Al Franken

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Al Franken
Al Franken
Born May 21, 1951 (1951-05-21) (age 57)
New York, New York, U.S.
Nationality American
Political party Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Spouse Franni Bryson Franken
Children Thomasin and Joe
Residence Minneapolis, Minnesota
Alma mater Harvard University
Occupation Comedian, actor, author, screenwriter, political commentator, politician, and radio host
Religion Judaism
Website Al Franken for Senate

Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American politician, comedian, writer and liberal political commentator. He first became famous as a writer and a performer for the television show Saturday Night Live, then moved into writing (and appearing in) several films. He then became a political commentator, writer of several best-selling books, and host of a nationally syndicated radio show on Air America Radio.

On February 14, 2007, Franken announced his candidacy for the 2008 United States Senate election in Minnesota as a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. He was endorsed by that party on June 7, 2008, and won the nomination in its primary on September 9, 2008.[1][2] On November 18, 2008, the Minnesota State Canvassing Board's certification of the pre-recount results of the election showed Franken trailing Senator Norm Coleman by 215 votes, or less than 0.0075 percent of the over 2.8 million votes cast.[3][4][5][6] However, under Minnesota state law, an automatic recount was mandated, because the official margin was less than 0.5% percent of the total votes cast. The recount began November 19, 2008.[6] By January 3, 2009, Franken had taken the lead by 225 votes.[7] The canvassing board certified Franken's winning margin on January 5, 2009, officially completing the recount.[8][9] Coleman's campaign filed an election contest on January 6, 2009.[10][11][12]

Contents

Early life

Franken was born in New York City, the son of Phoebe G. Kunst, a homemaker and real estate agent, and Joseph P. Franken, a printing salesman.[13][14] Franken had a Jewish upbringing[15] and grew up in St. Louis Park, a suburb near Minneapolis. He is a cousin of MSNBC's Bob Franken,[16] and his older brother, Owen Franken, is a photojournalist. Franken attended St. Louis Park High School until the tenth grade. He graduated in 1969 from The Blake School, where he was on the wrestling team. He attended Harvard College and graduated cum laude in 1973 with a bachelor of arts degree in political science.[17] At Harvard, Franken washed dishes as a participant in the work-study program with Richard Honaker, who was nominated by U.S. President George W. Bush in 2007 as one of three U.S. District Judges from Wyoming.[18]

Franken met his wife, the former Franni Bryson, in his first year of college at a Harvard-Simmons mixer. They now reside in Minneapolis. They have a daughter, Thomasin, and a son, Joe. Thomasin graduated from Harvard College with a sociology degree and was a public school teacher in New York City, but has been volunteering full-time for her father's campaign. Joe graduated from Princeton University.

SNL career

Franken began his performing career in high school at The Blake School, where he and longtime writing partner Tom Davis were known for their humor. Franken honed his writing and performing skills at Minneapolis' Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop theater, specializing in political satire. He and Davis soon found themselves in "a life of near-total failure on the fringes of show business in Los Angeles."[19]

Franken and Davis were recruited as two of the original writers (and occasional performers) on Saturday Night Live from 1975 to 1980 and again from 1985 to 1995, although in the latter case, only Franken returned as a performer, while Davis usually stayed behind the camera.

In the first season, as apprentice writers, the two shared a salary of $350 per week. Franken received seven Emmy nominations and three Emmy Awards for his television writing and production. He created characters such as self-help guru Stuart Smalley and routines such as proclaiming the 1980s to be the "Al Franken Decade." Franken was associated with SNL for over 15 years and, in 2002, interviewed former Vice President Al Gore while in character as Smalley. Franken and Davis wrote the script to the 1986 comedy film One More Saturday Night, appearing in it as rock singers in a band called "Bad Mouth." They also appeared in cameo roles in The Rutles: All You Need is Cash as promoter Ron Decline's (John Belushi) henchmen, and in the Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd film Trading Places as the baggage handlers (with the gorilla) on the train.

