# Al Franken's new book "Giant of the Senate" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 31, 2017, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804 "2017-05-31T23:12:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/41 "2017-06-02T15:10:33Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Re: Franken for president: on Marc Maron’s WTF pocast yesterday, Maron asked him directly if he was interested in running for the office. The answer, after a hearty belly laugh, was an emphatic “no.” He said something about not wanting to Peter Principle himself as Trump has done, completely ripping off a tweet of mine from last November where I declared Trump the Peter Principle President. I may have even posted something similar here. > > I will, of course, be suing for copyright infringement. Certainly this is a joke, but you’ll have a pretty hard time of it—proving copying, proving originality—joke concepts aren’t protectable, your expression of the idea will have very very narrow protection, and and even if he copied it word-for-word, you’ll have trouble with the scenes à faire doctrine. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/42 "2017-06-02T16:05:02Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > I may have to get this book. I just read a WaPo article about how Franken devotes an entire chapter to chronicling how awful Ted Cruz is. Might be worth it just for that. > > [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/06/01/the-guy-who-microwaves-fish-in-the-office-inside-al-frankens-blood-feud-with-ted-cruz/?utm\_term=.49b0a89d1267](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/06/01/the-guy-who-microwaves-fish-in-the-office-inside-al-frankens-blood-feud-with-ted-cruz/?utm_term=.49b0a89d1267) Samantha Bee ended her show last week with her and Al Franken trading insulting names for Ted Cruz. It was quite hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/43 "2017-06-02T16:05:37Z")
Trump is not an example of the Peter Principle. For him to be an example, he’d have to be no higher than a used-car salesman. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/44 "2017-06-02T16:24:32Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Trump is not an example of the Peter Principle. For him to be an example, he’d have to be no higher than a used-car salesman. I would disagree. Being anywhere above your level is Peter Principled. So he’s like the UltraPrimeExtraPlus version of this. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/45 "2017-06-02T16:33:42Z")
I interpret it as “you were good at your previous job, and so you got promoted into a job that you weren’t good at any more”. Trump fails the first step. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/46 "2017-06-02T16:44:08Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > I would disagree. Being anywhere above your level is Peter Principled. > > So he’s like the UltraPrimeExtraPlus version of this. “Now with more Peter!” ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/47 "2017-06-02T16:44:40Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > “If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you.” > > - Lindsey Graham I’m not a big Lindsey Graham fan, but I agree that he can be pretty funny. This was the one I was going to mention. I’ll try to get Franken’s book, so it can sit on my nightstand while I wonder where all my time for reading has gone. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/48 "2017-06-02T19:07:53Z")
I ordered the book but don’t have it yet, but I’m really looking forward to it now. Laurence J. Peter came up with the [Peter Principle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurence_J._Peter) back in 1968, so if anyone’s going to sue it’s him or his estate. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/49 "2017-06-02T19:17:15Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > “If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you.” > > - Lindsey Graham That wasn’t meant to be a joke. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/50 "2017-06-02T19:21:08Z")
> [@Wilson](#): > > I think I’ll pick this up… I saw him interviewed in the new Grateful Dead documentary, _Long Strange Trip_… didn’t know till then that he was a huge Deadhead. He was very funny (in his usual dry way) in that. I remember when the Dead were musical guests on SNL back around 1979 or 1980. There was a backstage scene where Franken told Jerry Garcia how great he was, then picked up his guitar and dropped it with a jangling crash, and Phil Lesh called him an “asshole.” It was fucking hilarious, every Deadhead’s personal nightmare about the worst thing that could happen if you ever got to meet them backstage. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/51 "2017-06-02T21:46:18Z")
One especially admirable thing Sen. Franken did during his first term was to refuse all invitations to appear on TV news programs to talk about anything other than his state. Even at the Democratic National Convention, he wasn’t going to be separated from the Minnesota group. If his fellow Senators and Representatives adopted that policy, US politics would be improved immeasurably. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/52 "2017-06-02T21:55:27Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > One especially admirable thing Sen. Franken did during his first term was to refuse all invitations to appear on TV news programs to talk about anything other than his state. Even at the Democratic National Convention, he wasn’t going to be separated from the Minnesota group. If his fellow Senators and Representatives adopted that policy, US politics would be improved immeasurably. Why? They’re national legislators. They makes laws for everyone. Why should they be limited like that? Franken had a specific reason to set limits on his public actions in order to persuade the people who voted for them that he was serious about being a senator and that it wasn’t just part of his entertainment career. That doesn’t necessarily apply to everyone. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/53 "2017-06-02T22:04:24Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Why? They’re national legislators. They makes laws for everyone. Why should they be limited like that? They are supposed to represent their states. I found it admirable, your mileage may vary. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/54 "2017-06-02T22:24:05Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > They are supposed to represent their states. I found it admirable, your mileage may vary. Oh, man. If only Ted Cruz would limit his public statements to cattle-raising and taco sauce production. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/55 "2017-06-02T23:11:21Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > They are supposed to represent their states. I found it admirable, your mileage may vary. I have no problem with Franken’s strategic decision, but there’s nothing admirable about it in a general sense. They’re supposed to run the country. In fact, they do run the whole country. I should hope they are answerable to all of us. They’re _selected_ from the states. It would be reprehensible if they put their individual states’ interests before the interest of the nation, should they be in conflict. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/56 "2017-06-03T00:12:01Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Trump is not an example of the Peter Principle. For him to be an example, he’d have to be no higher than a used-car salesman. I’m not even sure he’d be in the phylum Chordata. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/57 "2017-06-03T00:34:06Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > They’re _selected_ from the states. It would be reprehensible if they put their individual states’ interests before the interest of the nation, should they be in conflict. I’m not sure you could find one example of Franken putting our state before the nation. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/58 "2017-06-03T01:23:08Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > I’m not sure you could find one example of Franken putting our state before the nation. I don’t think he was claiming you could. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/59 "2017-06-03T02:31:36Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I don’t think he was claiming you could. I definitely wasn’t. I said so twice I think. I’m objecting to the idea that it’s admirable in general for members of the national legislature to limit all public comments to matters directly relating to a single state, no matter which state that happens to be. What he did was smart and disciplined and effective. And it was admirable because it was smart and disciplined and effective, not because it has any virtue in its own substance ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804/60 "2017-06-03T03:12:20Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I would not have guessed that Lindsey Graham had a sense of humor. He’s surprisingly hilarious and frank here: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/tPOOXp3S2UI/maxresdefault.jpg "Lindsey Graham - The Senator Picks His Poison: Ted Cruz vs. Donald Trump: The Daily Show") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPOOXp3S2UI) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_PtoJ6kKl1E/maxresdefault.jpg "Going Deep with Lindsey Graham - Between the Scenes: The Daily Show") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PtoJ6kKl1E) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-frankens-new-book-giant-of-the-senate/787804.md?page=4)