I thought I would send him 50 bucks for fun and so I can get his "personalized" email, etc. but I can't find his campaign web site. Most of the obvious choices I tried are all controlled by his enemies. Anybody have a campaign web site for Franken?

[Editor-- It's linked above in the original post.]

Too bad he didn't move to Oregon to run against Smith.

After being registered in Minnesota for most of my short voting life, I switched to Oregon in October (the day before the deadline, no less). As much as I will enjoy voting Gordo out of office next cycle, I would have also enjoyed canvassing and voting for Al. I think he is a phenomenal candidate. I like his PAC, too.

I'm sorry but I think it should be mentioned. You really want experience in Washington? I'd rather have an idealistic radio host who understands how we've been screwed by tradional politicians and genuinely wants to help normal people sitting in the Senators seat from Minnesota than a lifelong politician who greases palms all day.

It would also be incredible to see him in a filibuster. He could do Smally on the Senate floor all night. I'd spend a week in the gallery just to watch him debate on the Senate floor.

I think someone can learn politics as they go and just because he hasn't been in elected office before does not make him a bad candidate or even a wishy washy one. It might even make him a stronger candidate.

The video is excellent, although gets a little weaker at the very end. I wish democrats defended "big government" more often. Very occasionally, Al would take on someone like John Stossel, or Richard Pearle, or the guy who wrote a nasty book about Hillary, and I thought he tore them apart. I think he'd do the same thing with Norm, given the opportunity.

Pete wrote: Al, if you're listening: I like your show. Go back to what you did well.

Uh, Pete, this is how you started the thread, so it seems pretty clear that you're implying that he's not a strong candidate. That's a pretty snap judgement to make less than an hour into his candidacy, but we'll see how this ends up.

I'm personally glad Franken's running. And having analyists and think-tank types on his show doesn't mean he can't connect with "the common people" (your phrase), but rather he's just looking to make a more interesting radio show.

You seem to be taking a snippy and defensive tone about what you did and did not write that's not really warranted. Also, even though you dismiss the Rush roommate bit that he does, Franken more than held his own against Bill O'Reilly during the peak of Bush's popularity. So I think your "never taken on real opponent" argument doesn't really hold.

No matter what, it'll be interesting -- and again, I'm glad he's in.

I not only appreciate your comment, but in general, that you're open to dialogue here as opposed to staking a position and going full-bore no matter what. It's a good example we could all learn from. Cheers

That's a far cry from an electoral win, to be sure, but there's a reason we've had Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Governor Jesse Ventura (in Minnesota, no less).

Story I heard about Jesse V. from someone who was in Minn. about the time of the election was that local press coverage admired the fact that when asked a direct question, both major party nominees answered a straightforward question in "politician speak" and Jesse V. said "not while I am Governor--do you realize..." and proceded to recite facts and figures the others had failed to mention.

And from what I heard on the end of the show today, Al F. wants to win the Wellstone seat back--kind of like someone in Oregon thrilled that Ron Wyden won back the Wayne Morse seat. Not as if he hasn't been politically active in Minn. where he grew up.

It's refreshing to hear a candidate speak so strongly about progressive values and the New Deal without mincing words. "You've gotta have the boots" is a great line.

He's been articulating hard core progressivism on his show and he's been doing it for as long as I have been familiar with him. Like Paul Wellstone, whom Franken Idolizes, he is consistent, committed and has guts.

Finally, Franken has enough brains analyze conservative arguments ... and satirize them or validate them as as appropriate. If he gets through the primary, I predict he'd beat Coleman.

I've never listened to Franken on his radio show, but remember him from SNL. The video was very interesting. I listened with my eyes closed, becaused I can't help laughing when I watch him speak. This makes it very hard to seriously concentrate on what he's saying. What I heard with my eyes closed sounded very good. He can tell a great story. As somebody else basically said above, the "boots" analogy is great thinking in terms of revealing a sense of his awareness about the realities of everyday life that grass roots people face. Maybe he really does have something. We shall see.

