# Who owns Al Franken? Not us. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 10, 2007, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-al-franken-not-us/411193 "2007-07-10T13:52:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-al-franken-not-us/411193/101 "2007-07-12T22:44:02Z")
I dunno what Franken some of you are listening to, but the one I’ve heard for years on Air America is a middle-of-the-road Democrat, very mainstream. Sure, compared to Rush he’s extreme left. But compared with most people, he’s perhaps slightly left than average. Nothing to scare the children with. IIRC, Franken was a friend and great admirer of Paul Wellstone. He (Franken) has long identified himself as a Minnesotan, starting with his first book. Spending years in NY and CA because that’s where his career as an entertainer led him doesn’t take the MN out of a guy. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-al-franken-not-us/411193/102 "2007-07-12T23:15:34Z")
[QUOTE=choie] I dunno what Franken some of you are listening to, but the one I’ve heard for years on Air America is a middle-of-the-road Democrat, very mainstream. Sure, compared to Rush he’s extreme left. But compared with most people, he’s perhaps slightly left than average. Nothing to scare the children with. IIRC, Franken was a friend and great admirer of Paul Wellstone. He (Franken) has long identified himself as a Minnesotan, starting with his first book. Spending years in NY and CA because that’s where his career as an entertainer led him doesn’t take the MN out of a guy. [/QUOTE] I don’t have a dog in this fight, and have no problem with anyone running for office as long as they meet the qualifications, but… Just how much does he “admire” Paul Wellstone? PW was known as one of the most liberal guys in Congress when he was alive (not that there’s anything wrong with that). If AF’s views are anything like PW’s, then I’d be pretty dubious of the idea that he’s a middle-of-the-road Democrat (not that there’s anything wrong with that, either). ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-al-franken-not-us/411193/103 "2007-07-12T23:31:12Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] I’d much rather see an Al Franken and Marion Berry… [/QUOTE] Did you know that Ben Stein, of _Win Ben Steins Money_, a B-level celebrity just to the left of Otto von Bismarck…gave Franken $1,000. When asked why he contributed to such a wild lefty, he is reported to have answered “Al Franken is the smartest man I ever met.” What a splendid bi-partisan gesture it might be if Franken were to choose Ben Stein for his running mate? And, then of course… (I can’t bring myself to actually type it. Its _that_ bad.) ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-al-franken-not-us/411193/104 "2007-07-12T23:35:50Z")
[QUOTE=Rysdad] Oh, c’mon. Have you never heard the man? This ain’t GD, and I’m not going to scroll through a mass of YouTube clips for a bunch of sites. I’ll leave that up to you. [/QUOTE] Got nuthin, eh? ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-al-franken-not-us/411193/105 "2007-07-12T23:49:54Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > Just how much does he “admire” Paul Wellstone? PW was known as one of the most liberal guys in Congress when he was alive (not that there’s anything wrong with that). If AF’s views are anything like PW’s, then I’d be pretty dubious of the idea that he’s a middle-of-the-road Democrat (not that there’s anything wrong with that, either). He seems to have admired Wellstone’s passion, idealism, feistiness, generosity, intelligence and kindness. (Doesn’t take a Democrat or liberal to appreciate such traits, and indeed even some Republicans found much to admire in Wellstone.) But Franken’s views are hardly a match with Wellstone’s. If Wellstone were alive, Franken would surely have disagreed with him on several current issues; for example, Franken is much more of a hawk, and it took him longer to rail against the Iraq war than was palatable to most of us who fall in the Wellstonian spectrum of the Democratic party. ---
**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:** [July 12, 2007, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-al-franken-not-us/411193/106 "2007-07-12T23:53:21Z")
[QUOTE=elucidator] Did you know that Ben Stein, of _Win Ben Steins Money_, a B-level celebrity just to the left of Otto von Bismarck…gave Franken $1,000. When asked why he contributed to such a wild lefty, he is reported to have answered “Al Franken is the smartest man I ever met.” What a splendid bi-partisan gesture it might be if Franken were to choose Ben Stein for his running mate? And, then of course… (I can’t bring myself to actually type it. Its _that_ bad.) [/QUOTE] Allow me… FRANKEN/STEIN '08. ---
**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:** [July 13, 2007, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-al-franken-not-us/411193/107 "2007-07-13T00:08:02Z")
[QUOTE=Rysdad] Oh, c’mon. Have you never heard the man? This ain’t GD, and I’m not going to scroll through a mass of YouTube clips for a bunch of sites. I’ll leave that up to you. [/QUOTE] Of course i’ve heard him, and I’ve read several of his books. I honestly haven’t seen him espouse any legislative policies which I would say were out of the mainstream. He’s more or less right about where Hillary is. The most extreme positions he takes are things like support for universal health care, gun control (which I disagree with him on but which he’ll never get anywhere with anyway), same-sex marriage and rolling back tax cuts. Believe it or not, Franken actually supported the invasion of Iraq in the beginning. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-al-franken-not-us/411193/108 "2007-07-13T00:49:11Z")
