History Creator / AlFranken

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Franken bashing Silverman caused him to not be the executive producer of ''SNL''[='s=] sixth season...which, as it now stands, is considered an OldShame due to how weak and humorless it was under the direction of Jean Doumanian.

His [[AuthorAvatar Avatar]] (and recurring ''SNL'' character), Stuart Smalley, is in the Trope {{Pantheon}} as the [[{{Pantheon/Emotion}} Demigod of Self-Esteem]].

** ''Lies and the [[ThatLiarLies Lying Liars]] Who Tell Them: A [[FoxNewsChannel Fair and Balanced]] Look at the Right''.

* MommasBoy: Subverted real-life example: Franken admits that in his childhood, he cheered for [[UsefulNotes/RichardNixon Nixon]] in the 1960 presidential election because he was fonder of his father, then a registered Republican (they both switched four years later), than he was of his mother, a registered Democrat. Al's older brother, meanwhile, cheered for [[UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy Kennedy]], which he attributes to "a visceral aversion to Nixon."

* {{Badass}}: He is a QuickDraw champion in real life. In ''Lies,'' he claims he is 3rd ranked in the US, in response to [[Series/TheOReillyFactor Bill O'Reilly]] saying that in the WildWest he'd have shot Franken in a ShowdownAtHighNoon.

** StealthParody-- The title is alleged by Franken to be a deliberate reference to Limbaugh's style of debate largely involving (as far as Franken's concerned) [[AdHominem hurling personal insults at his opponents]].

* CouldSayItBut: The so-called "Kidding on the Square" version is closely associated with Franken, particularly in the ''Lying Liars'' era.

* JustJokingJustification: Is famous for this. His ''Rush Limbaugh'' book is filled with disclaimers of sorts to the effect that all the fat jokes, etc., are "satire". He then [[InvokedTrope began his forward to ''Lies'' with a major one]]:

* MommasBoy: Subverted real-life example: Franken admits that in his childhood, he cheered for [[UsefulNotes/RichardNixon Nixon]] in the 1960 presidential election because he was fonder of his father, then a registered Republican (they both switched four years later), than he was of his mother, a registered Democrat. Al's older brother, meanwhile, cheered for [[JohnFKennedy Kennedy]], which he attributes to "a visceral aversion to Nixon."

* MommasBoy: Subverted real-life example: Franken admits that in his childhood, he cheered for [[RichardNixon Nixon]] in the 1960 presidential election because he was fonder of his father, then a registered Republican (they both switched four years later), than he was of his mother, a registered Democrat. Al's older brother, meanwhile, cheered for [[JohnFKennedy Kennedy]], which he attributes to "a visceral aversion to Nixon."

** StealthParody-- The title is alleged by Franken to be a deliberate reference to Limbaugh's style of debate largely involving (as far as Franken's concerned) hurling personal insults at his opponents.

* CowboyBebopAtHisComputer: His ''Rush Limbaugh is...'' book has a section involving a number of Republican figures (among them Limbaugh, Gingrich, Buchanan) fighting in Vietnam and calls them chickenhawks for allegedly warmongering but not fighting in wars themselves. Putting aside that the Republicans weren't in power at the Presidency and the person who was at the time, BillClinton, who Franken ''supported'', was the one who declared war in the Balkans and Somalia but refused to enlist in the draft, not only that but one of the people Franken mentions and lumps in with the others as "warmongering", Pat Buchanan, has been against ''every war'' since UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. Buchanan not only doesn't fit the pro-war stereotype Franken was trying to push, he's ''less'' pro-war than either Franken or Clinton.

* ''Why Not Me? The Making and Unmaking of the Franken Presidency''

* CowboyBebopAtHisComputer: His ''Rush Limbaugh is...'' book has a section involving a number of Republican figures (among them Limbaugh, Gingrich, Buchanan) fighting in Vietnam and calls them chickenhawks for allegedly warmongering but not fighting in wars themselves. Putting aside that the Republicans weren't in power at the Presidency and the person who was at the time, BillClinton, who Franken ''supported'', was the one who declared war in the Balkans and Somalia but refused to enlist in the draft, not only that but one of the people Franken mentions and lumps in with the others as "warmongering", Pat Buchanan, has been against ''every war'' since WorldWarI. Buchanan not only doesn't fit the pro-war stereotype Franken was trying to push, he's ''less'' pro-war than either Franken or Clinton.

** StealthParody-- The title is a deliberate reference to Limbaugh's style of debate largely involving hurling personal insults at his opponents.

Oh, and he can draw an accurate map of the United States of America ''from memory''.

* TheCameo: He's been a guest star on his friend Garrison Keillor's radio show APrairieHomeCompanion where he's done pretty good impression of Henry Kissinger

* TheCameo: He's been a guest star on the radio show APrairieHomeCompanion hosted by his friend (and fellow Minnesotan) GarrisonKeillor a few times, and demonstrated a knack for a pretty good impression of HenryKissinger

His books include:

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: If not for Franken's ''Limo for the Lame-O'' segment on Weekend Update, Franken would have been the executive producer of ''SNL'''s sixth season (which, as it now stands, is considered an OldShame due to how weak and humorless it was).
* ZeroGSpot: {{Deconstructed|Trope}} in ''Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot'' in response to something on the subject Newt Gingrich wrote in one of his books.

* MommasBoy: Subverted real-life example: Franken admits that in his childhood, he cheered for [[RichardNixon Nixon]] in the 1960 presidential election because he was fonder of his father, then a registered Republican (they both switched four years later) than he was of his mother, a registered Democrat. Al's older brother, meanwhile, cheered for [[JohnFKennedy Kennedy]], which he attributes to "a visceral aversion to Nixon."

* AllMythsAreTrue: He admits he got the infamous "Jew call" [[labelnote: Short explanation]]Allegations that various Jewish employees in the World Trade Center were warned not to show up on 9/11 by Israeli agents.[[/labelnote]], though he ''may'' have been joking, given the way he goes about it.

!!!Tropes associated with Franken include:

Tropes associated with Franken include:

* BoomerangBigot / YouAreWhatYouHate: Wrote a book called ''Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot'' mocking him for his then-status as overweight[[note]]practically the ''[[OverlyLongGag whole index]]'' consists of jokes relating to Limbaugh being fat and/or a BigEater, with the notable exception of a quick gag about Republican pollster Frank Luntz's reluctance to search for himself in that index[[/note]], but Franken himself is a bit on the pudgy side.