Some Year End Thoughts on Coleman-Franken
It now seems clear that we won’t know the outcome of the Minnesota Senate race until next year, but Senator Norm Coleman has come forward with some observations which seem downright fatalistic.
“I feel fairly confident. In the end, the good Lord’s going to decide,” Coleman told the local Fox affiliate. “The numbers look good to us. Certainly there’s uncertainty. I’m not worried about it. I’ve done everything I can do. I’m not really agonizing about the outcome.”
Coleman went on: “Life goes on, regardless of what your job is. I certainly love what I do. If I can keep doing it, I’ll be thrilled, and if not, I’m sure we’ll do something else.”
While the big story of 2008 for political historians will doubtless be the historic election of Barack Obama, for me the real tremors in the Earth will likely remain the various stories in the Senate. In New York we’re looking more and more like we’ll be replacing a carpetbagger who had no resume with an heiress holding an equally empty list of credentials. Alaskans marched off to the polls and very nearly sent a man back to the upper chamber who had just been convicted of multiple felonies. We watched a race in North Carolina which devolved into a mud-slinging war over who loved Jesus more. But in my mind’s eye, perhaps no race will define this year more than the Minneapolis Massacre.
Let me first cut some of you off at the pass and assure you that I understand the electoral process in our country. Anyone who meets the baseline constitutional and legal requirements can run for public office and only the voters can decide who is truly “qualified” for those positions. If we come up with a clean count and the former Saturday Night Live comic manages to hold on to his roughly two score lead in the vote tally next month, then he is the winner and is entitled to the seat. But that doesn’t stop me from scratching my head and asking, “Really? Senator Al Franken? I mean… really?”
Such a comical (to some) and frequently foul mouthed figure, an author of books full of unveiled insults, raw invective and blatant partisan hyperbole, may now be strolling the halls of the United States Senate. He would be the one taking the floor and speaking on behalf of millions of citizens on the issues of the day and casting 1% of the votes on legislation which will shape the legislative soul of the nation. Again, if that is what the voters of Minnesota decide, then it is the “right” thing to do, but… really? Senator Al Franken?
Perhaps I’ve just grown too old, or possibly I’m clinging to false memories or Hollywood depictions of a better day which never really existed. But I tend to think of Congress as a place where Roberts Rules of Order, dignity and decorum are not just the trappings of pretension, but a definition of the quality and habits of those conducting the solemn work of holding the Union together. We’ve all been treated to comical film clips of legislative bodies from South America and Asia where the representatives break out into screaming matches and fist fights. It is only humorous to watch these scenes because they are so opposite from what we expect here at home.
I realize we can’t legislate gravitas into our requirements for office, but at one time it seemed to be a given which didn’t need to lean on formal rules. It was simply assumed. Has that era come to an end? Do we no longer consider a serious nature and sober mind to be requirements for these positions? Seriously, Minnesota… Senator Al Franken?
17 Responses to “Some Year End Thoughts on Coleman-Franken”
[...] I’ve done everything I can do. I’m not really agonizing about the outcome.” Right now the less than divine Al Franken looks like the winner. Political Note: when a politician says it’s in [...]
Believe me, Al Franken is better than Norm Coleman. Sen. Coleman goes whichever way the wind blows. He supported Paul Wellstone when Sen. Wellstone ran for Senate the first time and 6 years later was running against him after switching parties. When Bush was popular he voted with Pres. Bush pretty much all the time. Once Pres. Bush's approval ratings faltered, all of a sudden he started voting more moderatelty. And then there are allegation of misconduct.
Al Franken probably isn't my first choice for Senate, but he has shown himself to have a good grasp of the issues, a willingness to fight for the people of MN and that that is good enough for me.
Nice to see a Liberal who is willing to fight back!
Rush Limbaugh is a big fat idiot
Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right
The Truth (with jokes)
Because no Republican has ever used any of those tactics, never lied about the military record of their opponent( Kerry, Cleland, Gore).
I don't even know what to say, so I'll just say what I feel. Al Franken may very well have been a writer/ actor on Saturday Night Live way back when, but previous to that he was Harvard Graduate Al Franken. After SNL, he became Distinguished Author Al Franken. Anyone who has read Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot, The Truth With Jokes, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them, etc., and still thinks Al Franken is unqualified to be a Senator, then they themselves are big fat idiots. Finally, Al Franken had a political talk show on Air America which was fantastic. Listening to him every day provided me with the confidence he knew the government inside and out better than anyone, including Boot-Lickin', Thieving, Iraq-War-Profiteer, Minnesota-Neglecting, Carpetbagging, Horrible, Horrible-Person, Deuschbag-of-the-Millenium Norm Coleman.
