{"id":2904,"date":"2011-03-16T07:14:29","date_gmt":"2011-03-16T12:14:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/?p=2904"},"modified":"2015-03-13T16:58:24","modified_gmt":"2015-03-13T21:58:24","slug":"if-al-franken-and-rand-paul-can-be-friends-why-cant-we","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/2011\/03\/16\/if-al-franken-and-rand-paul-can-be-friends-why-cant-we\/","title":{"rendered":"If Al Franken and Rand Paul Can Be Friends, Why Can't We?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Today\u2019s StarTribune has an interesting story on the young and unlikely friendship between Senators Al Franken and Rand Paul<\/a>.\u00a0 As you may know, Paul is one of the Senate\u2019s most conservative members, and he actively courts mainstream media attention.\u00a0 Franken, on the contrary, is on the left wing of the Senate and generally avoids media attention.\u00a0 The Strib reports:<\/p>\n

The duo has raised eyebrows because the two senators couldn\u2019t be further apart politically: Paul is a staunch libertarian and founded the Senate Tea Party Caucus, while Franken\u2019s liberalism is well known through his writing and speeches.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first blush, obviously it is [odd],\u201d Franken said in an interview. \u201cBut in many ways it makes a lot of sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The pair\u2019s budding friendship serves as one small counterpoint to the notion that Washington\u2019s rhetoric is so toxic in today\u2019s hyper-partisan political environment that senators as dissimilar as Franken and Paul cannot come together.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Meanwhile, I\u2019ve been trying to get a representative of the conservative, Reformed branch of American Protestantism to come on Doug Pagitt Radio<\/a>, for which I will serve as the guest host on April 10.\u00a0 I\u2019ve thought it could be a great way to model Christian brotherhood \u2014 to have a cordial, 30-minute conversation about issues that we think are really, really important.<\/p>\n

Alas, I have been repeatedly rebuffed in my efforts to get someone to agree to come on the show.\u00a0 I\u2019m not going to name names (yet).\u00a0 Instead, I\u2019m going to keep extending the invitation in hopes that someone who disagrees with me on theological issues will still see fit to model brotherly dialogue in a setting that will edify God\u2019s kingdom on Earth.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today\u2019s StarTribune has an interesting story on the young and unlikely friendship between Senators Al Franken and Rand Paul.\u00a0 As you may know, Paul is one of the Senate\u2019s most conservative members, and he actively courts mainstream media attention.\u00a0 Franken, on the contrary, is on the left wing of the Senate and generally avoids media […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity-in-america","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nIf Al Franken and Rand Paul Can Be Friends, Why Can't We?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Today's StarTribune has an interesting story on the young and unlikely friendship between Senators Al Franken and Rand Paul.\u00a0 As you may know, Paul is one\" 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