Senator Al Franken​ in conversation with Chelsea Handler​ at Live Talks Los Angeles

I'm very excited to be here because I had the pleasure of meeting senator Franken a few weeks ago in Washington DC where I interviewed him and talked about his book which I read on a plane ride and I did and I was really inspired by it because it kind of brought back we're not brought back it made me realize that people are in there are certain people that are in politics for the right reason and it makes you kind of believe in there are a lot of people in it for the right reason yes right so anyway let's let's start with I mean let's just start wherever let's start with your personal interactions obviously there's news flowing in and out every day things are happening all the time so it's hard to really focus on one topic but what let's talk about your personal interactions with how are we referring to him I guess I guess technically he's the president so what are your what if that would have been your personal interactions with him I really none I I [Applause] I use I I did lived in New York for a long time and I was in using show business and and code for prostitution and no it no it is no it is I'm talking about my phone okay so anyway so I was in New York and in show business so every once a while we'd be in the same room I'd say a handful times five six times in my years in New York and and I'd be in the same room and I didn't go like there looks like an interesting guy to get to know you know I mean I had seen him and read about him and I just stayed away from him and there was one time though where remember when The Sopranos was at their height and they had beginning of a season they had they showed the first two episodes to invited audience to Radio City Music Hall it's a big place and there are a lot of prominent people and I was seated directly behind Donald Trump and and the lights are still up and I just couldn't help myself this is this is before I went into politics and I just said as loud as I could I said that is the worst comb-over I've ever seen and he he would he like do that and then you know he saw like it with me and he went up my worthless and so that was it that's my that's my only but one thing I've learnt at learned and I've been invited to just the White House picnic and the White House I guess will be a Christmas party I don't think I'm going to go through those things but if I get invited I've heard that when you go to the Oval Office II as a souvenir which is the electoral map I'm not kidding you this is real and he's filled in by County so it's much redder than you might think it's just what counties went for him and so if I'm if I'm there for some reason I'm in the Oval Office I'm going to go like hey could I have one of those electoral map I just I hear you give them away as souvenirs I'd like that at some point you're going to have to have I mean meet with him in person isn't that mean right inevitably isn't that kind of gives away it's going to have to go down I mean I don't know you know I've never I think so I've never been senator with a Republican president I know I met with Obama all the time but but I don't know what this is going to be like I don't I know that when I when I go to the State of the Union when Obama was president you're you're in that house chamber the historic House chamber and the whole government is there every member of Congress is there and every cabinet secretary but one is there in case something happens take us down keeper southern one this Twitter and but the Supreme Court's there the Joint Chiefs are there the vice president and the speaker are behind the president and then this unbelievably brilliant eloquent intelligent serious dignified President Barack Obama would come and speak and and I would feel like I am so blessed lucky to be here and it wasn't I guess it wasn't a it was a joint session it wasn't say the Union this year then Trump did it and I felt like I was in 8h I felt like I was at 30 rock at in a studio 8h and that I was watching a cold opening and because when you know the monologue is done at home base that's what they call it when the host comes out to do the monologue and then we also do update is that home base and so when we've done state of the union sketches they've been at home base so I felt with Donald Trump up there they went from this majesty - oh my god it's this guy and they every cut away you know they cut away to senators during the speech and every cut away that my staff showed me later had me going like exact [Applause] [Laughter] so I don't know it's I imagine you know I'll be respectful the press will be the president I suppose and when I say Amen and you know I've thus far and I may have something there that I want him I may be there for bill signing or I might be there to work with him stop laughter you know on some infrastructure or something well I think I think I'm sure I speak for many people that are sitting here it's just hard to imagine how how long this can carry on for the unprofessionalism and the lack of leadership and the legs is a toddler like behavior it's very hard to imagine and I'm actually grateful I'm grateful in many ways because I've never been more involved or more informed than I am in politics right now that I am right now and I have the Trump family to thank for that so