Republicans, pay attention. Weāre waiting for one of yours to respond similarly.
Bummer for everybody, especially Ms. Tweeden. Bummed.
Trying to normalize misconduct is a Republican thing; Democrats own up to the allegations, address them.
I wonāt be surprised if Franken is pressured to resign as a result of this sorry episode. But he is absolutely doing the right thing in admitting it, apologizing for it, and calling for an official investigation into it.
Meanwhile, mistrial for Menendez (D-NJ). Just broke.
Frankin should offer to resign. Just as soon as Trump does.
I would like to know if drugs or alcohol were involved. Not to make excuses, but People will do exceptionally stupid stuff when under the influence.
The new standard has arrived.
Zero tolerance.
Republicans react:
I havenāt been looking forward to this one, but itās honestly an easier call than I was expecting. I figured itād be some coked-up ā70ās thing in Joe Garagiolaās office at NBC. This was, like, recent.
We have to stand up for our base and model good behavior for the crazy people.
Exactly.
Frankin should not resign.
Stupid and wrong conduct as an entertainer. Especially the forcible kiss, although the picture done for comedic effect is disturbing and sexist, too, and he simply shouldnāt have done that - picture or no. But, Iāve yet to hear āI didnāt do it, I never met her, I donāt know her, thereās an ulterior motive in her coming forward, it was locker room humorā¦ā either from Franken or people who support him. I realize thereās the picture, and Franken is smart enough and honest enough to know others could corroborate what Leeann Tweeden says. But, I donāt think youād get the blanket denials from Al even if he thought it would just be a āhe said, she said.ā Thereās a difference between someone like Franken and people like Trump and Moore.
Whataboutism is bad in all instances. Heās called for an ethics investigation into his own actions. Iām fairly confident that heāll abide by the results and recommendations of the investigation.
Iāll really worry about this when more accusers come forward. Calling for the ethics investigation on himself to me represents a belief that he hasnāt done anything anywhere near the Moore/Weinstein/Trump scale, and a willingness to accept the consequences of this occasion.
The allegations are serious and weāre still in the fact gathering stage currently. Therefore way too early to talk about repercussions. We need to know if this was a pattern or a singular occurrence for one thing. Cases of sexual harassment, I believe, canāt all be lumped in one bin. Each accused individual should be investigated thoroughly with all facts and nuances taken into account. One huge difference from Roy Moore already is that Senator Franken is dealing with it forthrightly. Moore hasnāt apologized or even acknowledged his multiple misbehaviors.
Unlike Republicans, I have faith that Dems will do the right thing at the right time. Because we, the base, will demand it.
Franken acted like a pig. He owned up to it unequivocally. He said heās sorry, but knows that isnāt enough. Whatever consequences there are, Iām convinced heāll face them like a man. He would be a huge loss in the Senate.
Contrast that with Trump and Moore to name just two of the dozens of public figures facing something like this right now. Neither of these slime balls would be a loss at all if they would just slink away and never be heard from again.
Why does the article say that Franken āgropingā her was actually ādocumented in a photographā? That photograph does not show him touching her - he clearly isnāt touching her in that photo. Thereās obviously space between his hands and her in that photo. Franken miming/pretending to do that was obviously tasteless, extremely immature, insensitive, disappointing and passive-aggressively hostile, not to mention humiliating, demeaning and hurtful for her - and he clearly never should have done that and should be ashamed that he did - but thatās not actually groping anymore than holding up a fist in front of someoneās face for a camera while theyāre sleeping is an actual assault, and if what that photo shows was the extent of what happened at that time, then I donāt think it automatically calls for an immediate resignation. That being said, he was obviously wrong to do it and Iām glad to see that he straight up apologized for it (and didnāt issue one of those depressingly common non-apology apologies) and has called for an investigation.
Absolutism is also bad in most instances. There is a whole spectrum of different patterns of misconduct and we do not yet know where Franken falls on that spectrum. Similarly, there should be a spectrum of possible repercussions, including but not limited to Senate sensure, MN voters choosing someone else to represent them during the next primary, a resignation (forced if necessary). Several of these (and other) actions could be taken. But we do not know yet what the appropriate action is either.
Good move Al.