Al Franken's a Senator, No Joke. But What Kind?

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
by Rebecca Freitag

Although he has been in the spotlight for a handful of things over the years, and worn a lot of different hats, there's not much we know about Al Franken, the politician. In the next five and a half years, we'll all find out if he walks the walk.

Franken is the 60th member of the Democratic caucus in the Senate now, something that hasn't happened since 1978, giving them the mythical filibuster-proof supermajority. Democratic lawmakers will have, ideally, no hassles in getting the legislation passed that they're most interested in.

However, there are still two senators, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-WV), that haven't been able to attend many sessions lately due to illness, as well as some senators who occasionally cross party lines on votes.

The Republican Party may have spent millions of dollars on Norm Coleman's case against Al Franken, but enough was enough Tuesday when the Minnesota Supreme Court announced unanimously that Al Franken defeated Coleman by more than 300 votes. Coleman conceded hours later, deciding not to prolong the inevitable anymore, and Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) swiftly signed the papers to make it official.

Had Coleman decided to take the case to the federal level, it would have continued to cost the Republican Party, and the two candidates, valuable 2010 resources that the GOP desperately needs to fight an ever-growing Democratic machine.

A spokesman for Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said that they would like him to be sworn in on Monday, when the Senate resumes after the July 4 recess, but no decision has been made. Franken said come Monday, whether he's sworn in or not, he'll be in Washington.

For months, Franken has been preparing diligently to take his Senate seat. He said he has been keeping abreast of what's going on, speaking to his soon-to-be colleagues and he even paid a visit to Vice President Joe Biden at the White House. In April he appointed his Washington chief of staff, Drew Littman, and in May he appointed a state director, Alana Peterson.

Right away, the Senate is ready for him to vote on the country's current, most pressing issues.

Senate leadership has reserved a spot for Franken on the Judiciary Committee. That committee will start their hearings on July 13 for President Obama's Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor, and they hope to have her seated before the August recess.

Franken also has a spot slated on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which has been working on the well-publicized healthcare overhaul that has taken multiple weeks, and will probably take many more. They're expected to finish July 10, giving Franken the opportunity to give his thoughts and opinions on that important issue.

While we don't know much of anything about his political history, Franken's campaign platform on healthcare involved a universal, single-payer system on a state-by-state basis that would be funded by the federal government. He also supports lower prescription drug costs, electronic medical records and higher staffing levels for nurses.

On education, Franken wants to work on college tuition and student loan repayment, as well as eliminating No Child Left Behind and increasing the quality of schools.

As for labor, Franken is a member of four labor unions himself, so he wants to help the labor parties to both form and get things done, enforce fair trade policies and guarantee retirement benefits.

Franken's hero is the late Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone. Wellstone was the most progressive senator of his time, and a true man for the people. If Franken aspires to be anything like Wellstone, he's got to start trying to fill those boots right away.

He has a lot of ideas about how to fix the past wrongdoings of the Coleman years, and is enthusiastic to begin serving Minnesota. However because of his enthusiasm, intelligence and bright ideas, the GOP will find any way to attack him.

Throughout the Senate campaign, Republicans claimed that Franken was not a true Minnesotan, and that he was a New Yorker. Yes, he spent a significant amount of time in New York, but he also spent a significantly larger portion of his life in Minnesota.

Franken is an Emmy Award-winning comedian, a best-selling author and radio talk show host who was born in New York, but grew up in St. Louis Park, MN, from the time he was 4. He and his family lived a comfortable lifestyle, and he attended Harvard University with a major in government. After college, he became a writer for "Saturday Night Live," and when his kids graduated college, he and his wife Franni moved back to Minnesota.

In this unfounded attack on the junior senator from Minnesota, Republicans seem to have forgotten about their values, standards, the issues of the campaign and the people. Franken embodies everything they've forgotten -- as far as we can tell -- and that's what America wants right now, not poor tact.

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS

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