Al Franken

Comedian, politician

• Born: May 21, 1951
• Place of Birth: New York, New York

• Date of birth: May 21, 1951
• Place of birth: New York, New York

POLITICIAN, ENTERTAINER, AND WRITER

As a political satirist and commentator, Franken invigorated the political left during the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush presidencies; as a US senator, Franken successfully made the challenging transition from entertainment to national politics.

AREAS OF ACHIEVEMENT: Government and politics; entertainment; journalism

Early Life

Alan Stuart Franken began his life in the place that would become the center for his early career, New York City, on May 21, 1951. Franken’s parents, Joseph and Phoebe, raised Franken in a Reform Jewish household. Franken’s parents relocated to Albert Lea, Minnesota, when Franken was four, so his father could work in a quilt factory. When that business failed in 1957, the Franken family moved again, this time to St. Louis Park, a suburb of Minneapolis with a large concentration of Jewish families (for Minnesota). Joseph worked as a printing salesperson, and Phoebe obtained her real estate license.

Franken attended the Blake School, a private high school, where he met his future comedy writing partner, Tom Davis. After graduating in 1969, Franken attended Harvard University, where he met his future wife, Frannie Bryson, a student at nearby Simmons College. Franken graduated in 1973, and the couple married in 1976, becoming parents to a daughter, Thomasin, and a son, Joe.

Franken’s career in entertainment began during this same period, when producer Lorne Michaels hired Franken and Davis to become writers for the landmark comedy show Saturday Night Live. Franken wrote for the show between 1975 and 1980 and 1985 and 1995, garnering five Emmy Awards. His early material, written with Davis, focused much of its satire on political themes. Franken left the show when Michaels decided against Franken as the anchor for the show’s ongoing Weekend Update sketch. After leaving Saturday Night Live, Franken was drawn to pursue politically oriented work. He attended the 1988 Democratic National Convention and later anchored reports on the 1992 Democratic National Convention for the Comedy Central channel.

Life’s Work

Franken’s political involvement began in earnest in 1996 when he wrote Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot, a book that attacked the political right, followed in 1999 by Why Not Me? By 2003, Franken’s interest in public policy deepened, and he was appointed a fellow to the Shorenstein Center on Press, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard. While at the Shorenstein Center, Franken wrote a third book of political satire, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right (2004), a direct reference to the slogan of the conservative Fox News Channel.

Franken’s political commentary became even more prominent when he began hosting a daily program for Air America, a liberal radio network, in 2004. The following year, he produced a fourth book and worked to raise money and make personal appearances to support Democratic candidates. In 2006, Franken decided to move his radio show from New York City to Minneapolis, which indicated to many that he planned to run for office.

In February 2007, Franken formally announced his plans to challenge incumbent Republican senator Norm Coleman for his seat. He became the candidate of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and began raising large amounts of money to mount a challenge to the already well-funded Coleman. Franken attacked Coleman for being beholden to special interests. On Election Day in November 2008, the vote count was so close that Minnesota law mandated a recount. After several recount challenges from both candidates, a panel of judges named by the Minnesota Supreme Court formally declared Franken the winner in June 2009.

Upon taking office, Franken quickly introduced a variety of measures, including legislation designed to aid disabled veterans and women in the military. He was an outspoken supporter of health care reform, favoring positions that would limit the profits of health insurance companies and move the country toward universal coverage. Franken also demonstrated a strong interest in banking reform, calling for changes in the system of credit ratings and expanded regulation of the investment industry. As a member of the Judiciary Committee, he was also a strong supporter of the nominations of Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court.

Franken handily won reelection in 2014, defeating Republican challenger Mike McFadden, a financial executive.

Following the election of Republican candidate Donald Trump as president in 2016, Franken gained popularity among Democrats and others on the left for his questioning of Attorney General Jeff Sessions at the latter's confirmation hearing; Sessions's response to the questioning, in which he stated incorrectly that he "did not have communications with the Russians" while affiliated with Trump's presidential campaign team, ultimately led him to recuse himself from the subsequent investigation of alleged connections between the Trump campaign and Russia. The two clashed again during Sessions's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in October 2017 regarding those alleged connections.

In November 2017, broadcaster and sports commentator Leeann Tweeden accused Franken of “forcibly kiss[ing]” and groping her while on a United Service Organizations (USO) in 2006, two years prior to his election as senator. A photograph taking during the incident showed Franken groping a sleeping Tweeden. The allegation came amid a series of revelations of sexual misconduct by powerful men—beginning with film producer Harvey Weinstein in October and continuing with others in film, television, journalism, and politics, the latter including Democratic representative for Michigan John Conyers, Republican representative for Texas Blake Farenthold, and Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore in Alabama—and just two days after a House Administration Committee hearing on sexual harassment experienced by female legislators. Franken initially apologized publicly, first briefly and later again at length, and called for an ethics investigation into his conduct, promising to “gladly cooperate.” However, following further allegations of past inappropriate touching, including one by Army veteran Stephanie Kemplin, congressional Democrats began to call on Franken to resign, culminating on December 6 in a call for his resignation by Senate Democrats, led by Democratic women of the chamber and backed by a majority of the caucus. Franken announced his resignation the following day, in a speech in which he also noted, “There is some irony in the fact that I am leaving while a man who has bragged on tape about his history of sexual assault sits in the Oval Office, and a man who has repeatedly preyed on young girls campaigns for the Senate with the full support of his party,” referring to Trump and Moore, respectively. (Moore ultimately lost his race to Democrat Doug Jones.)

