You Don't Have To Be A Star . . . But

  

     Finally, after more than six months, Minnesota has two United States Senators.

   Finally, after more than half a year, the United States Senate has its full compliment of members.

    Finally, Alan Stuart "Al" Franken* can add "United States Senator" to an already impressive resume.

    And yet, to listen or watch various conservative entertainers, pundits and assorted troglodytes, one might think that the "Greatest Deliberative Body in the World" is about to be invaded by a debauched, foul-mouthed, plague-ridden scandal-mongering deviant.  

   And no, they are not referring to Senators Larry Craig, John Ensign or David Vitter.  They are referring to Senator Franken who, unlike the aforementioned "gentlemen" has been married to the same woman for 32 years without a hint of scandal. To be certain there are all sorts of rumors about Senator Franken's past actions, addictions and activities, but most all of them were started by Franken himself -- that's just part of the job of a self-denigrating satirist.

  The one charge his detractors have endlessly tossed about on television, radio and the Internet is that Franken lacks gravitas -- that indefinable something which separates the professionals from the poseurs.

  "Al Franken," they monotonously posit, "is nothing more than a third-rate, potty-mouthed comedian from Saturday Night Live . . . and we all know what that means . . . And if it weren't for being an incredibly minor celebrity, who in the world would have ever heard of him?" 

   By this, they are of course inferring that:

1. Anyone associated with Saturday Night Live is nothing more than a clown or comedian.
2. Being a clown, comedian, or mere celebrity is no qualification for political office.
3. Al Franken is all three, and is therefore clearly out of his element.
4. Franken will be an embarrassment. 
   

   Hold on there for just a second.  Al Franken is a lot more than some "third-rate comedian":

• He is a graduate of Harvard College.
• He is a best-selling author with six books to his credit.
• He is an actor who has either starred or been featured in a dozen-and-a-half films.
• He is a gifted political satirist and pundit who until just before launching his senate campaign, had a much admired radio talk show on the Air America network. 
• He is a patriot who has, over the past decade, conducted overseas tours entertaining American troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as "handshake tours" to military hospitals all over the world.
• And yes, he is a celebrity . . .

     So let's ask the question: Does being a celebrity disqualify one from office?  According to the likes of Hannaty, Limbaugh, O'Reilly et al it certainly does . . . at least when it comes to Al Franken. 

   (In support of full disclosure, it must be noted that in many of his satiric books -- most notably Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations and Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right, he gleefully skewers the aforementioned with a pen that could only have been dipped in Jonathan Swift's inkwell.)

   All those who continually classify Senator-elect Franken as "nothing more than a celebrity" suffer from a curious inconsistency.  "Who," we may well ask, "Who is the one elected official they revere more than any other; the one who more than any other successfully led the country along the path of peace, prosperity and honor?"

   Why the greatest of all celebrities who ever got elected to office -- Ronald Reagan, that's who!  Could it be then that what these guys are really, truly disparaging are celebrities who happen to be liberal Democrats?

    Hmmmmm. . . .
  

   Now, the mere fact that one has achieved a certain level of celebrity should by no means be a disqualifier for leadership.  Then too, achieving a certain level of celebrity by no means makes one qualified to be a representative, senator, governor or president . . . but it sure can help one get elected.  For in hard-ball campaigning, the first and highest hurdle to clear is getting your name out there; making yourself known.  Unless one is already famous -- or in some cases infamous -- this can cost an arm and a leg and a pancreas gland.  For  those whose names, faces and basic accomplishments are already known -- i.e. those who have already achieved a level of celebrity -- that hurdle is measured in millimeters, not miles. 

   Neither Ronald Reagan nor Al Franken, of course, are the first celebrities to succeed in getting themselves elected.  That honor likely goes to a late 19th century Shakespearean actor named Julius Kahn who the good people of San Francisco elected to Congress in 1898.  Kahn (1861-1924) would be reelected 11 times and serve three terms as Chair of the House Committee on Military Affairs.  

   Since then nearly two-dozen men and women have used their celebrity status in order to get elected to office.  Among them are:

• Helen Gahagan-Douglas: Broadway Actress and wife of actor Melvin Douglas, she served two terms in the House from California, and lost a senate election to Richard Nixon, who called her "The Pink Lady."  In turn, Rep. Gahagan-Douglas was the first to call the future president "Tricky Dicky."  She was a liberal Democrat.
  
