Franken's pending crusade is no joke

The Bellevue Leader ^ | May 28, 2003 | Eugene Curtin

[GSWarrior]

Al Franken is on my top five list of favorite comedians.

He is the first comedian since Eric Morecambe - a legendary British comedian of the '60s and '70s - who can make me laugh just by pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Franken's "Stuart Smalley" character remains one of Saturday Night Live's greatest achievements, and his appearances at the White House Press Corps' annual dinner were genuinely hilarious. His book, "Rush Limbaugh is a Big, Fat Idiot," was a hoot from the first page to the last.

So I am very curious to see if he can succeed in building a politically liberal talk radio show where Mario Cuomo (too superior), Jim Hightower (not funny), and Jerry Brown (way retro), failed miserably.

Until the arrival of the trite and predictable Sean Hannity on the airwaves conservative talk show hosts pretty much had one thing in common - they were funny. They made me laugh, especially Limbaugh, with his spoof songs and fake ads that so effectively deflated liberal icons like Ted Kennedy, Fritz Hollings and, of course, Billary.

Michael Savage is funny, too, with his whiny-voice impersonations of left-wing attorneys he likes to deride as "red-diaper doper babies."

To a certain extent, as always, being funny is a matter of whose ox is being gored, but men like Kennedy were asking for it. Who would not welcome the deflating of a man whose idea of reasoned opposition to the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Robert Bork was to warn that Bork's America "is a land in which women would be forced into back-alley abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue police could break down citizens' doors in midnight raids, schoolchildren could not be taught about evolution . . ."

For 15 years the hissing sound of shrinking liberal egos has filled the airwaves, and they've had enough.

Can Franken puff them back up?

If anyone can, he can.

Chicago-based Democratic philanthropists Anita and Sheldon Drobny are putting up $10 million to seed a network of liberal-left talk show hosts, of which Franken will be the standard bearer. The network is supposed to be on the air this fall. I hope someone around here gives Franken a chance. I love a good debate, especially when the contenders have a sense of humor.

But Franken needs to be careful. There is a trap out there waiting to claim him.

Franken has shown signs of buying into the myth that conservative talk radio taps into the passions of the angry white male. The white male is not angry, not in this country, anyway. He is thoughtful, fully aware of his happy position on this suffering earth, but out of patience with those who attribute the fruits of his hard work to privilege and demand that ever more be transferred from those who earn to those who don't.

That is not resentment, or anger. It is a fair and well-stated demand that effort be rewarded, not punished. Everyone understands that - blue collar and white collar alike. It's why Ronald Reagan won 49 of 50 states in 1984 and why the phenomenon of the Reagan Democrats arose.

If Franken takes the Bill Maher route, he's doomed. Maher seems always to be glaring at people, always on the verge of fury. If there is such a thing as an angry white male it is Bill Maher.

Franken needs to laugh at the inanities of his foes and hope that we laugh with him. He must be sharp and cutting without descending into meanness. He has to reclaim love of country from the right, where America is regularly extolled, and bring it back to the left, where it has for too long been excoriated.

How Franken intends to advocate from the left while avoiding - if he has any intention of avoiding - the left's denunciations of Americans as racist, homophobic, militaristic, Zionist, sexist, patriarchal and misogynist, will be a thing to see.

If he can do it, if he can fill the unforgiving hour with sixty minutes worth of distance run, America may yet see pie and ice cream for all.

Eugene Curtin is associate editor for the Bellevue Leader.

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[annyokie]

What? No Barf Alert?

[Destructor]

Looks like Eugene has a faggot crush on Al Franken!

[eyespysomething]

Well, if he's anything like he was on C-Span over the week-end, he's toast.

[My2Cents]

Al Franken is on my top five list of favorite comedians.

Impossible. Liberals have no sense of humor.

[Free ThinkerNY]

Al Franken is on my top five list of favorite comedians.

There's nothing funny about a moron.

[Cyber Liberty]

Hmmm. I saw this Franken punk fighting with O'Reilly at some panel discussion. If the writer's hoping Franken will be the great white hope that isn't "angry", he's got serious reality issues.

Franken can't stop himself from being pugnacious. He just can't help it.

So, if I can go along with the premise of the article, the bottom line is that there is nothing that Franken offers that Cuomo and Hightower didn't. He's as doomed as they were.

