I don't know how Minnesota feels about it, but I like a Senator with a good sense of humor. That is why I'll be watching C-Span on Saturday night at 8pm to tune into the MN Senate debate between incumbent Norm Coleman and Democratic challenger Al Franken. That Norm Coleman is hilarious!
I'm a big fan of the old SNL so I've been following Franken's senate bid. Surprisingly, there is not much national news coverage of the MN race. The national media loves to talk about how hard it will be for Republicans to hang onto their seats this year, but I haven't seen much special attention paid to the celebrity comedian Democrat challenging the conservative Republican. This morning, NBC political director Chuck Todd shed a little light on this. On Joe Scarborough's morning show, Todd said he's heard from several high ranking Democrats that they don't want Franken to win because they're afraid this will open the door for every Hollywood liberal to run for office. Interesting.
I would've thought Franken's ability to raise millions of dollars would throw the Dems support behind him. Apparently their job security is more important than a veto-proof majority. They don't want to give up their seat to another Democratic senator named Streisand, Affleck, Sarandon or Robbins.
At first glance, their cold shoulder toward Franken seems selfish. They could get a veto-proof majority in 2008, but they're probably convinced they won't need it because they'll have President Obama to tow the party line. Plus, Franken has been a political commentator for quite some time. If Franken were to win a senate seat it wouldn't be any more of an invitation for celebrities to run for office than say, an action movie star becoming the governor of California. (But then, maybe they're just trying to contain the celebrity political nonsense to California.)
I was a little annoyed with these anonymous high-ranking Democrats for shunning the Minnesota Democratic candidate out of fear of being replaced. Then, I considered two little words that persuaded me that their fears are warranted.
The scariest words this country would ever have to utter: Senator Baldwin.
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3 comments:
About two more years and you'll be writing like some sort of female Hunter Thompson, that is what Politics does to you. I'll be in DC next week to hand deliver some constituent letters to Bruce Braley, The one moron motorcycle ride to DC. Hope to meet him Monday. James F. Hill, Iowa's fighting first district.
Along those lines, I would like to propose a little homegrown Iowa political suggestion: Senator Tom Arnold.
Sorry Derek, Iowa had their chance in the U.S. Congress and they filled that slot with Gopher from the Love Boat. :)
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