As a break from the Clinton/Obama wars, let's talk about Al Franken

[rinsd]

As many of you already know, Al Franken is the frontrunner to face Norm Coleman for a Senate seat this Nov.

He is losing to Coleman in some of the very latest polling but its close.

http://www.startribune.com/politics/16750106.html (SUSA poll, previous one had it as a statistical tie)

MN Neck And Neck

In the increasingly bitter battle over a Senate seat both parties feel is rightfully theirs, Democrats and Republicans can each use a new poll as a platform to rake in more money for the two leading candidates. Polls in recent months have shown the fight between incumbent Republican Norm Coleman and his likely Democratic rival, comedian Al Franken, a razor-thin contest, and both have raised millions for the November showdown.

The survey, conducted for the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace by the Republican firm McLaughlin & Associates, was conducted 3/6-9 among 500 registered voters, for a margin of error of +/- 4.5%. Coleman and Franken were tested.

General Election Matchup
Coleman 46
Franken 40

In one of the last truly union-heavy states in the country (Franken actually hopes to represent the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party on the ballot), the difference could come from union households, depending on their turnout. Franken leads by nine points, 48%-39%, among voters living in a union households, while Coleman has a wider 12-point lead among those who live in non-union residences, 49%-37%.

Each camp's fundraising appeal will focus on how close the contest is likely to be, and on how personal the other side will make it. The poll has Franken within striking distance, as he has been for months, though Coleman retains a distinct advantage, both in the horse race and in money in the bank. Franken has outraised the incumbent several quarters in a row, and with fundraising numbers due in two weeks -- and likely to leak out sooner than that -- another Franken victory could start to worry national Republicans.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/politics_nation/2008/04/mn_neck_and_neck.html

Here's some info to find out more about Franken.

Home page (email signup) - http://www.alfranken.com/content/splash

Bio - http://www.alfranken.com/pages/meet_al/

Issues - http://www.alfranken.com/content/issues

Contribute - https://secure.alfranken.com/page/contribute

Blog - http://blog.alfranken.com/

A young Al with his future wife of 32 years.

[PBS Poll-435]

1. K & R

I love him. He has a great, nuanced sense of humor. I loved his radio show, and I love his ability to communicate.

Coleman is circling the drain.

[lojasmo]

2. That first picture is great!

Frannie and Al both keep pictures on my son with Tim Walz on their desks. :)

[newmajority]

7. Saw this bootleg Grateful Dead DVD from the 70's a while back

Franken was on it. He was doing the "entertainment" between the Dead's sets. Looked pretty much like he did in that first picture. It was funnier than anything he ever did on his radio show.

I wish Al success in Minnesota. Especially if it keeps him off the radio. :evilgrin:

[lisa58]

3. Al Franken will be the best thing that happens to CSPAN2

[samdogmom]

4. Go AL!!!!

My son recently transferred his permanent residence to MN. I've been begging him to get registered to vote--mostly, so he can support Al!

I'll check with my son again and try to make sure he's voter "ready"!

[MattBaggins]

5. The only thing that matters

does he support Clinton or Obama?

[hfojvt]

8. is he even a SuperDelegate?

If he wants to win, their primary results
MN - Obama 67% Clinton 32%

[question everything]

26. No, it does not. At least, Minnesotans do not think so

what is important is how effective he can be in the Senate.

[hfojvt]

6. I can't believe Al is losing in Minnesota

What the hell is wrong with those people? First they elect an all star wrestler over the son of Hubert Humphrey, then they elect Coleman over their own former Vice President when the dirt on Wellstone's grave was still fresh and now after seven years of Bush/Republican incompetence and malfeasance and insidiousness, they would even think about re-electing Coleman? Unfrigging believable. If Coleman is re-elected no Minnesotan should ever have the nerve to tell another Iowa joke (not that they should anyway) because they will have proven themselves to be the biggest fumbducks on the planet.

[rinsd]

9. There are still others running for the DFL nomination.

Al has been beating Coleman in fundraising that last few quarters but basically has had to do his entire campaign from scratch so he has been spending money like crazy. .

Once the nomination is made and the party mechanisms line up behind him, those polls will close in a hurry.

I can't wait until that debate!

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

10. It's remarkably early.

For anyone to be this close to an incumbent not embroiled in scandal is a huge warning sign to the incumbent. This is very, very good news, not bad news.

[hfojvt]

11. given the economy, the deficit, gas prices and the war

every Republican is embroiled in scandal or should be seen as such, and it's not like Al is an unknown. Minnesota, as almost the only state to vote for Mondale/Ferraro is supposed to be reliably liberal. They really let us down by not electing Mondale in the first place.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

18. Believe it or not, not everyone thinks as you do.

Your comment about every Republican being embroiled in scandal is just plain lunacy. You know what is meant by scandal, and even extremely poor performance doesn't quite qualify as a scandal for Congressional elections. Remember: the prevailing attitude is usually that someone else's Congressman and Senators are at fault - not their own. Even at the nadir of Congressional approval ratings, people tend not to see their own as the problem specifically.

And while Al might not be an unknown, his stances on the issues very well are.

