I’m entirely jealous of the people of Minnesota on a daily basis. I have friended/liked Al Franken’s Facebook page and so I get posts about his work on several times a day. Jealous, jealous, jealous. He does so much good, progressive work, and he’s damned hard-nosed about it.
I get regular emails from Vitter, too, because I signed up for his newsletter for some stupid reason. They are nothing but grandstanding. I hit reply and respond with that statement on a regular basis. Vitter’s last email announcement praised his efforts to pressure “the administration” (by which I assume he means Obama) to send in the Fish and Wildlife folks and to increase the number of people assigned to the Louisiana gulf coast. Of course, in the mean time, Jindal is dicking around on calling in the National Guard.
Anyway, back to Franken. I have always liked Franken. I remember rolling on the airplane aisle as I read the Stuart Smalley book, and then later when I read Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot (which he is), and Why Not Me. I didn’t know Why Not Me was prescient.
When I realized he was on the Senate Judiciary Committee, I knew I could sleep soundly at night during the Kagan confirmation hearings. Today, after some HuffPo-ing, I decided to look up the committee page and see who else was on it. I’ve been avoiding news about the hearings and I pretty much avoided the Sotomeyor hearings too except for the soundbites. I wasn’t surprised to see that all the big bloviating Republicans are on it (Sessions, Hatch, Graham, Cornyn).
Ok, let me circle back for a minute. In my recent come-here-go-away relationship with the news, I read two pieces today about Franken on Huffpo: The one about him doodling during the hearings and the one that made the rounds sometime back about him drawing the US map during a campaign speech. IS THERE NOTHING THIS MAN CAN’T DO?
Onward again to the Judiciary page. OMG AL FRANKEN I LOVE YOU! I remember some of his campaign ads were so sincere, with his wife sitting next to him, while he recounted his personal investment in making the country better. His blurb on the website is different from everyone else’s. Everyone lists their credentials, the issues they’re concerned with, and the committees they’ve served. Maybe Franken doesn’t follow suit because he’s a freshman Senator, but I suspect after years of service, his bio will remain the same. It reminds me of his video announcing his campaign (which, by the way, was brilliant) in which sounded utterly sincere. Here is his blurb:
Al Franken (D) was born on May 21, 1951, and grew up in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. He graduated from Harvard in 1973, where he met his wife Franni. They’ve been married for 33 years, and have two children: daughter Thomasin, 28, and son Joe, 24. Franken spent the last 37 years as a comedy writer, author, and radio talk show host, and has taken part in seven USO tours, visiting troops overseas in Germany, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Uzbekistan – as well as visiting Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait four times. In 2008, Franken was elected to the Senate as a member of the DFL (Democratic-Farmer-Labor) Party from Minnesota, and was sworn in in July 2009 following a statewide hand recount. He currently sits on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee; the Judiciary Committee; the Committee on Indian Affairs; and the Special Committee on Aging. Franken is a long-time advocate for affordable, accessible health care, an economy that works for the middle class, the protection of a secure retirement, the promise of a 21st century education for our kids, and the creation of a green economy that creates jobs and improves our environment.
He starts with when and where he was born and who is family is. No one else has that on their statement. I’m usually dismissive of politicians who do that, but Franken constantly refers to his background and his family as the motivation for his political career. In his campaign, he deftly balanced claiming a working-class background and admitting his own privilege. To me, “grew up in St. Louis Park, Minnesota” encapsulates all that “real people” rhetoric. Then he modestly references his expansive comedy career without either exploiting or downplaying it. He includes the recount controversy over his election, which was an unnecessary reference, but which shows to me that he value’s transparency. And last, but not least…. he cares about KIDS! KIDS, not children, KIDS. That cinches the deal for me and earns him my undying admiration. Ok, he already had that. I like “kids” because it’s so unpretentious and homey. Ok, the final thing that closes the already closed deal is his picture (it’s his standard Senator picture). That smile that has the faintest possibility of smirk to it, but is simultaneously happy and earnest. Of course I’m biased, but to me Franken is about as “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington” as you can get.
