Al Franken - Al Franken, Giant of the Senate

Based on actual events

In the eight years since I came to Washington, probably the question Ive been asked more than any other is some version of this: Is being a United States senator as much fun as working on Saturday Night Live?

The answer has always been NO!!! Why would it be?

When people ask me my favorite moment from my fifteen seasons at SNL, I always tell them its all the late Tuesday nights or very early Wednesday mornings when the show got written on the seventeenth floor of 30 Rock, when I was rolling on the floor laughing at a line that Dan Aykroyd or Gilda Radner or my partner Tom Davis just came up with or a character that Dana Carvey or Chris Farley just invented. Nothing could be more fun.

That said, Ive always told people that representing my home state of Minnesota in the U.S. Senate is, without a doubt, the best job Ive ever had. I get to wake up every morning and go to work on behalf of five and a half million peopletaking their best ideas to Washington, fighting for what they need to make a better life, and improving their lives in real, tangible ways.

Which would often prompt them to ask, Are you talking about the same U.S. Senate that is one of the two bodies in todays U.S. Congress? And isnt todays Congress just an unrelenting horror show?

And that was before Trump.

Watching Donald J. Trump take the oath of office to become the 45th president of the United States was perhaps the most depressing moment Ive had since I entered politics, although that record has been repeatedly surpassed since January 20. The heartless and counterproductive Muslim ban; the barrage of racist and/or corrupt and/or unqualified staff appointments and Cabinet nominees; the unhinged tweets attacking anyone who opposes his agenda; the constant, constant, constant lyingTrumps presidency so far has been one shock to the system after another.

And while were still finding out exactly how bad, and exactly what specific kind of bad, President Trump will be, it seems very likely that things in Washington are going to get worse before they get better.

Indeed, people have stopped asking me whether Im having fun in my new career. These days, the question I get more than any other is some version of this: What the hell do we do now?

Were all going to have to figure out the answer together. But, as unpleasant as my job is going to be in the coming months and years, Im still glad to have the chance to be part of the fight. And, really, while nobody could have prepared for the grim reality of a Trump presidency, when I look back at my own political journey, I cant help but feel like Im as prepared as anyone could be for this moment.

This book is the story of that journey.

Its the story of a midwestern Jewish boy of humble roots (the first in his family to own a pasta maker) who, after a thirty-five-year career in comedy, moved back home to challenge an incumbent senator. Its the story of how a satirist who had spent a good part of his career heaping scorn and ridicule upon conservative Republican officeholders developed a solid working relationship with (many of) his Republican colleagues. Its the story of how a novice politician learned not just how to win an election, but how to be good at serving in office: how to find common ground when possible, but also stand his ground when powerful interests come after the middle class. Its the story of how, after spending a lifetime learning how to be funny, I learned how not to be funny.

This book will be different from other books written by U.S. senators. For instance, Im not going to write stuff like, Mitch McConnell and I may disagree, but when were off the clock, were the best of friendssometimes we go to dinner and Mitch will laugh so hard that milk shoots out of his nose. No, Im not going to be writing clichs like that.

Instead, Im going to tell you what its really been like to go from writing political satire to actually being in politics. Im going to tell you how Washington really works. And Im going to tell you what Ive learned about the direction of our country and our prospects for the future.

Is what I do more fun than Saturday Night Live? Not by a long shot. But this book will tell you why, despite all the hugely disheartening moments Ive experienced since I got into politics, I still think I have the best job in the world (some days) and why, despite the rise of Trump, Im still (kind of) optimistic about our future (most of the time [albeit certainly less than I was a few months ago]).

Al Franken

Washington, D.C.