Al Franken's Minnesota Popularity Takes Dramatic Dip

BROKEN RECORD

Have Minnesota Voters Grown Tired Of Al Franken's Excuses?





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While vinyl is apparently making a comeback this year, for Al Franken, it doesn't bring good news. It seems his speed is stuck at 33 1/3 when 78 is needed for a November victory.

Heck, even 45 RPM would represent a big improvement for our friend Stuart Smalley. Sadly, a new Minneapolis Star- Tribune poll places his public approval rating at an anaemic 33%, with 39% of Minnesotans now viewing him unfavorably.

From CBS:

(The Politico) Despite sporting a job approval rating below 50 percent, Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) holds a 51 to 44 percent lead over Democratic challenger Al Franken in the Minnesota Senate race, according to a new Minneapolis Star-Tribune poll.

Usually a sub-50 percent approval rating would spell serious trouble for an incumbent - and still may cause problems for Coleman - but Franken has spent the last few weeks dealing with his own fallout from revelations that he had filed his personal income taxes in 17 states incorrectly and owed $70,000 in back taxes.

The reports hurt the image of the Minnesota native, who returned to his home state after spending a couple of decades in New York writing for Saturday Night Live and hosting an Air America radio show. The poll showed 42 percent of respondents said they were not satisfied with his response to the situation, and more than quarter of independents and one-fifth of Democrats said it made them less likely to vote for him.

Only 33 percent said they viewed Franken favorably, compared to 39 percent who see him in a negative light. Compared to Coleman's 53-33 favorable/unfavorable breakdown, this is not a good sign for an challenger.

So what happened to the hilariously funny comedian who was going to sweep Minnesotans off their collective feet? Do the mainstream media outlets who have so happily propped up Franken's career have an answer to that?

Could it be that voters are fed up with Franken's constant financial scandals and the clumsy way he passes it all off to his accountants? Stuart must have the worst monetary advisers in the world!

Did his Air America antics doom him before he even set foot in the North Star State?

Or, could it be that Franken simply can't live up to the media hype and left wing lionization? Whatever the reason, he's now so weak that even Jesse Ventura is thinking about getting back into politics just to take him on.

What does that say about his chances in November? To Minnesotans, he's just another broken record.


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Franken image: David A Lunde