It's not hard to tell that the looming elevation of Al Franken to the U.S. Senate is making Republicans crazy. Last week Bill O'Reilly -- whose feud with Franken is now the stuff of legend -- had to resort to running one of Franken's old comedy videos (his hilarious parody of Mick Jagger) so he could call him a "pinhead."
O'Reilly: Pinhead? You have no idea, ladies and gentlemen.
Now Politico reports that Franken is feeling the love from all kinds of right-wingers:
“I don’t know if we’ve ever had an opponent who is so disliked by Republicans as Al Franken,” said Minnesota Republican Party Chair Ron Carey, who cautioned that Coleman’s election challenge could still turn the results back his way. “It’s one thing to lose to an honorable opponent, but Al Franken is not considered an honorable opponent by Minnesota Republicans.”
Marty Seifert, the Republican leader in the Minnesota House of Representatives, said Franken’s long record of antagonizing conservatives would make it difficult for him to connect with voters who supported Coleman.
“It’s going to be hard for Franken to be very effective with any Republicans, in terms of having any credibility with us, just because he’s been so nasty in the past,” Seifert said. “He certainly has callous and very partisan behavior in the past that is beyond the pale.”
According to Carleton College political scientist Steven Schier, Franken’s record as a “flamboyant and aggressive partisan” would make him ripe for criticism back home.
“I think it’s impossible to overstate the hostility Minnesota Republicans feel toward Al Franken,” Schier said. “He will be a very useful fundraising tool.”
Republicans outside Minnesota are equally apoplectic when it comes to Franken. Prominent conservative Rush Limbaugh, who Franken mocked in the title of one of his books, has already jabbed Franken on his radio show, telling listeners in December that Franken “won’t quit [the Senate race] because he doesn’t know how to get a real job…He’s a pathetic figure.”
Ah, nothing like inchoate nature of impotent rage. I just hope it doesn't keep Franken from just being himself. Because they're gonna savage him no matter what he does, so he ought to just have fun with it.
And as long as we're digging up old videos, here's one back atcha, Poppa Bear:
This one was memorable as well for the producer's view and the dance mix.
