Al Franken takes over the U.S. Senate floor to explain a newspaper cartoon to the waiting nation

All we can say is thank goodness Minnesota's newest Democratic U.S. senator, Al Franken, was on duty Thursday.

We were poring through one of America's most glorious man-caused treasures -- the 31 years of C-SPAN video archives, which The Ticket detailed with effusive praise here earlier this year.

And we realized suddenly that somehow we had inexplicably missed the comedian's detailed explanation of a newspaper editorial cartoon enlarged so that he could identify the symbols and characters in it so the elderly senators could see it. The current White House's pedantry is apparently infectious.

Additionally, Franken takes many moments to explain the drawing and its symbols as documentation for his argument for more government regulation of yet another part of the financial industry.

No, this is not a "Saturday Night Live" skit. This is the real thing from the Senate floor where the 100 members are paid $174,000 -- each -- for this work. The folks back home must be very proud of the honorable gentleman.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Video courtesy of C-SPAN

Comments

[wilmac]

when is dodd going to jail.

[G Man]

This is a product of the fact that Minnesota does not take elections seriously. First you support Jesse "The Body" Venura, and by way of association, Ross Perot and now this "comic". Those of us who do understand the function of government and the necessity of electing serious people to make difficult choices ask you to please be careful who you nominate. We're stuck with this mean-spirited nitwit for six years because of you. Maybe we'll all get lucky and he'll blow his stack publicly and have to resign. Thank goodness Courtny Love lives in Washington. You people would think it would be cute to nominate her next.

[bitterweed]

Minnesota is the land of loons..'voter' loons and 'politician' loons..can we give them to Canada?? Please..

[Bubba]

He fits in great with all the other drunks in Minnesota.

[Jim]

America is doomed, I'm not sure who's more ignorant the idiots in congress or the idiots who put them there

[Beau]

He is not drunk...just stupid.

[djf]

I live in Minnesota and even though I didn't vote for Franken I'm embarrassed for the state. This guy should go back to SNL. He doesn't belong in Congress!

[jeff h]

I am right wing all the way; Al Franken in the Senate is an emabarrasment to the good folks in MN. However, his ingenious use of the cartoon is much apprecicated as it clearly delineates an important issue that needs to be addressed. However the reform bill as it is currently written will do little if anything to solve the problem. It does not address the 'evils' of Fannie Mae/Mac and does not put back the wall that was created with (sic) Glass Spiegal, which was repealed at the behest of Democrats/Wall Street tycoon.

[JJIrons]

Nope, back in Minnesota, we're not proud of Mr Franken, at all.

[HPS]

and this man represents a state?? I thought Durban was an embarrassment Franklin is 100x's worse..but that's what you get from the air heads in MN..

[Ben]

As one of the "folks back home," I truly am proud of Al Franken's work in the Senate so far. It also can't hurt to bring a bit of levity to the staid chamber every once in a while.

[Mike]

The LA Times is worthy of nothing more than toilet paper.. Leftist rag.. Stay tuned. Newsweek and other left-slanted rags are going belly-up? Why? They underestimate our intelligence.. You're death is not far behind, LA and NY Times...

(AM responds: Hey, Mike. If you get a chance, have someone read this item to you. And some of the other many non-leftist comments that seem to agree with the item.)

[Jim44]

I am from Minnesota and everytime this person gets up and talks I wantto move to South Dakota. Just think ACORN gave use Stwert Little. Any wonder why we have the problems we.

[Fred Duerr]

Do you suppose Al could have done a better job if he wasn't in the bag?

[Johnny Tea Party]

Dodd's financial reform bill kills free speech and opens the door to the total state: http://tiny.cc/igva5

[allen payne]

Landslide Franken is an Idiot .....Hes reading that info and has NO idea what hes talking about ..... Hes slurring and sounds drunk !...The only reason this man is in the senate is because of the cheating by ACORN , after his opponent had won the election ..miracle of all miracles his 0pperatives found 400 votes in the TRUNK of a car ..later moved to the basement of a church..I guess church sounds better than TRUNK of a car ?? This man is a failed joke period . This person does not deserve anyones time Libs or repubs ..Allen Payne .St.George , Utah

[Tylor]

One cartoon character describing another cartoon character. How appropriate.

