Comments

1
Do we know he'll be replaced by a non-shitty Democrat?
2
shitty democrat? you should step down Dicksmith!
3
@1, if Franken steps down, his replacement would be chosen by the governor, who is a democrat. If the governor has any sense at all, he'll appoint a woman to replace Franken. There are a number of good options.
4
I don't know if Franken should step down or be sanctioned, but I disagree about deciding consequences "on a case-by-case basis" depending on the political consequences. There needs to be clear and consistent consequences for sexual harassment. Not all cases are at the same level of severity - ass grabbing is not the same as raping an underage girl. But the consequences for ass-grabbing ought tomen consistent from case to case, as should the cinsequences for rape.
5
Can we talk about Joe Barton, too?
6
You called it Rich. And I was quick to follow.
8
one french kiss, 3 ass grabs. sounds like a normal day at my house.
9
Anonymous sources can't be interviewed by the ethics committee. Convenient.
10
A democrat did a bad thing one time in the past! We'd better all cede the future to the Republicans or cede our moral superiority! We'll win someday, when we're super pure!

11
How can anyone think he doesn't know what he's doing? He knows he's doing it, and he knows it's wrong. Right? You don't subconsciously grab somoene's ass under circumstances where you have calculated that you'll get away with it because you're a celebrity.

Also: what is up with these men who grope women during photos? Why?

The only logic I can thin of behind it is that they get off on the power. They do it precisely because they know they can get away with it. This is why they don't pay professionals or find willing playmates for whatever the hell this kink is. What kink is this, by the way. Help. Anyone?
12
A kink...You never heard of grabbing ass? y'all are a real bunch of saltines.
13
It's one thing to be harassed in the workplace by a boss who has power over you, but at a public event with a lot of people around, why didn't these women call him out right then and there? I've seen my sister do that, and other women as well.

It's not victim blaming. It's basic defense.

14
@11: its not a kink. it's normal ape mating behavior that human culture has made unacceptable without consent, for good reason.

WITH consent, it is enjoyed by both sexes.
15
In the current state of the nation,
BFD.
16
So if he can be replaced with a democrat, he should resign but if he would be replaced by a Republican he shouldn't resign? Is that what you'd suggest?

And somehow that's the moral high ground but simply saying he shouldn't resign at all because we shouldn't cede anything at all to republicans is worse?
17
So not only are Democrats naive idealists and spineless cowards, they're also two-faced opportunists.

Good job Rich, my opinion of democrats is actually even lower than it was before reading this.

Republicans may be evil and inhuman, but at least you always know where you stand with them.
18
Oh for fuck's sake. You guys can't be that fucking thick. It's enjoyed *with* consent? No shit? Really? You all just depress me.
19
Al needs to go not because Democrats are sensitive little snowflakes, but because he's cooked. He can no longer be effective in the Senate. Playing grab-ass with your constituents on the campaign trail was exactly the sort of entitled shit that voters hated before Weinsteingate. Now it's a political death sentence.

Prep-school-attending, Ivy-League-college-matriculating, SNL-coke-snorting lad has been too long at the trough of power. Time to go bye bye and just be a famous, wealthy, connected author. Governor Dayton will nominate a sturdy Dem and a vote is a vote is a vote.
20
Ms. Tweeden has accepted Senator Franken's apology. Please stop pretending this matter ever had anything to do with you.

Al Franken has been a public figure for decades. It would be surprising if we could not find a half-dozen persons who claim to have met him and believe he's a space alien.

Dozens of women who've worked with him, some for decades, claim he's never behaved that way toward them. Call us when you have a similar number of accusers.

(Oh, and do you really believe this just so happened to arise when Roy Moore has a serious problem with minors? A total coincidence, that?)

Prep-school-attending, Ivy-League-college-matriculating, SNL-coke-snorting lad has been too long at the trough of power. Time to go bye bye and just be a famous, wealthy, connected author.

Oh my, somebody's jealous.
21
Democrats can be horrible people.
23
Raindrop dear, Democrats can indeed be horrible people, but they mostly turn into Republicans. Look at Reagan and Trump.
24
@21, 23: You're both right. Democrats (and pretty much anyone else) can be horrible people. Republicans are horrible people. Case in point:

how many people on this site were defending Creepy Ed Murray as he attacked his accusers through the media and refused to step down as mayor?

Some of us don't swallow the emissions of male convicts as readily as you have, dear.
26
@18: please. you don't enjoy squeezing your mate's ass? are you gray-A?
27
Yes, for fuck's sake, Max. Yes. Jesus. Obviously.

I'm talking about the very specific habit of John Lasseter and Al Franken and that radio DJ in Denver to reach around and cop a surprise feel of a total stranger whenever they pose for a photo. That specific thing, which is obviously not all that rare since we keep finding out that it happens over and over and over, that specific kink, is a new one on me. I've never heard of this before. Is this identical to the drooling weirdos who rub up against women in the subway and at crowded music venues? Or some other fetish?

Sources who requested anonymity at Diseny/Pixar because they feared their careers would be ruined said that before Lasseter became the King Midas of the unstoppable Pixar cash machine, he wasn't so bad. It appears that his behavior became noticeably, progressively worse right about the time that Toy Story 2 proved that his bankability wasn't a fluke. Almost as if he *realized* that he was an untouchable rockstar who could down a fifth of vodka in his office and then grab crotches and asses and nobody would stop him. In the years when he wasn't royalty, he somehow kept his hands to himself.

It's a weirdly specific kind of kink shared by that loser DJ who groped Taylor Swift and Franken every time a fan asks for a photo, and this fucking asshole Lasseter. Never read a letter to Savage Love about a guy who had this problem.
28
...Al Franken and that radio DJ in Denver to reach around and cop a surprise feel of a total stranger whenever they pose for a photo.

Over the decades, Al Franken has posed for photos with other persons how many thousands of times? And there are two -- count 'em, two -- anonymous persons who have complained? As I wrote, the surprising thing is more people haven't done so. There's no agreement on what constitutes inappropriate behavior, as the joke photos (claimed by an angry Stranger writer as if they were serious photos) show.

Franken has apologized for his behavior. Maybe someone can now ask why he was accused *just* as Roy Moore was getting attention for his problem with teenage girls?
30
Al franken is 1000% replaceable.

So are you. Neither of those facts are relevant here.

Let the senate so their jobs and decide his fate and replace him if they find the charges credible and rising to that level.

And if they decide accusations are not evidence, I'm sure you'll be happy with that, right?

If having principles on sexual assault are a bridge to far for people, let them vote for republicans.

Republicans have always been happy to enforce principles on sexual assault -- upon Democrats. I'm sure the Republicans appreciate your help in enforcing their sacred double standard.
31
Franken has groped so many times, he can not remember any one specific instance where he got caught. Resign Franken

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