« STAR TRIBUNE: “DAY WILL URGE STATE SENATE TO WITHDRAW FROM BRIDGE PROBE” | Home | COLEMAN CAMPAIGN HIGHLIGHTS FRANKEN’S JOKES ABOUT GAY BASHING, RAPE, AND ABORTION IN NEW WEBVIDEO »
BREAKING NEWS: COLEMAN FOR U.S. SENATE RELEASES WEBVIDEO “THINGS YOU WON’T SEE IN AN AL FRANKEN AD”
By Michael B. Brodkorb | January 18, 2008
Wow…this video is really tough on Al Franken.
UPDATE: Please read Coleman’s complete release after the page jump.
SAINT PAUL – With Al Franken running TV ads that gloss over the less-than-flattering parts of his career, the Coleman for Senate campaign today released a new webvideo to show the voters of Minnesota what Franken doesn’t want them to see. “Things You Won’t See In An Al Franken Ad†features Franken’s extensive history of tasteless comedy and divisive partisan rhetoric.
“Despite Franken’s latest attempts to repackage himself as a kinder, gentler candidate, Al Franken can’t hide who he really is,” said campaign manager Cullen Sheehan. “No matter how much of his Hollywood money he spends on TV ads, Al Franken won’t be able to sweep his record of over-the-top partisan attacks and offensive remarks under the rug,”
Click here to watch the video: http://www.colemanforsenate.com/blog/blogitem.aspx?id=35
Webvideo Backup:
WARNING: Due to the offensive nature of these remarks, citations supporting Al Franken’s comments in the video are available by request only.
###
This post also appears on Blogs for Norm!, an online community and blog covering the 2008 U.S. Senate campaign in Minnesota. The primary goal of Blogs for Norm! is to organize bloggers who support U.S. Senator Norm Coleman.
Tags: 2008 U.S. Senate, Al Franken, Mike Ciresi, Norm Coleman
Topics: 2008 U.S. Senate, Al Franken, Mike Ciresi, Norm Coleman | 40 Comments »
40 Responses to “BREAKING NEWS: COLEMAN FOR U.S. SENATE RELEASES WEBVIDEO “THINGS YOU WON’T SEE IN AN AL FRANKEN AD””
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.
January 18th, 2008 at 2:57 PM
I LOVE IT! Is this just an online thing?
January 18th, 2008 at 3:18 PM
You know I finally saw Al’s tv commercial. Basically everything he was trying to show (strong family man, supports troops, etc. were conservative values). He’s trying to run as a Republican! I was just hoping Norm reminds the voters that if Franken supports the troops does Franken support the mission being achieved?
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
January 18th, 2008 at 3:24 PM
Pretty good. Can’t wait until the old, I support Paul Wellstone commercials start rolling. Who knows, Coleman may have switched back to the dems by that point in the race.
January 18th, 2008 at 3:41 PM
[...] « BREAKING NEWS: COLEMAN FOR U.S. SENATE RELEASES WEBVIDEO “THINGS YOU WON’T SEE IN AN AL FRANKEN AD” | Home [...]
January 18th, 2008 at 3:44 PM
Bwahahaha!! Mark, I am guessing you did not like it much.
I love it only it will get much better! Angry Al has so many skeletons in his closet there will be more material to use than time to use it all in.
I really hope Al gets the endorsement and gets his hopes up that he could win as it will be just that much better when he loses.
January 18th, 2008 at 4:37 PM
This ad is brutal – very effective.
January 18th, 2008 at 5:46 PM
Say, Michael?
Ol’ Smokescreen going so negative, so early, only means he’s desperate.
Hopefully, ol’ Smokescreen has the same advisors Makeover Mark did!
I wonder when we’re going to see pictures of ol’ Smokescreen holding a megaphone, back when he was a Hofstra hippie?
January 18th, 2008 at 5:47 PM
Not sure who’s least funny. Gary Keillor or Al Franken.
January 18th, 2008 at 5:52 PM
It’s also uninspiring. Al Franken this. Al Franken that. We get the picture. It’s time for Sen. Coleman to start telling us what we’re working & voting for. If he doesn’t start soon, he’ll lose this November.
January 18th, 2008 at 7:38 PM
This ad is awesome, but for reasons exactly opposite from what the Colemealon wants. I particularly like the quip about the intelligence level of republicans — so true!
Also very informing that all those clips are half a second long and taken without any kind of context whatsoever.
January 18th, 2008 at 7:51 PM
What else can Coleman possibly say? He’s been a lapdog for the current administration which makes him just as culpable as the Boy Bush for the absolute mess they’ve made of this country. He certainly can’t run on his record.
January 18th, 2008 at 7:57 PM
Your nicknames are annoying. If you use them once, fine. But to use the same nickname three times in one post while you also use it in almost every post you make is annoying. You can make your points just fine without using stupid nicknames that a third grader could have come up with, but wouldn’t be quite as proud as you are to repeatedly use.
January 18th, 2008 at 8:53 PM
Wow is right… Can you take anything more out of context?
