Al Franken
FREE NEWS LINKS
HOME
SEARCH
Updates & changes ongoing ....
----
Although this site is https-secure, we cannot guarantee that it or any
provided links are safe; be sure your antivirus and other security systems are
up to date.
Also see: Congress; Senate;
Undated:
Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is
an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a
United States Senator from
Minnesota
from 2009 to 2018. He became well known in the 1970s and 1980s as a staff writer
and performer on the television comedy show
Saturday Night Live (SNL). After decades as a comedic actor and writer,
he became a prominent
liberal political activist, hosting
The Al Franken Show on
Air America Radio.
Franken was first elected to the
United States Senate in
2008 as the nominee of the
Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL, an affiliate of the
Democratic Party), defeating incumbent
Republican Senator
Norm
Coleman by 312 votes out of nearly three million cast (a margin of less than
0.01%). He won reelection in
2014 with 53.2% of the vote over Republican challenger
Mike
McFadden. Franken resigned on January 2, 2018, after several allegations of
sexual misconduct were made against him.
In 2013 Franken received the Stewart B. McKinney Award for his work fighting
homelessness.[140]
The
National Journal reported in 2013 that Franken supports the
National Security Agency's data mining programs, believing they have saved
lives, and that "I can assure you, this is not about spying on the American
people."[102]
When Franken declared his intention to seek reelection in
2014,[103]
his seat was thought to be a top target for the Republicans because of his very
slim margin of victory in the previous election. But
Politico
reported that his high approval rating, his large campaign fund, and the
Republicans' struggle to find a top-tier candidate meant he was a "heavy
favorite" to win reelection,[104]
and Franken won the race comfortably.
The Associated Press noted that contrary to expectations, Franken did not
seek out the media spotlight: "He rarely talks to the Washington press corps,
has shed his comedic persona and focused on policy, working to be taken
seriously."[105]
In interviews he expressed his desire to be known for a focus on constituency
work, keeping his head down, and working hard.[87][106]
Franken was an effective fundraiser for the Democrats.[107][108][109]
By late 2015, his political action committee had raised more than $5 million in
donations.[109]
In 2016, his PAC raised $3.3 million.[108][110]
According to
The Star Tribune, Franken was able to "draw crowds and donations across
the country".[107]
Franken condemned the
genocide of the
Rohingya Muslim minority in
Myanmar and
called for a stronger response to the crisis.[111]
On December 7, 2017, Franken announced his intention to
resign his Senate seat.[133]
He called some of the accusations “simply not true” and said he remembered
others “very differently.”[134]
In his resignation speech he made comparisons to Republican politicians, saying
he was "aware of the irony" that President Trump remained in office despite the
comments Trump made in the
Access Hollywood tape released a month before his election, and that the
Republican Party supported
Roy Moore's
Senate campaign despite the many allegations of harassment and molestation
against Moore.[135]
Franken resigned on January 2, 2018, and Minnesota governor
Mark
Dayton appointed the lieutenant governor,
Tina Smith,
to Franken’s seat until
a special election in November 2018, which Smith won.[136]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Franken
Webpage visitor counts provided
by
copyr 2018 trump-news-history.com, Minneapolis, MN