Minnesota Politics
Last November Minnesotans went to the polls to vote for the Minnesota politician that they thought would be the best senator for their state. The incumbent Norm Coleman ran against the democratic candidate Al Franken. At the beginning of the race, it looked as thought Coleman would have no problem keeping his seat. However, a democratic craze taking over the country and the dissatisfaction of Minnesota politics as usual lead Franken to catch up in the polls. Coleman quickly started distancing himself from the Bush administration and it’s policies in order to show independence. Both Minnesota politicians did their best to talk to voters and get their message heard. Franken’s advantage was that he was new to Minnesota politics, so he was not prone to make the mistakes that a typical Minnesota politician would. Franken’s campaign was honest and he was very outspoken about what in Minnesota politics he disagreed with, while Coleman was not so eager to explain why he had sided with President Bush on so many issues.
As time went on, it seemed that the Franken had the incumbent and typical Minnesota politician beat. Then came election day. By the end of the day it was not clear which Minnesota politician had won. The race was way too close to call. Although Minnesota politics did play a roll, it was Minnesota law that demanded recounts and court hearings. This process went on for seven months and became the longest senate race in our nation’s history. It was not until June of 2009 that the state supreme court declared Al Franken the winner.
Since becoming senator, Franken has become a fierce advocate for progressive liberal issues such as health care and economic reform. He has even spoken out against the current administration claiming that they are not acting quickly enough and that their reform proposals are not strong enough in order to fix our current problems. Senator Franken has had a long successful career. He started out as a writer and actor on Saturday Night Live in the mid seventies. He then went on to be involved with several successful movies. Later he wrote several books and became a political commentator and host of a liberal radio show. Now Al Franken is a popular senator and some attribute that to his handling of Minnesota politics.
Whether you agree with his ideas and policy proposals or not, we should all agree that Al Franken was not a likely candidate for a Minnesota senator but rose to the occasion and is now acting in the best interest for many Minnesotans. So far most democrats approve of the job he is doing in the senate.