You guys are so damn lucky. I want Al Franken to run in my state. That race is going to be a total blast. Not to say a showdown in Virginia between Mark Warner and one of the incompetent former Republican governors that bankrupted the state in the last decade won't be entertaining, but a Franken run raises it to a new level.
I was shocked by this one statement in the article however:
"To think of him as a United States senator almost boggles anyone's imagination," said Ron Carey, the chairman of the state's Republican Party. "So much of what he has said is vile and offensive -- you can't even quote it. I look at his words and that's not how Minnesotans talk, not even in private conversation. His vile bomb throwing is so non-Minnesotan; he must have left his Minnesota roots in Hollywood and New York."
Really? That's the best they can do in a state that previously elected Jesse Ventura governor? Suggest the bogeyman of "Hollywood"?
And maybe I'm not familiar enough with the entire tome of Franken's public statements, but has he really said so many things that are so foul they can't even be quoted? Seriously I'm asking. Quote these horrific statements in my comments. My impression of Franken is that he's actually quite judicious in his choice of words. He might be forceful, or call people "fat idiots", but since that line is quoted in the article, what is it we're missing that can't be quoted? I smell slander.
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He's said "fuck" a few times. So, yeah, Ronnie is right that it can't be quoted in the paper, but dishonest in saying that nobody talks that way in "private conversation."
Maybe he was referring to using polysyllabic words. I think when Carey said Franken can't be quoted he meant that it was literally impossible for him due to his low vocabulary.
Compared to what I have heard come out of people like Tancredo, Giuliani, Cheney, Limbaugh, Coulter, Bolton, et al, he is a pillar of genuine substantive discourse on public policy.
Ron Carey, the guy who's under investigation by the US Attorney for allegedly overcharging the State of Minnesota by millions of dollars while he was chairman of the Minnesota Autism Center? Yeah, he's a straightshooter. Love the "he said bad things but I can't tell you what they were" approach. Classic GOP.
I'm sure Franken has no particular fear of the Seven Words You Can't Say on Television, but he's far more snarky than obscene. He's made a long and successful career out of it, and I suspect he'd make hamburger out of his debate opponents.
I'd like to see the vile list, too. Not just because I doubt it really exists, but also because if it does exist, it's probably also funny.
Maybe he's referring to the time when Al Franken said of Muslims that we should "invade their countries, kill their leaders, and convert them to Christianity."
... oh, wait... nevermind.