Video: “Al Franken … is not this person”
posted at 9:41 am on September 6, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
Norm Coleman has a humorous attack ad rolling out today, apparently only on video, in his battle against Al Franken. Called “Once in a Generation”, Coleman underscores the less-than-exemplary manners of his opponent through video clips and concludes that a foul-mouthed tax incompetent doesn’t fit for Minnesota:
Announcer: “Once in a generation there is a person who looks beyond division and strife, and sees the potential of the human spirit. He or she has the moral character to lead, and integrity that inspires others to believe in something greater than themselves. This person has a voice of optimism, and an attitude that pushes other beyond- ”
[Record scratch]
Announcer: “Al Franken is not this person.”
Franken: “‘You number one GI, I [bleep] you ’til tomorrow, I [bleep] you all night long,’ sighed the pouty sex kitten.”
Anchor: “DFL Senate candidate Al Franken is getting fined $25,000 in New York for failing to pay for workers’ compensation for his employees.”
Franken: “And how shameless, how [bleep] shameless these people are. These people are so-”
Anchor: “More controversy tonight surrounding Senate candidate Al Franken. Today Republicans released an article that said Franken joked about rape.”
Announcer: “Al Franken, just not right for Minnesota.”
The last shot somewhat unfair, as I’ve written before, and I’d like to see Republicans stop using it. Yes, Franken wrote a crude and tasteless skit about Andy Rooney raping Leslie Stahl in a 60 Minutes parody for Saturday Night Live more than a decade ago, but (a) it was never used because cooler heads prevailed, and (b) being a comedy writer means toeing the edge on a constant basis, and occasionally falling over it. It’s hardly the best disqualifier that the GOP has on Franken, and I doubt it’s even in the top 10.
The tax information, though, should get a thorough airing, because it speaks to Franken’s competence as well as his sanctimonious attacks on corporations. He declared a few years ago that the government should crack down on CEOs who don’t follow the law to the letter. As CEO, Franken didn’t bother to pay taxes where they were owed, didn’t get required insurance for his employees, and has his charter revoked in California for failing to keep his paperwork in order. By his own standards, Franken shouldn’t even be in this race.
Coleman has worked hard to keep that front and center in this race. Diluting that message with irrelevancies won’t help.
Blowback
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I’m dumb enough, I’m bad enough, and dog-gon-it, people hate me.
RobCon on September 6, 2008 at 9:47 AM
WOW…Minnesota ICE.
RobCon on September 6, 2008 at 9:49 AM
Al Franken shows the dangers of running a clown (and I use the term loosely since I don’t find him funny) for public office.
TooTall on September 6, 2008 at 9:50 AM
The McCain/Palin camp needs to hire whoever created this ad. Hysterical.
Disturb the Universe on September 6, 2008 at 9:51 AM
Al Franken is a “comedian”?
GarandFan on September 6, 2008 at 9:51 AM
Does Coleman need to campaign against this idiot? I would think that Franken would commit political suicide and sink himself without the help of anyone else.
DAT60A3 on September 6, 2008 at 9:51 AM
Guess he’ll win. Especially with the support of all those honest Midwest Values types — Barbra Streisand, Phil Donahue, Larry Hagman and Norman Lear and other celebrities outside Minnesota — who’ ve funneled a few million his way. Midwest Values? Franken, midwest values are more than just a PAC.
coldwarrior on September 6, 2008 at 9:54 AM
This clown hasn’t been right in the head for years. The only thing he’s qualified for is a guest spot on “Countdown with Keith Olbergoebbels”.
adamsmith on September 6, 2008 at 9:57 AM
We have Obama’s response down pat.
“This isn’t the Al Franken I thought I knew.”
maverick muse on September 6, 2008 at 9:57 AM
WTF?
Minnesotans are not this stupid. Are they?
This should not even be a close race. Coleman may not be the best candidate evah, but he is clearly a much, much wiser choice than that foul-mouthed failure.
GulfCoastBamaFan on September 6, 2008 at 9:58 AM
Al Franken is a “Big Fat Stupid Lier”
Over.
1GooDDaDDy on September 6, 2008 at 10:03 AM
Not that Franken should hold public office, or any office, but the “record scratch” bit is so hack.
Jim Treacher on September 6, 2008 at 10:04 AM
Why yes, yes they are.
TheBigOldDog on September 6, 2008 at 10:07 AM
We elected Jesse didn’t we?
Pcoop on September 6, 2008 at 10:07 AM
The ad was hard to watch. Needs a deeper voice narrating and the editing is off. Content alone is not enough. Delivery is the key.
geckomon on September 6, 2008 at 10:08 AM
No offense to any Minnesotans here (because you are all smart enough, good enough and doggonit, we like ya), but yes they are.
I wonder what the follow-up questions was?
“Which candidate do you think is funnier?”
JohnnyD on September 6, 2008 at 10:08 AM
I think that Franken did a little more “toeing the edge”. Comedy? Toilet.
Johan Klaus on September 6, 2008 at 10:11 AM
More than
Johan Klaus on September 6, 2008 at 10:15 AM
I agree that using his “profession” writing is not very smart. I thought George Allen of Virginia jumped the shark when he tried using Webb’s novels against him. As much as I liked Allen it was dumb and unnecessary.
Cindy Munford on September 6, 2008 at 10:18 AM
He thought it up.
He wanted it to be done. Even if it wasn’t.
He thought his audience would laugh at it.
We condemn the people who associate with William Ayers who wanted to set off more bombs because he didn’t think he did enough, and that was more than 10 years ago.
Is Franken’s “Hey! Rape is funny!” relevant to his election? Not really. Should people be able to bring it up? I think that they should if they want to. Along with recordings of his potty mouth. I don’t think that it’s going to get as much traction as the ‘Franken was fined for not paying workers comp and should have known better’ line. Which is the legitimate criticism of Franken.
wise_man on September 6, 2008 at 10:20 AM
outstanding
sven10077 on September 6, 2008 at 10:25 AM
It will be interesting to see how many buffoons vote for this buffoon!
grapeknutz on September 6, 2008 at 10:26 AM
That was a fairly poorly done ad, although the message I guess was better than the dressing. Does Coleman have $10 in his campaign funds or what?
Seixon on September 6, 2008 at 10:33 AM
Don’t see the dems or the media raising questions of Franken’s fitness for office due to his anger management problems. Oh, right, he’s a radical liberal and not a conservative republican.
eaglewingz08 on September 6, 2008 at 10:49 AM
I don’t know about the ad, either, but it’s worth reminding people who Al is. In the end, Norm will win.
The Jesse thing was a fluke – I live in Minnesota and what happened is that a lot of people who don’t usually vote (and who don’t take politics all that seriously) voted Jesse in. I live in the St. Paul suburbs and the line that day for first-time voters (Minnesota allows same-day registration) was out the door, with chuckling 20-something dudes with mullets comprising probably 75% of the people in line. I looked at my wife and said, “if the other polling places are like ours, Jesse is going to win.” And he did. It was the electoral equivalent of waking up in a hotel room in Vegas with a splitting headache, someone you don’t know in bed with you and a marriage license on the nightstand.
You have to remember that Jesse won with less than 40% of the vote, so it’s not fair to say that “Minnesotans are that stupid.” It would be better to say that “some Minnesotans are that stupid.” And the people who voted in Jesse aren’t likely people who will vote for Franken.
Mr. D on September 6, 2008 at 10:50 AM
A fluke, thank God. Could you imagine what we’d all be like if Ross Perot somehow won by a fluke in 92?
wise_man on September 6, 2008 at 10:52 AM
I like the focus on positive leaders–optimists, the “can-do” crowd, versus the Frankens of the world who are filled with hate, anger, pessimism and a very obvious lack of self-worth.
The Frankens of the world do not elevate, they denigrate. They do not inspire, they create despair. They do not do, they babble.
Montana on September 6, 2008 at 10:53 AM
Considering Franken did a bit on SNL where he took obvious glee at Reagan getting a TURP I think it’s a little obvious he’s not exactly the nicest guy in the world.(Basically describing the procedure and wincing about it.) For those that care wikipedia has a description of this surgical procedure.
Dave_d on September 6, 2008 at 10:54 AM
I lay awake every night just dreeeeeaaaaaming about this!
stonemeister on September 6, 2008 at 10:56 AM
I’d suggest you ask your doctor about Ambien, stonemeister.
wise_man on September 6, 2008 at 10:57 AM
Al who? Is this the same guy that does weather? Oh nevermind, its not all that important I know who this clown is.
