This particular claim of overt sexual aggession by Franken, they say, is out of character for the man they know. In fact, on closer examination, this seems more an instance where Republicans are playing Democrats to distract them from their own Roy Moore and Trump Russia ties problems.įirst, there is Franken's history of support for rights, equality and women's issues to consider.Īlso worth consideration are the many women who have worked with Franken over 40 years that have already stepped forward to say he has always been most respectful and a gentleman. The facts do not exactly add up in this particular instance of Leeann's allegations about Franken. But, Democrats should not expect that Franken resigning will curry favor or fairness from the party that excuses Roy Moore, Donald Trump, David Vitter, and so many others.Īll that said, however, have Democrats learned nothing from all the Republican negative messaging on Hillary and other Democrats they deem as a political threat? Franken can now probably forget about playing any part on the national ticket in 2020, and that's a gain for Republicans. If more women step forward with similar stories about Franken, we can reexamine the question Franken's reputation. We shouldn’t disown him just because Republicans are trying to use him as a scapegoat to detract from their Roy Moore, Trump Russia investigation, and massive tax cut for the rich legislation problems.Īt this point it’s one allegation, albeit an ugly one, from a conservative Republican operative, Leeann Tweeden. Franken has been a committed feminist, a brilliant Trump foil, and the rare Democrat with a sense for the dramatic and the entertaining. Franken has been an excellent senator you can’t just trade him for a player to be named later. I’m hearing some Democrats, trying to be proactive, suggest that Franken resign-since Minnesota’s Democratic Governor Mark Dayton can appoint a Democratic replacement-so he doesn’t distract from the debate over Roy Moore as well as Donald Trump, the predator in chief. He valued our work and our opinions and was a champion for women both in the legislation he supported and in promoting women to leadership roles in our offices.” In our time working for the Senator, he treated us with the utmost respect. The fact is that Franken doesn’t have a history of demeaning women, in fact it is the opposite.įourteen female staffers signed a statement saying Al Franken treated them with respect and was a champion for women: “Many of us spent years working for Senator Franken in Minnesota and Washington. However, this situation is quite a bit different and it requires that we step back and view this with a lens of logic. There has been a history of demeaning women who step forward in both the courtroom and life so that most refused to put themselves through the process and simply remained quiet. Let me say right up front, I absolutely support women coming forward when there have been sexual assaults or abuse. Last Thursday, Los Angeles conservative radio host and Fox News Sean Hannity guest regular Leeann Tweeden charged that Franken forced her to kiss him, mistreated her when she rebuffed him, and took a photo with his hands grabbing her breasts when she was asleep-all when they were both touring Iraq and Afghanistan with the USO, entertaining American military personnel, back in 2006.
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