[hfojvt]

21. That's ridiculous. Of course everyone doesn't think like I do

but everyone SHOULD.

I think you are wrong about Congress too, although they do seem to be re-elected with frightening regularity. As I joked when somebody was threatened with jail for "contempt of Congress" - "if it's illegal to have contempt for Congress, they are gonna have to put all of us in jail."

Of course, the trouble is that many voters take the evil they know over the evil they don't. The only things scarier than the unknown are the unknown unknowns.

[depakid]

15. Remember that Minnesaota isn't what it used to be

Years of hate radio (being the only talk radio in many communities) and other mass media propaganda has taken its toll.

The fact that Michele Bachmann who's quite literally delusional get elected in any district in the state, illustrates the difference between the sensible and responsible Minnesota of the past, and the irrational and outright self-destructive parts of the culture that we see today.

[hfojvt]

19. Well even in the not so distant past

they elected Governors like Al Quie and Rudy Perpich.

[depakid]

20. And Jesse Ventura

Not sure which way that one cuts...;-)

[Symarip]

12. Off Topic (sort of)

I saw Trading Places on HBO not too long ago and I forgot about Franken's bit part in the movie as the drunk baggage handler. Great movie and he was PERFECT.

I miss Al on the radio. Sure, he wasn't the greatest host but that's what made it so great. He kind of spoke from the heart and he didn't really care about ratings and success because he's already pretty well off. I really hope he wins his home state's senate seat. After seeing him talk a few times on his little radio tours and everything, I just feel like he has American interests at the top of his list.

Go get 'em, Frank!

[rinsd]

14. He was great in Trading Places.

I love how they are trying to pickup women by pretending they are dressed in costumes.

[Symarip]

17. "I'm guessing that one's the female"

:o

[ClayZ]

13. I love Al Frankin! K and R

[Zachstar]

24. Al Franken is great! And I am glad this topic was posted.

Everyone this stupid presidential primary season has distracted us from the congressional situation!

AL tanks in the polls and few notice! Thats sad! And think about all the other senate and house seats that could be feeling the pressure from the republicans!!

Everyone if we just spent 1 of our 3 topics every day talking about Congress we can do some real good!

[AllentownJake]

16. I bought an Al Franken

T-shirt from demstuff.com. My second favorite T-shirt.

[BeyondGeography]

22. Great post

Thanks for the 70s hair reminder and the update.

[brooklynite]

23. Franken needs some extra cash...

COLEMAN, NORM

Total Receipts: $6,640,821
Transfers From Authorized Committees: $252,016
Individual Contributions: $4,742,050
Non-Party (e.g. PACs) or Other Committees: $1,490,926
Contributions from Party Committees $10,017
Candidate Contribution: $0
Candidate Loans: $0
Other Loans: $0

Total Disbursements: $2,337,840
Transfers to Authorized Committees: $0
Individual Refunds: $60,852
Non-Party (e.g. PACs) or Other Refunds: $11,580
Candidate Loan Repayments: $0
Other Loan Repayments: $0

Beginning Cash: $1,737,283
Latest Cash On Hand: $6,040,264
Debts Owed By: $0


FRANKEN, AL

Total Receipts: $7,159,880
Transfers From Authorized Committees: $0
Individual Contributions: $6,979,648
Non-Party (e.g. PACs) or Other Committees: $58,150
Contributions from Party Committees $0
Candidate Contribution: $4,600
Candidate Loans: $0
Other Loans: $0

Total Disbursements: $4,063,168
Transfers to Authorized Committees: $0
Individual Refunds: $5,660
Non-Party (e.g. PACs) or Other Refunds: $0
Candidate Loan Repayments: $0
Other Loan Repayments: $0

Beginning Cash: $0
Latest Cash On Hand: $3,096,712
Debts Owed By: $182,000

Contribute here

[rinsd]

25. Jesus Christ, nearly $1.5M in PAC money for a Senate candidate?!?!?

And we're not even 6 months from the election date!!!

[brooklynite]

27. Update: Franken raises $2.17 million in Q1

from the Minnesota Campaign Report:

U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken raised $2.17 million in the first quarter of 2008, keeping pace with incumbent Norm Coleman. The campaign's press release indicates that "in the first quarter alone, 13,768 new people - including over 2,000 new Minnesotans - joined the campaign's grassroots donor base. Overall, the campaign received contributions from nearly 5,000 Minnesota donors in the first quarter."

No doubt the announcement will kick off an incessant string of pearl-clutching and breathless wheezing from the Republican Party and its herd of attack dogs on the internet about Franken's big-money friends, but let's call an emu an emu: Franken has a great fundraising operation, Coleman has a great fundraising operation. The difference between the two is that Coleman has taken big money from the corporate interests that Franken (and indeed, most of the Democratic Party) maintain have been screwing over most of the American middle class for the better part of three decades: big oil, big pharma, Wall Street.

In other words, big fat hairy deal that Franken's gotten donations from a bunch of Hollywood stars in addition to several thousand regular people like you and me. At least they're willing to put their money where their mouth is instead of hiding behind corporate PACs and their allies in the United States Senate.