We Are Not Entitled To Our Own Facts! Senator Al Franken
By CSPANJunkie Tuesday Dec 15, 2009 2:00pm
December 14, 2009 C-SPAN
From Think Progress--Franken: Republicans ‘haven’t read the bill and are not very familiar with it.’:
This afternoon, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) openly challenged Sen. John Thune (R-SD)’s claim that the Senate health care bill does not offer benefits until 2014. “We are entitled to our own opinions; we are not entitled to our own facts,” Franken asserted. “Benefits kick in right away.” He concluded:
I stand here day after day after day and hear my colleagues, my good friends from the other side, say things that are not based on fact. […]
Senator Thune did say that none of the benefits started next year. He just, I guess, hasn’t read the bill. .. I do find that many of my colleagues who I’m very friendly with, haven’t read the bill and are not very familiar with it.
And The Politico--Al Franken feuds with GOP's No. 4:
Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) sparred sharply on the Senate floor Monday evening, a departure from the usually dormant speeches in the august chamber.
Franken said he was struck by a speech in which he said Thune had refused to highlight when benefits to the health care bill would kick in and instead emphasized the negative parts of the bill.
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Proud to say he is my senator. Keep up the fight Senator Franken!
To hear honesty like this in the Senate almost brought a tear to my eye. Congratulations on electing what is probably our best Senator.
Al makes me proud I supported his election and that my daughter voted for him. How I wish he were my senator instead of the Republicans I am currently stuck with in Texas.
Thune is one of the most repugnant of the Repugnants. So good for him.
I love the way Franken clears the air with the truth. Can we clone him because a lot of states would like to be heard through his voice.
laughing that Minnesota had elected a comedian to the Senate (obviously his mathematics degree doesn't carry weight in the GOP). For sure Franken isn't the typical spineless political blowhard that permeate both parties right now. Maybe Eddie Murphy will run too, that would make C-Span fun to watch.
What do Franken and Murphy have in common? --
They are both quite brilliant, trustworthy, and well spoken.
And, whenever I listen to Senator Franken, I am struck anew with how deceitful and banal are most of his fellow senators.
"You guys are all a bunch of lying sacks of shit."
All I heard for ten minutes was....
Franken:Liar liar liar liar liar liar liar liar...
Thune: would the Senator please yield
Franken:Liar liar liar liar...
And Thune is suppose to be the next big thing on the right?
as Liberalicious correctly asserted, Franken nicely and effectively calls the lying liars (Thune, et al.) on their vile, blatant deceit. I am sooooo very glad he is now SENATOR Al Franken, and I wish we had a lot more like him.
Yep. I bet these right wing morons thought they'd be able to match him in a battle of wits. Someone should've told the cons they're going in unarmed.
notice how they continue to underestimate Franken? And, how they continue to provide him with opportunities to address their vile deceit? Their arrogance knows no bounds.
and "you guys don't even read shit".
If they did read shit they might be more reasonable.
Al Franken for President!
(and by the way, Politico is almost as bad as Fux News)
do the neo-cons think he is now? Atta-boy Al, wish we had 500 more like him. CEO,citizens,eyes,open.
not exactly an evenly matched fight...
....other republican. Unless I am missing someone. Even the smartest of them could not likely keep up with Franken who is intelligent, current on the facts, STICKS to the facts, and as a comedian, frankly, can think on his feet. And when I say smartest, I am not placing the bar very high.
How do I get Senator Franken to run for both Senate seats in Pennsylvania? All the other politicians thought they were going to get the class clown from Franken and they got a bulldog. President Al Franken has a nice ring to it.
Obama though is now urging this "historic" bill to be passed which includes "all the criteria that I laid out"
More Senators like this. Thanks.
I had a good feeling about Big Al when he decided to run for office.
Funny people and comedians have to be smart to be funny.
Senator Franken seems to have read up on Paul Wellstone as Al has been positively Wellstonian already - I hope to see more and more!
Generally speaking, I have felt that to be true of so many of the best comedians. The best ones are incisive and think outside of the box, just for starters.
Speaking of having their own facts . . .
Just heard on progressive radio "Bush was a better president because he would have just rammed stuff through"
WTF? I didn't vote for a Democrat to be a lefty Bush.
