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Al Franken's Senate Bid Gets Serious John Mercurio
In the 2008 Minnesota Senate race, one thing's already clear: Al Franken's campaign to unseat Republican Sen. Norm Coleman is no joke. Or, as he likes to say, it's "deadly serious." When Franken, the former "Saturday Night Live" comedian turned New York Times best-selling author (his latest book is "The Truth (with Jokes)" and former fire-breathing liberal host on the progressive Air America radio network, announced his campaign to unseat Coleman back in February, the idea drew snickers from media pundits. Not anymore. Today Franken is taken seriously as his campaign chest fattens – he even outraised incumbent Coleman, according to the last FEC filings.
Story Continues Below Franken is already honing in on two issues: President Bush's job performance and the Iraq war. In a recent interview with NewsMax, the comedian-turned-politician argued that Coleman has been just too close to Bush and too supportive of the Iraq War. "He was a cheerleader for the war for the first four years," Franken told NewsMax.com. "He did no oversight, and he attacked people who were critical of the war. Because he didn't do his oversight, and because the reconstruction was so inept and corrupt, we made an incredibly difficult situation for our troops impossible. "There's a consequence to his not doing his job, and our troops paid the price, and so have the Iraqi people. He's accountable, I believe, for his doing what the White House wanted him to do, which was to not do his job." So far, Coleman's team doesn't think the Franken charges will stick. Coleman campaign manager Cullen Sheehan called Franken's remark an "unfair and not a very accurate" attack. "Al Franken is the only person who says anything like that," he said. "I don't think most people believe that." Though 2008 is shaping up to be like 2006, a good year for Democrats, Franken may have to pass the credibility hurdle. Will voters choose a comedian as their U.S. senator? Franken supporters note that Minnesota is different than many states, pointing to the fact that less than a decade ago voters elected pro wrestler Jesse Ventura as their governor. And many Democrats see the seat as winnable because Coleman, the former mayor of St. Paul, narrowly won his first term in 2002, and both Bush and the Iraq war are unpopular in Minnesota. In announcing his candidacy, Franken acknowledged his credibility hurdle and quickly sought to jump it. "Minnesotans have a right to be skeptical about whether I'm ready for this challenge, and to wonder how seriously I would take the responsibility that I'm asking you to give me," he said. "I want you to know: Nothing means more to me than making government work better for the working families of this state, and over the next 20 months, I look forward to proving to you that I take these issues seriously." To prove just how serious he is, Franken is raising megabucks. He raised more than $1 million for Democratic candidates in 2006, and raised eyebrows by collecting $1.9 million for himself during the second quarter of 2007. More importantly, he outraised the incumbent, who collected about $1.7 million. Franken's Democratic primary rival, trial attorney Mike Ciresi, took in just $750,000. There's just one hitch: In all, 82 percent of Franken's donors (who together have contributed more than $2.5 million) hail from outside Minnesota, including celebrities like Rosie O'Donnell and Bill Maher. Other big names include actors Dan Aykroyd, Robin Williams, Ed Norton, Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jason Alexander and Larry David. Jann Wenner, the founding editor of Rolling Stone magazine, has contributed, and even conservative TV personality Ben Stein chipped in $1,000. Coleman's campaign is making an issue of Franken's reliance on Hollywood and New York cash. In a letter to prospective GOP contributors, both in Minnesota and elsewhere, Coleman wrote, "I need your help to fight back against Hollywood's liberal elite! Rosie O'Donnell, Bill Maher and Larry David sit atop the Democratic Party's elite clique of big benefactors." Still, the Coleman campaign has been reluctant to make too much an issue of Franken because he still faces a stiff primary race with Ciresi. "Whoever wins the Democratic nomination, whether it's Al Franken, Mike Ciresi or someone else, it's going to be a competitive race. We're preparing for that reality," campaign manager Sheehan told NewsMax.com. Another major issue for Coleman's campaign is Franken's status as a Minnesotan. "It's hard to say whether Franken is part of the mainstream of Minnesota," Sheehan said. "He really hasn't been here for that long." Franken was born in New York but grew up in the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park. After years working back in New York, he returned to Minnesota in 2005 to prepare for the Senate race. He laughs off the carpetbagger charges. "I grew up in Minnesota and I've always come back to Minnesota," he told NewsMax. "My parents lived here until they died. I campaigned for [Minnesota Democrats] all my life." Franken fires back at Coleman for drawing financial supporters who don't represent Minnesota. "It's all pharmaceutical, coal and oil companies," he said. "How many oil or coal companies are there in Minnesota? Do you know of any? You don't, because there aren't any." Despite the Democrat's celebrity and ability to raise money, the race is still a climb for Franken, who trailed Coleman by 22 points in an independent Mason-Dixon poll conducted in May. But, Democratic strategists say, the issues landscape dramatically favors Franken or whoever wins the party's nomination because of Bush's sagging approval numbers. Democrats hold a special brand of disdain for Coleman, who abandoned their party in 1996 and ran a particularly negative campaign in 2002 against their icon, Paul Wellstone, who died in a plane crash just 11 days before Election Day. Democrats quickly replaced Wellstone with Walter Mondale, who had held the seat before he became Jimmy Carter's vice president in 1976. Coleman narrowly defeated Mondale, an elder statesman who remains widely admired across Minnesota, especially among Democratic activists. Add to the fracas, the Minnesota Senate race will gain even more of a spotlight next summer, when Republicans descend on the state's twin Cities for their national convention. Despite Franken's Hollywood baggage, Coleman may have an uphill battle. Last November, voters elected Democrat Amy Klobuchar to the Senate over Republican Mark Kennedy by a whopping 20-point margin. They also ousted a once-popular Republican congressman, Gil Gutknecht, and handed Democrats sizable majorities in the state Legislature. For the moment things look good for Franken. But it also begs the question: Why would he want to throw himself into the political process that he's held in disdain for so many years? "There are many ways to influence the public dialogue, and I've certainly done that for a long time," he answers. "But I think we need good people in government, and we need people who are serious and substantive and who are doing it for the right reasons. And I don't think that the current senator is doing it for the right reasons."
© NewsMax 2007. All rights reserved.
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