Thank God For Al Franken

When I was at Air America Radio in 2006, I knew Al Franken was serious about running for Senate when he moved his show back to his home state of Minnesota. Rumors had turned into a serious candidacy and a hard fought campaign. In 2008, Al Franken beat incumbent Norm Coleman in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race. In 2009 after many long, litigious months, Franken was sworn into office. And in 2010 the former comedy man continues to impress, especially with his latest legislative victory recorded today.

From Yahoo News:

An amendment from Democratic Senator Al Franken would set up a government clearinghouse to assign debt rating duties to agencies, including the Big Three: Moody's Corp, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings.

That could ease pressures the agencies face to assign overly rosy ratings to debt instruments issued by firms that hire the agencies, backers of the Franken amendment said.

"There is a staggering conflict of interest facing the credit rating industry," Franken said on the Senate floor.

The Franken plan could bring more competition to ratings, said Bill Bergman, an analyst with Morningstar Inc.

Chris Dodd, known for his financial cred around the Senate, did not support this amendment coming to pass. He's not exactly a picture of cherubic goodness in D.C. if you know what I mean. Senator Dodd aside, this is a huge victory those who hold credit cards and a big defeat for those that rip off consumers and work (generally at the top) in the industry. Once the bill passes, and if the amendment remains intact, Congress' attempt at financial reform will have at least one victory written within. Congrats to Senator Franken for pushing this through, err or in Republican-speak, ramming it down our throats!

Finally, Something Michael Steele And I Can Agree On

God bless Michael Steele. The comedy of errors RNC Chairman is always ready to give a few words for the media to broadcast. With Al Franken officially becoming Senator-Elect this week, he didn't disappoint his fans (from both parties) on this subject.

The Seemingly Endless Drama In Minnesota Shows Signs Of Closure

It has been almost eight months since the 2008 elections, yet Minnesota still does not have one of their state's senators over in Washington. After a recount of a closely contested race, Al Franken held a narrow but definite lead over incumbent Norm Coleman. Fall, winter and now spring have passed us by and Norm is still challenging the results in the state's Supreme Court, despite not wanting any legal challenges soon after voters cast their ballots (of course he was winning by a small margin at the time). Well despite Mr. Coleman's feet-dragging, fellow Republican and Governor Tim Pawlenty is making it clear that with the Court's ruling, he is ready to let his state have the representation they deserve.

From Politico:

Governor Tim Pawlenty (R-Minn.) said Sunday he has no plans for further delay in certifying the results of the state's disputed U.S. Senate election so that Republican Norm Coleman can pursue a federal court challenge.

Pawlenty told CNN that he would abide by whatever ruling the Minnesota Supreme Court makes in the contest, where Democrat Al Franken appears to have an upper hand.

"I'm prepared to sign [the certification] as soon as they give the green light," Pawlenty said. “I’m not going to defy an order of the Minnesota Supreme Court. That would be a dereliction of my duty."

Well I'm glad that this governor is ready to serve his state, unlike a certain southern GoOPer. It is far past the time to challenge the results of this race. Minnesota should have their fair share of representation in the Senate and despite the split results, Franken still won the most votes and therefore should be allowed to do the job he was elected to do.

About Specter's Coleman "Joke"

Yesterday it was reported that in a New York Times interview with Senator Arlen Specter that he made a comment endorsing Norm Coleman's efforts at delaying Al Franken's ascendancy to the U.S. Senate. Basically he was wishing and hoping that Norm Coleman would prevail in his never-ending litigious quest against the victor of the Minnesota Senatorial election. Then when the story got out, I heard that it was just a joke, and that Specter misspoke. The whole thing was confusing, but apparently the joke wasn't funny with the rest of the Democratic caucus, so much so that they stripped him of seniority in all his committees. Losing seniority in the Senate is a big deal, so naturally people wonder if Specter was really telling a joke. Surely if it was in jest, the rest of his new-found party might consider some sympathy.

Well why not ask the woman who interviewed him:

So was Arlen Specter joking, when he seemed to say he wanted Norm Coleman to win in Minnesota? That’s what some people have been wondering after Specter said this: “There’s still time for the Minnesota courts to do justice and declare Norm Coleman the winner.”

