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Have Democrats Abandoned #MeToo For Keith Ellison’s Sake?
JOHN SEXTONPosted at 9:21 pm on August 16, 2018
The Washington Post reports that Democrats are taking a “wait-and-see approach” to allegations of abuse surrounding Rep. Keith Ellison. Both Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris apparently have nothing to sayabout the matter:
Does Sanders have an opinion on what Ellison should do?
“Nope, nothing,” the Vermont independent said Thursday, rushing for the Senate doors. “You’ll excuse me, I’ve got to get going.”
Other Democrats expressed support for the DNC review but much less of a rush to judgment as they did last fall when accusations against other members surfaced at the height of the #MeToo movement.
“I know that the DNC is investigating it, so we’ll see and let that run its course,” said Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.).
Wow, don’t knock us out with your concern for alleged victims. In a matter of six months, Democrats have gone from demanding Sen. Franken resign to scurrying away from microphones muttering, “I’ve got to get going” when asked about Rep. Ellison. What happened to #MeToo? As Ed pointed out yesterday, it took 3 days for the DNC to even issue a statement about the allegations. Now it seems whatever vague internal investigation the DNC pursues is going to be more than enough.
One of the leading hypocrites is Senator Gillibrand. When Sen. Franken was accused, she demanded a House Ethics Committee investigation and then called for Franken to resign as allegations mounted. She even threw Bill Clinton under the bus, saying he should have resigned after the revelations about Monica Lewinsky. But so far, Gillibrand has said nothing about Rep. Ellison:
So far no congressional Democrat has called for a House Ethics Committee investigation into Ellison, instead settling for the somewhat vague DNC “review” of the situation. Gillibrand has not issued a statement about Ellison, and her press office did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
You begin to get the impression that #MeToo is just another passing enthusiasm for Democrats. They embraced it because the base was in an uproar over Harvey Weinstein, but now that the media has moved on to other things, they aren’t as eager to apply the new rules they championed just a few months ago.
Of course, it goes without saying that things would look very different if Rep. Ellison had an R after his name. We’ll see the Democrats embracing this with both arms again the very next moment they have a Republican to condemn.
Two weeks ago, when it appeared that Alabama Senate Republican candidate Roy Moore could cruise to victory despite credible allegations of molestation of a 14-year-old girl and a 16-year-old girl, Democrats went all-in on their #MeToo strategy: they decided to dump Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) on the side of the road to grab the moral high ground on sexual abuse. Franken reluctantly announced his resignation, all the while indignantly maintaining his innocence.
Then the voters of Alabama cast Moore out into the darkness. And the Democrats have no ability to claim the moral high ground — Moore isn’t around to use as a whipping post. Which means, of course, that top Democrats now want to walk back Franken’s resignation.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) stated, “What they did to Al was atrocious, the Democrats.” He called Democratic attempts to oust Franken, “The most hypocritical thing I’ve ever seen done to a human being — and then have enough guts to sit on the floor, watch him give his speech and go over and hug him? That’s hypocrisy at the highest level I’ve ever seen in my life. Made me sick.”
Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT), who called for Franken’s ouster, has secretly told Franken he regrets doing so, according to Politico. Two other senators who sided against Franken apparently told Politico the same thing.
Why? Because Democrats aren’t interested in wiping out sexual abuse. They were interested in the political hay to be made by pretending to care about doing so. With Moore out, that possibility is minimized. Now, Democrats could attempt to target President Trump over allegations of sexual abuse, but that strategy has little credibility after Bill Clinton, and it has little capacity to motivate after Trump was elected despite the presence of sexual harassment and abuse allegations. Democrats know that’s going nowhere, so why bother using it as an attack line against Trump?
That’s particularly true given the fine line Democrats now have to walk between opposing Trump and appeasing their base with a counterproductive impeachment move against him. If Democrats continue with the line that alleged sexual abusers must go, they’ll be duty-bound to impeach him come 2018 if they take the House, and top Democrats know that such a strategy will backfire politically. So they’re preemptively walking back their call for sexual abusers and harassers to step down.
All of which proves that there was no moral high ground here, just political high ground. And now some top Democrats think that the political high ground lies again in ignoring moral concerns in favor of power.
Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., the former “Saturday Night Live” comic who made an improbable journey to become a leading liberal voice in the Senate, announced on Thursday that he will leave office in the coming weeks, after a string of allegations of sexual misconduct and mounting pressure from Democratic lawmakers to step down.
"Today I am announcing that in the coming weeks, I will be resigning as a member of the United States Senate," Franken said during an emotional speech from the Senate floor.