In his final speech on the Senate floor, delivered on December 21, Franken decried the Trump administration and the Republican Party for “showering corporations and wealthy donors with tax breaks and special favors” and pursuing policies that “consolidat[e] political and economic power in the hands of corporations and the very wealthy,” and for “eviscerat[ing]” protections for women, LGBT people, and people of color, among other groups. He officially resigned on January 2, 2018; his replacement, Democratic Minnesota lieutenant governor Tina F. Smith, was sworn in the next day.

A reporter for the New Yorker, Jane Mayer, pointed out many inconsistencies in Tweeden's story, as well as Franken's despair over what had happened. However, by the time of his resignation from the Senate, eight women had accused him of improper behavior. In 2019, Franken stated publicly that he regretted resigning, and in 2022 said he was considering running for office again.

Significance

Franken’s ability to wed comedic satire to political commentary broke many traditional boundaries between entertainment and politics. His work as a liberal satirist of the political right is widely credited with helping reinvigorate the political left, and his own election to and experience in the US Senate represent the transition many political leaders have made from previous careers in fields unrelated to politics, such as entertainment (Ronald Reagan and Sonny Bono), athletics (Jack Kemp and Bill Bradley), medicine (Bill Frist), and the military (John Glenn). Before his resignation from the Senate, Franken was being touted as a possible candidate for president in 2020; despite the circumstances of said resignation, a number of political commentators and his former colleagues have urged that he be remembered for the entirety of his time in office, and not simply for the end of it.

Bibliography

Blake, Aaron. “‘Give Me a Break’: Sessions Gets Testy with Franken over His Shifting Russia Denials.” The Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/10/18/give-me-a-break-sessions-gets-heated-with-franken-over-his-shifting-russia-denials/. Accessed 1 Sept. 2024.

Catalini, Michael. “Are Republicans Scared of Al Franken?” National Journal Daily, 9 Jan. 2013, p. 3. Academic Search Complete, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=87299227&site=ehost-live. Accessed 8 Jan. 2018.

Conniff, Ruth. “Al Franken Gets Serious.” The Progressive, Apr. 2007, pp. 12–13. Academic Search Complete, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=24637241&site=ehost-live. Accessed 8 Jan. 2018.

Franken, Al. Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. Dutton, 2003.

Franken, Al. Interview. By Stephen Thompson. The Progressive, Sept. 2005, pp. 37–40. Academic Search Complete, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=18230658&site=ehost-live. Accessed 8 Jan. 2018.

Goldberg, Michelle. "I Was Wrong About Al Franken." The New York Times, 21 July 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/07/21/opinion/michelle-goldberg-al-franken.html. Accessed 1 Sept. 2024.

Green, Joshua. “He’s Not Joking.” The Atlantic, May 2008, pp. 74–79. Academic Search Complete, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=31606075&site=ehost-live. Accessed 8 Jan. 2018.

Hirsh, Michael. “Al Franken Gets Serious.” Newsweek, 12 July 2010, pp. 38–40. Academic Search Complete, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=52038918&site=ehost-live. Accessed 8 Jan. 2018.

Viebeck, Elise. “Franken to Resign Jan. 2 over Sexual Misconduct Allegations.” The Washington Post, 20 Dec. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/franken-to-resign-jan-2-over-sexual-misconduct-allegations/2017/12/20/3091beaa-e5c4-11e7-ab50-621fe0588340‗story.html. Accessed 1 Sept. 2024.

Viebeck, Elise. “‘We’re Losing the War for Truth’: Franken Denounces Trump, GOP in Final Floor Speech.” The Washington Post, 21 Dec. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/were-losing-the-war-for-truth-franken-denounces-trump-gop-in-final-floor-speech/2017/12/21/6f0ccce8-e66d-11e7-a65d-1ac0fd7f097e‗story.html. Accessed 1 Sept. 2024.

Viebeck, Elise, et al. “As Accusations Continue to Mount, Senate Democrats Tell Franken to Resign.” The Washington Post, 6 Dec. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/were-losing-the-war-for-truth-franken-denounces-trump-gop-in-final-floor-speech/2017/12/21/6f0ccce8-e66d-11e7-a65d-1ac0fd7f097e‗story.html Accessed 24 Jan. 2018.

Wang, Amy B., et al. “‘Al Franken Kissed and Groped Me without My Consent,’ Leeann Tweeden Says. The Senator Apologized.” The Washington Post, 16 Nov. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/11/16/al-franken-kissed-and-groped-me-without-my-consent-broadcaster-leeann-tweeden-says/. Accessed 1 Sept. 2024.