You forget, the Minn Senate race was a three man race. Coleman's vote got split with the Independent candidate. So far more people are unhappy in Minn then 50%. Now they have Stuart Smalley representing their "best" interests in Washington.

Maybe next election cycle in Minn, they can convince Prince to run on a Purple Rain slogan and win the other seat in the Senate!?!?!

No problem. It just seems to me that everyone is eager to talk about who Franken is as an elected Senator, when we have no clue yet.

Old Poor Richard, I do agree with you. In the future, the system should require a fresh vote whenever the outcome is within the margin of error. Vote counting is no where near accurate enough to know who actually received more votes. (We know Gore won more votes than Bush, but who won Florida? Not even the best statisticians can tell.)

That said, Coleman knew he'd lost a fair and exhaustive recount many months ago. Coleman's refusal to concede was all about stalling as long as possible to benefit his party at the expense of his state and his country. His conduct, more than Sanford's or Spitzer's, should preclude him from holding elective office in the future.

Joe Conason, this is a fine article. However, I would caution that criticizing Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck et al for saying stupid, hypocritical, nasty things is a game with no end. There's nothing out-of-character whatsoever in their conduct regarding Franken. You can deflate the blowhards every day, but it will grow tedious not only for you but also for your readers (most of whom would otherwise not be aware of what those worthies are up to).

The field of candidates running for Governor when Jesse "The Body" won Minnesota's election was tepid at best, if not just flat out poor. Add to that total disenchantment with bipartisan politics and the state's history of independent action - it's where the DFL got started - and the fact that Ventura had some of the same appeal back then that Schwarzenegger carried in California years later.

When you consider that the entire nation voted a B movie actor into the presidency, and then later an aging frat boy who'd previously been successful at practically nothing, Minnesota has nothing to apologize for.

Reading the vitriol these morons spew makes you want to look each one of them in the eye and ask, "project much?"

In the immortal words of Peewee Herman, "I know you are, but what am I?"

I find no fault in any of the article's content, and I'm glad the media has writers like Joe Conason who enthusiastically call out right wing BS. However, is the insulting (to Rush) title really necessary? While the readers in the choir might appreciate the reference to Franken's book, this insult also gives undecidedly moderate readers one possible excuse to ignore the rest of the article.

Of course, I may be naive to think it matters, but why risk it?

who did Minnesota chose Jessie Ventura over? Well, Norm Coleman, for one.

I know you guys have lost the debate when you immediately start attacking Reagan and Bush. The fact that the "B Movie actor" and "Frat boy" had actual experience...such as being the Governor of large states always seems to slip past your fact filters.

And, yes, Minn has plenty to be embarassed about. First "The Body" who was all promise and no action and now Stuart Smalley who will quickly become the lap dog of any Democrat who will stand still long enough and listen to his moronic views on the world.

And, again, the major difference between Stuart Smalley/Obama and Reagan/Bush is the fact that the latter had actual experience running something. To that point, I might have to give a little latitude to Stuart Smalley, at least he invested heavily in and ran a terrible radio station (Air America) into the ground in record time. Please share with the gorup any real expereince our Community Organizder in Chief brings to the table? ....And please don't say "he ran a successful campaign".

At least he's not big, fat, ugly, dumb, STD and cancer stricken, full mastectomy survivors like many of you. He's also not dead before birth, like many of your long dead children. I love the license to attack the physical. Keep up the stupid, brownshirt, threatening, childish insults. We can play it.

For a long time, Franken was almost the only outspoken critic on the left who got heard. I used to wonder at his courage. I think people were afraid to speak out. It's amusing that you mention his republican friends who are also entertainers. Now some of those are kind of shimmying to the left, at least in a superficial way. It's enough to fool much of the non-discerning public, but with the immense fallout from the past eight years I find it difficult to look past it. I recall in particular Letterman remarking on his show about how his wise uncle told him it was unwise to change horses in mid stream and this was about the time of the 2004 election.He was talking about the Iraq war. I guess Dave's uncle was looking forward to those huge tax rebates to people in his nephew's income bracket. Oh I know, Letterman probably doesn't even have an uncle and it was just a joke. But jokes were all that got out there against the rightwing roar and his weren't helping. The fact that Franken is still friends with someone who had a national forum and used it to promote the unspeakable disaster of Bush's second term is to his credit. I don't think I could be so magnanimous. As far as the roar now against Franken's senate victory, it's all stupid except for Limbaugh. Not that his is smart, it's just given the title of Franken's book, it's understandable at least.

It strikes when someone with such an odd physical appearance, and such an odd appearing wife and doofy looking fat old promiscous mother can insult someone else physically.

Have any more stupid articles?