Norm Coleman ’08
jbh45 on September 6, 2008 at 11:27 AM
Ed is right that the tax issue is Franken’s biggest liability. It says that either he is self-serving, greedy, and corrupt, or maybe he is too stupid to be a comedian, not to mention US Senator.
indythinker on September 6, 2008 at 11:35 AM
Coleman needs to start running ads about all the blow Franken did while working at SNL. Franken even admits it.
shaner5000 on September 6, 2008 at 11:37 AM
I remember reading the wrestling message boards on election night back then, and someone posted that you could register and vote the same day in MN. There was a serious response of people actually going out, voting, and then coming back to the message board saying “I voted for Jesse!” I was not surprised when he won!
shaner5000 on September 6, 2008 at 11:41 AM
The elections this year have been such a mystery to me. Never in my life have I seen so many unqualified and boobish candidates. And yet, these are the ones that get lavish praise and completely unachieved accolades. It’s tough for a qualified and dignified person to get into an election let alone win one. And all of us in America are paying the price.
Way is the media this way? Can they not see that they are part of the problem, and in no way part of the solution? Much like the biggest boob running this election year I want change. But because he’s such a boob, my ideas of change are a little different form his.
Tommy_G on September 6, 2008 at 11:43 AM
Fixed.
sockpuppetpolitic on September 6, 2008 at 12:11 PM
What patriotism? I wasnt aware they had any patriotism at all to even question.
Elric66 on September 6, 2008 at 12:13 PM
But dibs on the pink sweater.
whitetop on September 6, 2008 at 12:20 PM
Did someone say AL FRANKEN?
Frankenlies.com: The truth about the lies of Al Franken
The ad was O.K. I really like the idea. It’s just not very well done. (Editing, sound, announcer etc. are weak.)
DPierre on September 6, 2008 at 12:55 PM
Franken’s role in the fraudulent conveyance of Air America to “new” owners should not go unremarked upon.
When the scandal first erupted, Michelle posted a scan of a signed Air America internal document with Franken’s signature authorizing the sale of the radio network. Franken therefore was no innocent in this debacle.
(For those who don’t recall: AA defrauded several charities in the process of this so-called transfer of ownership, one of which IIRC was a charity devoted to patients of Alzheimer’s. The sale of the radio network to “new” (read: old) owners only collapsed at the eleventh hour when New York state attorney general’s office put a stop to it. Franken certainly played no part in seeing that justice was served.)
DubiousD on September 6, 2008 at 1:18 PM
Not only does Franken have a foul mouth, he physically attacks people. If he was anything but a leftwing Democrat, his campaign for Senate would’ve been laughed off the stage on day one by his own party.
RBMN on September 6, 2008 at 1:32 PM
Yes, we are.
Two words:”James Janos”
Amendment X on September 6, 2008 at 1:46 PM
Unfortunately, there are more than a few die-hard Dems in our fair state, especially in the urban core, where more than half the population resides. On top of that, we have almost a dozen liberal arts colleges in the Twin Cities and all the leftist junk that comes out of those yahoos. Local elections in the Saint Paul & Minneapolis urban areas are even worse. Flat out socialists often run unopposed or win in a landslide because they’re as connected as anything in the infamous Chicago political machine. The fact that Minnesota is even a toss-up state this year is a testament to the work done by conservatives like Ed Morrissey (loved CQ!), Jason Lewis, the Powerline boys and a handful of others.
Franken’s a joke, but as long as the DNC keeps pumping money into his campaign, the partisans will get in line and vote D (sigh).
Norm hasn’t always been the most conservative Senator, but he’s a whole sight better than Al “I’m still not funny” Franken.
joshdadmn on September 6, 2008 at 2:07 PM
FIXED!!!
landlines on September 6, 2008 at 3:15 PM
I saw Franken last week at a meet/greet. Say what you will about his politics, he is a seasoned performer. And “Minnesota nice DFL style” means that if you say bad things about a Democrat,ANY Democrat, people get mad.
The picture for the post led me to think that Franken’s outburst at the 2004 convention, when he went after a conservative staffer, would be part of the ad-I’m guessing that the Coleman camp is holding it for later.
According to Real Clear Politics, Coleman is leading, but not by that much. As Rush says, Polls this early aren’t about who is ahead-instead cooked poll numbers are used to create an image,fabricate “news”. Rush mentioned on his show last week that the polls eventually get closer to reality near the end of an election, as pollsters want to predict the correct outcome, or people lose faith in them.
Franken will do better than you might think, simply because he has tied himself to the memory of Paul Wellstone, as I witnessed last week. And he has a ‘D’ after his name. Take a closer look at some of the other bozos Minnesota is stuck with right now, and you’ll see that Coleman has a tough road ahead of him.
Doug on September 6, 2008 at 3:16 PM