I guess maybe I guess the next question is what what what do you have to I mean ask somebody who worked in government who sees the day-to-day cycle of what happens there you know how can you be hopeful there is a desperation in your eyes I'm hopeful I'm Optima I'm an optimist I'm optimistic because of the people I serve I represent Minnesota I [Applause] end the book with a chapter called being as good as the people you represent and I it's basically the center of the chapter is about going a commencement High School commencement in Willmar Minnesota Wilmer is an agricultural city small city and sort of central south central Minnesota and it's a Kandiyohi County which is the largest turkey producing County in Minnesota and Minnesota's largest turkey producing state in the country and I the reason I went to the graduation is I invited myself the commencement to introduce the class speaker muna blight and muna had been a page Senate page her junior year and the day she arrived my staff said we have a Minnesota page you have about 30 pages every class and she's a smiley girl from Wilmer and her principal recommended her and we interviewed her she was great and her essay was great I said well let's go down to the floor meter and I go down to the floor there's 30 new pages and she's easy to pick up she's Somali and she's wearing the hijab the headscarf thank you over her page up and I say I go up to her and I say you look like a Minnesotan and so she was she laughed and she shoes terrific when the new Somali ambassador came to the Senate to meet with senators some states that had large Somali populations I made sure that she comes so I wanted to see I wanted the Somali ambassador to see that we have Somali Minnesota girls page in the United States Senate she so that she was a junior then the last year was she was a senior and I went to their commencement because she was chosen to be the class speaker so I go to to Willmar for this and I am on the stage and I got the program and I there 236 students and about 60% are white you know Scandinavian German why are you looking at me when you say that they look like yeah yeah angry about it I mean no no I said those are our people okay I know I'm and Tait homeland it was is the president of that class and and he's happened Norwegian I asked him he was a Norwegian half German the mayor of matey Marin was valedictorian about 20% of the kids are Latino and she was born in Ecuador and munna bla he was the class speaker and it was the best two and a half hours I had last year during that ugly ugly campaign and Trump had come to Minnesota and what the one time he came and he just talked the attack the Somalis in Minnesota and so the orchestra there is really good for this high school and they have a great chorus and they every year due to Battle Hymn of the Republic they did this to end the thing and it was beautiful as most stirring rendition I'd seen him probably because I was so moved by the how these kids and they just loved each other and they do God they do pomp and circumstance and munna Abdullahi a b d she's first alphabetically in the class does have a center aisle and she comes down the center aisle holding hands with michelle carlson and michelle carlson there were two there's Mary Michele Carlson the Carlson Twins and my driver Minnesota and I have this thing called couldn't be cast better and like you sometimes you meet a soybean growers in Minnesota who Hollywood could not cast a better soybean roll the Carlson twins could have been casted they were on the on the program there were asterisks next to kids names one asterisk that honors to was high honors through his highest honors both Carlson twins were highest honors and they were tall and beautiful and emanated just love and joy and they she and Luna came down holding hands and and they split off and then merry Carlson came down holding hands with a Somali boy and they split off and Tate gave a great speech mara the valedictorian Dave a great speech I introduced Munna she got this huge ovation it gave a great speech got a standing ovation the plague Tom pumped they play Battle Hymn of the Republic it's amazing then they my job is to take pictures with them with the diplomas and they're giving their diplomas and they say now wait to the end to applaud so you know till all the kids are up and so they go okay Munna first munag de la he place goes nuts like that on the bleachers and it was beautiful and they did that for every damn kid and it was amazing and then on Election Day I go to the University of Minnesota she's out the University of Minnesota there are 40,000 students at the University of Minnesota I see Munna and I talked to Mona and I said what's going on she said well my sister and ISA was voted homecoming queen and Wilmer oh you know a week later back in Washington I'm talking to French ambassador the United States I say them what in in France what do the French Kazu they consider a Frenchman he said well most French consider a Frenchman someone who can point back centuries to the village they grew up in in France that their ancestors grew up I said well the immigrants aren't considered Frenchmen and he said now well a lot of French don't consider them Frenchmen and I said you kind of isolate you're in the brimstone yeah and you know I thought of Paris and I thought of Belgium