That brings me to my next point. Not only should Norm Coleman not be re-elected, but he should spend the rest of his days rotting in prison. I hate his guts. Anyone who supports him is either a greedy pig, totally uninformed, gullible as hell, or is a one-issue-voter, i.e. abortion (which anyone would be hard-pressed to find anything at all Norm Coleman has done to prevent. He just uses it to get elected). Norm talks about how the “Good Lord will figure everything out” and “he's confident he will prevail in the end”. I'm paraphrasing, but I know for sure that if there is a such thing as The Good Lord, Norm will surely burn in hell for all eternity for being a murderous bastard.
Jazz, rewrite this post, but toss in President Ronald Reagan in there instead and have mock indignation about how a semi-senile Hollywood starlet became President of the United States.
It's just amusing to see the no-win position for liberals clearly in this post. If liberals adopt the tactics of the Right, suddenly even “moderates” like Jazz are clutching their pearls and reaching for the smelling salts. Oh the humanity!
Hey, if Caroline Kennedy is qualified, I guess Franken is too!
I personally can't stand him, but any argument that he is not qualified doesn't hold water. Congress, especially the Senate, is dominated lawyers. There is nothing wrong in principle with other life backgrounds being represented.
I didn't know he was a Harvard grad, though. I can't decide if that makes me think more or less of him.
Franken is a very smart man who uses humor to cut to the quick. His book “Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them” was well researched and accurate. He has entertained the Troops in Iraq because, I believe, he cares. Compassion and intelligence are excellent qualities in a representative, I think.
The only problem with “Senator Al Franken” as a punch line is that it's demonstrable that it is an old joke with celebrities who go into politics and once they're in people accept it. Go back to CA and remember Senator George Murphy. In fact you can BUY a delightful example of this attitude by going to amazon and buying Tom Lehrer's 1966 or 1965 CD That Was The Year That Was. The GREAT Lehrer had a song poking fun at Murphy giving people a REAL song and dance and tne intro lyric talks about people in politics and he sings “From Helen Gahagan…to (his voice becomes mocking)..Ronald Reagan??” Similarly, a lot of people made jokes and scoffed when Schwarzenegger ran for governor here. In a world where politicians become celebrities, appear on Saturday Live, and even sound like polarizing talk show hosts if Franken is elected his persona will change. When people see Arnold on TV here in CA now, they do NOT talk about seeing the Terminator on TV. They talk about a politician they still like or absolutely detest and about where he stands on issues. It'll work the same for Franken.
I think the days when celebrity are any kind of a barrier to elected office are really over. If someone wins by one vote – if Larry David runs for Senate and wins b y a vote in a recount — people will accept it. Except for people who hate a political figure who was a celebrity to begin with, once he/she takes office people accept that its in a new role and move on.
NOW whether Franken will have staying power is another issue. He will have to deliver on constituent requests if he wins and that will require smart staffing and the realization that all politics is local and all local concerns are major. Can he do THAT?
I'm just glad to see that I'm back to being a Right wing hate monger again. After the last few columns where the readers decided that I was a Left wing moonbat I was beginning to worry.
No, no, no, Jazz. You're a right wing moonbat and left wing hate monger. Get it right!
You do know your main (and only coherent) argument against Franken comes during the same week that the Vice President of the United States defended his use of, um, the f-bomb on the floor of the United States Senate against a duly elected United States Senator (who belonged, of course, to the opposing party) by saying the Senior Senator from Vermont “merited it”. What gravitas?–that's what I'm saying.
Norm Coleman, by the way, was born in New York City. Carpetbagger!!!
OMG!! No one is calling you a hate monger! People are just disagreeing with you!
Happy Holidays!
Whew! That's a relief! And OMG I hope nobody here is thinking I'm running around defending Dick Cheney!
The principle purpose of the Congress and Senate these days is to suck as hard as possible on the federal teet. Reelection is all about bringing home the federal bacon. Although I personally don't like Al Franken, I see no reason why he won't succeed in bringing home that bacon.
You're kidding, right?
Senator Jesse Helms, Senator Strom Thurmond – may they both rot in the place where they wanted anyone who disagreed with them to go. And you think Franken is a clown?
Well, Franken is in there because the Dems value style over substance, and celebrities are meant for Senatorial Prime Time more than anyone else. But Franken, in his defense, does manage (when not behaving in an all-too-frequent excrescent manner) to make one or two valid arguments once in a while (when he is calm). Certainly he has been well involved in politics for a long time, and actually has more substance to what he has to say or write than Caroline Kennedy offers.
Joe, “the Terminator” is a weak arguable-conservative (RINO is often more like it, with what that implies politically) and it's not surprising it was in a state like California that a “Republican” like that managed to be elected.