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FRANKEN EVASIVE TO QUESTIONS ABOUT HIS FAILURE TO PROVIDE DISABILITY INSURANCE
By Michael B. Brodkorb | March 27, 2008
I attended Al Franken's rally on Tuesday morning at the Capitol and as I was waiting for the event to start, I noticed Al Franken was nearby, shaking hands with supporters. Addressing him as "Mr. Franken", I introduced myself and shook his hand. I wasn't shocked when Franken said hello, but quickly moved on to someone else. But I waited to ask my question.
I have a long and proud record of being respectful and polite when I attend DFL events. I have been invited to numerous DFL functions and I try to thanks the host(s) for the opportunity to attend. While I thought it was reasonable to politely ask Franken a question, I would rather solicit comments through the established staff channels.
The video clip above is of me asking Franken about the Republican Party of Minnesota's (MN GOP) press release about his failure to provide disability insurance to his employees in New York. KARE-11 reported that I asked Franken a question about his failure to provide disability insurance and I have included a small clip of their broadcast in my video.
After saying "no" to my question that he didn't provide disability insurance for his employees in New York, Franken repeated the phrase first spoken by a staffer with him that, "we haven't seen it [the press release]." That's a fair answer, as the press release was sent out earlier in the day.
But the "no" answer and confusing look from Franken in response to my question about his failure to provide disability insurance does concern me, as Franken's corporation had written two checks less than three weeks earlier paying both fines. According to public documents, Franken's wife signed the two checks which totaled $25,832.67.
Franken's corporation paid the fine, with Franken's wife signing the checks, so I am unclear as to how a "no" answer is honest. A more straightforward answer to my questions would have been, "I haven't seen the press release, but my corporation did pay a fine." Franken's "no" answer to me is a problem.
I will add that I was very surprised at the speed in which Franken was ushered away by his staffer. Within seconds of me asking my question, the staffer with Franken instructed him that he needed to go. He left in a hurry - just like this.
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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.
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44 Responses to “FRANKEN EVASIVE TO QUESTIONS ABOUT HIS FAILURE TO PROVIDE DISABILITY INSURANCE”
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March 27th, 2008 at 2:33 PM
Again, Al looks so angry!
March 27th, 2008 at 3:08 PM
Michael, did you read about Gavin Sullivan’s “reception” by CD-3 GOPer leadership?
Seems to me you and the GOPer trackers are treated MUCH better than GOPers treat others…..
March 27th, 2008 at 3:18 PM
Hmmmmmm, I guess that explains why Franken ran up to a GOPer and told him he hated him.
March 27th, 2008 at 3:20 PM
Why am I not surprised you’re guessing?
March 27th, 2008 at 3:22 PM
Franken is a putz.
He wants to be a senator, but is afraid to answer questions? What happens when the president asks him something tough…is he going to run away? Or someone on the Senate floor during a debate – who’s going to protect him then?
Typical liberal response to pressure. Just like how the Dem prez candidates refused to have a debate on FOX…too afraid of tough questions I guess. Even though the Repubs went on all the liberal news outlets and debated.
that’s very niggardly.
March 27th, 2008 at 3:29 PM
Charlie Rose – BRILLIANT!!!!
March 27th, 2008 at 4:36 PM
puddles – STUPID!!!!
March 27th, 2008 at 5:04 PM
Bwahahahahaa, score one more for MDE!
Run away Angry Al! Run little bunny, run!
That’s the same dumb as a friggin’ rock look I got when I got up in his grill at the fair last summer. But I do have to admit that he’s hired a better class of butt boy since then…no drool.
Say, if a ship were sinking with Angry Al and 2punk onboard, who do you think would run faster to the lifeboats?
It’d be close, but I’m betting 2punk would win by a gut length.
But the question of who would have to throw more women and kids out to fit is a given…Al’s angry, but not a tub of goo, right 2punk? Right?
March 27th, 2008 at 5:16 PM
Angry Al is too ashamed of his past to speak about it. It’s up to guys like Mike to pry the truth out for the public to see and judge.
Can anyone remember the last time a Sorosphere blogger was mentioned in the press? Never happened.
MDE is the premeire political website in Minnesota, bar none.
March 27th, 2008 at 5:20 PM
NotSoSwiftly – BRILLIANT!!!!
March 27th, 2008 at 6:10 PM
Twopud – POST HERE MUCH????
March 27th, 2008 at 6:17 PM
Hmmmmm I wonder if MBB thinks that he is respectful and polite to DFL’ers on MDE?
March 27th, 2008 at 6:24 PM
The preeceding 12 have been an example of the premier political comments in MN.
March 27th, 2008 at 6:25 PM
My wife and I, along with our five year old son, just returned from the kickoff event in Alexandria.
It was packed with great turnout and enthusiasm!! Senator Coleman has a lot of support here in West Central Minnesota. I think he will win convincingly in the area with better margins than the first election. There is not great enthusiasm among conservative Democrats for Al Franken. I think many DFLers had hoped for Ciresi from what I have heard.
March 27th, 2008 at 6:37 PM
Thanks MDE. Al doesn’t even know how to answer a basic question. He looks over to his “handler” and he is told not to answer. Doesn’t his Harvard education help him in situations like this? What would he do if he were elected, look over at his lobbyist friends so they can instruct him on his vote?
March 27th, 2008 at 7:39 PM
Ciresi has returned to private life.
March 27th, 2008 at 7:54 PM
You call showing up in a chicken suit to a Democratic press conference respectful? Your partisan dick and we all know it
March 27th, 2008 at 8:59 PM
Twopud – POST HERE MUCH????
OneNutt is paid by the letter to post here.
March 27th, 2008 at 10:27 PM
So, are you the GOP’s tracker now? Isn’t that a demotion for you considering that job normally goes to someone just out of college? They not want to pay someone?
