Franken releases a statement

Posted at 10:17 PM on June 5, 2008 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)

Al Franken released a statement today on the flap surrounding his campaign. Here it is:

"I'm proud of my career as a satirist, which doesn't mean every joke I've ever told was funny, or, indeed, appropriate. I understand and regret that people have been legitimately offended by some of the things I've written. In real life, though, I've been married for 32 years. Franni and I are proud of our son and daughter. I respect women -- in both my personal and professional life. And I will work incredibly hard to represent them in the Senate -- something Norm Coleman hasn't been doing for the last six years."

Meanwhile, DFL Senator Amy Klobuchar tells the Star Tribune that Franken's comments were "entirely inappropriate" and asked Franken to acknowledge that:

"This is a guy who has been married for 30 years. He loves his family and he cares about the issues. People need to know that. But they also need to hear him address his past inappropriate writings head on."

The DFL State Party Convention starts tomorrow. MPR's Midday will be live from Rochester on Friday at 11 AM. MPR will also have live coverage of the U.S. Senate endorsement fight on Saturday.

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Comments (2)

What type of state do we live in? First, we elect a former gang member / wrestler te be governor who focused on building his own ego rather than managing government effectively. Now we have a comedian who thinks that jokes about rape are “satire” and we should excuse his support of the objectification of women in his career as a writer as being, somehow, not connected to his personal character. Please – we can do better than this. Ask Mr. Fanken to spend a week working with rape victims and see if he thinks his jokes are still funny.

Posted by Dan | June 6, 2008 10:27 AM

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While Al Franken was joking about raping women and a host of other degrading and humiliating jokes throughout his career, I was in the Minnesota attorney general’s office working to throw rapists behind bars,’ Coleman said…”

What he left out, is that later, as Chair of The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, he ignored forced prostitution, and forced abortion, on a territory that flies the American Flag.

And while State Rep Laura Brod preens as the indignant rightwing woman, complaining about Franken's writings, she's really just carrying water for a guy that had the power to investigate some of the worst abuses of women, ever, in America - but didn't.

Posted by TwoPuttTommy | June 6, 2008 10:53 AM

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