[QUOTE=Rysdad] Oh, c’mon. Have you never heard the man? This ain’t GD, and I’m not going to scroll through a mass of YouTube clips for a bunch of sites. I’ll leave that up to you. [/QUOTE] You seriously can’t just simply state some of his views you find to be extreme? Like you said, it’s not GD, so you don’t **need** cites. It looks to me like you were just repeating what someone told you about Franken, and don’t really know his views. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-al-franken-not-us/411193/109 "2007-07-13T01:24:05Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] Allow me… FRANKEN/STEIN '08. [/QUOTE] That sounds like a ticket cobbled together from disparate parts. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-al-franken-not-us/411193/110 "2007-07-13T02:18:43Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] FRANKEN/STEIN '08. [/QUOTE] Oh dear god. The campaign speeches write themselves. _AARRRRR!!! IRAQ BAD!_ ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-al-franken-not-us/411193/111 "2007-07-13T02:26:04Z")
[QUOTE=Rysdad] Oh, c’mon. Have you never heard the man? This ain’t GD, and I’m not going to scroll through a mass of YouTube clips for a bunch of sites. I’ll leave that up to you. [/QUOTE] Well, I’m convinced! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-al-franken-not-us/411193/112 "2007-07-13T02:56:10Z")
Okay, **Rysdad** is going to punk out, obviously. However, **Chimera** actually spends time looking at the candidates, dude. He’ll be by any time to tell us about Franken’s positions that indicate he is on the political fringe. Of course, **choie** and **Revtim** are exactly right. Franken is no more fringe than any other middle of the road democrat. ---
**Author:** ![JonScribe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3be4f8/32.png) [@JonScribe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JonScribe)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-al-franken-not-us/411193/113 "2007-07-13T04:57:29Z")
[QUOTE=Chimera] Oh dear god. The campaign speeches write themselves. _AARRRRR!!! IRAQ BAD!_ [/QUOTE] PUUUTINNN OOOOON DAAA RIIIITZ! ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-al-franken-not-us/411193/114 "2007-07-13T06:40:35Z")
[QUOTE=Chimera] Oh dear god. The campaign speeches write themselves. _AARRRRR!!! IRAQ BAD!_ [/QUOTE] Given that Stein was a speech writer for Nixon, I’m sure he’d expect a tighter spin from his spokesmen. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-al-franken-not-us/411193/115 "2007-07-16T07:06:30Z")
No matter where the money came from, contributions should never override sound judgement. ---
**Author:** ![fisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fisha)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-al-franken-not-us/411193/116 "2007-07-16T12:30:49Z")
[QUOTE=Sitnam] No matter where the money came from, contributions should never override sound judgement. [/QUOTE] Best laugh today. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2007, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-al-franken-not-us/411193/117 "2007-07-19T17:37:30Z")
Heh-heh-heh. Franken just took out a new [full-page ad](http://www.alfranken.com/content/fullpagead/) blasting Coleman for his vote on the Iraq bill this week. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2007, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-al-franken-not-us/411193/118 "2007-08-04T19:00:46Z")
Update: [Coleman, who enjoyed a 22-percent lead over Franken in the polls four months ago, now has only 49% support, compared with 42% for Franken.](http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070813/wiener2) This drop is likely because of Coleman’s support for the Administration’s Iraq War policies. > [@](#): > > Defeating Norm Coleman would be a particularly sweet victory for the anti-war movement. In his college days at Hofstra, Coleman was a prominent opponent of the Vietnam war. The school suspended him in 1970 for participating in a sit-in protesting the Kent State killings. He first won office in St. Paul as a Democrat, chaired the 1996 Senate campaign of Paul Wellstone, and then switched parties and ran for the Senate in 2002 against Wellstone. Wellstone died in a plane crash a week before that election, and Norm Coleman went to the Senate. > > \ > > Coleman has fought back – not on the war (he recently said, “We are going to be in Iraq a long time”), but rather on Franken’s ties to out-of-state money. The latest fundraising reports showed that Franken raised more than Coleman, $1.9 million in the quarter than ended June 30, while Coleman raised $1.5 million. But Coleman said that only 18 per cent of Franken’s money came from inside Minnesota, while 50 per cent of his money did. Franken’s out-of-state contributors include Rosie O’Donnell, Bill Maher and Dan Aykroyd, which led the Coleman camp to declare, “No matter how many millions he raises from his far-left friends outside our state, Al Franken won’t be able to convince Minnesotans he has the temperament, demeanor and experience necessary for the U.S. Senate.” Franken responded that he got more people from Minnesota to contribute to his campaign than Coleman did, especially in small contributions. > > \ > > Meanwhile back in Minnesota the Republican senator is not running away from the President. On the contrary, Bush is coming to Minnesota on August 21 for a Coleman fundraiser in suburban Eden Prairie. That will be less than three weeks after the bridge collapse in Minneapolis, and after Minnesotans were reminded by a Star-Tribune columnist that Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty vetoed a tax increase last spring that would have funded infrastructure repair. Democrats see the Bush event as a gift. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-al-franken-not-us/411193.md?page=5)