Franken's statement in Sotomayor hearing
I absolutely loved the junior senator of Minnesota statement about how the current court has been "judicial activist." The charge is usually that so-called liberal jurist are activist and their conservative counterparts practice strict judicial restraint. Sen. Franken blew that notion out of the water by citing example after example where Thomas and Scalia have gone beyond the scope of what the Supreme Court is suppose to do.
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One can only hope he next challenges the "genuis" of Antonin Scalia.
July 13, 2009 3:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Franken's revenge! Turning the tables is a favorite conservative tactic and I have long thought Dems should do the same. I'm glad we now have someone who is brave enough to do it.
July 13, 2009 4:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think the republican "leadership" are underestimating Franken to their own peril. He is much smarter than his career has demanded.
July 13, 2009 5:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
No question about it.
July 13, 2009 5:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Franken is a very creative genius and he will open up on them soon. They will regret having a Senator/comedian tearing them apart on the news rather then just Air America.
July 13, 2009 8:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
Your statement implies that you haven't tried to write comedy.
Franken was a very creative, comedy writer with a ridiculously long career. Far from "underestimating him", the GOP may simply not understand what he did. Of course, most politicians can't even write their own speeches. That should be the first clue.
July 13, 2009 11:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
He's not only written years of comedy sketches and stories, but also how many books? One quick Amazon search (I'm sure there's a wiki with a real tabulation somewhere, but oh well) and I see on the first page at least 7 of his own books, a few collaborations, and at least 2 rebuttals.
Obama has some author cred with his 2 books. But Franken's a legitimate writer. And with titles like "Rush Limbaugh is a big fat idiot", he probably is going to tell it like it is.
All praise the new Fool in the Senate. He speaks the truth.
July 13, 2009 11:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
To be fair, his books are fairly uneven. LYING LIARS started off great and then fizzled 2/3 of the way in.
And to be fair, it's far easier to lampoon a politician than write comedy. The politician jokes tend to write themselves!
July 14, 2009 3:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
Ha! I always thought that politicians were level-headed rational people with no accidental buffoonery about them. Nope. None.
(ok, I really don't. I remember seeing some political cartoons from the early 1800s in a class (I think); politicians seem to have a long tradition of being total idiots, occasionally.)
July 14, 2009 11:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
I haven't written stage or television comedy, but have written comedic screenplays. You're right. It is harder than it appears and is far from making one a clown if they can do it right. Job Stewart has more truth in a single half-hour than the "real" news has all week.
July 14, 2009 6:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
Is "job" stewart a typo or are you incredibly clever?
July 14, 2009 8:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
I am not that clever. :O)
July 14, 2009 9:00 AM | Reply | Permalink
LOL!
July 14, 2009 11:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
Agreeing with Clearthinker is an unaccustomed experience for me. But I have to agree. Franken is unquestionably one of the great comedy minds of his generation, working in a number of different formats and being one of the key writers for SNL over a few decades. That's hardly something that doesn't require a great deal of intelligence.
July 14, 2009 9:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
The first time is always the hardest, Josh. ;-)
July 14, 2009 2:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Clearthinker, try using that clear jel called K-Y next time you, um, interact.
If you can't do that, try being nice to people, and keeping an open mind.
It works wonders.
July 14, 2009 11:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
EEEYUU! Now I gotta go get myself clean.
July 14, 2009 11:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
Take the slippers off, first.
July 14, 2009 11:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
So did I 1849. I loved it tooo.
I really thought, this seat is out of our grasp because of the gd independent that ran here.
And then, after all those senate 'squeakers' over two elections
HE GOT IN
I am elated. And even more so today.
July 13, 2009 9:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
I had to listen and watch it again because I couldn't believe my ears. There is one slight correction. He said the Rehnquist Court which does include Scalia and Thomas.
Go Franken!
July 13, 2009 11:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
How about a link??
July 14, 2009 8:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=3959&wit_id=8101
July 14, 2009 8:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
Senator Franken RAWKS!!!
July 14, 2009 12:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
How about some video? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHKbZtLMSxo
July 14, 2009 2:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks. Outstanding speech by Franken. I think we're gonna be glad he's there.
July 14, 2009 2:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
BTW, yeah, it was outstanding, and yep, I agree.
July 14, 2009 10:59 PM | Reply | Permalink