Former comedian, SNL star and now Senator from the lucky state of Minnesota, Al Franken talks about religious intolerance in Indiana with our favorite Hoosier Dave Letterman. There is no tragedy without a bright side, and Gov Mike Pence proves that David Letterman is no longer the most embarrassing person to hail from Indiana, jests Franken. I – for one, am relieved to know that politics hasn’t ground the humor out of Al Franken.
To shed light on the religious bills before Indiana and possibly Arkansas, Franken points out the obvious. “In 1964 we sort of settled the idea that you had to serve people even if you had a bias in some way.”
This truly was the law to end all discrimination. Why is it suddenly being challenged by the religious right who are specifically targeting LGBT people? For my part, I wonder if one of these laws passes, will it make the former Civil Rights laws null and void in that state?
Franken talks about the good work he has been doing to put teeth in bullying laws, which of course impact everyone including the LGBT community.
Al Franken is often asked by ambitious young people for advice about how they can enter politics too..Speaking from experience, Franken says “do about 35-40 years of comedy then run for the Senate, it’s worked every time.” Al may not be able to talk Dave into taking the leap upon his retirement, although he would do a great job.
The move from comedy to politics is not far fetched. Do you remember in 2012 when Stephen Colbert ran for President of the United States in North Carolina? While it was a joke by Colbert, Pew polls gave him extremely favorable ratings, particularly when compared with Tim Scott and others who ran. If Colbert had truly wished to, undoubtedly he would have won. In fact, I would not be surprised to see him pursue a political career in a few years.
Another factor in the comedy to political equation is that almost without exception those who cross over are liberal Democrats. As we have proven time and time again, conservatives (bless their hearts) are humorless by nature, or is it nurture?