Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), above, and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) sparred sharply on the Senate floor Monday evening, a departure from the usually dormant speeches in the august chamber. Franken feuds with GOP's No. 4

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) sparred sharply on the Senate floor Monday evening, a departure from the usually dormant speeches in the august chamber.

Franken said he was struck by a speech in which he said Thune had refused to highlight when benefits to the health care bill would kick in and instead emphasized the negative parts of the bill.


“You know, again, we are entitled to our own opinions, we’re not entitled to our own facts,” Franken said, his booming voice rising. And in a reference to a chart Thune held up, Franken said: “If you’re going to hold up a chart that says when taxes kick in and when benefits kick in, you say 1,800 days, you better include the benefits that do kick in right away.”

Thune, No. 4 in GOP leadership, asked the freshman Democrat to yield for a question, and asked: “Did the senator from Minnesota, when I was pointing out the chart, understand the point I was making – that the tax increases start 18 days from now, and that the benefits, the spending benefits under the bill which are the premium tax credits and the exchanges that are designed to provide the benefit that’s delivered under this bill don’t start until 2014?”

Franken responded sharply: “Does the senator understand that spending benefits start right away?”

To which, Thune said tersely: “If the senator missed the point, I can get the chart out again.”

Franken said: “I asked a question, senator. I yield to you for a question. I’m asking a question.”

Senators typically argue in less direct terms on the floor, and a sharp exchange between a freshman senator and a member of the other party's leadership is unusual. And it wasn’t the first time that Franken has taken on one of his new colleagues: earlier this fall in a private exchange on the floor, the former comedian delivered a heated rebuke to Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) over an op-ed the senator wrote defending his vote against an amendment the Democrat wrote. Over the summer, Franken reportedly berated T. Boone Pickens at a private Democratic lunch for the oil tycoon’s help financing the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth attacks against Sen. John Kerry in the 2004 presidential campaign.

On the floor Monday, Franken laid out a series of benefits he said would kick in right away under the bill. When Thune tried to ask a question, Franken yielded his floor time to Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) instead. Brown accused the GOP of siding with insurance companies, and when Thune tried to ask Brown a question, Brown said the Democrats had already given the Republicans 30 minutes to argue their points.

“We have our time,” Franken said.

“Sen. Thune wants to monopolize our 30 minutes,” Brown said.

Thune again tried to interject, but Franken refused to yield to Thune for a question.

At which point, Thune left the floor. Franken continued his speech, saying Thune “doesn’t want to hear” that benefits kick in sooner.

Soon after the exchange, Thune returned to the floor, with some GOP reinforcements. Sen. John McCain called Franken’s claims “misleading,” which he said was the “kindest way I could describe it.”

Responding to Franken’s arguments, Thune said that his chart was accurate and was backed up by the Congressional Budget Office.