True North

Alec Baldwin - who broke his promise in 2004 to move to France or Canada or Angola or whereever - has all sorts of reasons for voting for Al Franken against Norm Coleman this fall:

Norm Coleman, a former Democrat who had the unusual luck to run against a retirement-age Walter Mondale in order to fill the seat vacated by the tragic death of Paul Wellstone, is busy digging up clips of Franken’s old SNL and other satirical work in order to dirty him up for their Minnesota US Senate race.

Well, yeah!  I mean, it’s the only thing he’s done for his entire career, and all.

Onward:

Let’s make one thing crystal clear. Paul Wellstone was a great man. His death stunned and saddened progressives around the world. I stood next to Paul at a fundraiser in Minneapolis two weeks prior to his plane crash. Paul’s career was everything one could want to emulate in public service. He was smart, decent and brave. Paul could never be replaced. Ever.

Yes, yes, we all missed Wellstone, gotcha.

But why vote for Franken over Coleman?

But to fill that seat with a hack like Coleman? I can see states like Texas having not one but two hack Senators. People who never propose or cosponsor any significant legislation while in office. People like Hutchinson and Cornyn, who are the worst type of go-along-to-get-along lackey for the Bush administration. People who view their role as doing anything to preserve their own power and who never have an original or courageous idea while in office.

OK, so we have ad-homina against an entire state and a couple of Senators…

…but why would I vote for Al Franken over Norm Coleman? 

But Minnesota?

Coleman becoming a US Senator from that great state was a travesty. Now the time has come to correct that mistake. Coleman, who makes Mitt Romney look like a visionary, is so far from the best that state has to offer, it is unbelievable to imagine that he is even in the running for reelection.

So - a slur against a highly-accomplished former governor, and a hopelessly-broad generalization about what Minnesota “has to offer” - got it.

But…why vote for Franken? 

 An uninformed and weak-willed apologist for this awful administration is being challenged by one of the best progressive minds of his generation.

Ah, OK!  Now we’re getting someplace - information about Franken!

Let’s look and see: 

I don’t care how much ribald and salty humor he has dished out during is entertainment career.

And I agree!

But, Alec, my question remains - why should I vote for him? 

Judge Al Franken by what he stands as today: a searingly intelligent and abundantly caring son of Minnesota who has returned home to attempt to lend his voice to our nation’s political discourse on the most formal of levels. No blogging. No books. No comedy sketches. Putting his career and his opinions on the line on behalf of serving the people of Minnesota.

But Alec?  He has no public record, other than his entertainment career!  His “searing intelligence” to date has been expressed solely via his blog, his books, his sketches, his standup, his failed Air America show!  So as he “puts his career on the line”, that is all we simple plebeians have by which to judge him!

Well, that and the impassioned assurances of Alec Baldwin, a fellow who stars in a TV show and lied about moving to France.

So I’ll ask again - why should I, a mere Minnesota citizen, vote for Al Franken?

And what does Coleman do? He trots out old SNL material to grade one of show business’ most respected satirists and judge him as insensitive or inappropriate.

Well, Coleman has a right to an opinion, right?

As do Senator Amy Klobuchar and Congresswoman Betty McCollum, a couple of other “searingly intelligent progressives” who already represent Minnesota, and who would seem to be more critical of candidate Franken than any of us conservatives!

And again - his show biz career is the only basis we have for judging him!

So I’ll ask again - why would, should or could I vote fo Al Franken?

Voters of Minnesota, your choice could not be simpler. Coleman is a pathetic hack who will do as little as possible in a US Senate office other than cover his own ass and protect his power.

So another ad-hominem… 

Meanwhile, Al Franken is everything you could hope for in a candidate to represent your state in the world’s most august deliberative body. Smart, caring, brave. That’s the choice.

So my “choice” is “ad-hominem” versus a vague assurance that someone with no public record whatsoever is just doubleplus swell! 

But I keep trying to find out, Alec - How is his intelligence, his caring, his “bravery” expressed?  Other than his showbiz career, I mean?

 Mitt Romney light. Or a return to someone special in the US Senate from the great state of Minnesota.

Maybe it’s the audacious hope.

Of course, that IS good enough for a good chunk of the Minnesota electorate.

At any rate, Alec Baldwin; while I’m generally loathe to cop Laura Ingraham’s line - shut up and act.