PS- I think its telling that Coleman is kicking his campaign off with negative ads. Everyone ready for 10 months of depressing, negative and sickening campaigning?
January 18th, 2008 at 10:04 PM
What is out of context? The “I fuckinng hate” part or the “right wing motherfuckers part?”
January 18th, 2008 at 10:26 PM
Yes, what is taken out of context?
January 19th, 2008 at 3:50 AM
Franken was a comedian. He told jokes. Its pretty easy to take a punch line out of context. You may not find them funny, but thats mostly because they were made at the expense of your party.
Brodkorb-> How about we concentrate on the larger issue: Coleman is starting off negative. How long do you think it will take until Minnesotans tire of the cynical politics he is running.
January 19th, 2008 at 4:57 AM
Comedy is fair game. If a comedian wishes to run for office, his previous antics are fair game.
But, then again, Democrats never do such a thing, now do they? *cough*MIKE ROGERS*cough*.
January 19th, 2008 at 6:23 AM
One of the axioms of modern political life is to “go negative early.” This is a great start. The real test will be to see if Norm can switch, at the “right time” to a POSITIVE message. I’m highly concerned that he may not have one. You don’t drive people to the polls with negative campaigns.
January 19th, 2008 at 6:50 AM
So then TwoBrainCellTommy, I can assume that because you’ve used the nickname ole Smokescreen for Norm that means you are a 3rd grader?
January 19th, 2008 at 6:53 AM
The Demoncrats and Franken determined long ago that it would be a negative campaign. So by that theory, since Franken has been using nasty names for a year, that he’s desperate………….
January 19th, 2008 at 9:18 AM
Everything Al says is negative and crude. The voters need to hear this stuff because it will impact how he interacts with other senators. He is a rude and crude smartass who would not be tolerated by most kids in Junior High. There is nothing negative about pointing out that this man is a homophobic, gay bashing, foul mouthed, smart assed little twerp who could use a real ass kicking. Whew, now I feel better
January 19th, 2008 at 12:06 PM
Watched it, and thought so what? It’s not like Franken’s TV personna was peaaches and cream. And really, today’s “independent swing voter” isn’t grandma and grandpa who have never heard a vulgar word in their life. After the build up here, I thought I’d be watching something damning, not a silly cut and paste.
January 19th, 2008 at 12:57 PM
What bootlickers here ignore, is that “Smokescreen” IS PART OF COLEMAN’S RECORD.
And that’s a record ol’ Smokescreen is desperately trying to run from.
If there’s a senator that did less than ol’ Smokescreen did, as chair of the Senate Investigations Chair, I’d like to know who that was.
There’s a reason a quick google of ” Coleman mother of all smokescreens ” gets so many hits, and that’s a record ol’ Smokescreen really doesn’t want played.
January 19th, 2008 at 1:00 PM
“He is a rude and crude smartass who would not be tolerated by most kids in Junior High. There is nothing negative about pointing out that this man is a homophobic, gay bashing, foul mouthed, smart assed little twerp who could use a real ass kicking.”
Say, Pete?
The subject here is Franken, NOT Erik Paulsen – who was voted “most likeley to spend his life getting sand kicked in his face at a beach” by his senior high classmates.
Do try to keep up, will ya?
January 19th, 2008 at 6:07 PM
Hey Snowman (2putz) Al is the ultimate low life – Oh that’s right so are you- birds of a feather – why don’t you go waste some space at that bar you like to belly up to instead of here.
January 19th, 2008 at 7:09 PM
OOO, good come back putz boy.
January 20th, 2008 at 3:14 PM
Face it, He’s not good enough, he’s not smart enough, & gosh darn it, people just don’t like him.
Franken really is a blithering baffoon, & not the funny kind either. Sorry guys, but except for a few fleeting moments, SNL was NEVER funny!
Coleman’s work on blowing the lid off the UN’s involvement in the Iraqi food for oil scam alone is enough to earn his keep. Makes him a far more effective senator than St. Wellstone could have hoped to be.
January 20th, 2008 at 10:14 PM
“Coleman’s work on blowing the lid off the UN’s involvement in the Iraqi food for oil scam…”
ROFLMAO!!!
That’s were he earned the nickname “Smokescreen”!!!
January 20th, 2008 at 10:25 PM
“Your nicknames are annoying. If you use them once, fine. But to use the same nickname three times in one post while you also use it in almost every post you make is annoying. You can make your points just fine without using stupid nicknames that a third grader could have come up with, but wouldn’t be quite as proud as you are to repeatedly use.”
No (cheney)in’ chyte, Sherlock. But, here’s where I learned that trick:
“See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda.” George aWol Bush, a/k/a “Boy Blunder”, May 24th, 2005
See, that’s how bootlickin’ ChickenHawks like you got the idea that “the surge is working”: you got sand, er, ‘scuse me, “propaganda” pounded, er, ‘scuse me, “catapulted.”
January 21st, 2008 at 6:17 AM
I’ve noticed when Tommy has nothing intellegent to say he does the name calling thing. So typical of a left wing fanatic, nothing to back up their demented thinking so they just blurt out rude incoherent comments. Do you ever have an original thought Tommy?
