Al Franken Interview-The Progressive 9/05

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http://progressive.org/?q=mag_intv0905

By Stephen Thompson
September 2005 Issue

Al Franken dabbled in political subject matter as a writer—and performer during two lengthy stints on Saturday Night Live, as well as on his short-lived NBC sitcom, LateLine. He has also worked in film—most notably as co-writer and star of 1995’s Stuart Saves His Family, a spin-off of the Stuart Smalley character he’d created for SNL. But today, Franken’s politics overshadow his comedy at virtually every turn. Born in New York City, raised in a suburb of Minneapolis, and educated at Harvard, Franken has become a full-time political figure.

The transformation began in earnest with his 1996 book, Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot, followed by his 2003 work, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. Now Franken is one of the major players behind Air America Radio—the liberal talk-radio network introduced in March 2004 to counter rightwing domination of the medium. At fifty-four, he spends the bulk of his time touring, preparing, and performing for the sixty-seven-station network, on which he appears as co-host of The Al Franken Show. But his goals are more ambitious still: He recently moved from New York back to Minnesota to prepare for a U.S. Senate run against Norm Coleman in 2008.

Franken recently spoke to The Progressive about his career evolution, the network’s past and future, and the political pros and cons of a comedy background.

Question: What are you working on right now?...

(Editor Matthew Rothschild on Franken in his Editor's Note,same issue-"I admire Al Franken...backburned his career to help counter the rightwing dominance in the media...like Amy Goodman,did something about it.

I don't always agree with Franken.He toes the Democratic Party line too much for me and he requires dental work for the sweet tooth he has for Bill Clinton.Nor is Air America easy listening sometimes,with some hosts other than Franken falling off the edge of shrillness.

But at the very least Air America is buoying the spirits of millions of otherwise besieged and dispirited citizens.And it has the potential to reach beyond the choir if it lowers the pitch a bit.

It's a worthy experiment in media activism,and we have Franken to thank for that.")