So I asked New York Times reporter Deborah Solomon, who conducted the interview, what her impression was of Specter’s actual tone of voice and overall expression.

“I trust he meant what he said,” Solomon wrote to me. “If he had been joking, surely he could have come up with a wittier line.”

Perhaps he has bad sense of humor but I sincerely doubt it. If I had to choose who I thought was more credible, a reporter from the New York Times or a life-long politician, I wouldn't even give my decision a second thought, unless of course that reporter was Judith Miller. Specter got what he deserved when the Democratic party pulled his seniority. Perhaps now he'll be more mindful of what he says, and as Markos said earlier, it looks like he's making progress today.

DNC Tells Coleman To Do The Right Thing

Like Jim Tedisco did last week, the DNC is calling on Norm Coleman to concede the race he lost to Al Franken and let Minnesota have their second senator in office. It's been more than six months since the election and most Minnesotans think it is far beyond the time for Norm to let go of the outcome and surrender to the inevitable.

Franken Expands Lead, Another Ridiculous Coleman Argument Shattered

Today was another positive moment for the future Senator Franken from Minnesota. The loser in the race, incumbent Norm Coleman had been dragging out the race in the courts once the recount had finished and put Franken in the lead. Since then, Franken has continued to hold a slim but steady advantage of a couple hundred votes. Now that Coleman had his "wrongly rejected" ballots counted, his chances became even slimmer.

From The Star-Tribune:

Minutes after the ballots were opened for the first time, state elections director Gary Poser counted them, reading off the votes one by one to a hushed courtroom. When he was done, Franken's lead had grown from 225 to 312 votes.

Coleman's case during the trial has rested mostly on counting absentee ballots that he contends had been wrongly rejected. Barring an unexpected court ruling, he now lacks the ballots needed for a trial victory, and his lawyers repeated vows to appeal an adverse final verdict.

Franken's side hailed the day's developments. "The result confirms what we knew going in, which is that more Minnesotans voted for Al Franken than Norm Coleman," said lawyer Marc Elias. "That was the case when we recounted the ballots the first time, and it's now the case after the election contest."

Whether or not Coleman will call it quits after this is still up in the air. He could go completely haywire and protest the state Supreme Court, but I don't know if they accept cases solely because a candidate for office ended up losing.

Meanwhile, millions of Minnesotans are without a Senator representing them in Washington while a few Republicans surrounding Coleman continue to help drag this out for the sake of cheap political games. Franken has been a financial boon to the leaders of the GOP, as they hold fundraisers that paint him as their new official boogeyman of the Democratic party in that they claim he is stealing an election that he had won.

With The End In Sight, Senator-Elect Franken Lets Loose

Norm Coleman has taken a job with someone other than the U.S. Senate, Al Franken is still certified by the Secretary of State and as the legal challenges dwindle, the soon-to-be Senator was finally ready to make some jokes.

Coleman Continues His Senatorial Charade

Ex-Senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota is still firmly in denial following his narrow loss to challenger Al Franken. Franken was certified the winner by 225 votes, but that isn't stopping the tainted Mr. Coleman from going repeatedly into court for legal action he swore off immediately following the election. Today he acted as if and went to meet with former colleagues in the Senate's GOP caucus.

From The Huffington Post:

Former Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota is on Capitol Hill today meeting with his erstwhile colleagues.

"I'm hopeful I'll be back here," said Coleman as he entered the Senate's LBJ room for a lunch meeting with the Republican conference.[...]

Coleman will be spending the day, he said, doing one-on-one interviews with Washington-based reporters to update them on the situation in Minnesota.

Coleman wouldn't say how much longer the court battle will continue. "We'll see how that plays out," he said. "I hope it's quick."

It could be much quicker if Coleman drops this futile bid and makes a concession to soon-to-be Senator Franken. The permissable absentee ballots were counted and he lost. Whether it is by 225 or 225,000, we do have a winner here, and it is not Norm.

