A politician doesn’t get to pick his opponents. Still, you have to think Norm Coleman (in photo) is wondering: “Why me?” First, the Republican’s 1998 bid to be Minnesota governor was narrowly aborted by novelty candidate Jesse Ventura. His 2002 Senate bid ended better, but only after incumbent Paul Wellstone died in a plane crash 11 days before the election. Now, Coleman is a first-term senator being challenged next year by Al Franken. That’s assuming that comedian and author Franken will survive the Democratic primary. Franken says he’s serious about “making government work better for the working families” of Minnesota. Still, his floor speeches would be must-see C-SPAN.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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21 Comments
Go, Al Franken, Go! Congress needs a breathe of fresh air like you.
Go, Al Franken, Go! Congress needs a breath of fresh air like you.
Al Franken will do the memory of Senator Wellstone proud.
I look forward to the thumping that will be administered to Norm Coleman.
He needs to stay out of small planes though. Just ask the families Carnahan, Wellstone, Mickey Leland, and the list goes on.
Liberal democrats have a way of getting killed in small plane crashes. I hope Keith Olbermann flies commercial…
Al Franken…
That’s just too funny for words. He won’t even survive the primary. The man has no real intellect. He’s a commedian. He was the HEADLINER for Air(head) America. The now BANKRUPT Air America.
Hehehehe =)
And we should give a rat’s ass about this….why?
Franken would be a researchers dream opponent. He has a lot of words out there to bite him on the butt.It would be like Limbaugh running.
Yeah, he’s gone through so many wives and has been so addicted to prescription painkillers.
To the contrary, Al Franken’s been a straight arrow in his personal life: still married to his college sweetheart, two kids, numerous awards and kudos.
As for his ‘words,’ who cares? He’s a COMEDIAN. I rather doubt he’s going to get tangled up in things he’s said in the past.
Mr. Franken can count on some small contributions from CF.
Norm Coleman is one of the worst reich-wingers still left in the Senate.
Taking him down has long been a goal of thinking Americans everywhere.
Hey, Al: you’re good enough, you’re smart enough, and, doggone it, people LIKE YOU.
Norm Coleman is one of the worst reich-wingers still left in the Senate.
Taking him down has long been a goal of thinking Americans everywhere.
Hey, Al: you’re good enough, you’re smart enough, and, doggone it, people LIKE YOU.
The double posts are entirely the fault of this laggy, laggy site.
I make no apology for THEIR slow connections . . .
…well, this is the same state that elected an entertainer, a pro wrestler, as governor, so electing a comedian should be no big deal.
And if Jesse’s words and butt biting didnt keep him out of office, I doubt Franken’s words will either.
You need to remember, in this polarized environment, people have their minds made up BEFORE the election. The “thirty percenters”who hate Franken because of his words ALREADY hate him and wont vote for him no matter what happens during the campaign. Franken can just write off the koolaide drinkers.
By the same token, the folks who love Franken also already have made up their minds. They will vote FOR Franken no matter what. Coleman can just write off the loyal opposition too. The problem for Coleman is that in taking that stance, he will have to write off waaaaaaaaaay more voters than Franken.
NOTHING said during the campaign is going to land on the voters like enlightenment and cause them to vote for the “best” candidate for their state. They will largely go with how they already feel.
And given the 06 elections, the trend isnt good for republicans, including incumbents.
Now, a few gaffs by either candidate might drive some swing voters away, but given coleman’s past words, I think he is way more likely to make such a mistake DURING the campaign than Franken.
This isnt a prediction on who will win, but just look at the posters on this board. They have their minds already made up based on their talking points and marching orders. Franken wouldnt run without some pre-polling, and it must have been favorable, or he wouldnt be throwing his hat in the ring.
Personally, I think it is Franken’s to lose. Given coleman’s popularity ratings now, and the lack of confidence the voters now have in the gop, I think it is Al’s to lose. coleman will have to win it, and for an incumbent, that is very difficult.
Especially in this environment.
“Hey, Al: you’re good enough, you’re smart enough, and, doggone it, people LIKE YOU.”
LOL I can hear O’Reilly calling him Stuart Smalley now.
Yup, P_Mom, that’s all O’Lielly calls him now, after Franken crushed him in a little dust up they had a book signing ceremony.
The killer line, “hey Bill, this isn’t your SHOW . . . you don’t get to shout people down and turn off their mike.”
Al’s just a comedian–Ronald and Arnold were actors. Sony Bono was an entertainer.
And the point is???
ksfarmgrrl,
Indeed. Hence Coleman’s attempts to appear anti-war / anti-Bush, while actually continuing to support both.
http://www.startribune.com/blogs/bigquestion/?p=470
Can you say, the George Allen of 2008?
As for KSGolfnut commenting on anyone else’s intellect (how’s that ‘choice’ of heterosexuality going, by the way), people who have graduated from Harvard and have written multiple books tend to be pretty smart. At least as smart as upper-class n’eer do wells whose fathers install them in shell companies that go bankrupt.
“Al’s just a comedian–Ronald and Arnold were actors. Sony Bono was an entertainer.”
“And the point is???”
AFN,Just because Al is a comedian and an author shouldn’t work against him. Ronald, Arnold and Sony were in the entertainment business and people voted for them.
As a Minnesotan who lived many years in Kansas, I must tell you I’ve been rooting for Franken to run for a while. I don’t know if he’ll win the DFL nomination (Democratic Farmer Labor Party), but I look forward to seeing. He has agreed to abide by the DFL decision, so I say may the best person win!
He isn’t just a funny guy. The man is genuinely smart. I think he could do some great work.
Sorry, I guess I misunderstood. It sounded like you were saying that Al was somehow further behind the others because he’s “just a comedian.” I couldn’t understand what the difference was, they’re all entertainers. And I sure hope you were using the term actor very loosely in conjunction with Arnold…
Oh I cannot WAIT for Al Franken in the Senate.
His wit and verbiage would positively SKEWER stodgy conservatives.
Go Al Go!