David Schwinghammer's Blog - Posts Tagged "al-franken"
Al Franken, Giant of the Senate
It should be evident that the title is an example of irony, something Franken has been hounded about since he first decided to run for the Senate. Actually about a quarter of the book is rather self-deprecating.
No, this is a biography more than a political piece, although Franken does get on his progressive activist horse more than once.
He starts with his stint on “Saturday Night Live” which was originally a writing gig with his partner Tom Davis. They met at Blake school near the Twin Cities, Davis a year younger. Franken spent fifteen years, on and off, at SNL. When he ran for the Senate, Republican hounddogs dug up every off-color remark he made, trying to make him look like a perv. Franken's most effective response was that he's been married to the same woman, Franni, with whom he has two children and I believe three grandchildren. No, he's not the character/characters he played on SNL.
Franken doesn't emphasize the close Senate race he had with incumbent Norm Coleman, former Democratic mayor of St. Paul turned George W. Bush mouthpiece. He lost by 750, just close enough to ask for a recount, which he won. Governor Tim Pawlenty sued, turning to the Supreme Court, which sided with Franken who eventually won by only 330 or so votes. Franken doesn't rub it in, although he could. Pawlenty's former law partner was one of the votes that turned the tide for Franken.
Franken was hardly funny during his first term, although occasionally he couldn't help himself. That's why his chief of staffs kept trying to “dehumorize” him. About the funniest line he's gotten off so far is “Here's the thing you have to understand about Ted Cruz. I like Ted Cruz more than moat of my other colleagues like Ted Cruz. And I hate Ted Cruz.” Mark Twainish, right? Franken also wrote a country song with Orrin Hatch. Hatch's staff wondered why they were laughing so hard in Hatch's office. Hatch is President Pro Temp, third in line for the presidency if something happens to Trump. He's a staunch conservative.
Back to the self-deprecating part. For some reason Franken had the gavel when Sonia Sotomayor was nominated for the Supreme Court. Each senator got to say his piece during her hearing. Mitch McConnell tried to portray her as a personality with no redeeming experience. Franken rolled his eyes, much like Al Gore did when George W. Bush said something stupid during one of their debates. Apparently rolling your eyes is worse than calling the president a “liar” during the State of the Union speech. I believe Joe Wilson is still in Congress. Anyway, Franken realized his mistake and apologized profusely. McConnell responded rather well, saying that'll happen in the heat of the moment. Forget about it. From that moment on he took every chance he got to compliment McConnell on his rare apolitical speeches. Franken claims they're now friends, but he may have been kidding.
Franken is a much better senator than anybody thought he'd be. Like his cohort Amy Klobuchar, he takes every opportunity to co-sponsor bills with members from across the aisle. He managed to get a bill passed two weeks after being sworn in. It was about therapy dogs for veterans with PTS. Unfortunately it took nine years for the bill to go into effect.
This isn't RUSH LIMBAUGH IS A BIG FAT IDIOT or LIES; AND THE LYING LIARS WHO TELL THEM: A FAIR AND BALANCED LOOK AT THE RIGHT, but it was the number one non-fiction book on the New York Times best seller list last week, a rarity for a liberal piece.
No, this is a biography more than a political piece, although Franken does get on his progressive activist horse more than once.
He starts with his stint on “Saturday Night Live” which was originally a writing gig with his partner Tom Davis. They met at Blake school near the Twin Cities, Davis a year younger. Franken spent fifteen years, on and off, at SNL. When he ran for the Senate, Republican hounddogs dug up every off-color remark he made, trying to make him look like a perv. Franken's most effective response was that he's been married to the same woman, Franni, with whom he has two children and I believe three grandchildren. No, he's not the character/characters he played on SNL.
Franken doesn't emphasize the close Senate race he had with incumbent Norm Coleman, former Democratic mayor of St. Paul turned George W. Bush mouthpiece. He lost by 750, just close enough to ask for a recount, which he won. Governor Tim Pawlenty sued, turning to the Supreme Court, which sided with Franken who eventually won by only 330 or so votes. Franken doesn't rub it in, although he could. Pawlenty's former law partner was one of the votes that turned the tide for Franken.
Franken was hardly funny during his first term, although occasionally he couldn't help himself. That's why his chief of staffs kept trying to “dehumorize” him. About the funniest line he's gotten off so far is “Here's the thing you have to understand about Ted Cruz. I like Ted Cruz more than moat of my other colleagues like Ted Cruz. And I hate Ted Cruz.” Mark Twainish, right? Franken also wrote a country song with Orrin Hatch. Hatch's staff wondered why they were laughing so hard in Hatch's office. Hatch is President Pro Temp, third in line for the presidency if something happens to Trump. He's a staunch conservative.
Back to the self-deprecating part. For some reason Franken had the gavel when Sonia Sotomayor was nominated for the Supreme Court. Each senator got to say his piece during her hearing. Mitch McConnell tried to portray her as a personality with no redeeming experience. Franken rolled his eyes, much like Al Gore did when George W. Bush said something stupid during one of their debates. Apparently rolling your eyes is worse than calling the president a “liar” during the State of the Union speech. I believe Joe Wilson is still in Congress. Anyway, Franken realized his mistake and apologized profusely. McConnell responded rather well, saying that'll happen in the heat of the moment. Forget about it. From that moment on he took every chance he got to compliment McConnell on his rare apolitical speeches. Franken claims they're now friends, but he may have been kidding.
Franken is a much better senator than anybody thought he'd be. Like his cohort Amy Klobuchar, he takes every opportunity to co-sponsor bills with members from across the aisle. He managed to get a bill passed two weeks after being sworn in. It was about therapy dogs for veterans with PTS. Unfortunately it took nine years for the bill to go into effect.
This isn't RUSH LIMBAUGH IS A BIG FAT IDIOT or LIES; AND THE LYING LIARS WHO TELL THEM: A FAIR AND BALANCED LOOK AT THE RIGHT, but it was the number one non-fiction book on the New York Times best seller list last week, a rarity for a liberal piece.