Battling Lizard People And Spaghetti Monsters In Minnesota

Al Franken is now the projected winner in the recount of Minnesota's highly contested Senate race.
The win is probably going to be by around one hundred votes or less, so let's see just how a couple of some of the contested ballots were determined to go the way of Coleman, Franken or, well, just take a look at how the odd ones were counted:

Missing Ballots And Other Drama Of The Great Minnesota Recount

The race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken is extraordinarily close three weeks after the polls closed in Minnesota. The count difference is somewhere between 84 and 211, depending on who you ask. So with a wire-thin margin like that, things like found ballots that were missing, thousands of challenges to known ballots and many more ballots that have gone missing are all a part of the game we like to call democracy here in the United States.

From RawStory:

With the recount in the razor-thin Minnesota U.S. Senate race continuing into its second week, Democratic candidate Al Franken's campaign says it has uncovered 6,400 rejected absentee ballots and will ask a state board to count at least some of those votes.

Campaign attorney Marc Elias said Tuesday that the campaign received the rejected ballots from 66 of the state's 87 counties, according to the Associated Press. In some instances, clerical errors or oversight caused the ballot to be improperly rejected.[...]

Each campaign is challenging more than 1,500 votes each, not counting any of the just-discovered absentee ballots Franken plans to ask to have included.

Franken's campaign also says several dozen ballots have gone missing.

Already we can tell this is going to be one hell of a finish. Nate Silver predicts that Franken will win by 27 votes, but really, with all these ballots moving around, it is hard to say who'll win this thing whenever it finally gets done. One thing that is for sure, the rest of the recount will be very interesting.

Common Cause Gears Up To Babysit MN Recounters

Many of the people who are about to undertake a recount of Minnesota's ballots for U.S. Senate are not very acquainted with the laws concerning their task. That is why Common Cause is on the scene to observe and ensure the process is sound, regardless of whether Coleman or Franken comes out on top.

Norm Coleman Talks Nervously About A Recount

On the day after, there are plenty of races still unsettled. One is up in Minnesota between Senator Norm Coleman and his challenger Al Franken. The vote at the moment is within 0.04 percent. Norm says he thinks a recount prevents the healing process from starting, but if I were a betting man, I'd stake a lot of chips on the fact that Norm would be whining his ass off for a recount if the margin was ten times the amount it is now.

Norm Coleman Says We'll See Changes If Dems Elected

Norm Coleman uttered a brilliant statement to about fifty of his supporters in the Minnesotan town of Bemidji. This could possibly be the smartest thing he's said during the entire campaign. It's a message that many Americans clearly understand. Okay, okay, I'll give it to you in bold, but the entire thing for context.

From The Grand Folks Herald:

“If I lose this seat, and one party has control across the board, then you’ll see changes,” he said. He referred to the Fairness Doctrine, which at one time demanded equal time for opposing views on radio or television.

“The Fairness Doctrine is a policy that (2004 Democratic presidential candidate John) Kerry said we should re-institute, (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi said should be re-instituted — they would be in charge,” Coleman said.

“It says that the federal government will monitor what is being said, and then they will decide whether there has to be a counterpoint,” he said. “I can tell you there’s going to be a lot of voices on the radio that you’ll never hear. That’s not good for America.”

Oh Norm, change is exactly what this election is all about. Americans are crying out for change because the last eight years have been hellish for all but the upper class in this country. Now as for the Fairness Doctrine, that was something the FCC got rid of under Reagan. It has allowed corporations to dominate the radio and airwaves with conservatives that seriously outnumber liberal views. The Supreme Court upheld it in Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC, 395 U.S. 367 (1969) but that was then and the conservative movement went ahead and disassembled it anyways. Having an equal amount of time for both sides on the public airwaves should be a given, but to hyper-partisans like Norm Coleman, it is another thing to attack Democrats for.

Al Franken Goes After Lobbyists In New Ad

Now this is what I want to hear more of from our members of Congress and Senators, both those serving and those running for office:

Al Franken For Senate, Because His Teacher Says So!

Cute commercial:

Al Franken Posts His First Ad

Go Al Go!

