It was the right call. I appreciate your comments and make mine with good will.
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His constituents were unhappy…
Carleton College Political Scientist Steven Schier, who spoke with KSTP on Thursday, said that the results were “striking” and noted that there was no demographic group in the poll where a majority say he should remain in office.” Specifically, the poll showed, only 21 percent of male respondents said he should remain in office; a similarly dismal 23 percent of female respondents gave the same answer.
Split down party lines, the results were slightly more drastic, though the overall theme remained the same: among those polled, only 12 percent of Republicans and 34 percent of Democrats approved of Franken’s decision not to resign. Among Independents, the figure hovered at 22 percent.
Overall, the poll showed that only 32 percent of respondents believed Franken would be effective at his job, should he remain in the Senate
There was the unfortunate reality he’d continue to be held up as an example of Democrats employing a double standard.
During his re-election campaign the allegations would be repeated relentlessly.
It was pretty remarkable a comedian whose career stretched back into SNL’s notoriously debaucherous 70’s ever became a US Senator. I’m a huge comedy fan (not so much sketch but I still love Franken’s work) and accept that sexist jokes were the norm in the past. I don’t like it but it was so baked in that it’s unreasonable to expect someone who worked as a comedian didn’t make sexist jokes. By all accounts Franken has been a great Senator, I’m sad to see him go
but given his past was he really a great choice to be in a leadership role at the national level?
this question will be in the forefront of voters minds as the attack ads run these quotes … relentlessly…
During Franken’s time as a comic, which included two long stints on Saturday Night Live from 1975-1980 and 1985-1995, he came under fire for telling sexist jokes, some of which made light of sexual abuse and rape.
In a 1995 New York Magazine profile of Saturday Night Live, Franken is quoted making vulgar jokes about rape during a brainstorm for a sketch written by Norm MacDonald that involved sedatives. “‘I give the pills to Lesley Stahl,’” Franken says, referencing the CBS News reporter while pitching a line for the sketch. “‘Then, when Lesley’s passed out, I take her to the closet and rape her.’ Or, ‘That’s why you never see Lesley until February.’ Or, ‘When she passes out, I put her in various positions and take pictures of her.’”
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Franken was also highly criticized during his initial 2008 senatorial campaign for an article he wrote for Playboy Magazine in 2000, in which he imagines a fictional Institute for Pornographic Studies in Northridge, California.
“As Dr. DeVine led me to the Future wing of the institute, I couldn’t help but notice that she is an extremely attractive blonde with a tight, round ass, legs that won’t quit and firm but ample breasts,” Franken wrote. “So ample, in fact, that she received a full scholarship from MIT.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/16/al-franken-rape-jokes-sexual-harassment
It’s easier for an incumbent to win, the sooner someone else is in there the better their chances are of winning the seat.
Franken didn’t just take one for the team and set a standard that the behavior he was accused of wasn’t appropriate for an elected official. He was faced with the political reality that he could no longer serve effectively as a public official. Many people are conflating this with all types of jobs. This is different, specific, it’s about being a representative. I’m disappointed Franken is leaving too. But there were sound political reasons for this to happen.
Not that you need it but I totally accept if you disagree with my assessment.