Al Franken

Apologies to my friend Alex Bolton at The Hill for missing his story yesterday on the apparently unfunny Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.). Perhaps the senator could inject more humor into his politics and stop coming off like such a boar. (Just a thought.) New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.  

Much has been said about last weeks exchange between Senators Al Franken and Joe Lieberman. Franken's refusal to give Lieberman a few moments to finish his thought was a breach of Senate etiquette, where being polite on the chamber's floor is more important than party differences. Throughout his Senate Campaign, Franken was portrayed as a bit of a jerk, short tempered, scathing tongue and someone who went around looking for an argument...  

We all sicken at the thought of the trillions of dollars being wasted by the Obama administration under the pretext of economic stimulus (18 million dollar websites, etc.) And we all have to restrain ourselves from throwing our shoes through the television as we watch the openly defiant nefarious dealings by the arrogant corrupt mental midgets in congress rush passage of their ill fated health care plan. But we should take a moment to regress...  

His swipe at Lieberman aside, as senator, Al Franken has reined in his famous temper and showed a Garbo-like aversion to interviews. Lloyd Grove on the senator's surprising restraint-and whether it will last. Who, or what, has snatched Al Franken's...  

Well, it seems Al Franken is establishing himself as the senate's Norman Mailer: Al Franken, the Democrat from Minnesota who won election to the Senate after a successful career as a comic and author, has begun to show the sharp-tongued...  

From NBC's Kelly O'DonnellSen. Al Franken (D-MN) says he feels badly about his own heated moment on the Senate floor earlier this month with Sen. John Thune (R-SD). "Every senator has had his or her chance to speak up and help make this a better bill or to make a case against the bill," Franken said. "Unfortunately, it's been a bit rancorous, and I think that's too bad. There have been accusations flying back and forth, umbrage has been taken...  

Al Franken, the Democrat from Minnesota who won election to the Senate after a successful career as a comic and author, has begun to show the sharp-tongued side of his personality by ripping into GOP staffers behind the scenes. Franken has worked diligently to keep a low public profile in Congress while focusing on wonky policy debates. But he has been unable to completely repress the fiery passion that made him a hero of the Democratic Party...  

Al Franken did a supremely right thing, and Pres. Obama signed it into law: Within the Appropriations Act is Sen. Al Franken’s (D-MN) amendment prohibiting defense contractors from restricting their employees’ abilities to take workplace discrimination, battery, and sexual assault cases to court. The measure was inspired by Jamie Leigh Jones, who was gang-raped by her [...]  

FRANKEN AMENDMENT BECOMES LAW.... In October, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) proposed a key amendment to the 2010 Defense Appropriations bill. Yesterday, it was signed into law. Motivated by the harrowing violence Jamie Leigh Jones suffered in 2005 while working for...  

Franken has written a diary over on Daily Kos: This bill will end annual and lifetime limits on the dollar value of your benefits.  Eliminating preexisting condition exclusions for all new medical plans and funding high-risk pools to insure those with preexisting conditions who are currently without insurance means Minnesotans won’t be locked in their jobs [...]  

[Trigger warning.]H.R. 3326, the "Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010," has been signed into law, which means that Senator Al Franken's proposed amendment, which would "withhold defense contracts from companies like KBR 'if they restrict their employees from taking workplace sexual assault, battery and discrimination cases to court'," has also passed.Franken's amendment was proposed in response to the experience of Jamie Leigh Jones...  

Here is video of Bill O'Reilly talking to Sen. Jim DeMint tonight, where they focused on Sen. Al Franken's insult against Sen. Joe Lieberman in the U.S. Senate yesterday. During the segment, O'Reilly played audio of Franken defending himself today, where he claimed he had no choice to shut down Lieberman because he had been given marching orders from Sen. Harry Reid. In a sense, he threw Harry Reid under the bus here! DeMint said Franken - a...  

* Bumped up * All is not quite lost in the fight against the nightmarish prospects of passage of the health care bill. Ben Nelson, reports The Hill, is a “no,” to date. (But the Special Report panel thinks Nelson can be bought off.) Sen. Jim DeMint is promising to use every conceivable [...]  

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) says "comity" in the must-see clip below, but "comedy" might have been more appropriate in regard to Sen. Al Franken's (D-MN) shut down of Sen. Joe Lieberman (WhoKnows-CT), as Franken was presiding over the chamber, which left us laughing out loud, and applauding quietly to ourselves. (Via TPM with more background)... And, [...]  

When Congressman Joe Wilson shouted out "You Lie!" during one of President Obama's speeches earlier this year, Fox News ran cover for him and helped turn him into a right wing hero. When Senator Al Franken followed Senate procedure and told Joe Lieberman that his time was up, they tear him to shreds, making crass, childish and personal insults. Video and more from Media Matters : During the December...The Political Carnival (subscribe...