"I of all people am aware that there is some irony that I am leaving, while a man who has bragged on tape about his history of sexual assault sits in the Oval Office and a man who has preyed on underage girls is running for the Senate with the full support of his party,” Franken said, referring to President Donald Trump, who has also been accused of sexual misconduct, and Roy Moore, the Republican candidate for Senate in Alabama.
"But this decision is not about me, it’s about the people of Minnesota," Franken said.
His announcement comes a day after Democratic women led the charge of35 Democratic senators who called on their embattled colleague to step down, and three days after Rep. John Conyers, a Michigan Democrat who was also accused of sexual misconduct, announced he was resigning following calls from leaders in his own party to quit.
As Franken spoke, many of the Democratic women senators who said it was time for the lawmaker to go — including Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin — looked on, appearing visibly upset.
Just a day earlier, it was Gillibrand's Facebook post that set off a cascade of other calls for his resignation, first by her female colleagues, and later, by senators of all genders across both parties.
"Enough is enough," Gillibrand wrote of the allegations against Franken in her Facebook post. "The women who have come forward are brave and I believe them."
In November, Franken, a two-term senator was swept up in the fast-moving avalanche of sexual misconduct and harassment allegations that have led to high-profile firings and resignations of a number of powerful men in Hollywood and the media. Minnesota's Democratic governor, Mark Dayton, has the power to appoint Franken's replacement, who would serve until the next statewide general election in November 2018.
Leeann Tweeden, a Los Angeles radio news anchor, was the first woman to come forward in mid-November. She claimed that during a 2006 USO tour Franken — who was not yet elected to the Senate — forcibly kissed her while they rehearsed a skit together and later groped her on a plane. An alarming photograph backed up her accusation.
Comedian Al Franken and Leeann Tweeden during a USO Tour in 2006. via KABC
After Tweeden told her story, several more women come forward to allege that Franken had groped them in public settings, prompting Franken to issue an apology as well as support a Senate Ethics Committee inquiry into his behavior.
"I’ve learned from recent stories that in some of those encounters, I crossed a line for some women — and I know that any number is too many. Some women have found my greetings or embraces for a hug or photo inappropriate, and I respect their feelings about that," he said.
But a Politico report published Wednesday morning marked the beginning of the end for Franken's colleagues. In it, a former congressional aide to the senator said he tried to forcibly kiss her in 2006, saying, "It's my right as an entertainer." Franken forcefully denied the account, which has not been verified by NBC News, but by the end of the day, 35 senators, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, had issued statements calling for his ouster.
Democratic strategists told NBC News that by pushing Franken to resign, Democrats believed they could regain the moral high ground and go after Moore with a clean slate — drawing a sharper contrast with Republicans. Moore has been accused of sexual assault and pursuing girls as young as 14, allegations that he has denied. Trump, who endorsed Moore and said the former Alabama state judge would "do very well" in the Senate, has also denied the number of allegations against him, with the White House maintaining in October that the women who have accused the president of sexual misconduct are liars.
From parodies to politics
Franken was elected to the Senate in 2008 in one of the closest elections in the history of the Senate, one that triggered a recount and was eventually decided by the Minnesota Supreme Court. He won by 312 votes.
He was re-elected to the Senate in 2014, winning 53 percent of the vote.
“It’s the story of a Midwestern Jewish boy of humble roots (the first in his family to own a pasta maker) who, after a thirty-five-year career in comedy, moved back home to challenge an incumbent senator," Franken wrote in his 2017 political memoir "Al Franken, Giant of the Senate."
Al Franken speaks to supporters at his election night headquarters in St Paul, Minnesota on Nov. 4, 2008. Craig Lassig / EPA file
"It’s the story of how, after spending a lifetime learning to be funny, I learned how not to be funny.”
Before entering the Senate, he hosted "The Al Franken Show" on Air America, the now-defunct liberal talk-radio network, from 2004 until 2007, when he announced he would run for office.
His career began as one of the early stars of "Saturday Night Live" in 1975.
He was born in New York City in 1951 but grew up in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, after his parents relocated there when he was 4. Franken began performing stand-up routines in Minneapolis clubs while he was in high school.
He graduated from Harvard in 1973, where he met his wife, Franni, with whom he has two kids. After Franken graduated, he signed on with SNL.
The first sketch he helped write lampooned President Gerald Ford, suggesting a new campaign slogan: "If he’s so dumb, why is he President?"
Al Franken, left, performs on "Saturday Night Live" in 1977. NBC / NBC via Getty Images
On SNL, Franken devised several impersonations, including TV preacher Pat Robertson and former Sen. Paul Tsongas.
He is perhaps best known for his SNL character Stuart Smalley, a satirical parody of a self-help guru who hosted “Daily Affirmation With Stuart Smalley," which later became the subject of a film.
Smalley was best known for his catchphrase: "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me."
Franken told The New York Times Magazine that the character was borne out of going through a 12-step program with his wife during her battle with alcoholism.
“I was trying to explain recovery through a character,” Franken told the magazine. “He is a character that, at first blush, looks like kind of an idiot, but actually a lot of the stuff he’s trying to talk about is true.”
“I’m trying to express that you can learn things from people who you think aren’t smarter than you,” he added. “I’m embarrassed by how late in life I learned that.”
Franken left SNL in 1995 after being passed over for the Weekend Update anchor slot, which was given to Norm Macdonald.
Franken’s comedy ambitions, however, began in the second grade. He told People Magazine in a 1992 profile that he wrote what amounted to his first comedy sketch after he watched the girls in his second-grade class perform an “insipid” version of “I’m a Little Teapot.”
“I sat down and wrote a scathing parody,” he told the magazine. “I got the other boys together, and we dressed in drag [and staged it]. The girls were in tears.”
His political interests developed at that time, too.
He watched the 1960 conventions with his dad, Joe, who was a salesman and supported the Republican presidential candidate, Richard Nixon, he told People. Phoebe, his mother, who was a real estate agent, supported the Democrat, John F. Kennedy. At that young age, he told People, he sided with his father, but eventually sided with Democrats.
Franken's political profile only grew after President Donald Trump's historic election.
He sat on three Senate committees, including the powerful Judiciary Committee that is investigating allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 election, which helped elevate his profile among progressives by grilling Trump's nominees and castigating the president.
He called Trump's inauguration "perhaps the most depressing moment I've had since I entered politics, though that record has been repeatedly surpassed since Jan. 20," according to Rolling Stone.
He sparred with Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, with his interactions often drawing praise from progressives and ire from conservatives — and occasionally going viral on social media.
"I had a career in identifying absurdity, and I know it when I see it and it makes me question your judgment," he told Neil Gorsuch, the president's Supreme Court pick, during his confirmation hearing.
DEC 6, 2017 — Here we go again, another woman - a former Democratic congressional aide says Senator Al Franken tried to forcibly kiss her.
It is absurd that Senator Franken will not resign. As more women come forward, more women feel comfortable telling their Senator Franken stories. Each one is heart breaking and we need Senator Franken to resign so the dignity of our U.S. Senate seat is restored.
Help us get the word out about our petition - share our ResignFranken.com link with others.
LA street artist hijacks billboard, plasters photo of Al Franken grabbing at a Hollywood actress
Nov 30, 2017 4:40 pm
A Los Angeles street artist plastered a poster of Sen. Al Franken, trying to grab movie actress Zendaya, onto a movie billboard Thursday morning. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)
Renowned conservative street artist Sabo took his craft to a huge billboard that likely surprised commuters Thursday morning in Los Angeles.
A jumbo-sized Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) is seen grasping for television and movie actress Zendaya, who plays a trapeze artist in the upcoming “The Greatest Showman” film. The movie, inspired by the life of P.T. Barnum, stars Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron.
Sabo, who’s known for using his art to poke political jabs at Tinseltown celebrities, hi-jacked a billboard advertising the movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In recent weeks, at least five women have alleged that the senator groped them or touched them inappropriately. On Thursday, an Army veteran became the latest to accuse the former comedian of misconduct during a 2003 USO tour.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sabo was up before dawn plastering a giant cropped version of the infamous photo of Franken groping radio host Leeann Tweeden.
Earlier this month, Tweeden released a photo of Franken grabbing her breasts while she slept during a return flight from a 2006 USO tour in the Middle East.
The altered billboard is one of two that sit across from each other just off the 405 Freeway near National Boulevard.
One billboard shows Zendaya flying through the air wearing a skimpy trapeze outfit. She’s poised to be swinging toward Efron who’s shown waiting for her on the opposing ad.
“Efron wanted to catch her, but Franken got there first, I guess,” Sabo told The Hollywood Reporter, adding that the alteration is temporary and doesn’t ruin the original billboard. “I don’t need that kind of hell raining down on me.”
Sabo left the Efron advertisement unaltered.
Franken has issued multiple apologies saying he is a warm person who likes to hug people.
An Army veteran is accusing Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) of inappropriately touching her during a USO tour in 2003 while she was deployed in Kuwait.
Stephanie Kemplin told CNN that Franken cupped her breast while she was taking a photo with him.
“When he put his arm around me, he groped my right breast. He kept his hand all the way over on my breast,” Kemplin said. “I’ve never had a man put their arm around me and then cup my breast. So he was holding my breast on the side.”
