GOP Turns To Rabid Anti-Obama Comedian To Go After Franken

The National Republican Senatorial Committee has been launching an all out ad campaign against Al Franken in an effort to protect Norm Coleman's Senate seat. And on Tuesday, they trotted out a group of B-list celebrities in a spot that claimed Franken is an extremist even by the standards of his old profession.

The GOP should have done a better job vetting its spokespeople. Seconds into the NRSC ad, Victoria Jackson, a former Saturday Night Live member herself, said of Franken: "We don't all write dirty articles for Playboy."

This charge, of course, has only questionable relevance (if any at all) to the Senate campaign. But coming from Jackson it seems a bit absurd. During the course of the campaign, the comedian/actress has said far more outrageous things about Barack Obama, including an assertion that the Illinois Democrat "bears traits that resemble the anti- Christ," is a "communist," a "racist," and is not a Christian.

"I don't want a political label," she wrote on her website, "but Obama bears traits that resemble the anti- Christ and I'm scared to death that un- educated people will ignorantly vote him into office."

Later in the posting she wrote: "We must in all seriousness ask if Barack Hussein Obama could be a Muslim terrorist sympathizer or a Marxist mole. His closest friends include Communists, domestic and Muslim terrorists, racists and convicted felons. In his book Audacity of Hope, Barack Hussein Obama says, 'I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.'""

On a related issue, a reader points out another potential goof the NRSC made in a separate ad targeting Franken. Released on Monday, that spot claims "Al Franken Humiliates Minorities." The source for such a charge: UCLA's student newspaper, the Daily Bruin.

"Now that's some authoritative journalism for you!" writes the adroit reader, a UCLA professor.

Comments

[butlerman]

Is Ms. Jackson still concerned about all those "uneducated" "ignorant" people who voted for Obama? Most of those people actually were the core of the McCain/Palin constituency. The "educated" vote went to Obama. Uneducated, ignorant people show up to watch Victoria Jackson perform her un funny material at her shows. She had her five minutes of fame on SNL during one of its worst periods. I wouldn't be surprised if Franken wrote some of her better material. She was uninteresting then and is irrelevant now. She left SNL over 20 years ago, what has she done since then? This anti Franken spot. Is this the best the Republicans could do on the celebrity front? A D-lister?

[Octoberluna]

Victoria cannot think for herself in a positive, healthy way. She knows this. Too sad for her that her upbringing cannot be overcome.

[Tamoomoo]

Ew, she's really ugly (and I don't mean her appearance!). So what if you're Muslim? I think probably 0.00001% of Muslims are what she actually thinks they are.

[rabiddog6708]

Victoria Jackson isput forward by the Repubs as a spokeperson, as an attack dog? I hesitate to even the word celberty in describing this woman. What has she done lately, besides stuffing her bloated face with donuts and wingnuts?

[sharonms]

Victoria Jackson? She's not even funny. Bah, humbug!!! No credibility whatsoever.

[vinainor]

What do you expect from these right-wing nut jobs? All the evidence in the real world and in history keeps proving them wrong, so all they can do is make ad hominem attacks on Obama and Franken with claims that are completely dissociated from reality. Well, why should they care about reality, intellectual curiosity, or critical thinking? Look at their audience? Paris Hilton has more political credibility than Victoria Jackson. She thinks everybody who is not a fundamentalist Christian is an Islamic terrorist. She probably think Africa is a country too.

[enufalready]

I sent $$ to Franken to help the recount turn out fair.

[richardgordon]

These are celebrities? What trailer park did they dig them out of? Al you should be terrified!

[Lex10]

I just had a mini puke

[Crumb]

Celebrities . . . Aren't those people who have careers in the public eye? Oh, I see. These are has-been celebrities, who were mostly supporting characters to actual celebrities in the shows they used to appear in. Like John McCain at the McCain/Palin rallies.

Makes sense now.

[BecausethisisMN]

Not surprisingly, the Daily Bruin article didn't say what the ad says it said - that "Franken humiliates minorities­." He told Thomas Jefferson jokes that a reviewer said were offensive and inappropriate, including a joke about sleeping with slaves. Here's the full review: http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/2000/jun/02/down-to-earth-comedy/

The Coleman campaign and supporters ought to know their candidate better than to try to pick a fight about whether behavior was, at all times, "appropriate" or "inoffensi­ve."

[pillgirl]

and here i always thought victoria jackson and john ratzenburger just played idiots on tv.

obama/biden 08

[MrPastel]

Check it out! McNicknames.
Got any more?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfsKtV_YWdg

[MNcollegestudent]

Haha....wh­o are these people? Oh...."cel­ebrities".

[gluvox12]

Everybody watch "Roger & Me" again.