and and in the United States everybody here is an immigrant or from remember every day [Applause] unless you're American Indian and and you have a right to be pissed off if you are and and it's just the difference that's who we are we elect them homecoming queen and that that gives me optimism it really does and I represent Minnesota and Minnesotans give me optimism all the time when I'm home are you done I'm sorry to lead off is that the longer no it's beautiful it's beautiful you're right it's very emblematic of the United States of America I mean that's what we're all about that's what we're supposed to be all about it's a nice we should all go to Minnesota I go to that graduation ceremony um I think I cook using her birthday I think what is it like when you so yadi see you everyone knows that he was you know you were on SNL for many years you were on air America you wrote a bunch of books kind of lamp asking the right and people like you know that deserve it what is it like when you step on that Senate floor like and you're there for the first year you talk about a lot in the book which I found really fascinating but you talked about I mean they're no matter how much intellect you have and how prepared you are there is a level of insecurity that comes along with being the first the new kid on the block sure and what what is what did that feel like the first time you had to say something out loud in front of all the other senators well I'm shy now I mean actually when I walking in I felt like okay what one I want one I got there late I won by 312 votes and I got there six months late and thank you for the narrowness of plotting the narrowness of my victory but I went in knowing that a couple things and one was that the Republicans kind of were going to be a little skeptical about me because I had spent a lot of my as you say a lot of what I did my career heaping scorn and ridicule on Republicans and but what I found right away was and a lot of them were there for my swearing-in I think in some recognition if just how long it took me to get there and they figured out right away that I was a comedian not deep scoring ridicule on them but because I laugh a lot like you laugh a lot and I'm funny so the and the I was there like two minutes and Jim DeMint comes up to me and Jim DeMint very right-wing very conservative Republican from South Carolina and he says to me how are things on the far left and I said they're great how are things on the nutcase right and he laughed and and we had that was our relationship was just giving each other good-natured crap and laughing and so my colleagues got just right away they were just going oh I get it he's funny 50 laughs a lot I see why he wasn't a comedian to go after me and then and I made sure that I was collegial there's a hundred senators you got a to get stuff done you've got to actually you've got to be a good colleague so what is the distinction that you draw between the Senate and the house well you see the founders decided that the Senate would be the saucer that good Oh am I not talking to I'm sorry now it's we have six-year terms so where we're supposed to be the saucer that cools the hot tea or coffee that the house they get elected every two years and they represent their districts and so they are more responsive to public opinion and we're supposed to be more considered and more statesmen like and to what think about it and like I mean you you should have to consider public opinion you would argue as they we do of course right but you're saying you're in there for the long game so you have to think about it in a whole are like enough you're not as worried about the next election as a congressman is so you are able to do you guys look down on them yeah we know you don't look down on hyung I did the lower house so okay let's digress a little bit I want to talk to you talk about your wife so much in the book and it's really sweet because you're obviously very devoted to your family so how I mean how did how did being in this you know like in the olden times from what I've read people were supposed to become immuno public servants for you know two four six years and that's it just to represent their constituents and the place they're from now obviously we're in a different time where people are lifetime politicians so lobby yes well you know actually you're doing exactly what we were supposed to do in the olden office we'll see where it leads but you know all the founders basically where people got into public service right away if you look at all the founding fathers all of them were in public service in one way except really for Benjamin Franklin who but you know I mean George Washington's in the military you know during the French and Indian War Jefferson was in the Virginia State Legislature so as Adams on and on and on the exception has been Benjamin Franklin who was a humorist [Music] so and and those guys kind of her lifetime politicians that you know they were Madison and Hamilton you know Jamison was a playwright and a rapper he was yeah so okay that's it so your relationship with your wife how does that how does that how does that work out when you have to devote this amount of time to public service I mean it's got to be a strain I mean I think people are probably interested because I think a lot of people are thinking