Al Franken said goodbye to Air America and radio broadcasting Wednesday and made it official today: he's running for the U.S. Senate in '08 in his native Minnesota.
He's running for his late mentor and friend Paul Wellstone's old seat, now being held by the erstwhile neocon, and trepid Bush apologist, Norm Coleman.
Thom Hartmann, who is taking his place in the national Air America line-up, will stay live 9-noon on KPTK; Randi Rhodes will take the 5-8p slot that Franken vacated.
Franken told reporters after his show today, “I think when people hear me they’ll know I take this very seriously, I take their family’s lives very seriously.”
The comedian and veteran entertainer has been considering the run since Wellstone was killed in a plane crash in the last month of the 2002 campaign.
Democrats gussied up elder icon, Walter Mondale, for the run, but were bent over and Roved and Roved hard by Rush Limbaugh, The Weekly Standard, Fox News, the Wall Street Journal who falsely spun the Wellstone funeral as a disrespectful political rally.
In mourning and disarray after their beloved Senator, his wife, Sheila, and daughter, Marcia, also died in the crash; Dems in Minnesota were caught flat-footed.
With the conservative press scolding and replaying snippets of the funeral that purported it was a political desecration of Wellstone's memory, the truly unpleasant Norm Coleman sailed to a victory.
Franken, who was close to Wellstone and attended the funeral, confronted to little avail the worst offenders of the smear: Peggy Noonan, and the reporter from The Weekly Standard.
The funeral and the aftermath that lifted Coleman into office, is described in Franken's book, Lies, and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them, (Plume, 2003) a great read for anyone who thinks that Franken is not qualified for the U.S.Senate.
The race promises to be a good one- Franken and his wife Frannie move to Twin Falls in 2005, and his celebrity, and this money-raising ability should give the Bush-loving Coleman a run for the Republican's money.
Needles to say, it'll be fun to watch...
Coleman was a two-term DEMOCRATIC mayor of St. Paul ...Democratic until it was politically expedient to become a Republican and do the sing-song of the Bush policies...
Posted by: sparky | February 15, 2007 at 08:02 AM
Well, if anybody needed to bring that up during the campaign it will be Franken. Now thanks to some hosts on AAR attacking Ed Schultz, Franken may have lost the endorsement of Ed Schultz. At the Blue State Ball in Minneapolis last month, Ed Schultz almost endorsed Al Franken for Senate, but a flap over Sam Seder thinking he can get Schultz kept off of XM was the final straw with Ed Schultz. Anybody listen to that tirade on Tuesday. I admire how he kept it in for the past year. When the first rumors of bankruptcy at Air America broke, he did not say much. The reason that some Air America Radio hosts hate Ed Schultz? Not lefty enough. Well, Ed Schultz was in Radio since 1978, and started out doing a regional show out of Fargo. I am not sure how many at Air America were that way. It may be a snobby attitude by some at Air America. Although I can see why the Young Turks don't like Bill Press. The Washington D.C. Air America station dumped them for Bill Press.
Clear Channel has played with Air America, and perhaps if Franken is elected, he can hit back on that front. It depends on the market. In Madison, it was a concerted effort of rallying the base that kept Progressive Talk on the air as CC was going to make it the third sports station in that market. They put AAR on a Texas station for a month, but people said it was Dead Air. Ed Schultz also feels that AAR being too combative may have cost him a few markets, because when the owners pulled AAR from their stations, they often pull all Progressive Programming. THe only Progressive station left in Ohio has shifted away from a dominance of AAR Programming, and has gone with the three lefties syndicated by Jones Radio, plus Lionel.
Posted by: EvergreenRailfan | February 15, 2007 at 09:36 AM
But Ed has never missed a chance to diss Air America, at least during the time he has been on the air on KPTK. Whenever a controversy arose he went out of his way to point out that he had NO relationship with the network at all, and yet he fails to realize that until Air America came along, few people outside of Fargo had ever heard of him. Air America provided a vehicle for him to get national coverage.
Al is a centrist in a lot of his views, so Ed's being a more conservative host can't ber all of the story. He is extemely uninformed a lot of the time--something a lot of us have discussed on this blog in other threads. If you are going to speak on behalf of a movement, you should at least have a working knowledge of what that movement stands for and how the actions of some on the left either align with the movement or align in a different direction. He always seems to be caught off guard with news callers provide him with that is talked about at length on the net and sometimes in the press. Instead of saying that he needs to find out about it, he rants about how the caller is exaggerating or making it up. Then a day or so later he has his facts and tries to come across as knowing all along what it was about. It is really poor radio.
I am not aware of Sam Seder's argument so i will have to go research it some. But Ed doesn't appear to work too hard to plead his own case because of his bombastic nature.
Posted by: sparky | February 15, 2007 at 09:59 AM
I heard that broadcast by Big Ed on Tuesday. He really blasted the AAR guy that bad mouthed him. IMO, I don't think it made Ed not be on Al's side. I think Ed will be big time for Franken, unless something else comes up. Sparky, you've got to moderate your dislike for Big Eddy!