• George Murphy: One of Shirley Temple's costars who served a single six-year term in the Senate from California. Murphy was a conservative Republican. Topical songwriter Tom Lehrer wrote a piece about him -- "Now we have a senator who can really sing and dance!"
• Sonny Bono: A conservative Republican Congressman from Palm Springs, California, he took quite a while to figure out that being a celebrity and being a member of Congress were two very different things.
• Fred Grandy: "Gopher" on The Love Boat, Grandy, a graduate of Harvard, served four terms in the House from Iowa.  He was a moderate Republican.
• Fred Thompson: Originally an attorney with the Watergate Committee, Thompson went on to a movie career -- frequently portraying the president -- and did several seasons as D.A. Arthur Branch on Law and Order. Thompson served two six-year terms in the senate from Tennessee, and tried to capture the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 . . .
• Bill Bradley: NBA star with the New York Knicks.  Bradley, who was also an Olympian, a graduate of Princeton and a Rhodes Scholar, was a liberal Democrat who served three terms in the senate from New Jersey.  Vied for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2000 . . .
• Jesse "The Body" Ventura:  Professional wrestler and actor who became a one-term Governor of Minnesota.  Ironically, Ventura acted in the 1987 film Predator with future California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and future Kentucky Gubernatorial candidate Sonny Landham.
• Jim Bunning: Hall of Fame pitcher (224-184, 3.27 era, 2,855 strikeouts), now in his third term as senator from Kentucky; a conservative Republican.
  
• Wilmer "Vinegar Bend" Mizell: Spent nine seasons pitching for Cardinals, Pirates and Mets; served three terms in Congress from a North Carolina district; a conservative Republican.
• Jim Ryun: For many years, the World record-holder in the mile (3:51:1); served five terms in the House from Kansas' Second District; conservative Republican.
• Heath Schuler: A first-round pick of the Washington Redskins in 2001, Schuler was a so-so quarterback for five NFL seasons.  Now in his second term as Representative form North Carolina's 11th District.  Moderate-to-conservative Democrat.
• Steve Largent: Hall of Fame wide receiver for Seattle Seahawks; served 4 terms in the House from Oklahoma's First District; conservative Republican.
• J.C. Watts: Two-time Orange Bowl MVP (1980, 81) and Canadian Football League Quarterback; served four terms in the House from Oklahoma's Fourth District; a conservative Republican.
• George W. Bush: Son of President George H.W. Bush; grandson of Senator Prescott Bush; managing partner of Texas Rangers baseball team.  Conservative Republican.

   To the best of my knowledge, I don't recall Hannaty, Limbaugh, O'Reilly or the rest ever question the qualifications of folks like J.C. Watts, Steve Largent, Jim Ryun, Jim Bunning or any other conservative Republican celebrity.  I do know that they have disparaged the likes of Chicago-area Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. (whom they claim would never have been elected if his father wasn't famous); Rhode Island Representative Patrick Kennedy (his father is Senator Ted); and now, of course, Al Franken.  Perhaps their problem isn't so much with their celebrity or "stardom" but with their politics. 

   I predict that Al Franken will become a pretty good senator.  Having read all of his books I can tell you that not only is he both witty and bright; he is also very well versed on a lot of issues.  He also cares passionately about making this a better world, much in the mold of his political mentor, the late Senator Paul David Wellstone. I predict that as the years go by, Franken's career as a writer/comedian/satirist/radio talk show host will fade from memory . . . except when the boys and girls Fox remind us. . .

©2009 Kurt F. Stone

*  Al Franken's election to the U.S. Senate marks an interesting bit of American history. Minnesota is now the only state in American history to have elected 4 Jewish senators.  Moreover, Al Franken is the fourth Jewish person in a row to occupy this senate seat.  He takes over the seat that had previously been held for one term by Republican Norm Coleman; Coleman took over the seat held for two terms by the late Democrat Paul David Wellstone; Wellstone had defeated Republican Rudy Boschwitz, who himself had served two terms.  In other words, this marks the sixth term in a row that this seat has been held by a Jew.  Really quite remarkable when you consider how few Jewish people live in Minnesota. Hey wait a second . . . come to think of it, my maternal grandma, Grandma Ann, was born in St. Paul way back in 1896 . . .

  

Comments

[D.B.B.]

Great article! I am always amazed at the wealth of information (and trivia) that you possess. I remember the fireworks that ensued when the book Lies and the Lying......" O'Reilly was furious and he and Franken went at each other--I believe, at a book fair. Anyway, it was quite a show. O'Reilly looked like he was about to kill Franken, but Al kept his cool.

[Alan Weiss]

"debauched, foul-mouthed, plague-ridden scandal-mongering deviant" .... My kind of guy!