about running that have never ran before and what does it do to your personal life I think you have to be really careful because it is incredibly time-consuming because you spend basically Monday through Thursday in DC and then head back to your state if your senator or your district if you're in Congress and to do the work back home and branding I do travel back and forth together also we have the advantage of being empty nesters when I ran so to me is really hard for those people who have brian schatz from hawaii as his family's in hawaii and he goes home every weekend yeah I know I like I I live in Minnesota and I just I won't go to Hawaii is too far I want to go you know someplace warm for vacation night I've been know why I love Hawaii it's just too damn far he goes like every week from Washington back and forth it doesn't sound like he's going on vacation though I think he's going to visit his family I think if you I mean you you sound like it's a vacation it's not that's his family Oh [Laughter] you understand now now I understand why no I'm just saying it is rough on him he's young he's pretty young but and they don't expect you in Hawaii to come back every week because they know how far it is to Washington and so and and my when in a way was there a [ __ ] were there they they didn't go back but he does go back every week and it is your right is because of his family but also to do do his work there and so what's your kind of like due diligence with regard to you know during the week like you know people that you know like the people you talk a lot about the fighting relationships relationships you have with like Lindsey Graham or he's the funniest yeah he is hilarious and I'm not okay I giving any for instance I when he was running like 15 out of 17 in the Republican primaries I you know we were in the we were in the bathroom and I said them Lindsey if I were voting in the Republican primaries I vote for you and without hesitation he said that's my problem [Laughter] [Applause] and a lot of there you know Pat Roberts very conservative from Kansas very funny guy there's one guy who had no sense of humor basically and that was Tom Coburn Tom was known as dr. no Oklahoma senator who the doctor party was the doctor he's an obstetrician-gynecologist who worked done that before he came to Congress and he was dr. that was dr. know was he he was very very much a federalist and believe the states should do everything and put holds on everything to try to prevent anything from happening that involved with federal government spending money so he he will admit that he doesn't have much they doesn't have sense of humor and so the first three or four exchanges I had with him we just it did not work and I so I went about there two weeks I said Tom can I can I take you to lunch and he said tell you what take me to breakfast like okay well so we went to breakfast a couple days later and we're sitting there's by 8:00 in the morning I said look for the next 40 45 minutes whatever this is let's let's just have fun okay he goes okay fun and I I said now we can talk about our families we can talk about politics we can talk about our careers but let's have fun okay okay I said okay careers let me ask you something to be a doctor in Oklahoma do you have to have any formal education [Applause] and hee hee hee the time exposing goes yes you got to go to medical school and and I I said Tom that that that was a joke and that's what I used to do you see in my career oh okay and then we had a very not we had fun and then I explained them what jokes were and was what the proper reaction to a joke is and and at day we had good time and at the end of the day I got a note from was delivered from his op saying I had a lot of fun and I asked I made a hat when I wrote the book I want to observe protocol and ask colleagues so I report private conversations with I wanted to get their permission if it could look like it didn't make them look good so I called Tom he's retired I call him up I hi Tom how you doing I'm doing good Nagar remember that breakfast we had yeah again I did the thing about the yellow yeah that was listen I'm writing a book and I just want to ask your permission can I use that story and he said we have a First Amendment you can write anything you want so but tom was an outlier and a good guy but not you know I'm sure he'd enjoy your comedy not and but but most of my colleagues have senses of humor some falling on somewhere on a spectrum of course will you tell the story about with Senator Tovar shard like in with Ted Cruz where okay yes talk about now look look and this is very funny well I write a chapter about Ted Ted's the exception to the rule on asking permission and I justify it it's justified right right in the yeah he's a proper alcohol I mean he can't say that right and I would not say that here's the thing you should know about Ted Cruz he is he has a sense of humor it's like terribly good but he knows all of it and I probably this is things you know about Ted Cruz I probably like Ted Cruz more than most of my colleagues like Ted Cruz and I hate Ted Cruz and he made that he's just a toxic co-worker he's the guy that microwaves fish and the Watson his just doesn't get along and the first couple months there he just was just awful and people so so Amy Klobuchar who's my senior senator