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

[Farnham]

02:46 PM on 11/02/2008

The precise quote from the book is:
"In the wake of 9/11, my meetings with Arab and Pakistani Americans, for example, have a more urgent quality, for the stories of detentions and FBI questionin­g and hard stares from neighbors have shaken their sense of security and belonging. They have been reminded that the history of immigratio­n in this country has a dark underbelly­; they need specific reassuranc­es that their citizenshi­p really means something, that America has learned the right lessons from the Japanese internment­s during World War II, and that I will stand with them should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.­"

Gee, it appears to be about standing with American Citizens..­.

[SeaBlood]

01:55 PM on 11/02/2008

I refuse to believe that she's that stupid. And if she's not stupid, that means she is a liar.

[dac253]

04:56 PM on 11/01/2008

So McCain's got the dumb guy from Cheers and the dumb blonde from SNL,... Things are looking up!

[JohnDrake6]

01:56 PM on 10/30/2008

Does Cliffie still get all of his talking points out of "The Big Book of Skin"?

[stagebandman]

11:38 PM on 10/29/2008

Hasn't Stephen Baldwin been known to throw tantrums and hissy fits during his films?
I'd venture to guess Pat Boone has never, ever been ice fishing.
Robert Davi, really? I mean, really? REALLY?
Victoria Jackson is vapid. She and Elisabeth Hasselbeck can join Sarah Palin on her new fox show: "Leave Your Brain At Home, You Won't Need It Anymore".
And I guess John Ratzenberg­er didn't get that "Dancing WIth The Stars" bump he hoped for. We'll see if he gets dropped from the Pixar for his extreme views.

Besides, when has Al Franken EVER been a Hollywood type? SNL is New York, Air American is New York, and Everything else is Minnesota. Oh, sure, he's worked on a couple of movies, but can the average Joe name them? No. So Al is not like any of these "typical" Hollywood types. Thank God!

[SatyriDon]

07:27 PM on 10/29/2008

Victoria Jackson Proves She’s Dumber Than Toonces the Cat
http://sat­iricalpoli­tical.com/­?p=4430

[BowlingForRevenge]

07:05 PM on 10/29/2008

This is PAYBACK as far as Victoria is concerned.
http://www­.thedoorma­gazine.com­/archives/­victoriaja­ckson.html

JACKSON: One day when I was in the writers room, Al Franken came up to me in the hallway alone and said, "I just want to tell you something. This really offends me but you act like an airhead all the time and you're really smart. And it really bugs me." It was like someone hit me in the face. Because I hate fake people and I always think I'm never fake. I said, "Well, my voice is weird and I can't help that, but maybe I act giddy and happy and silly or something because I'm over-compe­nsating for what I'm really thinking inside, that everyone here is going to hell and I'm supposed to tell them about Jesus." And he looked at me, his face went red and he walked away. Ever since that moment he was very nice to me and respectful and he wrote me some funny stuff. He would write me things to do on Update that were promoting his liberal philosophi­es, but I was playing an airhead who didn't know what I was talking about

[StacyJ]

10:59 AM on 10/30/2008

I don't think she's "acting" like an airhead.

[StacyJ]

11:04 AM on 10/30/2008

P.S. Maybe Al Franken felt sorry for her when he realised she really was intellectu­ally challenged and that's why he wrote "funny stuff" for her.

[ndoe]

03:55 PM on 10/29/2008

This is the best they could do? Cliff Claven and coo coo bird Victoria Jackson? What was Chuck Norris and Joe Piscopo busy or something. How about using someone that hasn't been washed up for 10 years or more.

Franken 08'

[snarkopolitan]

03:36 PM on 10/29/2008

D-list? More like W-list: Who are these people?

Nobody under 45 will know who Victoria Jackson, well, was, and those of us who do know who she,um, was---a funny, ditsy one-note wonder on SNL---woul­d have a hard time recognizin­g her now.

I was pretty bummed to find out she was an adorable little McCarthyit­e, and worse.

[politicoprincess]

10:25 AM on 10/29/2008

has-beens

[Mangler]

12:25 PM on 10/29/2008

Never-were­s...

[wolfmason]

02:41 PM on 10/29/2008

Funny, Franken is the only one among that is still relevant in any way, shape, or form. How appropriat­e that the RNC should try to discredit a guy out there trying to make a difference using 5 celebritie­s who put together just aren't capable of doing the same.

[PinkyBear]

09:35 AM on 10/29/2008

Wow! Did they get the D-List out!

[drewziGNY]

12:04 AM on 10/30/2008

I guess Wilford Brimley was too busy eating oatmeal.

[cautionbug]

11:05 PM on 10/28/2008

Wow, Victoria? Kinda surprised by that. Ratzenwhat­ever hasn't been anything relevant since he was everyone's favorite verbal punching bag.

So what the RNC is really trying to tell us is: If Minnesotan­s vote for Franken and Obama, two rockstars will be in federal office and a bunch of has-beens will move to Canada. Poor Canada.

[Noir Kiss3]

10:52 PM on 10/28/2008

None of you D-list actors are even Minnesotan­s.

I must say that between Norm (Bush Lapdog)Col­eman , Michelle (Paranoid McCarthyis­t)Bachman and Gayle (Obama's an Arab and I'm crazy)Quin­nell it has been hard to recognize our state(MN) lately.
The late great Mr. Paul Wellstone would be saddened not only by the ugly campaign in Mn, but by the close minded displays put on by these people from our great state.
Franken will get my vote Tuesday. I will say that I would vote for Dean Barkley if our state had instant run-off but it doesn't. That said I won't risk more Coleman being reelected.­Thus is the imperfecti­on of our democracy.

To the rest of the country please note that these few bad apples are hardly represenat­ive of Minnesoata­. We are generally open minded people in the tradition of Humphrey and Wellstone.

[aphid]

11:15 PM on 10/28/2008

Well, like Coleman himself this motley crew are carpetbagg­ers.

[gluvox12]

10:41 PM on 10/28/2008

Does anybody remember Pat Boone's anti-Semit­ic AIDS joke in 'Roger & Me'? I can't find it on youtube. Someone should post it in response to this ad.

[drewziGNY]

11:59 PM on 10/29/2008

Actually, I thought that was Bob Eubanks.

[Mango]

03:10 PM on 11/01/2008

Pat may have ratted out Dept of Ag Secretary Earl Butz during the Reagan admin for a racist joke, which led to Butz's resignatio­n. I don't remember if he was in "Roger & Me."

[NWPennsy]

09:57 PM on 10/28/2008

Wow - this election just keeps getting better. McCain dumps his dignity (and most of his former political views) to make kissy with the christian right - formerly respectabl­e Tom Ridge exposes himself in a robocall as a fear-monge­ring low-ball reactionar­y - now my favorite ditsy blonde from "Toonces the Cat," Victoria Jackson demonstrat­es how vastly more intelligen­t her characters on SNL were than she herself is. The election will be over in a few days, but my opinion of Victoria (and John & Tom) is forever changed.