While most students may only recognize him as the self-help guru Stuart Smalley of \Saturday Night Live"" fame, Al Franken has cut a wide political swath with an ever-growing catalogue of literature. His book, ""Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot,"" galvanized his positions with the left. His most recent book, ""Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them,"" brought a laughable lawsuit from Fox News and made him into a spokesman for American liberals.
The Daily Cardinal recently spoke with Franken about the success of ""Lies,"" the Fox network almost suing itself and right-wing radio.
How did you get into politics in the first place?
My parents were always interested in it. When I was a kid we would always watch the news as we ate dinner. I came of age in a very political time, during the civil rights movement. We would watch Southern sheriffs sic police dogs on black demonstrators and civil rights demonstrators. My dad was a Republican but he was a card-carrying member of the NAACP [National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]. They would just say that that?s really wrong and it?s absolutely crucial that people have civil rights. In 1964 Barry Goldwater ran for president for the Republicans and he was against the civil rights bill. So my dad became a Democrat. I?ve always been interested in national politics from when I was pretty small.
Are you surprised at the success of ""Lies?""
No, not really. I was surprised by the lawsuit, which sort of sped it up. It?s always good if a book goes from a book page, from an entertainment section, to a news page. [Fox News] helped me a lot by suing me. That was the surprise. I think it did help the book out of the gate. Having done ""Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot,"" I felt like this one probably was going to do very well, but maybe not this well.
Were you surprised when you read the news that Fox almost sued itself over an episode of ""The Simpsons?""
[Laughs] Yeah. I would have loved to see that. If they had done it, it would have been more absurd than my suit.
Your book has been on The New York Times bestseller list for 10 weeks. It?s currently holding the number two spot. How long do you think it will hold that high of a spot?
I don?t know. That?s a good question. I think it will stay on the list for a long time.
When exactly did you decide to go from a ""Saturday Night Live"" writer to someone more invested in political commentary?
I think when I left ""Saturday Night Live."" [Laughs] I had done 15 seasons at it, from 1975 to 1980, and then from 1985 to 1995. Then in 1995 I left with a contract to write a book. That?s when I wrote the Limbaugh book. I was really angry about the Gingrich revolution and the attempt to sort of dismantle the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] and the Department of Education and all those things. Rush was their mouthpiece, so that?s why I wrote the book. On ""Saturday Night Live"" I wrote a lot of political comedy. But we never felt it was the role of the show to have a political ideology. When I left the show I thought, ?OK, now I can do what I want.?
What do you think you will be remembered for your performances on ""Saturday Night Live"" or your political commentary?
It really depends on the person doing the remembering. One of the great thing about doing the book signings is that people come up to and they?re really big Stuart Smalley fans. They really loved the film or they?ll say ?I watch the film every Christmas at my house.? I get to hear all these different things. Different people remember kinds of things. Hopefully my kids will remember me as Dad. It depends on what I do for the next 40 years.
What do you think will become of Rush Limbaugh?
He said, over and over again during the years that anyone who used drugs illegally should be prosecuted and put away. I imagine that when he comes out he?s going to demand that he gets the maximum sentence and gets put away for five years. He?ll probably demand the most dangerous prison and use himself as an example. That?s what I?m assuming will happen. Maybe I?m wrong.
With talk radio, why do you think the right came onto the scene so strongly in the early ?90s?
I think they thought they grabbed it and they had this almost genetic sense of aggrievement that the right seems to have. They found an audience that likes to obsessively listen to stuff they think they already know. [Laughs] You have to give them credit. They captured the talk-radio landscape.
You expressed interest in starting a political talk show.
I?m interested in doing it and I?m talking to people to see if it is possible.
What do you think about Dennis Miller?s change from comedy to commentary?
I?m the one, I believe, I?m partly responsible for bringing him to ""Saturday Night Live."" I was a producer that year and I saw Dennis perform at the Comedy Store and I said, ""We should have him and he should do [Weekend] Update."" And that?s what happened. I found, at the time, that Dennis wasn?t much of a reader of news or history. He tended to get most of his stories from USA Today and that kind of thing. But he was very, very funny and very good at his job. I guess he?s gotten more political and more conservative over the years.
You?re working on a script for a movie. How is that coming along?
We just handed in the next dr[B]AF[/B}t, I think the third draft. I?m writing it Geoff Rodkey, who was my researcher on the Rush Limbaugh book.
People are calling you a major spokesperson of the left. Are you comfortable with that title?
I don?t know about major spokesman, but spokesman is fine.