Franken's most notorious SNL performance may have been "A Limo for the Lame-O," a commentary he delivered near the end of the 1979–80 season. Franken mocked controversial NBC president Fred Silverman as "a total unequivocal failure" and displayed a chart showing the poor ratings of NBC programs. Franken proclaimed that Silverman did not deserve a limousine. As a result of this sketch, Silverman nixed Lorne Michaels' request that Franken succeed him as SNL's head producer, prompting Franken to leave the show when Michaels did, at the end of the 1979-80 season.[20] Franken later returned to the series in 1985, mostly as a writer, but also as an occasional performer best-known for the Stuart Smalley character. He acknowledged using cocaine while working for Saturday Night Live, but says that he no longer uses any illegal drugs.[21] Franken left the show in 1995 in protest over losing the role of "Weekend Update" anchor to Norm MacDonald.[22]

Post-SNL career

Franken has written five New York Times best-selling books, three of which reached #1, including Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations. Franken wrote the original screenplay and starred in the film Stuart Saves His Family,[23] which was panned by critics (receiving a rating of 29% on the website Rottentomatoes.com). He also cowrote the film When a Man Loves a Woman. He cocreated and starred in the NBC sitcom LateLine until it was canceled in its second season. He appeared in the 2004 remake of The Manchurian Candidate.

In 2003, Franken served as a Fellow with Harvard's Kennedy School of Government at the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy.

Since 2005, Franken has been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post. His most recent book, The Truth (with jokes), was released in 2005.

USO service

Al Franken entertaining at Ramstein Air Base, December 2000.

Franken has served as a volunteer with the United Service Organizations since he first visited Kosovo in 1999. Franken has conducted several overseas tours to both Iraq and Afghanistan, in addition to participating in numerous celebrity handshake tours at military hospitals to visit wounded soldiers. On March 25, 2009, Franken was presented with the USO's Merit Award for his 10 years of service to the organization through visiting injured and deployed servicemembers.[24]

Radio show

Main article: The Al Franken Show
Al Franken at the 2006 Time 100, as covered on the blog Rocketboom.

Franken signed a one-year contract in early 2004 to become a talk show host for Air America Radio's flagship program with cohost Katherine Lanpher, who remained with the show until October 2005. The network was launched March 31, 2004. Originally named The O'Franken Factor but renamed The Al Franken Show on July 12, 2004, the show aired three hours a day, five days a week for three years. The show's apparent aim was to counter the dominance of conservative syndicated radio commentators that Franken believed strayed from the truth with impunity, and to affect the U.S. political atmosphere. "I'm doing this because I want to use my energies to get Bush unelected," he told a New York Times reporter in 2004.[25]

Franken is a Grateful Dead fan, and used their songs as bumper music on his radio show. Franken's last radio show on Air America Radio was on February 14, 2007. In the last segment of the show, Franken announced his candidacy for the United States Senate.

Political action

Franken speaking in New York.

According to an article by Richard Corliss published in Time, "In a way, Franken has been running for office since the late '70s." Corliss also hinted at Franken's "possibly ironic role as a relentless self-promoter" in proclaiming the 1980s "the Al Franken Decade" and saying, "Vote for me, Al Franken. You'll be glad you did!"[26] In 1999, Franken released a parody book, Why Not Me?, detailing his campaign for the Presidency in 2000. He had been a strong supporter of Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone and was strongly affected by the senator's death in a plane crash shortly before the 2002 Senate election. After the funeral, Rush Limbaugh, Jesse Ventura, and several other conservative commentators accused the organizers and participants of Wellstone's remembrance ceremony of using the tragedy for political purposes. Columnists Peggy Noonan and Chris Caldwell asserted that 20,000 people booed Trent Lott. Franken, who attended, denied there was widespread jeering: "Along with everyone else, I cried, I laughed, I cheered. It was, to my mind, a beautiful four-hour memorial. I didn't boo. Neither did 22,800 of the some 23,000 people there."[27] In Lies and the Lying Liars who Tell Them, Franken wrote that Noonan and Caldwell had later told him that they had not personally been at the memorial service.[28]

Franken said he learned that 21% of Americans received most of their news from talk radio, then an almost exclusively conservative medium.[26] Said Franken, "I didn't want to sit on the sidelines, and I believed Air America could make a difference."[26] In November 2003, Franken talked about moving to his home state of Minnesota to run for the Senate. The seat once held by Wellstone, now occupied by Republican Norm Coleman, was to be contested in the 2008 election. In 2005, Franken announced his move to Minnesota: "I can tell you honestly, I don't know if I'm going to run, but I'm doing the stuff I need to do in order to do it."[29] He said that he would run as a Democrat.

Franken's books express strong support for pro-choice views on abortion, stricter gun control laws, legalization of same-sex marriage, environmental protections, and a revamped, more progressive income tax system. In the postscript of The Truth (with jokes), Franken joked that if elected to the Senate, in the two-week window between the Senate's swearing in and the end of George W. Bush's term, he would push for a "quickie impeachment."

In late 2005, Franken started his own political action committee, called Midwest Values PAC. By early 2007, the PAC had raised more than US$1-million.[30][31]

Franken was the subject of the 2006 documentary film Al Franken: God Spoke, which premiered in April 2006 at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. It was released nationally on September 13 of that year.[32]

2008 U.S. Senate campaign

Franken campaigning for U.S. Senate.
Main article: United States Senate election in Minnesota, 2008

On January 29, 2007, Al Franken announced his departure from Air America Radio.[33] On the day of his final show, February 14, Franken formally announced that he would run for the United States Senate from Minnesota in 2008.[34] Challenging him for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party endorsement was Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, a professor, author, and activist. Other candidates were Mike Ciresi, a wealthy trial lawyer, and Jim Cohen, an attorney and human rights activist who had dropped out of the race earlier.[35][36]

On April 13, 2007, Franken's campaign filed a campaign finance report. He raised US$1.35-million in the first quarter of 2007. The incumbent Senator, Norm Coleman, raised US$1.53-million.[37] On July 8, 2007, the Franken campaign stated that it expected to announce that Franken had raised more money than Coleman during the second quarter of the year, taking in US$1.9-million to Coleman's US$1.6-million,[38][39] although as of early July 2007, Coleman's US$3.8-million cash on hand exceeded Franken's US$2-million.[39]

In late May 2008, the Minnesota Republican Party released a letter regarding an article Franken had written for Playboy magazine in 2000 entitled "Porn-O-Rama!" The letter, signed by six prominent GOP women, including a state senator and state representative, called on Franken to apologize for what they referred to as a "demeaning and degrading" article.[40] Several DFL leaders expressed personal and political discomfort with the article as well.[41] A Franken campaign spokesman said, "Al had a long career as a satirist. But he understands the difference between what you say as a satirist and what you do as a senator."[40]

Franken in 2008.

On June 7, 2008, Franken was endorsed at the DFL convention, defeating University of St. Thomas professor Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer. In a July 2008 interview with CNN, Franken was endorsed by noted conservative speechwriter, lawyer, author, and entertainer Ben Stein.[42] Stein said of Franken, "He is my pal, and he is a really, really capable smart guy. I don't agree with all of his positions, but he is a very impressive guy, and I think he should be in the Senate."

During his campaign for the Senate, Franken was criticized for advising SNL creator Lorne Michaels on a political sketch ridiculing Senator John McCain's ads attacking Barack Obama.[43] Coleman's campaign reacted, saying, "Once again, he proves he's more interested in entertainment than service, and ridiculing those with whom he disagrees."[44]

Preliminary reports on election night had Coleman ahead by over 700 votes; but by November 18, 2008, the official results had Coleman leading by only 215 votes. As the two candidates were separated by less than 0.5 percent, the Secretary of State for Minnesota, Mark Ritchie, authorized the automatic recount stipulated in Minnesota election law. In the recount, ballots and certifying materials were examined by hand, and candidates could file challenges to the legality of ballots or materials for inclusion or exclusion with regard to the recount. On January 5, 2009, the Minnesota State Canvassing Board certified the recounted vote totals, with Franken ahead by 225 votes.[45] On January 6, 2009, Coleman's campaign filed an election contest.[10] The official certification of the winner of the election by Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and Governor Tim Pawlenty will be delayed until that case is resolved.