I've never listened to Franken on his radio show, but remember him from SNL. The video was very interesting. I listened with my eyes closed, becaused I can't help laughing when I watch him speak. This makes it very hard to seriously concentrate on what he's saying. What I heard with my eyes closed sounded very good. He can tell a great story. As somebody else basically said above, the "boots" analogy is great thinking in terms of revealing a sense of his awareness about the realities of everyday life that grass roots people face. Maybe he really does have something. We shall see.

Al Franken has failed at a number of things, most recently as a talk show host. I don't suppose it will hurt for Comrade Franken to fail at one more thing.

Is it just a coincidence that Minnesota is the state that gave us Harold Stassen?

Al Franken has failed at a number of things, most recently as a talk show host.

Em Hmm, I'll bet he's been pondering his "failures" all the way to the bank.

Al Franken is a very funny guy who I sometimes agree with, but:

"hard core progressivism"?

the heir apparent to Paul Wellstone?

I'm about to barf.

Is it just a coincidence that Minnesota is the state that gave us Harold Stassen?

No. But Harold Stassen moved to Pennsylvania after his first failed attempt at running for President - in part because he thought it would help his chances of being elected president. Minnesota of that same period produced Hubert Humphrey and later Walter Mondale. Its not a coincidence that Minnesota produced Wellstone or Ellison, the nation's first Muslim congressman, either. Its a state with a long progressive tradition. Even Ventura ran as a populist outsider.

Franken is not going to get a free pass. There will be several other candidates and the parties in Minnesota use a precinct caucus/convention process to endorse candidates before the primary. So there are a lot of opportunities for candidates to become better known and to be vetted.

Let's hope he doesn't get Wellstoned.

Two university professors did a very revealing analysis of the tragic "accident" in which Wellstone was killed in an airplane crash. Their book is called American Assassination: The Strange Death of Paul Wellstone, by Don Jacobs, EdD, PhD, and James Fetzer, PhD.

Freedom and democracy take courage. Make up your own mind. Consider the possibility. If you don't read books, google the title and read a summary of the evidence.

i hope he wins. i don't envy people running for political office, so i really admire people like franken, who have great lives but step up anyway to try and make things better for all of us.

as a side note, i was going to college in minnesota (wellstone taught there) when ventura ran for governor. i voted for ventura because i wasn't very engaged in politics, and i thought it was funny (politics back then was all lewinsky all the time, and the fascist republican whine machine hadn't won terrifyingly complete control of everything yet).

though it's not the proudest sector of the electorate, hopefully franken gets a contingent of voters who think it would be funny to have stuart smalley as their senator.

i voted for ventura because i wasn't very engaged in politics, and i thought it was funny

I think college students with that attitude were one of Ventura's core constituencies weren't they? Although I also would have thought Carls were above that.

Franken's celebrity will help him but there will likely be several good Democratic candidates. Including others who have "great lives".

Although I also would have thought Carls were above that.

I was at Carleton as well during that fateful 1998 election, and I'll defend anyone's decision to vote for Ventura. His democratic opponent was Skip Humphrey (Franken campaigned for him), who ran just a lousy campaign, as if all he had to do was show up and let the majority democratic voters go through the motions.

I was one of those democratic voters, convinced that Ventura's candidacy would split the democratic vote and throw the election to Norm Coleman, but I was absolutely elated when I learned that Ventura had won, because he didn't insult people's intelligence, or use fear of a republican governor to inspire people to vote for him. His whole campaign was a joke, yes, but it was like an inside joke that the whole state could be in on.

Here's the thing you have to love about Governor Ventura: he hated being governor. Isn't that exactly what we all want in our public officials? That they hate their jobs as much as we hate ours?

<h2>Anyway, I think Wellstone would have liked to see a guy like Franken take his seat in the Senate.</h2>