is very funny and Amy won't let me write jokes when she was asked as she was asked to do the Democratic peace at the gridiron dinner which is big press dinner every year and so she she will run the jokes but okay so she had a joke about Ted and it was this is very very soon after the Carnival Cruise that gone out to sea and the engine died and all the electricity went out and was stuck out there for like 10 days where they got towed in and was known as the poop cruise because nothing worked and you know there's nothing you want to do go on a luxury cruise and end up with stuff floating by you so people were mad about the cruise so is called the poop cruise so so she wrote this joke which is when most people think of a bad cruise they think of Carnival we think of pet very good job very good job so I said okay I got a rewrite that I think is better and I'll tell you you'll hear the rewrite at the end of the story so then the next Thursday before the Saturday the gridiron I see Amy going over to Chuck Schumer and then I see her going over someone else that she had written jokes about I go oh I see she's getting approval to tell the jokes about members and then I see her and start hitting the Ted and I go like I want to be there I want and so I kind of insert myself into the conversation triangle and but letting me do her thing and she says Ted I've written I'm doing the gridiron on Saturday I've written a joke about you and I'm wondering to be okay with you I mean he goes what's the joke and she says when most people think of a difficult Cruise she's changed bad cruise to difficult cruise they think of Carnival but we Democrats in the Senate think of Ted and she's changed we too we Democrats in the Senate and both of those were designed to soften this and so he goes I'll tell you what instead of difficult cruise what have you made it a challenging cruise and Amy you can see Amy going like okay now it's just not funny and he's smart he's very smart he could see that too and he kind of went I'll tell you what I believe in the First Amendment you tell your joke and I'm going oh man and I say Ted I'm actually gonna rewrite that I think a lot better you want to hear it he goes a little sure I go okay when most people think of a cruise that's foolish [Laughter] [Applause] that they think of Carnival but we in the Senate think of Ted and I smiled and he had nothing he had nothing I just got it and and turned around walk away good stuff good stuff what I'm what are you okay so what's on a more serious note because this just can't be a lot to go on a more serious note what okay so the state of the Democratic Party whether you're what are your thoughts where are we what's our messaging I mean as just I mean I'm not one of you Robeson Republican but but what is what's the mess what's the problem what's the everybody's got all these different opinions were you what is your opinion well we're first of all Democrats are bad at messaging at the gym yeah I I say the prom problem with our messaging is that all our bumper stickers and with continued on next bumper sticker and I start the book I before but then the first chapter is Weimar Democrat and why I'm a Democrat is I start with how I grew up my dad was a printing salesman we had a modest lives a two-bedroom one-bath house and my the four of us and I felt like the luckiest kid in the world because I was I was growing up middle-class at the height of the middle class in America in Minnesota in st. Louis Park Minnesota and I felt like I could do anything and I could take any risk I wanted to all myself you know that I was I could do anything I want my wife who I met first week of college she did not grow up that way her father a World War two decorated veteran died in a car crash when she was 18 months old her younger sister Bootsie was three months old her mom was widowed with five kids at age 29 and they served they got Social Security survivor benefits it kind of got them through some times they went hungry often they went hungry they sometimes had the heat turned off this is important Linnane my mother-in-law when bootie and Franny were old enough started working at the in the produce department of a grocery store they struggled but all four girls went to college on combinations of Pell grants and scholarships a full Pell Grant when my wife went to college paid for about 80% of the public college education today pays for less than 35 percent when Bootsie the youngest one went to high school my mother-in-law got a $300 gie loans to go to college she went the University of Maine she got three more loans graduated became an elementary school teacher because she taught poor kids title one kids she had all her loans forgiven every member of my wife's family my brother-in-law went into the Coast Guard and basically is an electrical engineer and every member of my wife's family became a contributing member of the middle class and they tell you in this country to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and we all believe that but first you got to have the boots and and the government gave them the boots and that's why I'm a Democrat I talk about you know in the book I talk about civil rights movement my dad was a liberal Republican until Barry Goldwater got the nomination and he changed the Republican Party because Barry Goldwater I voted