to them receiving the line-of-duty death benefits they deserved.
Al Franken’s opponent, Mike McFadden, has criticized Senator Franken for his attempt to end taxpayer subsidies for oil companies in order to further provide funding for firefighter staffing. This is all the evidence we need to know that, for McFadden, corporate profits trump the safety of Minnesotans.
For us, the choice is clear. In six years Al Franken has been a Senator all of Minnesota can be proud of and he deserves re-election. We are urging our members, their families, and all of Minnesota to join us in supporting Al Franken for US Senate.
The post RELEASE: Minnesota Professional Fire Fighters Endorse Al appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.
Franni Franken voted early — how about you?
Sara Cederberg, Digital Director
Franni Franken is planning on a busy Election Day this year: knocking doors, making phone calls and motivating volunteers for Al. When Franni heard that Minnesotans can now vote without an approved excuse, she knew she had to take advantage of this new law to free up some time on November 4th.
Watch this message she recorded for voters after she voted early in person, then share it with your friends to let them know they can do the same:
The post Franni Franken voted early — how about you? appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.
October 28, 2014
A really, really long blog post
Al Franken
With just 7 days left in the campaign, I thought that, just for today, I’d ditch all the obnoxious tricks and just tell you why this is all so important to me — and why I hope it’s important to you. I promise, we’ll get back to your regularly scheduled programming.
(If you don’t feel like reading a long blog post today, you can, of course, just click below and donate $5 and then maybe forward this to someone else.)
If you’ve saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately:
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Last year, Franni and I became grandparents for the first time. Little Joe — named after my dad — is seventeen months old. He’s adorable. And lucky. He’s got two parents who love him so much, and who have been pretty lucky themselves — they have good jobs, and they don’t go to bed at night worrying about what kind of future they’ll be able to provide.
So, when I go over to my daughter’s house to put my grandson to bed, and I watch him sleeping in his crib, all I think about are the possibilities for his future.
But that’s how it’s supposed to be for every kid.
When my brother and I were growing up in St. Louis Park, it didn’t matter that neither one of our parents ever went to college. It didn’t matter that our dad’s quilting factory had failed. It didn’t matter that we weren’t rich.
I was growing up middle-class in America, at the height of the middle class in America — in Minnesota. I felt like the luckiest kid in the world — because I was!
My wife, Franni, wasn’t so lucky. When she was 17 months old, her dad — a World War II veteran — died in a car accident, leaving my future mother-in-law widowed at age 29 with five kids.
That family made it because of Social Security survivors’ benefits. But they didn’t just make it. They thrived.
Franni and each of her three sisters all went to college, thanks to Pell Grants and other scholarships. My brother-in-law, Neil, went into the Coast Guard, where he became an electrical engineer. My mother-in-law got a $300 GI loan to fix her roof and used the money instead to go to the University of Maine — and then she became a grade school teacher and taught poor kids, so all her loans were forgiven.
She and all five of those kids became productive members of society. They pulled themselves up by their bootstraps — but first, they had to have the boots. And the government gave Franni’s family the boots.
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That’s what this is about. That’s what all this — every rally, every phone bank, and, yes, every email — is really about. Bringing back that sense of security for the middle class. And making it easier for families like Franni’s to work their way up into it.
Think about all the work I’ve been able to do thanks to your support (by which I mean support): taking on the Wall Street credit rating scam to help prevent another economic crash. . . working to increase Pell Grants so more kids can afford college. . . helping to pass a bipartisan Farm Bill so our rural communities can have some peace of mind.
Think about all the issues that we’ve talked about in this campaign, all the issues that differentiate me from my Republican opponent: making it possible for people to refinance their student loans so they can get out from under a mountain of debt. . . making sure women can get equal pay for equal work. . . protecting Social Security from being sold out to Wall Street.
And think about what drives you — what made you sign up to get all these ridiculous emails in the first place. I’m willing to bet it comes down to the same basic idea: We ought to be a country where anybody can work their way into the middle class and enjoy some real economic security, the kind where, when you put your grandkid to bed at night, all you can think about are the possibilities.
So, with that: Will you click here and contribute to my campaign so we can win this thing?
The post A really, really long blog post appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.
RELEASE: When was Mike McFadden’s firm telling the truth? Minnesotans deserve to know
Investment banker and his company have failed to explain why his firm took credit for Smurfit-Stone deal until last week
ST. PAUL [10/28/14] — Today, the Franken campaign is pressing investment banker Mike McFadden to explain to Minnesotans why his company, Lazard Middle Market, took credit on their website for the Smurfit-Stone restructuring deal for 18 months, until an ad about the deal began running last week. The Franken campaign is calling on McFadden to address several key unanswered questions about who decided to advertise the deal, which resulted in more than 400 workers losing their jobs, on the website and who took it down. The full list of questions is below.
