Media

Franken:“The UpTake Proved that Minnesota Is Not Florida”

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Senator Al Franken (D-Min) didn’t disappoint as he wrapped up the 2010 Netroots conference. While he thanked supporters and activists, specifically mentioning The UpTake for chronicling the eight-month recount, he cautioned everyone against giving up the fight. Among his comments:

“Corporations aren’t inherently evil but they are inherently powerful. They know more about you than you know about them.” We didn’t get everything we wanted but if we give up now, the Republicans will take away everything that we did get. Once, only the government could threaten your First Amendment rights.

DC

Sen. Franken On Busting The Filibuster Threat

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At Netroots Nation, the 60-vote requirement to prevent a filibuster was criticized by many people. Before his keynote address, Senator Al Franken (DFL- Minnesota) stopped by The UpTake booth to talk about the filibuster and other issues. In this exclusive interview with Mike McIntee, Franken talked about possible changes to the filibuster rule when the 2011 Senate convenes, and the “slow walking” tactics used by current Senators. One scenario: after a 60-40 vote for a nominee, cloture is invoked, which delays the vote for 30 hours. When the Senate votes again after cloture, the vote on the same nominee might be 98-0.