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View Full Version : Sen. Al Franken will make an announcement Thursday



jimnyc
12-06-2017, 06:33 PM
I wonder what THAT may be?

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Democratic senators to Al Franken: Resign

(CNN)Embattled Sen. Al Franken will make an announcement Thursday, his office told reporters, as calls for the Minnesota Democrat's resignation -- led by female senators and later including party leaders such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer -- rapidly gained momentum Wednesday.

Thirty-two Democratic senators -- 13 female and 19 male -- called on Franken to resign as allegations of sexual harassment against him continue to mount. Republican Sen. Susan Collins also called on Franken to quit.

In a statement on Facebook, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand wrote: "While Senator Franken is entitled to have the Ethics Committee conclude its review, I believe it would be better for our country if he sent a clear message that any kind of mistreatment of women in our society isn't acceptable by stepping aside to let someone else serve."

Sens. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Patty Murray of Washington, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Kamala Harris of California, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Maria Cantwell of Washington, Dianne Feinstein of California, Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii also joined in the call for Franken to resign.

Rest - http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/06/politics/al-franken-democratic-senators-resign/index.html

mundame
12-07-2017, 08:35 AM
I'm starting to feel sorry for Franken. Thirty-three senators calling for his resignation last night! It's bullying, really.

Remember the Adam Clayton Powell case? He was totally crooked, but it was all stuff he did before he got to Congress. They kicked him out. The Supreme Court ruled they could not do that if they had no evidence against him during his term of office.

Seems to me this covers Franken, too. The governor of Minnesota is a Dem, so we'll get a Democrat in that seat whatever happens. This Dem housecleaning is preliminary to going after Moore (and Trump) tooth and nail, so it would be better for the GOP if Franken stays, and I think he should. What he did wasn't much compared to a lot of these guys, and not especially believable anyway, all of them coming out suddenly for political reasons. I'd like to see this mass hysteria stopped.

Abbey Marie
12-07-2017, 09:34 AM
As much as I’m loving this, I am against trial by popular opinion.

mundame
12-07-2017, 10:40 AM
As much as I’m loving this, I am against trial by popular opinion.

Yeah, I am conflicted. Sexual harassment is such a terrible problem for all women, and this is a good chance to get rid of a lot of it by making it too dangerous for men to indulge their urges at our expense. Some are saying it's a "social movement." Probably not, I think it will stop as fast as it started, but I sure hope it IS a social movement to stop the predatory behavior.

On the other hand, what is going on now is mass hysteria with no proof, highly political, seems to have other goals such as purging the really old men from Congress, and it reminds me a lot of that mass hysteria about Satanic Day Care in the '80s. There was nothing to that: it was a genuine witch hunt, all made up.

I find this all worrying, but it's not my problem, it's some sort of current running in society so I'll just watch it happen.

mundame
12-07-2017, 10:47 AM
This whole thing shifts one's perceptions, though. I'm listening to Plum Island by Nelson DeMille, which he published in 1997. His protagonist John Corey is the worst sexual harasser I have ever read! It's supposed to be humorous, how he mercilessly hunts the female detective. Continual non-stop sexual innuendo, constant invitations and outright sex propositions. Clever, witty ------ not. It's abusive. She sighs, she refuses, she looks unhappy all the time --- at least the author got that right!

His hero is a pig, there it is. I won't be reading any more DeMille, because yuck. Why should I enjoy such maltreatment of women? Women buy most books and magazines in this country and so a lot of that has been cleaned up already, or authors don't sell.

BoogyMan
12-07-2017, 01:34 PM
Abbey's sentiment is where I find myself as well.

I did immediately think "I'm not good enough, I'm not smart enough, and doggone it, nobody likes me." :laugh: