Al Franken for President

I imagine, were I to wrangle up a fluxed-out DeLorean and travel back to 1995, I would have a difficult time convincing my sixteen-year-old self that the actor then portraying Stuart Smalley would go on to be the United States Senator from Minnesota. Smalley, if you do not immediately recall, was Al Franken’s signature character on Saturday Night Live, a self-professed self-help guru with a show on cable access television.

Franken’s shtick played off the irony that Smalley so obviously needed help himself. Each sketch would start with him gazing vacantly into a full-length mirror, reciting the then familiar affirmation.

It was comedy of the absurd. Smalley was a clown. No one in their right mind would turn to him for advice.

Fifteen years later, much as it once seemed incredible, Franken holds a seat in the Senate. Could he go further? Might Franken challenge Barack Obama in the 2012 Democratic primary?

Might Franken challenge Barack Obama in the 2012 Democratic primary?

If that is a possibility consider this scenario, Jerry Brown in 2012:

Jerry is in tight with the union's and government workers here in California. He is already holding discussions with insiders on the budget, so as to circumvent the most lame of lame ducks we have............. Arnie.

Brown strikes a deal with both the Unions, teachers and government workers, to reduce salaries and pensions, so as to get the state back on the right track. His ratings then soar and suddenly he is seen as the Savior of Sacramento. He rides this to a campaign to overtake Obama.

Far fetched? The City of SF, with soon to be Lt. Gov. Gavin at the helm, was going to lay off 10% of city workers, but they struck a deal with the Unions: No layoffs in exchange for pay reduction offset by early retirement savings.

After this deal was stuck, all Union members (some time later) received a letter on recommendations for the election for Brown and Newsom (no surprise there).

Here is how they did the pay reductions w/o affecting Union rates: people were told that their position was going to be eliminated, but they could remain working if they accepted a lower level position. Thus there was no decrease in the value of any given position, but there was a net savings to the City.

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