Former Saturday Night Live cast members looking to get some media attention have Senator Franken's back. Minnesotans don't. There's no real support, because there's no enthusiasm.
In less than a week since sexual harassment allegations were leveled against Minnesota Senator Al Franken, his approval rating has plummeted and many Minnesotans say he should resign, according to an exclusive KSTP/SurveyUSA poll.
In a poll conducted Monday night after allegations from a second woman were made public, only 22 percent of 600 Minnesotans surveyed said he should remain in office. Another 33 percent say he should resign, while 36 percent say he should wait for results of a Senate Ethics Committee investigation.
"To me the striking findings in this poll are first, that only 22 percent are behind Al Franken staying in office," Carleton College Political Scientist Steven Schier said.
Secondly, he notes there is no demographic group in the poll where a majority say he should remain in office.
If Franken does stay in office, only 32 percent say he can be an "effective" senator. Meanwhile, 37 percent say he would be "ineffective" and 32 percent are not sure.
It's the lack of enthusiasm for Franken that explains these numbers. The dead may vote, but they don't poll.
Franken should never have been in the Senate. He's only there on account of voter fraud. And there's no real enthusiasm for him. Democrats vote for for the party. But they have no real commitment to him.
All this suggests that Franken could have been beaten long before this if the GOP had made more of an effort.