Franken To Headline Big Tom Harkin Fundraiser
Fresh off his narrow and long-awaited victory, Sen.-elect Al Franken (D-MN) will be going on a victory lap of sorts, headlining the Tom Harkin Steak Fry in Iowa this September.
The Harkin event is of course a frequent stop for prospective or actual presidential candidates, leading Jonathan Martin to jokingly (?) wonder if Franken has his eye on 2016. There is of course a simple explanation, consistent with everything we've known for years: You can't keep Al Franken away from a big, raucous Democratic fundraising event.
I attended just such a gathering for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, held in a backyard in Madison in November 2003. Franken stood up in a super-crowded tent that was filled way beyond the hosts' expectations, on top of a heater that had been put in to warm up the space, and opened his speech by joking about how safe he felt. It was a fun time.
Josh
Matt
Eric
Brian
That's common for elected officials to appear at each other's fundraisers, even outside their own states. I don't know that Harkin appeared at a Franken fundraiser, but I wouldn't be surprised. For Democrats to decline to use a draw like Franken would be crazy.
July 1, 2009 5:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Eric has a point here. But Harken is one of the best liberals we have in the Senate, He has a lot of years in that body, and it is more than kind of him to in fact, welcome the new Senator from his sister state.
July 1, 2009 5:55 PM | Reply | Permalink