Finally, Minnesota Senator Al Franken was sworn in after a long eight-month legal battle with Senator Norm Coleman. My grandmother would say that Al Franken has removed a nail from the wall with his hands. What a fight!

Al Franken’s victory was good news for the Democrats and bad news for the Republicans. Since we live in a society where race, gender, religion, and origin matter, it is very noticeable that Norm Coleman was the last Jewish Republican senator left after the defection of Senator Arlen Spector to the Democratic party. The Democrats now have 13 Jewish senators.

Why it is so important? Simply, it makes a lot of sense. The Christian Right phenomenon is scaring off more Jews. Although that doesn’t make the Republican party anti-Jewish — it’s more about the party having been “hijacked” by the Christian Right.

People like Rush Limbaugh certainly don’t see that the GOP has a real problem. Unfortunately, as the Himba of Namibia say, “He who has bad breath cannot smell it.”