Standing Room Only for Al Franken in Mankato

Candidate shows obvious affection for Tim and Gwen Walz

Al Franken didn’t exactly have his audience rolling in the aisles at Minnesota State University in Mankato Wednesday night, but he got it laughing, clapping and twice drew standing ovations at one of his first campaign events since announcing his run for U.S. Senate on Valentine’s Day.

It’s not an accident that he visited Mankato so early in the campaign, as he was an early key supporter for freshman Congressman Tim Walz, who less than a year ago was just Mr. Walz to his geography students at Mankato West High School. In fact, Gwen Walz, Tim’s wife, who still teaches in the district, introduced Franken. It was early in 2006, and Tim’s campaign was still struggling. “We were down to mere pennies,” she said, “and we met Al and Franni at a fund-raiser at Mike Erlandson’s house. We told him about our honeymoon in China, and that’s what sold him.”

The honeymoon story was this: Two days after Tim and Gwen were married, they took off to China with a group of students for an educational tour. Since there was an odd number of both boys and girls, they each had to share a room with a student. “Not much of a honeymoon,” Gwen deadpanned to a delighted audience.

more insideAfter Gwen introduced Franken, the comedian-turned-candidate corrected her slightly. Yes, it was partly the honeymoon story, he said, “But you know what? I can spot talent. I’m really good at it. And Tim Walz has talent.

“You guys are lucky down here,” he continued. “You get two for the price of one with Tim and Gwen.”

In fact, neither Tim nor Gwen was politically active until August 2004, when Tim was nearly thrown out of a George Bush event in Mankato because he stood up for two students who were refused entry to the rally. After that, both got active — Tim with Veterans for Kerry and Gwen with the Military Moms on a Mission. Soon Gwen was traveling the campaign trail with vice-presidential candidate John Edward’s wife, Elizabeth, and Military Moms throughout the Midwest.

“It was June of last year at Winona State,” Franken continued. “Nine hundred students showed up to hear me and Tim. I was only supposed to speak for a half hour. But I was good. I was very good. And then I began thinking, ‘Uh-oh. Tim’s the candidate. How’s he going to top this?’ But he did. That’s what I mean by talent.”

Yet the crowd of 300 wasn’t there to hear about the Walzes; they were there to hear about Al Franken. And he was there to oblige, talking about his first four years living in New Jersey, then moving to Albert Lea where his father opened a quilt factory, how the quilt factory failed a few years later — “my dad was a terrible businessman” — and moving to St. Louis Park, where he lived until he went off to college.

He also talked about his wife Franni’s family, and how her mother, widowed at age 29 with five kids, was able to raise them with the help of Social Security survivor benefits. Borrowing a line from Tim Walz, he said he agrees with most Americans that people can pick themselves up by their bootstraps, but you have to have the boots first, and that’s what the government provides.

“Republicans tell you that government doesn’t work,” he said, “and then they get elected and prove it. What liberals believe is that government is there to create opportunity for people to help themselves out.”

Perhaps Franken’s best-received comments were about how the government had fallen down in its responsibility to help college students. He pointed out that Pell grants once covered 90 percent of a student’s education; today that has fallen to 40 percent. He also noted that 15 percent of all MSU students graduate owing $40,000 or more in student loans.

Franken took a few potshots at the current officeholder, Sen. Norm Coleman, but mostly he talked about issues:

• How the cost of drugs for Medicare recipients could be lowered if the government were allowed to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies. Currently, it is prohibited by law from doing so.

 

• How the United States spends 16 percent of its gross domestic product on health care, more than any other industrialized nation, and yet its health care system is ranked only 32nd in the world by the World Health Organization.

 

• How the United States needs to do more towards developing alternative energies, like converting the soon-to-be-idled Ford factory in St. Paul to making wind generators.

At the end of his talk, Franken promised he’d be back in Mankato “many times” during the campaign, and the mixed audience of students, Franken fans and DFLers gave him a standing ovation. Afterward, several dozen lined up to shake hands, get an autograph or photo, or talk to him personally. He was due after the talk to have pizza with the Walzes, but Andy Barr, his chief staffer, was having trouble pulling him away.

Barr shrugged his shoulders. “What can you do?” he asked rhetorically. “Al loves this stuff.”