“The undisputed fact is that Mike McFadden’s company took credit for the deal until our ad criticized him for it,” said Alexandra Fetissoff, Franken campaign spokesperson. “The press wrote about the deal 18 months ago. McFadden didn’t correct the stories. And his company didn’t take it off their website. Minnesotans deserve to know: were they telling the truth then or are they telling the truth now?”
Press reports in POLITICO and Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal have linked Lazard Middle Market to the restructuring of Smurfit-Stone for more than a year and a half – one report even ran before McFadden left his post as Co-CEO and entered the race. During that entire period, Lazard Middle Market listed the Smurfit-Stone restructuring deal as a transaction on their company’s website. But it wasn’t until the Franken campaign began airing its ad highlighting the deal last week that either McFadden or his company made any public effort to refute that claim and the deal was suddenly removed from the website.
McFadden could not explain at Sunday’s WCCO-TV debate why his company suddenly scrubbed all mentions of its work on the Smurfit-Stone restructuring deal following the release of the Franken campaign’s new ad, and neither he nor his company has yet to provide a satisfactory explanation as to why they removed all mentions of Smurfit-Stone from the website and why those mentions were there in the first place.
McFadden and his company owe Minnesotans answers to the following questions:
Questions
Who at Lazard Middle Market was involved in designing and placing the entry on Lazard Middle Market’s website claiming that it advised on the Smurfit-Stone restructuring?
At the time the entry was posted on Lazard Middle Market’s website, was it accurate?
If it was not, why did neither Lazard Middle Market nor Mike McFadden seek a correction from Politico or the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal?
Were there any internal conversations at Lazard Middle Market in May 2013, when this deal first appeared in print, about whether or not the company worked on the deal and whether or not the website needed to be corrected? If so, when will Lazard Middle Market release the records of those conversations?
What and who began the discussion to remove the mention of Smurfit-Stone from Lazard Middle Market’s website last week? Who at Lazard Middle Market was involved in approving and implementing that decision?
Will Lazard release a list of all personnel at any Lazard entity who worked on the deal, whether they billed hours or not?
Will Lazard release emails and other internal correspondence at any Lazard entity related to the deal?
Will Lazard release emails and other correspondence between Mike McFadden or his campaign and any Lazard entity pertaining to Smurfit-Stone?
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Timeline of Key Events
April 10, 2013: McFadden’s name first surfaces as a potential opponent to Sen. Franken. That day, the Franken campaign captures the Lazard Middle Market website. That day, the Lazard Middle Market website still includes an advertisement for work on Smurfit-Stone’s restructuring.
May 3, 2013: Politico reports that McFadden is gearing up for a run, and speculates that McFadden’s business record at Lazard Middle Market could be a liability for him. The article specifically cites, among others, the restructuring of Smurfit-Stone.
May 13, 2013: Mike McFadden takes his leave of absence from Lazard Middle Market (Per his Personal Financial Disclosure).
May 29, 2013: Mike McFadden announces his candidacy for the U.S. Senate. With the Minnesota press corps assembled, he makes no effort to distance himself or Lazard Middle Market from the Smurfit-Stone deal.
May 31, 2013: The Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal reports on McFadden’s candidacy and repeats Politico’s reporting on the Smurfit-Stone deal. As in the case of Politico, neither McFadden nor his campaign nor Lazard Middle Market made any discernable effort to distance themselves from the deal.
October 23, 2014: The Franken campaign’s ad highlighting the Smurfit-Stone restructuring begins running.
October 24, 2014: McFadden for the first time in the campaign publicly denies his company had any involvement in the Smurfit-Stone restructuring and at the same time Lazard Middle Market removes all mention of the Smurfit-Stone restructuring from its website.
The post RELEASE: When was Mike McFadden’s firm telling the truth? Minnesotans deserve to know appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.
October 27, 2014
RELEASE: New ad highlights Franken’s fight to end Wall Street hedge fund tax break
Sen. Franken has repeatedly voted to end the carried interest tax loophole
ST. PAUL [10/27/14] — The Franken campaign today released a new TV ad that highlights Sen. Franken’s fight to end an egregious tax loophole that allows billionaire hedge fund managers to pay taxes on income at half the rate of everyday Minnesotans.
The 30-second statewide ad, titled “Hedge Fund,” begins with Sen. Franken revealing to Minnesotans that last year twenty-five Wall Street hedge fund managers made $21 billion: “But here’s what should really bother you. Washington gives hedge funds managers a special tax break – so they pay taxes on that income at half the rate you pay.”
Hedge fund managers pay the same tax rate on “carried interest” as the capital gains tax rate, which is roughly half what everyday Minnesotans would pay on the same amount of income. Sen. Franken has strongly supported ending the carried interest tax loophole and has voted to repeatedly close it or reduce its effect. Sen. Franken has also repeatedly backed the Buffett Rule, which would help close loopholes that benefit the extremely wealthy by requiring them to pay a 30 percent tax rate.