January 21st, 2008 at 7:31 AM
Petey, you need to understand your role in life, as described to you by The Maja Viagra: it’s to LISTEN.
If you want to talk, you have to give El Druggo some dough, first.
Everything I’ve ever read from you could easily be shortened to:
“Mega dittos, Rush!!!”
I make talking points, pal – that’s my role.
“Mayor Maybe, Stuffed Suit and Sleepy” is what I came up with to describe republiCon endorsed Phil Young, Brad Aho, and Jon Duckstad.
And these days, those bums couldn’t be elected dog catcher.
Oh – and ask Paulsen and Hann how much they like being described as:
“Paulsen and Hann voted against it, before they profited from it.”
And the one that really, Really, REALLY pisses republiCon Phil Young off?
“Now republiCon Phil Young is in the unenviable position of having to say: ‘Well, that depends upon what your definition of “help” is’…”
January 21st, 2008 at 9:59 AM
[...] This ad from U.S. Senator Norm Coleman's campaign is very effective. The ad documentation is available after the page jump. [...]
January 21st, 2008 at 10:28 AM
Gosh, you would think an incumbent would start out his campaign with all of his accomplishments and how proud he was of the job he has done for Minnesota. Unless, as in Norm’s case there is nothing to be proud of.
This race will be about Norm’s record and his stand on the issues,
Stay in Iraq
tax cuts that don’t help the middle class
deficit spending
against gay rights
against “common sense” sex education
against taking care of our vets
against whatever Bush is against
for whatever Bush is for
Do you really think the food for oil investigation was a feather in Norm’s cap?
The things Norm didn’t feel were worth investigating
war profiteering
CIA leak
wmd
wiretapping
torture
tillman
sexual assaults in Iraq by Americans to Americans
the lost e-mails
the destroyed CIA tapes
etc, etc, etc
That’ll do Sheeple that’ll do
January 21st, 2008 at 12:44 PM
Tommy, Huh? Whatever, thanks for proving my point though…
January 21st, 2008 at 1:51 PM
[...] On Friday afternoon, U.S. Senator Norm Coleman's campaign released a blistering webvideo about Al Franken. Since the webvideo was released, I have spoken with numerous Democrats about material in the webvideo. All of the Democrats I spoke with thought the webvideo was very damaging to Team Franken. [...]
January 21st, 2008 at 3:17 PM
[...] MNO Blog – Motorcycles, News, Opinions wrote an interesting post today on Comment on BREAKING NEWS: COLEMAN FOR U.S. SENATE RELEASES WEBVIDEO…Here’s a quick excerpt[…] On Friday afternoon, U.S. Senator Norm Coleman’s campaign released a blistering webvideo about Al Franken. [...]
January 22nd, 2008 at 10:53 AM
[...] On Friday afternoon, U.S. Senator Norm Coleman's campaign released a blistering webvideo about Al Franken. Since the webvideo was released, I have spoken with numerous Democrats about material in the webvideo. All of the Democrats I spoke with thought the webvideo was very damaging to Team Franken. [...]
January 22nd, 2008 at 3:51 PM
This is in response to “Kollege Kid” . . . I’m wondering in what context it would be funny or even appropriate to say “the only person who likes an abortion is a rape victim” Given the immense psychosocial and physical trauma associated with rape, it is deeply concerning that someone, specifically someone running for public office, would find its use in comedy appropriate.
January 23rd, 2008 at 12:22 AM
I really do not find anything in the ad particularly shocking. Let’s assume for a second that NONE of it is out of context (although by definition, it all is by virtue of its presentation in a political ad).
What it mostly sounds like to me is a guy who at times:
1. likes to poke fun at taboo issues (sometimes at great expense to the disenfranchised),
2. spew vulgarities about people that piss him off,
3. move around fairly regularly and identify multiple places as feeling like “home”, and
4. is genuinely self-deprecating.
This sounds a lot like every person I know or have encountered throughout my life. This is why I voted for Jesse Ventura, because normal old folks are the kind of people professional Republicans and Democrats love to hate when they get in office. If nothing else, people like Al Franken force people like Norm Coleman and John Kerry to work together, if for no other reason than to make certain that people like Al Franken don’t get the legislation they want passed.
Al has my vote, Coleman has had his chance.
January 24th, 2008 at 1:04 PM
I was shocked by the remarks of Al Franken highlighted in the recent web video. I am not usually a political person, I don’t consider myself loyal to either party to be honest. I could hardly stomach watching the immature and hurtful comments made by Mr. Franken. I am a sexual assault survivor. Every day I am haunted by my experience. I now work with rape victims – it is not something you recover from. It is a pain you cannot imagine until you yourself or someone dear to you experiences it. Exploiting rape for comedic purpose is behavior that would not be acceptable in a elementary school environment and certainly should not be acceptable from a grown man. Mr. Franken should be ashamed of himself, and his supporters, specifically those who think his immaturity is funny, should be ashamed of themselves too. If everyone I knew behaved this way, I would make some new friends.