March 28th, 2008 at 12:22 AM
The preceding 19 posts have been an example of the premier political comments in Minnesota.
March 28th, 2008 at 8:10 AM
If I remember correctly, Michael Moore — he of the famed documentaries where CEOS and others are seen running away from answering basic questions — is a big supporter of Franken.
It’s actually ironic that Al Franken, CEO of Al Franken Inc — is NOW one of those very CEOs that runs away from an interview on the same types of things that Michael Moore used to badger big corporate CEOs about.
I guess it’s okay to screw the little guy and act like a big important CEO as long as you’re Al Franken.
I just can’t understand why the Franken folks just won’t answer the basic questions in this matter — why the delay — why the unwillingness to just come clean. One has to start suspecting that there are other issues here that they are attempting to address.
March 28th, 2008 at 9:33 AM
Twopudd isn’t bright enought to know what a rhetorical question is.
March 28th, 2008 at 10:19 AM
MakeThePostCount said “If I remember correctly, Michael Moore — he of the famed documentaries where CEOS and others are seen running away from answering basic questions — is a big supporter of Franken.”
I checked, and I was unable to find anywhere that Michael Moore donated to Al Franken.
http://www.newsmeat.com/celebrity_political_donations/Michael_Moore.php FRanken is NOT listed.
http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/can_ind/2007_S8MN00438/K-O/
(FEC site, Which lists people that have contributed to Al Frankens campaign) Michael Moore is NOT listed.
Nice try though.
March 28th, 2008 at 10:29 AM
Barbara, being a supporter doesn’t necessarily mean being a person who has donated. But I guess that fact is way over your head.
March 28th, 2008 at 10:41 AM
Franken is toast!
There is no way in hell that angry fat liar is going to win, even with all the dirty tricks the DFL will try, he is unelectable as Hatch.
Will be fun to listen to puddles and Barb tell us how the sky is falling when Norm wins again.
March 28th, 2008 at 12:25 PM
I understand that there are other ways to support a candidate, besides contributing to their campaign. Since it doesn’t appear that Michael Moore has donated any money to Al Franken, what evidence do you have to back up the statement that Michael Moore “is a big supporter of Franken”?
March 28th, 2008 at 1:09 PM
If Franken is so supposed to be so “angry,” is Coleman “less angry” than Franken about the 4,000 dead American soldiers killed in Iraq?
March 28th, 2008 at 1:12 PM
Perhaps Big Kahuna was thinking that Michael Moore was a large man and donated his athletic supporter.
March 28th, 2008 at 1:47 PM
MaketheSpinCount:
big corporate CEO
are you kidding me? you are comparing Al Franken Inc. to Enron? The corporation was set up to facilitate payment for speeches, etc. At most he had a few employees and you are comparing his “company” to a big corporate CEO. I swear you guys need to lay off the crack.
March 28th, 2008 at 2:16 PM
We don’t have any Crack Yoni, you may be thinking of ACORN and their Crack Cocaine payments to Libs for false voter registrations.
March 28th, 2008 at 3:08 PM
Yoni Yoni Yoni, big or small they must follow the law. Does it matter if they have 10,000 employees or just 3? No, it does not. You do understand that don’t you?
March 28th, 2008 at 3:49 PM
Speakin’ o’ Enron…
***
THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, Ken Lay is a supporter. And I got to know Ken Lay when he was the head of the — what they call the Governor’s Business Council in Texas. He was a supporter of Ann Richards in my run in 1994. And she had named him the head of the Governor’s Business Council. And I decided to leave him in place, just for the sake of continuity. And that’s when I first got to know Ken, and worked with Ken, and he supported my candidacy.
***
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/01/20020110-1.html
And the bootlickers said nothing, but merely nodded….
March 28th, 2008 at 5:32 PM
el presedente, Mike said *he* was always polite to moonbats. And he is.
He politely and respectfully shreds Democrat pap into little blue colored confetti and then drags their eviscerated political careers through the streets.
Me? I recognise most of ‘em as anthropormorphic toejam and treat them accordingly…but that’s just my way of being friendly.
March 28th, 2008 at 9:06 PM
Friendly engineer with naval destroyer experience needed.
Project: construct hula hoop with a nail in it.
March 28th, 2008 at 9:50 PM
Puddles, being kind of hard on your democrat friends aren’t you?
March 29th, 2008 at 12:28 PM
Perhaps he is harder on his Republican friends.
March 29th, 2008 at 8:27 PM
I doubt if he has any Republican friends. Most rude little boys go through life alone.
March 30th, 2008 at 4:11 PM
It seems that pro-Conservative Rush Limbaugh who has used the word “FemiNazi,” and other such words, and the pro-Conservative Bill O’Reilly uses the word “pinhead” and other such words, are in the rude category, and seem to have quite a Conservative Republican following.
March 30th, 2008 at 8:19 PM
Sure EP, sure. You’ll be ok (snicker snicker)
March 31st, 2008 at 12:32 AM
40. [settle down, snickers, generally, your posts are getting shorter . . . soon you'll probably relax and then call it quits for the night.]
March 31st, 2008 at 12:40 AM
We have a enough politicians in the Senate both left and right we do not need Al Franken, He failed a a talk show host, he will fail as a senator.
March 31st, 2008 at 7:18 AM
“If you don’t agree with Norm Coleman on an issue today, don’t worry – sooner or later you will. Not because you’ve changed, but because ol’ Smokescreen has changed colors, once again.
March 31st, 2008 at 10:05 AM
BRILLIANT puddles.
March 31st, 2008 at 6:17 PM
Brilliant puddles sounds similar to “Tiny Bubbles,” by Don Ho.