# How's Al Franken's Senate bid going? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 12, 2008, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-al-frankens-senate-bid-going/437239 "2008-02-12T01:57:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 40
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-al-frankens-senate-bid-going/437239/781 "2009-04-14T05:09:32Z")
In both of those instances, the alternative was Norm Coleman. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-al-frankens-senate-bid-going/437239/782 "2009-04-14T05:22:56Z")
I remember that! Jesus Christ squeeked out a narrow victory over Coleman when the absentee ballots mysteriously multiplied… ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-al-frankens-senate-bid-going/437239/783 "2009-04-14T05:28:39Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > What is up with the “Minnesota Experiment” WRT electing politically crazy/unqualified people? Jesse Ventura, Al Franken? Jesus Christ. Next up: local hockey hero turns politician. Or has that already been done? Mayhap an ice-fisherman will have a Palin-like rise to prominence? I’m not from Minnesota (though I have relatives who live there) but if a local hockey hero or an ice fisherman has graduated cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Harvard (the way Al Franken did), hey, that puts them way up there in my eyes. Franken has always been politically active. Why do people persist if spreading the myth that Frankin is just some local yokel yukker who decided to get into politics for shits’n’grins? ---
**Author:** ![sweepkick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@sweepkick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweepkick)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-al-frankens-senate-bid-going/437239/784 "2009-04-14T06:17:54Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > What is up with the “Minnesota Experiment” WRT electing politically crazy/unqualified people? Jesse Ventura, Al Franken? Jesus Christ. Next up: local hockey hero turns politician. Or has that already been done? Mayhap an ice-fisherman will have a Palin-like rise to prominence? > > You guys are crazy with the snow. CRAZY. Um. Moron. Care to share just how Al Franken is not qualified to hold a senate seat? Seriously, inquiring minds want to know. ---
**Author:** ![sweepkick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@sweepkick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweepkick)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-al-frankens-senate-bid-going/437239/785 "2009-04-14T06:21:29Z")
Seriously, though… when I hear people equate Franken with Ventura, it just displays one of two scenarios: 1. Willful ignorance 2. Partisan bullshit Care to fill us in on which one? Ya fuckin’ moron. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-al-frankens-senate-bid-going/437239/786 "2009-04-14T06:28:17Z")
Don’t you know? It’s only ok for entertainers (who are even less qualified than Franken) to get into politics if they’re _Republican_. Guys like Schwarzenegger or Fred Thompson. Then it’s ok, no matter how unqualified they are. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-al-frankens-senate-bid-going/437239/787 "2009-04-14T06:54:15Z")
This is interesting. [Who Will Be Left On Minnesota Supreme Court To Hear Appeal?](http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/04/who-will-be-left-on-minnesota-supreme-court-to-hear-appeal.php?ref=fp1) > [@](#): > > Here’s a good question as the seven-judge Minnesota Supreme Court gears up for an expected appeal from Norm Coleman, who is nearly certain to lose the election trial: Just how many justices will be left to hear it? > > As it is, it already seems like two justices are solid bets to recuse themselves: Chief Justice Eric Magnuson and Associate Justice Barry Anderson, who served on the special state canvassing board, and previously recused themselves in state Supreme Court proceedings in this case, when the court addressed questions such as rejected absentee ballots and when a certificate of election could be granted. > > But now we know that Justice Christopher Dietzen has donated money to Norm Coleman – the checks were written over five years ago, before Dietzen first became a judge – should he recuse himself? He’s already participated in the other litigation listed above, and in all fairness he didn’t seem to be biased. > > And this one isn’t quite so solid, but some people might wonder whether Associate Justice Alan Page should recuse himself, because he appointed the three-member trial court. (That job originally would have gone to the Chief Justice – but he’d recused himself, leaving it to Page as the most senior associate justice.) > > Regarding Dietzen, Hamline University Prof. David Schultz tells us that the case for recusal points towards yes. > > … I don’t have a solid opinion as to whether any of them should recuse themselves (though Dietzen…donated to Coleman? that seems a bit iffy) but I just thought I’d throw it out there for informational purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-al-frankens-senate-bid-going/437239/788 "2009-04-14T07:34:29Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > I don’t have a solid opinion as to whether any of them should recuse themselves (though Dietzen…donated to Coleman? that seems a bit iffy) but I just thought I’d throw it out there for informational purposes. Personally, I don’t see Magnuson & Anderson recusing themselves – they were on the Canvassing Board, which decided on how to read the marks on ballots. Coleman’s appeal (from current indications) will be that some ballots were not looked at when they should have been. Not the same issue. And Page is even less likely to recuse himself – all he did was appoint judges to hear the contest, as required by law. And he seems to have been very fair in choosing appointees from Republican, DFL, and Independent Governors. Dietzen is more questionable, but his donation was over 6 years ago, when Coleman ran against Wellstone (and then Mondale) – the last election. And he was not a Judge at the time, so not prohibited from making a contribution. I think that the Court will consider this an important case, and want to have a full panel hearing it. So despite these items, I think they will consider the question asked of potential jurors: “can you render a fair and impartial decision in this case?” and all decide to not recuse themself. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-al-frankens-senate-bid-going/437239/789 "2009-04-14T11:57:29Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Beneath their dignity to sully themselves for a mere senatorial contest. They are not whores, they are courtesans. If Coleman files a federal lawsuit alleging violation of constitutional rights under the United States Constitution, presumably the Fourteenth Amendment’s right to due process and equal protection, the courts cannot refuse to hear the suit. They will have to consider it, and dispose of it in the appropriate manner. Since it is quite possible that he will be able to raise at least a prima _facie case_ of violation, it won’t be able to be dismissed on the basis of the original pleadings. If Coleman wants to, assuming the federal court decisions go against him, he could appeal the ruling of the federal district court to the Circuit Court of Appeal, then to the Supreme Court of the United States (which DOES have the ability to turn him down, since the SCotUS doesn’t have to take your appeal/pet. for cert.). That whole process could take upwards of two years, or it might take some six months, depending on the district court and how it processes the case. The only question of interest in that situation, however, is whether or not Franken can get seated in the Senate during the processing of the federal case. Gov. Pawlenty may well refuse to issue a certificate; uncertain if the Senate would continue to refuse to seat him under those circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-al-frankens-senate-bid-going/437239/790 "2009-04-14T12:15:30Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > I remember that! Jesus Christ squeeked out a narrow victory over Coleman when the absentee ballots mysteriously multiplied… Smells fishy to me. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-al-frankens-senate-bid-going/437239/791 "2009-04-14T13:36:20Z")
> [@sweepkick](#): > > Um. Moron. > [@sweepkick](#): > > Ya fuckin’ moron. Do not post personmal insults to other posters in this forum. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-al-frankens-senate-bid-going/437239/792 "2009-04-14T13:41:56Z")
All I know about Al Franken is that he is a politically active comedian and Air America Radio. I did not know he was a Harvard grad. **shrugs** If people elect him, fine. My post was mostly tounge-in-cheek anyway. He certainly seems more qualified than Ah-nold. It’s just weird to me that people like Ah-nold, Jesse Ventura, etc get elected at all. Was Ronald Reagan the first actor turned politician? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-al-frankens-senate-bid-going/437239/793 "2009-04-14T13:51:47Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Was Ronald Reagan the first actor turned politician? Nope. I found at least one earlier: Helen Gahagan Douglas, who served 3 terms as Congressperson for California’s 14th District, and was best known as Nixon’s 1950 opponent for Senator in California, and immortalized by Nixon’s campaign as “the Pink Lady”. In return, Gahagan Douglas coined the nickname “Tricky Dick” for Nixon. She was a Broadway star, then starred in the 1935 film version of H. Rider Haggard’s _She_. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-al-frankens-senate-bid-going/437239/794 "2009-04-14T13:52:28Z")
[Gov. Wendell Anderson](http://minnesotaindependent.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/1101730813_400.jpg) won a silver medal in hockey in the Olympics. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-al-frankens-senate-bid-going/437239/795 "2009-04-14T14:11:05Z")
Coleman has 10 days to appeal. I’ll bet he takes the full ten, since it seems obvious that this has become more about not seating Franken than finding the actual results. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-al-frankens-senate-bid-going/437239/796 "2009-04-14T14:18:30Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Nope. I found at least one earlier: Helen Gahagan Douglas, who served 3 terms as Congressperson for California’s 14th District, and was best known as Nixon’s 1950 opponent for Senator in California, and immortalized by Nixon’s campaign as “the Pink Lady”. In return, Gahagan Douglas coined the nickname “Tricky Dick” for Nixon. > > She was a Broadway star, then starred in the 1935 film version of H. Rider Haggard’s _She_. Hmmm. Interesting. _She’s_ the one that coined that phrase? Too funny, Nixon never lived that name down, and then he lived up to it! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-al-frankens-senate-bid-going/437239/797 "2009-04-14T14:42:01Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > …Was Ronald Reagan the first actor turned politician? No. George Murphy, a song-and-dance man and movie actor, was elected U.S. senator from (where else?) California in 1964: [George Murphy - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Murphy) Not an actor, but W. Lee “Pappy” O’Daniel, a radio star and country musician, was elected governor of Texas in 1939 and U.S. senator two years later: [W. Lee O'Daniel - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Lee_O%27Daniel) ---
**Author:** ![jshore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@jshore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jshore)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-al-frankens-senate-bid-going/437239/798 "2009-04-14T15:02:44Z")
Anybody who has never heard Tom Lehrer’s song about George Murphy referred to in the Wikipedia article should really [give it a listen](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rSNQlsR5Pc). Remember that this was written in 1965, which was before Reagan was elected governor, let alone President. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-al-frankens-senate-bid-going/437239/799 "2009-04-14T15:05:26Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Not an actor, but W. Lee “Pappy” O’Daniel, a radio star and country musician, was elected governor of Texas in 1939 and U.S. senator two years later: [W. Lee O'Daniel - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Lee_O%27Daniel) Similarly, country singer Jimmie Davis, best known for “You Are My Sunshine” was twice elected governor of Louisiana, in 1944 & 1960. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-al-frankens-senate-bid-going/437239/800 "2009-04-14T15:36:36Z")
[http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2009/04/the\_silence\_is\_deafening.php](http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2009/04/the_silence_is_deafening.php) The usual gang over at Talking Points Memo seem to think that the lack of a response from the Coleman campaign is telling. May well have a point, they should have seen this coming from a mile away, or at least the contingency, yet don’t have a response canned and ready for release. Or? They changed their minds, had one ready to go but something has happened to give them pause. Did the aroma of coffee finally sink in? Some development in the (still minor) Coleman money-sucking scandal? Maybe Norm! has had enough of being the RNC’s sacrificial butt-boy? Of course, idle speculation is beneath my dignity. But if its not beneath yours, you could slip it in pretending to respond, or even scold! “Oh, sure, **'luc** , like you hadn’t heard about Norm’s attempted date rape of Annette Funicello!” Not saying you should, or anything. Just sayin’, is all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-al-frankens-senate-bid-going/437239.md?page=39) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-al-frankens-senate-bid-going/437239.md?page=41)