[sinkspur]

After his ridiculous confrontation with Bill O'Reilly this past weekend, he'll be lucky if he makes it until fall.

Franken is a smarmy creep, who will fail just as dramatically as all those liberals who went before him.

[GSWarrior]

Read past the first sentence.

[KellyAdmirer]

If there is anyone on earth who thinks his political views are superior, it is Al Franken.

[WarrenGamaliel]

I didn't see much of that, but what I saw made O'Reilly look like an ass. But that's how he always looks

[TX Bluebonnet]

Al Franken has already marginalized himself by proving he's crazy - ala Alex Baldwin. Who can take him seriously other than hard core lefties - like the author of this piece.

[GSWarrior]

A lot of Franken's appeal is, I think, based on his appearance. He's kind of dorky and always played goofy characters. Can he succeed on radio? Probably not.

[Cyber Liberty]

It doesn't make it any less silly.

[gakrak]

Sorry Charlie, we only except the best tuna and you ain't one of them. Pardon me while I become physically ill.

[sticker]

Al Franken is one of the few people that can make Martin Short seem funny. Didn't somebody from Fox make him back down at the White House Press Dinner?

[xJones]

Franken isn't funny, he's not entertaining and that's the bottom line. The audience that wants to watch that bore is very small, and he has been over-hyped, to say the least. Too bad for him, but oh well.

[mr.pink]

Wait'll he shows up for his radio gig coked out of his mind.

Where the pompous blowhard Cuomo quickly faded with some grace from the airwaves, Franken will self destruct right on the air.

This should be fun.

[sinkspur]

I didn't see much of that, but what I saw made O'Reilly look like an ass.

Franken was supposed to speak for 15 minutes; he spoke for 35.

When it was O'Reilly's turn, Franken kept interrupting him, smarmily saying "This is not your show."

O'Reilly definitely had the audience on his side, and Franken looked like he always does: clueless and dopey.

[Space Wrangler]

Franken can't stop himself from being pugnacious. He just can't help it.

Do you know any liberal that can?

[John Lenin]

Franken's "Stuart Smalley" character remains one of Saturday Night Live's greatest achievements

Uh huh, and John Belushi was never funny. Probably one of the weakest ever skits that SNL kept alive for as long as it did, I guess you have to be a homo to 'get it'.

[tuna_battle_slight_return]

"his appearances at the White House Press Corps' annual dinner were genuinely hilarious."

Yeah, especially when Wolfowitz said "F#CK YOU!" to Franken. Is this writer on crack?

[Poohbah]

Liberals aren't pugnacious, they're just insufferable a$$holes.

[annyokie]

Oh, I did. It's actually pretty good. I just had an Al Franken moment. ; )

[bruinbirdman]

"Liberals have no sense of humor"

Successful humor must be based on truth. Radical far left wing Al Frankenstein is doomed before he starts.

yitbos

[Cyber Liberty]

Not in broadcasting.

[GSWarrior]

Probably one of the weakest ever skits that SNL kept alive for as long as it did

And for reasons that escape me, someone thought it would make a good movie.

[Phantom Lord]

Al Franken Is A Buck Toothed Moron.

[KellyAdmirer]

The only time I ever found him remotely humorous was when he made fun of himself - and then only in very small doses, when in the right mood. No way he can fill a regular show with enough satire that actually has enough humor to keep it going. When he talks without irony or satire, he is extremely unfunny and incredibly boring.

[Phantom Lord]

Bill overstated how long Franken talked. He only talked for 20 minutes. Though that was still 5 minutes over the supposed "limit" of 15.

[SupplySider]

"...the left's denunciations of Americans as racist, homophobic, militaristic, Zionist, sexist, patriarchal and misogynist..."

Interesting how mainstream anti-semitism has become on the left...

[CyberAnt]

Problem is - in order for humor to stand - it has to have an element of truth. Franken's "humor" HAS NO TRUTH! It's just a bunch of made up lies and less than truthfull statements. Franken is already in BIG BIG trouble with the cover of his book. It shows Bill O'Reilly right under the words "Lies and Liar" which is a NO-NO in publishing. I fully expect Bill will pursue taking Franken to task over it - which will cause Franken to remove Bill's picture, or change the wording over Bill's face. This will be a costly boo-boo for Franken.