Views

Franken has been a vocal critic of the Iraq War, and opposed the 2007 troop surge. However, he didn't criticize the invasion at the time, a fact he often admitted, with regret, on his radio program. In an interview with MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough,[46] Franken said that he "believed Colin Powell," whose presentation at the United Nations convinced him that the war was necessary. Franken now says he believes that Congress should refuse to pass appropriations bills to fund the war if they don't include timetables for leaving Iraq. In an interview with Josh Marshall, Franken said of the Democrats, "I think we've gotta make [Bush] say, 'OK, I'm cutting off funding because I won't agree to a timetable.' "[47]

Franken favors transitioning to a universal health care system, with the provision that every child in America should receive health care coverage immediately. He has spoken in favor of protecting private pensions and Social Security.[48] He has also advocated cutting subsidies for oil companies, increasing money available for college students, and cutting interest rates on student loans.[49][50]

Controversies

Fox News conflict

Main article: Fox v. Franken

In 2003, Penguin Books published Franken's book Lies and the Lying Liars who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right, which included a cover photo of Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly and a chapter accusing O'Reilly of lying. In August of that year, Fox News sued, claiming infringement of its registered trademark phrase "Fair and Balanced." A federal judge found the lawsuit to be "wholly without merit," and Fox then filed to dismiss it. The episode with Fox focused a great deal of media attention upon Franken's book and, according to Franken, greatly increased its sales. Reflecting on the lawsuit during a September 2003 interview on the National Public Radio program Fresh Air, Franken said that Fox's case against him was "literally laughed out of court" and added that the judge's comment that the case was "wholly without merit" was a good characterization of Fox News itself.[51] After the lawsuit was dismissed, Franken and O'Reilly continued to feud.

"Savin' It" letters

 The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (April 2009)

In June 2003, while serving as a fellow at Harvard University, Franken wrote a letter — using official Harvard University stationery — to several conservative political figures who favored abstinence-only sex education. He asked the recipients to be role models for the youth of America by sharing "moment[s] when you were tempted to have sex but were able to overcome your urges through willpower and strength of character."[52] Franken proposed including the contribution in a book he claimed to be writing called Savin' It! The recipients included then-Attorney General John Ashcroft. The following month, Franken wrote each person who received the previous letter and apologized. He explained that his letter was satirical and said, "I am sincerely sorry if I caused any discomfort."

Tax issues

New York state officials asserted that Al Franken Inc. had failed to carry required workers' compensation insurance for employees who assisted him with his comedy and public speaking from 2002 to 2005. Franken paid the $25,000 fine to the state of New York upon being advised his corporation was out of compliance with the state's workers' compensation laws.[53][54]

The California Franchise Tax Board reported that the same corporation owed more than $4,743.40 in taxes, fines, and associated penalties in the state of California for 2003 through 2007 because the corporation did not file tax returns in the state for those years.[55] A Franken representative said that it followed the advice of an accountant who believed when the corporation stopped doing business in California that no further filing was required.[53] However, Republicans say that Franken made 32 public appearances from 2003 to 2007, including two on NBC's Tonight Show with Jay Leno taped in Burbank, California, for which Franken would have been paid the standard union fee as a member of the Screen Actors Guild.[55] On April 29, 2008, Franken released a statement noting that he will pay about $70,000 in back income taxes in 17 states dating to 2003. Most of the income at issue was from Franken's speeches and other paid appearances. Franken said he got bad advice from his accountant, who had told him to pay income tax only in his state of residence. He added that he will seek retroactive credit from the states where he paid income tax that should have been paid in these 17 states.[56]

Bibliography

Books by Al Franken

CDs and compilations

  • The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: The Truth About Corporate Cons, Globalization, and High-Finance Fraudsters with Greg Palast (2004)
  • The O'Franken Factor Factor — The Best of the O'Franken Factor
  • The Al Franken Show Party Album

Filmography

Electoral history

2008 Minnesota U.S. Senate Election[58][59]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
DFL Al Franken 1,212,431 41.991% -5.349%
Republican Norm Coleman 1,212,206 41.984% -7.546%
Independence Dean Barkley 437,505 15.153% +13.153%
Libertarian Charles Aldrich 13,923 0.482% N/A
Constitution James Niemackl 8,907 0.308% +0.209%
Write-ins 2,365 0.082%
Majority 225 0.008%
Turnout 2,887,337