MN-Sen, Franken Outraises Coleman

Not only did comedian turned politician Al Franken double the fundraising numbers of his Democratic competition, he beat incumbent Norm Coleman by $300,000. However, the overall numbers are only half the story. Sen. Coleman has not surprisingly turned to big money interests such as industry PACs. Franken only claims one percent of his contributions from PACs. The rest is all from the grassroots. It isn't hard to see who is running a campaign for the people.

From The Politico:

The Al Franken for Senate campaign announced today that it expects to report having raised over $1.9 million in the second quarter of 2007 when it files its quarterly report with the FEC on July 15.

The money was raised from nearly 28,000 donors. So far in 2007, over 36,000 donors have contributed a grand total of over $3.2 million. The campaign is particularly pleased to note that over 95 percent of contributions in the second quarter were $100 or less.

The $1.9 million figure would mean that Al has likely out-raised incumbent Senator Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) in the second quarter, an unusual feat for a challenger. Sen. Coleman's campaign reported raising "over $1.5 million" in the quarter. The Franken campaign will report nearly $2 million cash on hand.

The average Franken supporter gave just $65 dollars. The majority of that PAC money came from Dick Durbin. Coleman took over $450,000 or a third of his contributions in PAC money last quarter. There aren't any numbers for his 2nd quarter of that detail yet. CW says incumbents win the money race but there is no conventionality when it comes to Al Franken going after freshman Norm Coleman.

Al Franken Knows We Need Publicly Financed Elections

People who are sick of how much money is involved in politics know we need a drastic change to the way campaigns operate. Except for field operations and dealing with the media, the great majority of "time" resources is dedicated to calling for money, meeting people for money and doing whatever it takes to finance the campaign. Al Franken lamented on this process today at the Huffington Post. Who would know more about it than a candidate running for office?

From The Huffington Post:

As a candidate for the U.S. Senate here in Minnesota, I've become painfully aware of the role money plays in politics.

For instance, according to my staff, I'm not supposed to write anything without mentioning that our grassroots campaign needs the support of great progressives like YOU and asking you to click here and chip in a few bucks so I can take on the Republican attack machine.

See? That kind of thing totally distracts the reader from my point, which is this: If you ever wonder whether we really need public financing of elections in this country, try running for office. You might think I spend most of my time kissing babies or shaking hands or having serious policy debates in which my sparkling wit and superior knowledge of the issues combine to sweep audiences off their feet.

Read the rest of the diary to get more of Al's wit and wisdom, including another link to send him a few bucks in his race against Coleman. Who knows, if we get enough people like Franken elected to the Senate we might have a chance to enact real change when it comes to money and politics.

Sunday Funnies

Al Franken's Skeleton Closet Opens Already

It hasn't even been 48 hours since Al publicly announced his candidacy for Minnesota's Senate seat and the first 'scandal' is upon us. Arianna Huffington wanted to mitigate the damage from an affair the two had about 10 years ago and talked about it on her blog, The Huffington Post.

The evidence is damning to say the least, the two were caught in bed at least twice on national television. So what if the TV audience of 'Politically Incorrect' was there? Norm Coleman and his goon squad will beat Al mercilessly on the head with this one for sure because.....what else does he have against Al? Norm is already running away from his rubber-stamping past and George Bush.

Here's a portion from her post:

You see, back in the mid-90s, Al Franken and I shared a bed. Repeatedly. While we were both married. And, long before Pam and Tommy Lee or Paris Hilton, we always made sure we had a camera to record our liaisons.

Shocking but true. What can I say, we were young, we were passionate, and there was something between us that couldn't be denied. And the fact that it was being recorded for posterity only added to the frisson.

Be sure to watch the videos on Huffington Post at that link. The scenes are absolutely hysterical! When Franken 'caved' on the school vouchers issue I could hardly stop laughing. I wonder if Norm and his gang are taking notes and forming their first hit piece on Franken yet. Seriously, how does the not-funny-at-all Coleman compete against Franken. He is funny, smart, against the war and can easily dance around Norm in a debate with his comedic skills.