Posted by: Bummyl | February 15, 2007 at 04:52 PM
no I dont.
Posted by: sparky | February 15, 2007 at 05:27 PM
I just finally downloaded some podcasts for today, and it is interesting, he was defending Al Franken as the GOP already are releasing their Dossier on them. This is just like Bush in 2004 in the Primaries. He had no competition, so he spent his campaign money trying to manipulate Democratic Voters in the Primary. The GOP was celebrating their wins in 2002, and for the US Senate, that success is coming due.
Posted by: EvergreenRailfan | February 15, 2007 at 06:21 PM
"He is extemely uninformed a lot of the time-" Embarrassingly so, Sparks! A couple days ago, Ed was talking about Obama's honesty...Obama admitted he'd used pot and blow. "What a guy", said Ed..."just outright conceding that he'd blown pot, a thing that many people of his generation did!" A caller advised Ed that "blow" meant cocaine, not marijuana...Ed apologized. Out of touch?
Posted by: FREMONT | February 15, 2007 at 06:28 PM
First, I find EvergreenRailfan's post about Ed Schultz as it relates to Al Franken's congressional bid, strangely odd. But since it seems to be the direction of the thread, I have to agree with sparky.
Ed Schultz strikes me as a wannabee member of the Good Ol' Boy's Club. I remember how smug and self-congratulatory he seemed a few months back when he had Lieberman on air a couple of times. Shultz seemed surprised to find out that most of the democratic base were against Lieberman, primarily due to his pro-war, pro-Bush positions.
As I recall, he defended Lieberman pretty strongly for about a week, and then quietly changed his tune to, “Thanking callers for their time,” whist offering no opinion. Lately he's taken to mocking Lieberman for his support Bush’s war plan – almost as if he were in that camp all along.
That's just one example, but Big Ed seems to repeat the pattern often enough that I find it disconcerting. I wish he knew his stuff better. Whenever I hear something controversial from Schultz, I make a mental note to fact check it before buying into it.
I like Al much better. He's intelligent, compassionate, and really takes time to learn the important issues. I'll be sending his campaign donations. I hope he wins.
Posted by: Ima Noid | February 15, 2007 at 06:51 PM
I've never liked Ed . . . sort of a used car salesman type. Small town big fish - or so he thinks. I don't know how anybody could listen to him. I was thankful when Reagan signed on to KIRO . . . one less hour of Ed. Then I usually turn to KUOW.
I think your description of him stands up pretty well, Sparky. What a blowhard.
I would guess, Michael and Nate, that you like Big Ed's "centrist" ways . . . hmm?
Ima, I'm with you on Al - intelligent and compassionate.
Posted by: joanie | February 15, 2007 at 07:46 PM
I forgot to comment on Noonan - she's a bitch! Chucks . . . she's a real bitch!
I cannot stand Peggy Noonan. I've never heard a woman so evil, small-minded and mean-spirited in my life. Those are the qualities of a true bitch.
Posted by: joanie | February 15, 2007 at 07:55 PM
Bla'M: "Franken and his wife Frannie move to Twin Falls in 2005" Twin Falls is in Idaho and 2005 is history. Huh??
Posted by: FREMONT | February 15, 2007 at 09:16 PM
Bla'M and Nate like his "centrist ways?" Betcha you're on left field on tha one, Joans....
Posted by: FREMONT | February 15, 2007 at 09:21 PM
you're behind the curve fremont :)
Posted by: joanie | February 15, 2007 at 09:42 PM
... that one, oops!
Posted by: FREMONT | February 15, 2007 at 09:46 PM
Fabulous strike, Joans..LOL!
Posted by: FREMONT | February 15, 2007 at 10:25 PM
I would guess, Michael and Nate, that you like Big Ed's "centrist" ways . . . hmm?
Well, you'd be wrong (and how did I get looped into this?).
Just ending a 3 year night-shift spree, and Ed's been on when I'm slumbering. I've heard him a few times since, but wasn't ever blown away.
More of a Stephanie Miller fan here. "Right-Wing World" really ignites the brain at 6am. Other than that, I gotta be honest: Aside from Styblefun & Webb's blowout, I've been on a steady talk-radio diet as of late.
Posted by: mercifurious | February 16, 2007 at 08:39 AM
LEFT radio??? Thought he was canned!!! Make s me wish I could move back to MN so I could vote against that fat clown!!
Posted by: deweycrosby | February 21, 2007 at 09:03 AM
Right Wing World ( "Your brain must be this tiny to take this ride!) puts a smile on my face every morning on the way to work....
Ed is insufferable. A special kind of hell would be to have Ed and Dori have a show together...all the oxygen would be sucked out of the room...
Posted by: sparky | February 21, 2007 at 10:18 AM
LMAO! Thanks, Sparky! :)
Posted by: joanie | February 21, 2007 at 11:33 AM