Democrats have no back bench so no matter who they run in 2020, they’re facing an uphill battle. But Al Franken? Really? The former SNL star is at the top of one writer’s list.
Josh Kraushaar writes at National Journal:
No Joke: Al Franken for President?
Franken isn’t a punch line in the Senate anymore. He’s emerged as one of the Democrats’ most aggressive and effective questioners of President Trump’s Cabinet nominees. He’s generated numerous made-for-TV clips as one of the few Democrats willing to go full-bore against his party’s top targets—Jeff Sessions, Tom Price, and Betsy DeVos.
He’s finally showing some personality in the Senate, punctuated by his laugh-out-loud exchange with Energy Secretary-designate Rick Perry. And he’ll be one of nine Democrats on the Judiciary Committee questioning Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch. This is Al Franken’s moment in the spotlight, and if he chooses, he could parlay his good fortune into a bid for the presidency in 2020.
To be sure, Franken, 65, may not be the Democrats’ strongest candidate in the general election. His deeply liberal politics and long-standing dismissiveness of Republicans turn off many voters in the middle. But with Democrats looking for strident opposition to Trump in the early days of his presidency, they’re probably not going to be in a pragmatic mood in the primaries.
So far, much of the liberal excitement has centered around Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, but they will be 71 and 79, respectively, during the general election. Neither has shown any ability to win support outside the most progressive precincts. Franken, at least, can point to a record of electability with groups that Democrats will need to win over.
Al Franken doesn’t have much of a record. We’re not sure this would be the best choice for Democrats but if that’s who they want, let him run.
He won’t beat Trump. That’s for sure.