References

  1. ^ "Al Franken Decides He's Good Enough, Smart Enough to Run for Senate". New York Magazine. 2007-02-01. http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2007/02/al_franken_decides_hes_good_en_1.html. Retrieved on 2008-02-16. 
  2. ^ The Big Question » Blog Archive » It’s Franken in One.com/article/
  3. ^ "Election Reporting". http://electionresults.sos.state.mn.us/20081104/ElecRslts.asp?M=S&R=all&P=A&Races=%27%27. Retrieved on 2008-11-18. 
  4. ^ "Canvassing Report of Votes Cast at the State General Election, November 4, 2008". Minnesota Secretary of State. 2008-11-18. http://www.sos.state.mn.us/docs/postpercanvassingreport1117250p.pdf. Retrieved on 2009-01-06. 
  5. ^ "Canvassing Board Meeting - Nov. 18, 2008: Official minutes". Minnesota Secretary of State. 2008-11-18. http://www.sos.state.mn.us/docs/state_canvassing_board_meeting_minutes_november_18_2008.pdf. Retrieved on 2009-01-06. 
  6. ^ a b Hoppin, Jason (20 November 2008). "Minnesota's Senate recount begins". St. Paul Pioneer Press. http://www.twincities.com/election2008/ci_11027251. Retrieved on 2008-12-03. 
  7. ^ Franken up 225 with recount complete; focus turns to courts
  8. ^ Doyle, Pat (2009-01-05). "Board certifies recount results with Franken on top". Star Tribune. http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/senate/37093114.html. Retrieved on 2009-01-05. 
  9. ^ "Franken on top in recount, but lawsuit looms". Associated Press. 2009-January 5. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28495674/. Retrieved on 2009-January 5. 
  10. ^ a b "Minnesota Senate Seat Election Contest". Minnesota Courts. 2009-01-06. http://www.mncourts.gov/?page=3409. Retrieved on 2009-01-06. 
  11. ^ Mary Ann Akers, "For Norm Coleman, A Juicy Steak on a Sour Night," Washington Post, January 6, 2009
  12. ^ http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/minnesota_senate/2009/02/09/179877.html?s=al&promo_code=79CF-1
  13. ^ Ancestry of Al Franken
  14. ^ Al Franken Biography (1951?–)
  15. ^ Steve Waldman. "Why would the anti-Christ write Chorus Line?" (interview), Beliefnet, September 2003. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
  16. ^ CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown, CNN, 2002-04-29, http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0204/29/asb.00.html, retrieved on 2008-11-05 
  17. ^ Deborah White. "Profile of Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota". About.com. http://usliberals.about.com/od/senatecandidatesin2008/p/AlFranken.htm. Retrieved on 2009-01-30. 
  18. ^ Joan Barron. "Thomas announces judgeship nomination for Rock Springs lawyer," Casper Star-Tribune, March 20, 2007. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
  19. ^ Hill, Doug and Weingrad, Jeff, Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live (Vintage Books, 1987) ISBN 0-394-75053-5
  20. ^ Shales, T: "Live From New York", page 191. Back Bay Books, 2003.
  21. ^ Cox, Ana Marie (2007-04-05). "Don't Laugh at Al Franken". CNN/Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1607252,00.html. Retrieved on 2007-08-19. 
  22. ^ Shales, T: Live From New York, pages 433-444. Back Bay Books, 2003.
  23. ^ "The Al Franken Show from Woolsey Hall". 2005-11-08. http://www.yale.edu/opa/newsr/05-11-08-01.all.html. 
  24. ^ "USO of Metropolitan Washington Salutes “Our Nation’s Heroes” at the USO-Metro Annual Awards Dinner". 'USO-Metro website (USO-Metro). 2009-03-26. http://www.usometrodc.org/page.php?p=42&n=42. Retrieved on 2009-03-26. 
  25. ^ from Al Franken, Seriously So by Russell Shorto.[1]
  26. ^ a b c Corliss, Richard. "Vote for Me, Al Franken." Time magazine. February 14, 2007.
  27. ^ Franken, Al. "Reflections on the Wellstone Memorial and the King Funeral." Huffington Post. February 11, 2006.
  28. ^ Lies and the Lying Liars who Tell Them, pp. 202–209
  29. ^ Kuhn, David Paul (2005-04-28). "Senator Franken?". Salon.com. http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/04/28/franken/. Retrieved on 2007-02-15. 
  30. ^ Cilizza, Chris (2007-02-05). "Minnesota Senate: Is Franken the Dems' Dream Candidate?". Washington Post. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/02/al_franken_minnesota.html?nav=rss_blog. Retrieved on 2007-08-08. 
  31. ^ "Doggone It, People Like Him". Mother Jones. 2007-09-01. http://www.motherjones.com/news/outfront/2007/09/doggone-it-people-like-him.html. Retrieved on 2007-09-01. 