against the civil rights bill and when Lyndon Johnson signed that bill he said to an aide we've lost the South for a generation he was wrong we lost the South for Amber but we gained my dad and that justice I remember we look at we'd watched eat dinner and watch TV at the same time and we'd see these demonstrators in the south with sheriffs but fire hoses on them and dogs and crunchings and my dad would go no Jim could be for that no Jew could be for that my dad grew up in New York and inhale the pipe his entire adulthood so he kind of talked like that and even no Jew can be for that and so that's about justice hello my rabbi says hello I know you know Hillel very well I reckon ah yeah that's good good my wife still says Brooke a toy she just can't do it and she's a Catholic Irish Catholic girl but Hillel says it's not enough to be just you have to do justice all of these strands are about what we are about we have a very divided country right now and we have people who get you know I wrote books like Rush Limbaugh's big fat idiot and other observation and that was about right-wing talk radio and I wrote lives and lying liars who tell them what their imbalances right now is about right-wing media Fox's a we have self sorted ourselves and get information the Trump you know a lot of the Trump voters get their information from Breitbart now internet get it from talk radio get it from Fox and people get the information that confirms their bias and we're very divided and we also I think that a lot of the Trump voters feel like they there are winners and losers and they've been the losers and they blame big government they think big government is self-serving and with some degree you can't you can't argue with that you know we have a different analysis of that big government I mean big corporations have captured the regulatory agencies there'll be you know you'll work in a regulatory agency where you're regulating say media consolidations this happened when Comcast NBC merged a FCC Commissioner who voted to let the merger go through then suddenly is working for Comcast and so there's there's this is not simple this all this stuff is it so doing what do you do you think this is just this is like it this is something that bends and turns around and this and that we course correct or do you think this is for me there's there are days where I feel like this is the end of the world yeah this is I've been doing I've been doing this book tour and you know I folks here tonight came to see us as a couple and and came here for this crap you know for me and well I meant well I let me explain that for I'm a liberal I'm a progressive I'm this I imagine that most people here are like-minded and so I you know I was asked I was interviewed like what have you learned on the book tour about how America I go I was in Berkeley I did an event in Berkeley I and I can tell you that Americans are very concerned about Trump and very afraid about you know but in Minnesota you know I go to rural areas of Minnesota I'm I'm co-chair of the rural health caucus so I'm always going around Minnesota to rural hospitals and clinics and and nursing homes and they hate this bill this Republican the House bill late the Senate bill so one of one of the messaging we have we have to do everything we can to defeat this and I think we are going to but I you know don't want to underestimate Mitch McConnell but this is a horrible bill and it shows exactly who they are because this is about taking health care away from people who need it the most to give a big tax break to the people who need it the least that's what that's what they're really about and so you know 17% of Americans support the Senate the bill that's but my fear is they just introduced something where they would actually give they would tax the rich and also well what they would not get rid of the capital gains of the 3.8% on capital gains additionally none of these enough nothing would come into effect from this bill until 2020 so if we're talking about 2018 and we're talking about the realistic possibility of actually turning the house if people don't feel the impact of what these people are trying to do until 22 money then then we lose again well that's their that's their theory that that's what they're trying to do I don't think people are buying it as I said I think it's 17 percent support for this bill approval of this bill in the Senate bill and that's the exact same number of Americans who say they have seen a ghost and I think there's a lot of separately iron most people think this is Nina good not definitely higher than 17 percent there's a lot of [ __ ] idiots out there seventeen percent I made you believe in astrology what's your sign I'm on the cusp I I don't believe in astrology and I don't know you know Nancy Reagan I think did but I this is scientific data about the number of people see said they've seen it ghost okay she's 18 and I'm why and why is this is 18.5% we have pick we have some questions from the audience you guys want to go through these and we can just pick out some of them so he can answer them from you oh here's a good one when will senator Franken be announcing his candidacy for president well as I said I've been talking to audiences like this one and you have to get a majority well no actually you don't but you know I think that the