Hard to believe but this person didn’t have an answer to my question.

At Game Fair I stopped at his booth to ask a few questions.

Saw the booth on Friday also, my wife kinda tries to steer me clear of thing like that.
I guess she has learned from experience, political, anti, keep Rick away.

Franken won't actually hurt us.

He hunts and campaigns with with Rep Collin Peterson. They killed a few pheasants last year. I think Peterson actually has an FFL, and is a reliable First Amendment supporter.

Could we do better? Sure. I don't see him sponsering, say, national carry rights. But he's not like Klobuchar. And he might not win.

The Truth About Al Franken & Guns:

Franken Taunted Gun Owners. "Why would you want more shotguns than you need? Probably convenience. How many times have you been in the living room, needed a shotgun, and said to yourself, 'Nuts, I left the shotgun in the kitchen.'" (Al Franken, Rush Limbaugh Is A Big, Fat Idiot And Other Observations, 1996, p. 100)

Franken Ridiculed Sportsmen. "Seriously, I guess people collect shotguns. Which is great. I used to collect baseball cards. You know, when I was a kid. The thing about baseball cards is that each one is different; you get a Don Mattingly or a Frank Thomas. Is there that big a difference between shotguns? Somebody enlighten me because I'm operating out of ignorance here." (Al Franken, Rush Limbaugh Is A Big, Fat Idiot And Other Observations, 1996, p. 100)

Extreme Franken: "Among My More Morbid Diversions Is Collecting Stories Of Tragic Gun Accidents In The Home." (Al Franken, Rush Limbaugh Is A Big, Fat Idiot And Other Observations, 1996, p. 100)

Franken Endorsed Proposal To Ban Handguns. "Now again, I’ve just been talking about death from gunshot wounds. Tragic. But not as damn expensive as the pesky four to six non-fatal gunshot injuries that occur for every fatal shooting and crowd our emergency rooms. Maybe that’s why the American Academy of Pediatrics supported the Brady Bill and has called for the ban of handguns and assault weapons.” (Al Franken, Rush Limbaugh Is A Big, Fat Idiot And Other Observations, 1996, p. 102)

Franken: "But I have a good idea. Let's get the money from people like Phil Gramm. Let's put a little extra tax on every shotgun he doesn't need." (Al Franken, Rush Limbaugh Is A Big, Fat Idiot And Other Observations, 1996, p. 102)

Franken: "See, I’ve Never Owned A Gun. I Won’t Allow One In The House." (Al Franken, Rush Limbaugh Is A Big, Fat Idiot and Other Observations, 1996, p. 100)

Franken: "In a household with a gun, even more dangerous than the curious child is, of course, the angry spouse. That's really the reason why I won't allow a gun in the house. PMS." (Al Franken, Rush Limbaugh Is A Big, Fat Idiot And Other Observations, 1996, p. 101)

Franken: "I’m Very Different From Most Of The Folks Who Belong To The NRA." (Al Franken, Rush Limbaugh Is A Big, Fat Idiot And Other Observations, 1996, p. 99)

Franken Mocked NRA Donors. "But on those rare occasions when I have given back something to my community, I’ve been glad that I did. You see, when you give something back, you also get something back in the form of people thinking you’re a better person than you actually are. Not only that, you also get back a sense of accomplishment, a warm feeling for your fellow man, and a chance to gain some perspective, such as gratitude for your own circumstances. ‘But wait a minute!’ you say, ‘I donate money every year. To the United Way. To my church or synagogue. … To the National Rifle Association. Why should I give my time, too?’ Well, the most obvious reason is to undo some of the damage done by your donation to the National Rifle Association. For example, you could volunteer at a hospital that treats a lot of gunshot victims." (Al Franken, Oh, The Things I Know! 2003, p. 111-112)

Franken Attended Gun Control March At 2004 Democrat Convention. ("Two Brady Campaign/Million Mom March Events During Boston Democratic Convention," PR Newswire, July 26, 2004)

Veteran gets one-on-one chat with Franken

By Lawrence Schumacher
lschumacher@stcloudtimes.com

There’s an old saying in politics that elections are won or lost one vote at a time.

On Friday, DFL-endorsed U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken demonstrated how true that saying can be, when a roundtable on veterans issues at Brigitte’s Cafe his campaign scheduled drew only one participant.

Josh John, a St. Cloud resident who said he served in the Navy from 2000-04, had Franken to himself for an hour as he described difficulties he faced returning from his tour of duty and the help he received from his Veterans Services Office and the St. Cloud VA Medical Center.

“When I first asked for help at the VA, I got kind of a bad attitude from one person, so I ended up leaving and not registering,” he said.

“A year later, the stress was getting to me. I started secluding myself from my family, not wanting to do anything,” he said.

“My mom and my aunt eventually got me to talk with my county VSO. He got me registered with the VA and since then, I haven’t had a problem. I’ve gotten a lot of help, and every question I’ve gotten answered,” John said.

Franken, battling to unseat U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., in this fall’s election, discussed his proposal to expand veterans benefits, what he called a lack of leadership from Coleman, and recent gains on veterans issues he said had only been made because of a Democratic-controlled Congress.

“Everyone’s running around saying Congress never gets anything done,” he said. “But despite 90 filibuster threats by Senate Republicans, it took Democrats to get the new GI Bill passed and to finally fully fund VA health care.”

After leaving Brigitte’s, Franken was scheduled to campaign at the Benton County Fair in Sauk Rapids.

Franken’s plan

Franken said he hopes to serve on the same Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, if elected, on which the late Sen. Paul Wellstone served.

“Paul was always someone concerned about vets, especially homeless vets — the men and women who fell through the cracks,” he said. “I want to continue that.”

Franken said he would work to guarantee every veteran health care for life by making full VA health care funding an untouchable entitlement in the budget, increasing funding for mental health treatment for veterans, and increasing pay and benefits for military personnel and families.

He said he did not know how much the program would cost, or how he would pay for it.

Franken also attacked Coleman, saying he had twice voted for budgets that cut VA funding, three times against making full VA health care funding a requirement, and 18 times against Democratic amendments to increase funding for veterans.

“It’s only since 2006 that Coleman’s voted for veterans,” he said. “Before that, he voted time and time again with the Bush administration and against veterans.”

Coleman response

Coleman has voted more than 30 times to increase federal funding for veterans, which has gone up more than 70 percent during his term, said Luke Friedrich, Coleman’s campaign spokesman.

“Norm has been a champion for veterans throughout his time in office and Al Franken’s dishonest, negative attacks cannot change that fact,” he said in a statement.

The first bill Coleman got passed in Congress required the Pentagon to pay troops’ travel expenses when they return home for rest and relaxation, Friedrich said.

Coleman supported the GI Bill expansion, secured federal reintegration funds for Minnesota Army National Guard troops returning from overseas and got a bill passed in 2006 requiring the VA to reach out to veterans informing them of benefits for which they are eligible, among other accomplishments, he said.

I've listened to that person of penile crainiality on Air America a few times and was just baffled how anyone could take him seriously as a political commentator, much less a senator.