As Emily Litella Would Say: Never Mind
June 7, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Interesting item in the story about Al Franken winning the endorsement today of Minnesota Democrats for his Senate bid:
On Saturday morning, Franken took a key step in quelling controversy over his past jokes when he earned the endorsement of the feminist caucus of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, as the Democratic Party is known in Minnesota.
Jackie Stevenson, the group’s leader, said the caucus was impressed with his direct answers on issues critical to members, including domestic violence.
Apparently the following joke Al Franken told at the 1996 White House Correspondents Association Dinner is no longer operative:
You know, the first time I heard Rush Limbaugh on the radio he was spewing about the “feminazis” and their women as victim ideas. He was railing about how feminists believe all heterosexual sex is rape, which is a belief that’s very hard to defend. The thing is, though, I know a lot of women, almost all of whom consider themselves feminists, and I know only one who holds this belief. And we’ve been married nearly twenty years.
sadfasdf said,
June 7, 2008 @ 10:51 pm
Two thoughts: First, I hadn’t realized lefties had been robotically spewing the word “spew” for that long. When all you do is call people names instead of thinking, shouldn’t that free up enough time to think of a new term of abuse every few years?
Second… I’d forgotten entirely that Al Franken used to be funny sometimes. Damn. What a waste.
Joe Sixpack said,
June 7, 2008 @ 11:14 pm
As a writer on Saturday Night LIve, Al Franken was probably funny; though individual lines were not credited, so who knows? The jokes that he did as himself were mildly amusing–’The Al Franken Decade’ or something–but not terribly funny. The ram punching a hole in the dam routine sucked.
Later on he did a commercial about a gay man that crashed into an abutment, and that one had me slapping my knee, but we can’t count that, can we? And I guess his wife joke is another that can’t be counted.
Maybe his career would have been better had he stayed away from preachey politics and just told good off-color jokes.
Assistant Village Idiot said,
June 8, 2008 @ 12:30 am
No word yet on whether prosecuting attorneys have forgiven him for skipping taxes until a court makes him pay.
Vinny Vidivici said,
June 8, 2008 @ 7:38 am
Jeez. Did he have to put on a dunce cap and hang a sign enumerating his ‘crimes’ around his neck before his ’self-criticism’ and ‘rehabilitation’? Some people are becoming waayyyy too comfortable with this whole ritual show trial-shaming-public apology thing.
Broadsword said,
June 8, 2008 @ 8:00 am
Miss Stevensen, translated, “Hey, he said the right things. We don’t care if he doesn’t believe them. You know, like it says in scripture, ‘If you confess with your mouth…’ Can we get an amen, ur, a weeee….ooooo!!”
bigbooner said,
June 8, 2008 @ 6:36 pm
Let’s face it, there is only one litmus test for these folks. Pro abortion.
Chris said,
June 9, 2008 @ 12:41 pm
Big Booner wins.