President of the United States and whoever we run who's ever our nominee in 2020 and hopefully my god that person has to win I believe that that should be someone who really really wants to be president and really as a fire and in the belly to be the president has never been ambition of mine I you know as the United States Senator I've seen the presidency a lot closer than I did when I was comedian and it's a hell of a job it's a and it's the responsibility you have is is enormous and I just I I'm Donnell I don't want to do that that's not something I want to do I understand that and I believe you but these are different circumstances that we found ourselves in yeah but well I think that a lot of people who didn't think they were ever going to do something are now thinking I may have to do something yeah but it doesn't mean I think there are a number of Democrats who are going to do this they're going date I'm a Jelena rock Johnson I'm talking about why Dwayne the rock Johnson oh I mean I know he's a Republican but I mean whenever I'll take her and I mean I will take an actual rock at this place so it doesn't that's not my line I stole it from someone else I heard that it's very funny but no yeah he no because you know what arguments that my friend made is that it's a celebrity game extremely honest with you well ok get this huge lamp and then you go that's on my wine no that's not I am honest I'm good yeah I remember you an argument my friend made said you know she made which was it's accurate is that it's a celebrity's game like there hasn't been a celebrity from Sonny Bono to Ronald Reagan to I'm not ready for that yet put your jacket back on Ronald Reagan soon I was just a little something for the gas [Laughter] [Applause] [Laughter] - well Franken - you know Donald Trump I mean there is clearly an impact that celebrities have that I mean I don't know that we go Pitt I want to believe and I hope that's a good outweighs the bad and that people come around and we're just on a this is the crescendo of the bad social media Kardashian nightmare and we're just imploding and hopefully we'll come back I want to believe it but her argument is that once it becomes a celebrity's game the people that get elected or famous notoriety we have such small like our values or you know dissipating people are different than they were you know when Jefferson when yeah generation was alive so I don't know if you how do you course correct now it doesn't feel like values are there are values oh there are and and I believe me I've got a a number of colleagues who I think would make fine presidents I'm not going to say who they are because I'll leave somebody out and there's other people who aren't senators who are talking about it as well in considering and I think we'll have a messy primary thing and I think will merge with somebody that will unite find somebody we may not even think about now so it's you know I you know this isn't all about politicians this is really more about you this is about what you do we need you to be it to do be involved and and there you you know you have to be activists you have to advocate for and you know you can if it's mental health if it's climate change if it's clean water if it's housing for people I would ask you to get involved and to join an advocacy group you'll be surprised how quickly you can go from being a foot soldier to being a leader but my I feel like my job more is when I have an audience like this is to urge you to not put everything on me for God's sake you know like screw you for putting that much pride you know I don't I mean is there somebody that you I know you're not going to want to answer this but is there something that you that means you that you think should be running for president and I mean next time do you who do you have your eye on somebody or you do favor someone I mean what what are your thoughts I have a number of people that I think would be up to the job and who want to do it and I think that's better than someone who marginally might be up to the job and really doesn't want to do it even though I did you know but I have the advantage of you know it's partly because of Trump that people go like oh you know like I like I wrote 90% of this book before the election I had to change it a lot and I tried to try to write about Trump in a way that wasn't like the history of the Trump administration until my book was locked I didn't want to do that but I talked about in terms of my race in terms of the the books I wrote about lying and how it's almost quaint adorable that I made a living writing books about people lying and now it's just that's what he does that's what the President does we'll just lies all the time so what do you do when you go and you're URI on the capital and you can't I mean the way that everybody is feeling that you know is of a like line how do you function when you have to get a job done and you're you apoplectic at the lies that are being spewed over and over again how do you maintain your calm and how do you push forward and be a professional you keep your eye on the prize I mean you just keep pushing and you talk to you I talked to my Republican colleagues about this health care bill all the time and I'm hoping and Mitch McConnell has said if this doesn't pass that Democrats and Republicans should work together and