“I’m working to get rid of these special breaks. The Wall Street hedge fund guys may not like that. But I don’t work for them,” Franken says in the ad. “I’m Al Franken and I approve this message because I work for you.”
Documentation of the ad can be found here.
TRANSCRIPT:
AL FRANKEN: Last year, twenty-five Wall Street hedge fund managers made 21 billion dollars. Twenty-five guys made 21 billion dollars. But here’s what should really bother you. Washington gives hedge funds managers a special tax break – so they pay taxes on that income at half the rate you pay. I’m working to get rid of these special breaks. The Wall Street hedge fund guys may not like that. But I don’t work for them. I’m Al Franken and I approve this message because I work for you.
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RELEASE: Mike McFadden tries to distract from his own business record
Decision by McFadden’s company to scrub deal shows investment banker not being honest
ST. PAUL [10/27/14] — Today, the Franken campaign responded to investment banker Mike McFadden’s press conference and desperate attempt to claim his company was not involved in the Smurfit-Stone restructuring deal that resulted in 417 workers in Missoula, Montana, losing their jobs, even though the deal was featured prominently on the company’s website on his watch.
“Investment Banker Mike McFadden is trying to distract from the fact that his company worked on a deal that resulted in more than 400 workers losing their jobs. We know this because his company, Lazard Middle Market, took credit for it on its website while Mike McFadden was still CEO. The fact that his company tried to scrub the deal from its website after the ad started airing on TV just shows that Mike McFadden is trying to hide his profits-over-people mentality from Minnesotans,” said Alexandra Fetissoff, Franken campaign spokesperson.
Here are a few key details that undermine McFadden’s desperate spin on his company’s role in the Smurfit-Stone restructuring deal:
The Smurfit Stone restructuring deal was advertised on Lazard Middle Market’s website during Mr. McFadden’s tenure as CEO, a fact he attempted to conceal during yesterday’s post-debate scrum.
Yesterday, Mr. McFadden tried to claim that the deal must have been scrubbed from the website because “[Lazard Middle Market] has investor relations people that monitor any mention of Lazard and so it would come to their attention and they probably looked into it and decided to remove it because Lazard Middle Market wasn’t involved in the transaction.”HOWEVER, the deal was first reported on by POLITICO on May 3, 2013, ten days before McFadden took his leave of absence.
Mr. McFadden had a chance to respond to the deal then, and he chose to say nothing. According to Politico: “McFadden did not respond to emails and a voicemail, so it’s unclear how he will present his business experience in a Senate campaign — or how he’ll address business practices that are standard in the financial world but traditionally vulnerable to political criticism.”
Don’t forget: This isn’t the first time McFadden has tried to claim no responsibility for a deal his company took credit for on its website. READ MORE HERE.
Timeline:
April 10, 2013: McFadden’s name first surfaces as a potential opponent to Sen. Franken. That day, the Franken campaign captured the Lazard Middle Market website, which clearly advertises work on Smurfit-Stone’s restructuring.
May 3, 2013: Politico reports that McFadden is gearing up for a run, and speculates that McFadden’s business record at Lazard Middle Market could be a liability for him. The article specifically cites the restructuring of True-Temper, the sale of L&P Plastics and Smurfit-Stone. McFadden did not respond to press inquiries.
May 13, 2013: Mike McFadden takes his leave absence from Lazard Middle market (Per his Personal Financial Disclosure).
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ENDORSEMENT: The Winona Daily News supports Al for re-election
Sara Cederberg, Digital Director
The latest in a series of endorsements comes from The Winona Daily News, who just endorsed Al for “an impressive record of legislation on technology and privacy, consumer rights, agriculture, transportation and other issues.”
When Al Franken arrived in office at the U.S. Senate several months after he was elected, the recount over and the job finally no longer in limbo, the Minnesota Democrat wasted no time — he put his head down and got to work.
Five years later, with an impressive record of legislation on technology and privacy, consumer rights, agriculture, transportation and other issues — not to mention an important amendment ensuring the effectiveness of the Affordable Care Act and saving consumers billions — Franken is asking Minnesota voters to send him back for a second term.
We should.
First, we’ll point out one thing, because Franken’s effectiveness as a senator has made it quite likely one of the last times we or anyone else will reference it. If you’re curious about just how successful Franken’s transformation has been from a comedian and political satirist, go ahead and ask a 20-something who Al Franken is. He’s a senator, they’ll say. You know he used to be on “Saturday Night Live”? Used to write books panning the Republican party? They’ll give you a blank look. Clearly, there’s no question that there are second acts in American lives.
Franken is focused on all the right issues, the kinds that will become increasingly important in the next years to come. He’s been at the forefront of demanding change, clarity and transparency when it comes to technology regulation, from ensuring the privacy of Americans to fighting for net neutrality, a little-known but absolutely vital movement to protect the speed and access of the Internet from the manipulation of telecommunications companies.
The post ENDORSEMENT: The Winona Daily News supports Al for re-election appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.
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