Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) became the star of a great many lead paragraphs from reporters covering the Antitrust Subcommittee’s grilling of Comcast and NBCU executives. He is now using the issue to generate contributions to his campaign warchest.
He sent out an email blast to members of his mailing list, and also wrote a blog post on the matter. Among other things, he noted that the there would be organizations willing to invest very heavily in Franken’s ultimate defeat for re-election, and suggested that keeping his campaign coffers well-funded was necessary so he can continue to advocate for the interests of consumers.
Here is Franken’s entire blog post:
“On February 10th, 2010 I sent an email to my list today, and I thought I’d post a note here as well. As you might have heard, I’m opposing the NBC/Comcast merger in its current form. I wanted to write you today to explain why, and to ask for your help.
“I have some experience in the broadcast industry, and I simply don’t trust Comcast and NBC when it comes to the merger they are asking the Senate to approve. I am convinced that without significant changes to protect consumers, merging a company who provides programming and one who provides the pipes that carry said programming would be a raw deal for Minnesotans and independent content producers alike.
“Fights like this one are more than worth having, they’re essential to preserving the fabric of our democracy. I know full well that by taking positions like this, I’m inviting special interest groups to spend a lot of money to defeat me down the road. That’s ok by me — because corporations getting their way isn’t some bad medicine Americans need to swallow — we can stand, fight, and win if we work together. I’m building a movement to grow the momentum we established in 2008, please consider joining us today. –Al”