Obama promised to work with both sides and for all the people in the country, not just the far left loons.
I guess we have come full circle.
The left will destroy Barack the same way they did Bill Clinton.
I'd also support working with both sides, if there were two sides to work with. However, the Republicans have rather clearly shown that they have no intention of working with the Democrats on much of anything, so there's really very little point in engaging in bipartisanship. It just ends up preventing passage of much needed legislation or passage of ineffective legislation.
Absolutely correct - and Obama is caving in to everything the repigs want.
I thought we might actually be getting a president who was diplomatic yet had balls. What we got was just another Democratic wimp.
The repugs are not negotiating in good faith on any issue. If you consider that there seems to be a standing filibuster on any bill that reaches the Senate floor you'll understand where these obstructionist pigs are coming from. Party first, country may be 40th on their list of priorities behind big pharma, the health insurance companies and their other corporate benefactors.
Here's what I think their grade school teachers wrote on the repugs' report cards: "Won't share, prone to tantrums, cries or whines when reprimanded, doesn't play well with others, not the sharpest tool in the shed."
Obama has been working with both sides. That's the problem. He keeps giving consideration to people on the right that have no consideration for both sides.
is one hell of a lot more sensible than the far right. Our extremists aren't trying to take money out of their own grandkid's pockets.
come up with all the extra cash the Con Man in Chief wants to give to the Insurance Companies.
That Franken has some nerve asking modern day republicans to be honest! To tell the truth! To actually state facts!
How dare he.
There is no one that can make a republican tell the truth, not even using the water board.
Good republicans know that waterboarding is not toture.
Just like they know saddam wa behind 911, and they knew he weapons of mass destruction, and by god good republicans know that he still has those weapons because the liberal meadia said he did not have them so you know that is a lie.
I am telling you the facts here and now republicanism/conservatism is a mental illness that is killing America and other places!
Franken is a monster. The Republicans are melting.. melting.
Why is there such things as Republicans? Just what's the point in their existence? Rattlesnakes have more of purpose than Republicans.
you already answered your question - republicans are there to make rattlesnakes look good!
Boss democrats around
Obama: Senate 'On The Precipice' Of Passing Health Care Reform
precipice
1. An overhanging or extremely steep mass of rock, such as a crag or the face of a cliff.
2. The brink of a dangerous or disastrous situation: on the precipice of defeat.
Good point!
I really don't know how he even can talks to those stinking Repuks. He must want to take a shower as soon as he leaves the floor of that shit hole we call the senate.
is it strange to see beauty in this?
A rapier wit can be entertaining and disarming at the same time!
I see in the future we'll be having more blue dog democrats, as the republican jump the sinking ship. We need to stop voting for conservative democrats, because we think we could get more vote from the other side. The other side have shown no interest in compromising. There is too much money that drives the politician wherever they jump ship to.
All I am saying don't get too excited that Franken is doing so great for the party, but doing great for the people. Vote for the man not attach to the lifesupport of the corporation.
is proving to be one of the best political/financial investments I've made in 40 years.
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while. :-)
Franken is a good man , the problem is that he is only one of "maybe" a dozen , the rest being self serving , corrupt and up for sale .
I heard him say that the reasons for going into Afghanistan were 'good.' Lost it then. It was a while ago, and if he's changed his view, good. But I found him saying that to be repulsive.
In a victory for President Obama and his allies in the pharmaceutical industry, the Senate today turned aside a bid by a bipartisan group of lawmakers to make it easier to import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada and Western Europe -- a proposal that threatened to derail the Democrats' landmark healthcare bill. WTH ? A victory for Obama , man , this going going to be some kind of a healthcare reform isn't it ?
In a fair world Thune would be required to wear a clown suit and have balloons attached to his charts and when he wanted to make a statement he would have to squeeze a bulb horn.
senator franken points out the lack of logic by sen. thune. thune makes up his own facts and refuses to to point net positives and negatives.
Bravo! How I wish he would take on Judas Leiberman next...
to prosecute in court. That should show the world what Thune is made of. Let's not forget those 30 senators that voted to protect rapists and the corporations from this prosecution.
calling him a clown. He's well on his way, already.
Starting to look like Wellstone's seat again
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