I've been saying this all along we've been saying this for a long time Democrats have and that we should be working together to improve upon the Affordable Care Act and to address where it's not where it's not working and to a large extent is obviously the exchanges and you know the Republicans have been trying to undermine the ACA from the very beginning have done it in any number of ways including what the Supreme Court did so that you know originally every state was going to expand Medicaid people who get their insurance through Medicaid and having insurance because of the ACA through Medicaid have done a lot better their health has gotten better health care isn't about these sudden you know heroic emergency medical events that your health is really about having a continuum of care and you have that if you have insurance and we have 22 million more people with insurance now and there's just a New England Journal of Medicine just did a survey study Atul Gawande was one of the authors is a friend of mine people who have gotten insurance through Medicaid under the ACA do as well as people out private insurance and their mortality they live longer they have better health they take care it works what we're doing you know when I was running in in 2008 my opponent Norm Coleman would say we have the best health care system in the world because we have the Mayo Clinic and I feel like the Mayo Clinic is not a health care system it's a hospital and clinic and there's often TR Reid who wrote about the different health care systems in the world we don't have we didn't have a CA is a time basically before the ACA you either and still do a great degree if you're you're in Medicare you're in the Canadian system single-payer if you are in the VA or in the military you're in the British system socialized medicine if you get it through if you get your healthcare through insurance through your employer you're in the German system if you don't have insurance you're in the Cambodian system and the whole point of the ACA is to get people who are in the Cambodian system into you the Canadian system or the German system work a price and that's what we did and we need to work on shoring up the exchanges I would like to have a public option so that every American in every state can sign on to a public option I would like to address the cost of pharmaceuticals I have a comprehensive bill that we started we started having hearings on it and that was bipartisan bill Cassidy of Louisiana Republican Louisiana who is a doctrine is a good guy he and I led a letter to with five he got five Republicans I had by Democrats and we got the chairman Alexander's to start having hearings on pharmaceuticals we need to work together and strengthen the system that we have and that has been working and to the extent that it hasn't been it's it's part is in no small part because of the attempt to sabotage the ACA and Trump has been doing that in spades and so I hope that we're working together on that and that matters that matters to people that matters to people in all over this country their health care their kids health care their parents I've had people round tables at hospitals in rural Minnesota cry because of this the House bill they said mine my mother gets her home health care through Medicaid and if this goes through she'll lose that my husband and I both work and we don't know what we will do with my mom that's real that's real stuff and that's that's my job is Paul Wellstone said politics isn't about power it isn't about winning for the sake of winning it's not about money politics is working to improve people's lives and that's why me and and you started this by saying that there are some some people who are in this for the right reason there's a lot of people in it for the right reason and there are Republicans who are in it for the right reasons and and that I will be happy to work with and have worked with and gotten stuff done I write about that in here yeah anyway um yes was that an answer to one what your answers are all great I could listen to you talk all night I think we're selling way over our time and I want people to be able to I mean I know that you pre signed a bunch of books cuz I actually found do it and a lot of people don't do it themselves not naming any names just talking about fresh but the book is great it's obviously a good veto for all of us who were here tonight I know if you're here you care and that's really important and I appreciate your honesty and your sincerity you are really really admirable you're great I could listen to you talk forever yeah you're awesome well thank you Paul if you have friends and relatives in states that have Republican senators you might want to call them or terror email there's the email thing text tell them the B start be heard if they haven't already been heard this week and tell their Republican senator or not to vote for this damn thing thank you guys thank you everybody for coming [Applause]

Channel: LiveTalksLA

Views: 758,369

Rating: 4.69209 out of 5

Keywords: Senator Al Franken, Al Franken, Chelsea Handler, Netflix, Twelve Books, Live Talks Los Angeles, Live Talks LA, Giant of the Senate, Hachette Books, Saturday Night Live, Stuart Smalley, SNL

Id: nFobj-oQFVM

Length: 62min 15sec (3735 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 17 2017