Franken ‘ready to go to Washington just as soon as possible’
Franken claiming victory outside his Minneapolis home. Photo: Stefan Lund
Al Franken, calling himself “the next senator from Minnesota,” said Monday afternoon he is ready to go to Washington to get to work just as soon as possible.”
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But Franken didn’t respond to reporters’ shouted questions about exactly when he would go to Washington, retreating up the front steps of his downtown Minneapolis townhouse with his wife Frannie and campaign aides.
In a brief statement in which he twice referred to his “victory,” Franken also acknowledged just how close his 225-vote margin of victory over former Sen. Norm Coleman is. “I didn’t win the support of every Minnesotan. I’m going to have to earn it,” he said. “I work for you now and I will work hard to earn your confidence.”
Franken paid tribute to Coleman with a note of sympathy that recalled former Minnesota Gov. Karl Rolvaag’s statement after the state’s last big recount in 1962. ”I know that this isn’t easy” for the Colemans, Franken said, because his own family had faced tough days since the election, during a recount he called “long, fair and … thorough.”
With a nod toward threats of lawsuits and filibusters, Franken said he hoped Minnesota would continue to be served by two senators “without interruption.” Whatever happens on that score, Franken said he would “focus all my attention and all my energies” on working on issues facing Minnesotans — including an economy he said was in the “worst crisis since the Great Depression.”
Franken’s appearance was one of a very few he’s made since Election Day, and his statement included offerings of thanks to staff, supporters and others that “I wish I’d been able to give on Election Night.” He also thanked election workers in a state that he said had shown the world it “takes its democracy seriously.”
As Franken ended with a pledge to get to work, a woman passerby who had stopped to listen shouted out, “Yeah, get on the job!” From the tone of her voice, it wasn’t entirely clear whether she was a Franken fan, a Coleman backer, or simply another citizen ready for the recount to end.
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Comments
al
Dear harry, (Reid)
please don’t cave in to the bastards.
Bring cups for them to pee in and cheer them on in their filibuster.
they are old and weak, and will wear out by thursday.
D
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