  32. ^ Al Franken: God Spoke at the Internet Movie Database
  33. ^ Aaron Blake."Franken off the air," The Hill, January 30, 2007.
  34. ^ Cooper, Peter (2007-02-14). "Franken enters Minn. Senate race". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Senate_Franken.html. 
  35. ^ Condon, Peter. "Franken to seek nomination in U.S. senate race," Globe and Mail, February 14, 2007.
  36. ^ Pat Doyle and Kevin Duchschere. "Ciresi in parting: Choose wisely," Star-Tribune, March 11, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
  37. ^ "Al Franken's Senate campaign gets off to big start," CNN.com, April 14, 2007.
  38. ^ "Franken Raises Over $1.9 Million In Second Quarter". Al Franken for Senate. 2007-07-08. http://blog.alfranken.com/2007/07/09/franken-raises-over-19-million-in-second-quarter/. Retrieved on 2008-02-16. 
  39. ^ a b Mulcahy, Mike (2007-07-09). "Franken leads the pack in second quarter fundraising". Polinaut. MPR. http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/polinaut/archive/2007/07/franken_leads_t.shtml. Retrieved on 2007-07-17. 
  40. ^ a b Matthew Jaffe. "GOP targets Al Franken Playboy column," ABC News, May 23, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
  41. ^ Kevin Diaz and Conrad Wilson. "Franken's porn story has party in a lather," Star-Tribune, June 2, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
  42. ^ Preston, Mark. "Preston on Politics: Bueller? Bueller? — McCain needs Rove". cnn.com. CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/27/preston.mccain/index.html?iref=newssearch. Retrieved on 2008-07-29. 
  43. ^ Martin, Jonathon; Kraushaar, Josh (2008-09-20). "Franken helps craft McCain 'SNL' skit". Politico.com. Politico. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13684.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-29. 
  44. ^ Scheck, Tom (2008-09-21). "Coleman hits Franken for SNL skit". Polinaut. MPR. http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/polinaut/archive/2008/09/coleman_hits_fr_1.shtml. Retrieved on 2008-10-29. 
  45. ^ [2]
  46. ^ Transcript, "Scarborough Country," MSNBC, December 7, 2005,
  47. ^ http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/014615.php, Joshua Marshall, June 14, 2007.
  48. ^ "Al on the Issues". Al Franken for Senate. 2008. http://www.alfranken.com/pages/issues. Retrieved on 2008-02-16. 
  49. ^ Al on the Issues (2008). "Higher Education". Al Franken for Senate. http://www.alfranken.com/pages/higher_education/. Retrieved on 2008-12-13. 
  50. ^ Al on the Issues (2008). "Gas Prices". Al Franken for Senate. http://www.alfranken.com/pages/gas_prices/. Retrieved on 2008-12-13. 
  51. ^ Saulny, Susan (August 23, 2003). "In Courtroom, Laughter at Fox and a Victory for Al Franken". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/23/nyregion/23FRAN.html?ex=1376971200&en=221c949c94e93f90&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND. Retrieved on 2005-10-05. 
  52. ^ Franken's Letters to John Ashcroft from The Smoking Gun
  53. ^ a b Associated Press. "Franken's corporation didn't file tax returns in Calif....," from KXMB-TV, Bismarck, North Dakota, April 16, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
  54. ^ Kevin Duchschere. "Franken faces $25,000 workers' comp penalty," Star-Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN), March 12, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
  55. ^ a b Kevin Duchschere and Patricia Lopez."New round of financial questions dogs Franken," Star Tribune, April 24, 2008.
  56. ^ "Comedian-turned-candidate Franken to pay $70K in back taxes," San Francisco Chronicle, April 29, 2008.
  57. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111693/
  58. ^ "General Election Results". Minnesota Secretary of State. 2009-01-05. http://www.sos.state.mn.us/docs/recount_summary_with_ab.pdf. Retrieved on 2009-01-06. 
  59. ^ "Signing Off on a 225 Vote Franken Lead (webcast of Canvassing Board Meeting)". The Uptake. 2009-01-05. http://the-uptake.groups.theuptake.org/en/videogalleryView/id/1573/. Retrieved on 2009-01-05. 

External links

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Walter Mondale		 Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party nominee for United States Senator from Minnesota
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