[Former_Democrat]

The man is a joke and a liar and cheat who, with liberal judges, stole the election. He expects us to take him seriously when he's shown that hes nothing more than another stupid Hollyweird liberal? Get real. He's a one termer, just like the Fraud in Chief, Obama.

[Mark]

Hey Minnesotans, kick this idiot out of the Senate ASAP. He's humiliating your great state because:
He's not good enough.
He's not smart enough.
And, doggone it, people hate him!

[eric]

And how much are you paid to completely miss the point of a political speech? Really? This was your take from this speech? You don't kinda sorta think Al might be in on the joke of explicating a cartoon, and was deliberately using the clunkiness of the explanation for a political point? Do you really not think it might be possible that maybe, just maybe, Al is actually smarter about politics than you? If this "trivality" really bothers you, you must have written hundreds of columns about things like "drill, baby drill," right? Right?

[William Cavanaugh]

What a good point, he is just trying to use simplicity to get his message across. I still believe that he should be behind the scenes and not out front. Sorry just my opinion I cant get past the point of comedy from him.

[allen payne]

Landslide Franken ..... should title his autobiography " I'm a Big Fat Idiot " He first has to learn to read though . What an embarrassment . Trying to read alot of drivel written by commie czar's from the current Regime....Hes Drunk !Senators should have to take a breathalizer test before addressing the Senate .Landside should resign for the good of the Senate and the people of MN. I'm sure they are suffering buyers remorse now , even the phoney votes found in the trunk of a car , they regret cheating for him too !!! Allen Payne ...St.George

[Jonny]

Hes drunk!

[AGobbler]

I appreciate that Al is on the floor and active. It keeps him away from trolling on the comments sections of the conservative websites.

[mjnbell]

This moron is bombed, or, to the liberal mind - a real deep thinker.
You Dems are a joke. Think I'm kidding?? - just start counting down to November!!!

[zed]

Are these guys ever sober?

[zed]

Every citizen should be required to see this before voting.

[Rob]

More proof Jefferson had it right: only the educated should vote because obviously a lot of illiterate morons voted this buffoon into office.

[Doc]

I can smell the Stolli through my screen. Check out the aide with the cartoon, after a few minutes of this moron droning on she drops her head and you can see a small smerk. She must be a true believer to work for him but everyone has their limits I suppose. I can't imagine what's worse, listening to Dodd sober or Franken drunk

[Eric]

I'm not sure who the bigger embarrassment is. Senator Clown Shoes here or the dummies who put him in office.

[Gladeye]

Ok, get it out of your systems and call him a failed comedian and accuse him of sounding drunk, but how about taking a moment to address the CONTENT of what he's saying?

[Larry B]

I am from Minnesota and Al Franken is SUCH an embarrassment!!!

Needless to say that we have a bunch of liberals in this state who have had their brain cells nipped by the frost when the elected this buffoon!!!

Please!!! New York, take Al Franken BACK!!!!

[John]

So if the people who took out the second mortgages actually lived up to their legal obligation to repay their debts maybe just maybe we would not have had the mortgage meltdown. But that would have taken the individuals who signed mortgage applications to be truthful about income and ability to pay on their no documentation loans. Add to that congress's mandate to offer loans to less credit worthy people and the cause of the disaster is a lot closer to home in Washington than Wall Street. Sen. Franken talks about pension funds relying on rating agencies to make investment decisions, doesn't he realize pension funds are sophisticated institutions that are supposed to do their own research for every investment they make beyond just rating agency reports?
Transactions are sold based on a prospectus which lists among other things risk factors available to every investor. The fact investors choose to ignore them should not be a reason to expand an already boated government.
People who live in glass houses should not throw stones!

[gus]

the one thing the bill does not do is get to the core of and root out the problem: chris dodd for his illegal shady financial deals; barney frank and his well-paid lover for the demise of frannie may and freddie mack. we, the legal American people, pay THEIR salaries. get rid of them!

[terry steiden]

wow - he is more ignorant and inarticulate as a senator then he was as a comedian...and THAT is saying something.

