I had the pleasure of seeing the new documentary "
Al Franken: God Spoke" this weekend. The film, shot over two years, charts Franken's growth into progressive author, radio host and potential U.S. Senate candidate. Following him from the publication of "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them" to the start of his radio show to the 2004 election and beyond, filmmakers Nick Doob and Chris Hegedus paint the picture of a man firmly rooted in Democratic values. A man who uses his position of power to fight for those values and speak out against those whose actions are clearly working against everyday Americans.
A man who cares. But when I left the theater, what struck me the most wasn't the jokes, nor was it the heated encounters with rabid right wingers. No, what I took way from the movie was the heart, the desire, the commitment to fighting for progressive values that I found thriving at
Camp Wellstone, named, of course, after the amazing senator whose seat (now occupied by an empty suit) Franken is considering running for.
It was amazing to see scene after scene of angry right wingers -
Bill O'Reilly and
Ann Coulter, for instance - insulting Franken simply for his using their own words against them. Or, even more simply, for just
fighting back. Funny, isn't it, how much the truth hurts dishonest hucksters? As a target of the right wing, Franken's very presence in a room draws unique attention. One scene captures the phalanx of Republican Party operatives - strongmen, really - whose sole job it was during the 2004 Republican convention to surround Franken and keep him from getting closer to the action on the floor of the hall. It was also interesting to witness the contrast between the rabid partisans questioning Franken's patriotism and the sequences of Franken performing as Saddam Hussein in front of cheering troops on one of his many USO tours. But what was even more remarkable were scene after scene of how personally Franken takes his politics. Should Franken run for and subsequently win Wellstone's former senate seat, "God Spoke" will likely be a rather prescient examination of one man's political evolution. A portrait of a man who had enough and decided to do something about it.
And that portrait is what reminded me most of Wellstone, a man I learned about in great detail at the training camp bearing his name. A man whose life and political career was tragically cut short. A man whose legacy lives on in his surviving family, his friends and former staffers, a legacy passed on via the important program shaping the next generation of progressive candidates, campaign staffers and activists. A training - some of the best money I've ever spent - that helped show those in attendance that powerlessness is an even worse concept than power, because
to use your power to force positive change is a great, great thing. But even more than that, a training that brought together so many wonderful people and left us with a fire that many of whom running the camp learned from Wellstone himself. "As we wrapped up a very productive weekend, we rose to our feet, clapping in unison," I wrote then. "We looked around, impressed with the new friends and new leaders we met. We joined our trainers in shouting a message that has been lost in a sea of cynicism and malaise enabled by a conservative way of thinking that has divided America and set our nation drastically off course. A message that Paul and Sheila would have been proud of." After having seen "God Spoke"*, I can say that Paul and Sheila would have been proud of what Franken has done, too.
Proud, to be sure, for possessing the fire that so many right wingers misinterpret as his being
angry or, in O'Reilly's words, a "hater". But what leads O'Reilly to consider Franken "vile" is a
justified indignation that needs to be heard, especially in light of the recent news concerning Air America. There's so much to be angry about - the war, the economy, the loss of our civil liberties - and being angry can be a good thing if one's anger is used to work to change things for the better, something Franken is doing. The right, of course, can't recognize anything past the fact that someone is daring to call them on their lies and wrongdoing, so they treat people like Franken as the enemy. But anyone with a brain would realize that what the Frankens of the world are doing
isn't hating. Unless, of course, you hate the fact that nearly 3,000 Americans have died in Iraq. Or you hate that our presence there has accounted for the deaths of
more than 650,000 Iraqis, 650,000-plus people who wouldn't have died had we not invaded under ill-gotten pretenses. Or the fact that, when asked about that stunning statistic, the president
said that, about the situation there, that "that there's a level of violence that they tolerate." If thinking that things like these are terribly wrong makes Franken a hater, then we should all want to be considered haters, don't you think?
Would Franken-as-senator be
that strange a concept? Not in a political climate where a former B-movie actor can sit in the Oval Office, as can a
dry drunk who also happened to be a draft-dodging C-student. Would Norm Coleman find the weight of the entire Republican Party and its friends behind his re-election campaign? Without a doubt, but Franken's entry into the race would Lamontize the duel, turning a statewide race into a national, headline-grabbing battle. This, in turn, would fully mobilize the right-wing smear machine, something former presidential nominee Walter Mondale points out in the movie during a private moment with Franken. But Franken already faces the slings and arrows of the Republican Party, many of whom would represent his future attackers. Would he be able to fight back, doing so with not only his words, but also the financial support of his friends and fellow Americans? I don't doubt it. Besides, nothing would motivate me more than the prospect of O'Reilly having to add "Senator" to "Stuart Smalley" when criticizing Franken. And nothing would please me more than to see a man sharing Wellstone's values, principles and passion occupy his former seat.
* Speaking of good movies, you should consider seeing "The Science of Sleep". It's well worth it.
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