Challengers render Franken run a joke

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By S.A. Miller

A lifetime of blue jokes and biting satire have proved a heavy load for Democrat Al Franken to carry in his U.S. Senate run, giving opponents an arsenal of potshots and even spurring a last-minute primary challenger who says the "Saturday Night Live" veteran is just too vulgar for Minnesotans.

Priscilla Lord Faris, whose family is steeped in Minnesota Democratic politics, burst into the race with a TV ad slamming Mr. Franken's "record of pornography, degradation of women and minorities and questionable financial transactions."

In the ad - which features Mrs. Lord Faris, a personal-injury lawyer, delivering a somber monologue reminiscent of TV commercials for her trade - the challenger makes the case that Mr. Franken's comedy has rendered him unelectable because it "will be the source of blistering ads from the Republican attack machine."

"I represent Minnesota values as a teacher, volunteer and advocate," she said in the ad, alluding to her past work as a third-grade teacher and as a lobbyist for Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Republicans see Mrs. Lord Faris as a harbinger of the funnyman's downfall and a sign that their relentless criticism of Mr. Franken is paying dividends in the electorate.

"I think she is tapping into a very dissatisfied faction of the Democratic Party," said Gina Countryman, spokeswoman for the Minnesota Republican Party. "I think they recognize that [Mr. Franken's] kind of work and his experience just doesn't strike the tone of a man who will get things done in the U.S. Senate."

Republicans have pummeled Mr. Franken for joking about religion, child abuse, rape and sexual exploits, including: