Al Franken for Veep!

BrainGlutton · March 30, 2016, 2:11am

Proposed here. Apart from 4-8 years of “Frankenstein” jokes, I see no downside whatsoever – not in terms of a Clinton/Franken ticket’s electability, nor in terms of what to expect if he actually has to fill in as POTUS – and he’d have the best sense of humor of any POTUS since Lincoln, whose example can always be trotted out against Pub pearl-clutching on the point (one of Lincoln’s jokes ended with the punchline, “By God! Now let’s see if I can carve this turkey without farting!”).

Northern_Piper · March 30, 2016, 2:17am

Cite?

BrainGlutton · March 30, 2016, 2:19am

Cite.

Of course, as Abraham Lincoln said, “The problem with things you read on the Internet is you never know if they’re true or not.”

Merneith · March 30, 2016, 2:41am

I like Al Franken, but honestly, I don’t think we can spare anyone from the Senate. In fact, it’s taken me months, but I’ve finally decided we’re better off with Hillary in the Whitehouse and all the current Senators holding it together in the Capital Building (along with whomever we can pick up).

Bryan_Ekers · March 30, 2016, 2:44am

Is he good enough? Smart enough? Will people like him?

Tangent · March 30, 2016, 2:54am

Also being discussed in the “Vice President predictions” thread:

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=19212733#post19212733

Inner_Stickler · March 30, 2016, 3:06am

Absolutely not! MN’s senators are off the table. We got a good pair, no swiping!

BrainGlutton · March 30, 2016, 4:07am

Don’t worry about that, the Governor, who would have to make a nomination to fill any Senate vacancy, is a Democrat, at least by Midwestern standards kindasorta. Not by Al Franken standards, but, as Al Franken would be and has been the first to admit, you can’t have everything.

BrainGlutton · March 30, 2016, 4:15am

:dubious: Please explain, and without reference to any “good pair.” Your “good pair” are your own responsibility.

Tim_T-Bonham.net · March 30, 2016, 4:35am

No, we could spare yet another Minnesota Senator to become Vice-President (after HHH & Mondale).

After all, once they were elected, they would resign from the Senate, and Democratic Governor Mark Dayton would appoint their replacement. So we’d have a new, younger Democrat in the Senate.

John_Mace · March 30, 2016, 5:08am

Only if Bernie is the nominee.

eschereal · March 30, 2016, 5:11am

Why Not Al?

foolsguinea · March 30, 2016, 7:44am

I found that piece unconvincing, sorry.

I like Al Franken, but I don’t think sticking him in the VP slot does him, the campaign, or the country a real favor.

BrainGlutton · March 30, 2016, 2:15pm

Why not?

BrainGlutton · March 30, 2016, 2:20pm

Why?

ElvisL1ves · March 30, 2016, 2:21pm

Seriously? Because it would be too hard for most voters to take *him *seriously, given his background as a comedian and his short tenure and record of accomplishments in the Senate. The VP has to be a plausible President above all else.

BrainGlutton · March 30, 2016, 3:13pm

And what credentials did Obama have in 2008?

From the article linked in the OP – and I know I’m risking the Wrath of Mod by C&Ping this much of the text, but apparently I can’t rely on anyone to read the thing before posting:

Before Donald Trump, Franken wouldn’t possibly have merited serious consideration. Even though his seven-year record as a senator from Minnesota suggests he’s a genuinely committed legislator, the first rule of V.P. picks is “do no harm”—and pre-Trump, the trove of politically incorrect barbs from Franken’s past would have been far too much baggage for a presidential nominee to want to carry. The spotlight would have been on him instead of Clinton.

Candidate Trump erases the old standards. Nothing that Franken said decades ago would be remotely as incendiary as the insults Trump spews as a matter of campaign strategy. And Trump’s presence demands new rhetorical weaponry. As Trump himself might say, Franken’s “classy” and “elegant” wit is just what the ticket needs to avoid the kind of brawl that drags everyone down to Trump’s level. Clinton will want to stay above the fray, and Franken can provide the buffer.

<snip>

His jump from comedian to politician was through a ring of fire. Franken aimed high for his first campaign: U.S. senator from his home state of Minnesota. After a few years as a talk radio host, Franken aimed to avenge the bitter loss Democrats suffered in 2002 following the fatal plane crash of incumbent senator and liberal icon Paul Wellstone two weeks before Election Day.

Republicans painted Franken as an immoral Hollywood hothead, circulating bestiality jokes from a Playboy magazine humor piece Franken wrote, using out-of-context video clips where he looks deranged, and digging up evidence of his failure to pay back taxes and workers compensation. “We in Hollywood are a bit worried that Al Franken is hurting our reputation,” needled Cheers actor John Ratzenberger in one of the Republican Party’s final attack ads.

Yet Franken didn’t just survive the assault: He prevailed. After a recount and months of legal wrangling, Franken escaped with a 312-vote victory. While Franken was already trying to present a more serious face to Minnesota voters, the dead-even outcome was a constant reminder of his precarious political position, spurring him to be a senatorial workhorse and not a show horse.

Today, he stands on firm ground. In the 2014 midterms, as the Republican tide was cresting in Colorado and Iowa, Franken scored an impressive 10-point reelection victory. And progressive activists credited his proud populism for his exponential electoral growth. Mother Jones’ Patrick Caldwell, among others, showered praise on Franken for channeling “populist outrage at growing inequality and the hardships of the financial crash.”

If that sounds a lot like a 2016 campaign theme, you’re getting the idea. That year, his sober ad campaign skewered “Wall Street banks” that “were actually paying the credit-rating agencies to give AAA ratings to financial products that were junk. The game was rigged.” He stood for refinancing student-loan debt and closing the tax loophole that favors hedge fund managers. “The Wall Street hedge fund guys may not like that,” he said to the camera in an October 2014 ad, “but I don’t work for them.” Less noted by progressives—but important to sealing the deal—was how he leavened his populist pitch with an emphasis on bipartisanship to pass the farm bill and a Senate amendment to reform credit-rating agencies (Franken left out how his amendment was watered down in the final version of the Dodd-Frank law).

Franken has also won over younger Bernie-loving progressives by being, as The Nation once deemed him, “one of the Senate’s most impassioned champions of net neutrality,” the Federal Communications Commission regulatory approach that, activists argue, protects online free speech from corporate profiteers. Similarly popular with the “netroots” community was Franken’s successful grass-roots campaign to block Comcast from buying Time Warner Cable. An early Clinton endorser, Franken could serve as a bridge between the grass-roots left and the Democratic establishment.

Yes, Al Franken is a plausible president, and I only wish he and not Clinton were the frontrunner.

ElvisL1ves · March 30, 2016, 3:20pm

He was a community organizer, didn’t you know? Without a background that would give anybody pause about his seriousness and ability, other than the melanin thing.

You may think so, but the number who need to be convinced of it runs in the tens of millions. It’s a definite drawback, and one Clinton may not be willing to spend time and political capital to overcome.

74westy · March 30, 2016, 3:28pm

Bernie’s a better straight man.

CarnalK · March 30, 2016, 3:39pm

Well maybe but from day one of his Senate career he’s put himself out as a serious man. Istm, he’s doing pretty good work. Certainly his record of Senate accomplishments compare favourably to Trump’s non-existent record and Cruz’s dubious one.

I don’t think he would want the Veep slot atm though. I get the feeling he wants to grind away at his current job for a good while.