Al Franken is a serious comedian. He has sincere
intentions to better the lives of Minnesotans. Some locals are even
starting to believe this. A Rasmussen poll released last week showed Franken with a
slight lead over incumbent Senator Norm Coleman, 49-46. That’s good
news for Franken, but he still has serious problems that he must
overcome to unseat Coleman in one of the three most watched Senate
races in the country.
Franken has enjoyed a reputable career as a Saturday Night
Live writer and actor, authored several bestselling screeds,
and hosted the flagship radio show on Air America. Though he hasn’t
yet received the official endorsement of the Minnesota Democratic
(Farmer-Labor) Party, he probably will. The satirist’s
entertainment connections have earned him millions in Hollywood
donations. These are not his problems.
This is: With nine months to go before the election, Franken
must prove that he’s credible. He has never been involved in
serious civic engagements or held elected office, either in
Minnesota or New York, where he lived for almost 40 years before he
moved back to his home state to pursue public office. Even Franken
himself has shown some uncertainty about his candidacy. In a
video on YouTube announcing his candidacy,
Franken admitted, “Minnesotans have a right to be skeptical about
whether I’m ready for this challenge, and to wonder how seriously I
would take the responsibility that I’m asking you to give me.”
His opponent, Senator Norm Coleman, has represented Minnesotans
in elected office since 1993. As the Democrat mayor of St. Paul in
the nineties, Coleman revitalized a city that had been in the
dumps. After getting fed up with the Democratic Party, Coleman was
elected to the U.S. Senate as a Republican in 2002. Though he fails
to toe the line on every issue important to mainstream
conservatives, he has been a strong proponent of conservative
values, voting to cut taxes, ban partial-birth abortion, and make
health care affordable.
Franken has made a reputation for himself as a comedian with
Hollywood friends and Hollywood values. A recent Star
Tribune article reported that 77 percent of Franken’s donations have
come from outside Minnesota, with one-fourth coming from
California.
Michael Malbin, executive director of the Campaign Finance
Institute, told the paper that a challenger will normally “build up
with a home base and then prove himself, and after the race becomes
competitive then that national money starts coming….This is
somebody with a national reputation building on a national
reputation.”
THAT’S NOT ALL to the good, because Franken has a reputation both
for liberalism and nastiness. Some of his one-liners are being
trotted out to prove he doesn’t exactly represent Minnesotans and
their good ol’ fashioned values.
Not all of these are golden oldies, either. Recently, Franken
earned a barrage of unfavorable local and national coverage because
of his behavior at a rally at Carleton College. Conservative
student Peter Fritz didn’t want to be photographed with Franken,
because that could be used to promote Franken’s campaign. Franken
responded by peppering him with questions and mocking Fritz’s
mannerisms and speech.
According to the Star Tribune, after the exchange Fritz “stuck
out his hand to shake Franken’s” and said, “Well, at least it’s
nice to meet you.” Franken wasn’t having it. “I can’t say the
same,” he spat, and refused to shake the student’s hand. Maybe for
an encore, he can make fun of a legless Vietnam veteran.
Mark Drake, spokesman for the Republican Party of Minnesota,
thinks Franken’s Midwest-disconnect will save Coleman. “Al Franken
is the most mean-spirited, polarizing person ever to run for
office. A lot of the things he’s said over the years may be popular
in [Hollywood] circles but won’t be popular to Minnesotans,” he
says.
Many of Franken’s malicious remarks and attention-grabbing
gaffes are being reported for Minnesotans to see via blogs and
YouTube. While the state’s mainstream newspapers have embraced his
candidacy, New Media outlets have raised awareness — even wreaked
havoc — on Franken’s viability as a candidate.
Michael Brodkorb, who operates Minnesota Democrats Exposed (MDE), has meticulously
documented Franken’s blunders, from his statement that “Republicans are shameless dicks” to his gay jokes to his tendency to pull out of
debates.
MDE has clearly gotten under Franken’s thin skin. The comic has
personally responded to the muckraking and his
campaign has attempted to stop negative material from being
posted.
Brodkorb believes that his blog is doing some good through its
“presentation of the jokes that Al Franken has said about
Republicans, Independent[s] and any other constituency. [Franken]
has said some…over-the-top things and my blog is holding him
accountable to that.”
Franken may be laughing from his boost in the polls, but if he
doesn’t start behaving like a Minnesotan, we’ll see who laughs
last. Traveling the state with a chip on his shoulder and a nasty
attitude on tow isn’t likely to endear him to local voters who
believe niceness is a virtue.