[Stephen Field]

What makes you think Minnesotans ELECTED him much like the Health Care bill Mr. Franken was "deemed" to be the Senator even though the vote totals said otherwise. Remember the Soros-Democrats decided that they would work hard to make sure Secretaries of State in each state is a Democrat and s/he will certify the winner--so he was "deemed" the Senator from Minnesota. I guess the direct election of senators does not pertain to Minnesota.

[Fearless Bystander]

Al Franken's original schtick on SNL largely consisted of him repeating his own name over and over. He is nearly as good a senator as he was a comedian. Just about the time the country stopped laughing at Minnesota about Jessie Ventura, the brilliant natives elected Franken.

"The problem with political jokes is that too many of them actually get elected."

[Libertyandvirtue.com]

WOW where was he during the health care debate, He could have had a complete lesson for the Congress. Even Speaker Pelosi, would have known what was in the bill instead she had to make the comment "we will know what is in it when it has passed" I think this is a sterling idea and have written about it on my blog. ALL memebers of Congress Should have to sit in the House/ and Senate /(televised )and listen to the bill and its content, For $174,000.00 a year they need to do something(please note the chamber was almost empty.

[FAIRTV]

People of Minnesota:

Your idiot Senator has gotten loose again.

Al, put down the sharp pencil and go with the nice men in the white coats.

[Jack]

And George Bush was the dumb one?

[Gary]

I cannot believe we are paying for this crap. What a complete moron. Obviously his staff people wrote this junk and he has no clue what he is actually talking about. The implication here is that the rating agencies lack integrity. His premise that because the company has to pay for the rating is flawed because they are not getting graf. They are getting paid for meticulous and painstaking work that sometimes takes months to put together. Get at something more meaningful like restructuring the reporting for individuals and the sale of information to retailers by those agencies.
At least this guy is as qualified as the leader of the party. What a joke!

[Fairwind]

Franken is no different than he has ever been---an airhead! That's why he looks drunk. Probable high on coke!

[WEP]

Franken is really DRUNK?

Wow, what is wrong with our country...........

And what is wrong with the idiots who would defend Franken...........

[mbankat]

Don't blame Al for being stupid. You can't fix stupid. THAT is why we have the Senators, Congressmen and President we do. We, and I mean YOU ... YES YOU ... keep sending people who are more stupid than you are to Washington.

TERM LIMITS.

The BRIGHTEST minds in America are in YOUR HOME TOWN. NOT in Washington, DC.

[AW]

"The world's greatest deliberative body." He gives gasbagging a bad name.

[howard]

Okay, this is a ridiculous article. I am no fan of Sen. Al Franken, but lets deal with arguments related to the issues at hand. He is actually making a good point on conflict of interest trying to protect investors. I don't know the details of the bill, and I am not for gov't taking over the financial markets, but I appreciate a legislature that wants to create an environment for unbiased information in hopes of insuring investors get reliable details for making investment decisions. What he is saying is just sensible. But, I don't know if the Dodd Bill is micromanagement or not -- that would take reading the bill.

[John Moser]

Franken is as smart as he is funny. For the libtards on this site, that means he's neither.

[Howeey]

As a Conservative Minnesotan, beware that the Lefties in this state lied and cheated to get him elected. There are still 17,000 voters who can not be identified. This is on the SOS's web site, and he [a Democrat] has made no real effort to do so after almost 2 years. We as a nation need national Voter Id cards to vote. I was involved in the recount, There was the testimony of the Head Election judge of Mpls, who said there had been double counting of absentee ballots by 132 votes in this one precent. My brother saw a Democrat stuffing ballots, and a Conservative tried to take a picture of it, Because our state law allows no pictures, he was stopped.
It is a crime that the democrats oppose a Nat'l Voter ID card. See what we have now representing us.----17,000 missing names on votes for Franken

[trs]

I hope everyone who voted for Stuart Smalley sees this. The man is a moron.

[Dee Bacher]

I have to agree, he is drunk.

There is just no other reason he goes into such detail about the dang cartoon. "an apple core, fish head, a banana....you don't want those on the ice". Good to know there, Senator.