I don't think this book will do well - especially since he claims it's a "fair and balanced" look at the right. The right will immediately know it's not going to be fair and balanced and will ignore it.

I watched his disgusting display on C-SPAN - and it's not humor - IT'S RIDICULE! There is a big difference and the public will not buy it.

[John Lenin]

Stuart Smalley wasn't funny, it was degrading to see a man act like a mouse. I'm sure it wasn't much of a strecth for Franken to play the role, he just acted out his own childhood feelings.

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

He has to reclaim love of country from the right, where America is regularly extolled, and bring it back to the left, where it has for too long been excoriated.

Mission:Impossible!

[50sDad]

He must be sharp and cutting without descending into meanness.

Well, that about does that.

[dead]

Franken's pending crusade is no joke

Franken’s jokes are no jokes either.

[WarrenGamaliel]

yeah, but O'Reilly was insulting and interupting callers on cspan before the forum. I have no affection for Franken or Molly Ivins, but O'Rielly is a repellent blowhard and is not a conservative.

[JesseHousman]

Well, there should have been a puke alert on this posting.

However, considering...

Al Franken is on my top five list of unknown, un-comedic personalities.

I would have to say that he is almost an non-entity. He had a book published that was so nonsensical as to defy gravity: Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot.

Immediately another published a book entitled Al Franken Is A Buck Toothed, Leftist, Klinton Sycophantic, Imbecilic, No-Talent, Moron. (I think that was the title.)

He isn't worth the toilet paper we buy to wipe the grins off our faces.

[GSWarrior]

The Smalley character was sort of funny in the way it spoofed 12 step recovery/self-help mavens--for about 3 minutes. It grew tiresome very quickly.

[Bullish]

I'm looking forward to NOT listening to Al Franken and the rest of the liberal whinefest network.

[My2Cents]

You mean this dorky, goofy looking guy? (The dork on the right, not the dork on the left.)

[MissMillie]

Franken was supposed to speak for 15 minutes; he spoke for 35.

Actually, if you watch the video on C-Span's website, you'll see that he spoke for 18.... 3 of which could easily be subtracted because of the laughs he was getting.

But O'Reilly said he spoke for 35 minutes and of course, he never spins anything.... (end sarcasm)

[retrokitten]

Yes, Franken was shouting at Allan Colmes that he doesn't argue with Hannity enough. I guess it was getting pretty heated and Brian Killmeade from Fox and Friends stepped in and Franken backed down.

[Bullish]

The Smalley character was sort of funny in the way it spoofed 12 step recovery/self-help mavens--for about 3 minutes. It grew tiresome very quickly.

When you consider it was the exact same skit, with the exact same script every single week. What? Did the writers expect that after a while it would just become hilarious because of the repetition? Or were they just completley out of ideas?

[Frumious Bandersnatch]

Well, considering his tirade against Bill O'Rielly, I would never have thought that Franken had a sense of humor.

[CaptRon]

Al Franken has yet to make me laugh. Even when he was on SNL he was not funny.

[ContentiousObjector]

Al Franken made Bill O'Reily look like a complete buffon on CSPAN a few days ago,

[Alex Murphy]

I'm fond of Limbaugh's two-sentence prophecy about Liberal Talk Radio:

"It will fail, for a whole host of reasons. Pun intended."

The author thinks that Conservative Radio only succeeded because it entertains & is funny? That's a nice compliment, but IMO wrong. If there's one thing that's antithetical to hosts like Bob Grant & Michael Savage, it's the sound of joy & laughter. The sounds of dismissive cackling maybe, rude snickering definitely, but not joyous laughter. Most conservatives on the radio (by numbers, not ratings) sound as though they're nursing ulcers, not enjoying life inside or outside the studio. Limbaugh & Hannity have done so well IMO because they sound like they're having fun.

This is where I think Franken falls flat (figuratively speaking - I don't think Al can assume a flat shape any more). Sure, he can be funny when he's not being political, but turn on the ideology and he's an angry, bitter crank. Was Al just having fun at the White House Press Dinner? Besides, liberalism - at least as demonstrated by our Congress and Senate post-2000 - is anti-conservative. Take whatever position the conservatives espouse, and advocate the opposite no matter how stupid it sounds. Is that what Al's going to do? That's going to get old real fast.