I don't know if I can forgive Gillibrand for Franken

[Cary]

I'm still listening.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. I know I can't.

I struck her off my list a long time ago.

[Cary]

6. She is good on her take down of Unindicted Co-Conspirator

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

10. So are a lot of other people. That's not enough.

[Cary]

12. True!

Just looking at the positive.

[uponit7771]

13. Red Don is low hanging fruit, I'd like to know why she converted on so many issues that leaned right

[Cary]

16. I was never a righty but I have evolved

LGBT, for example. One does hope to grow and gain wisdom with experience. Does the fact that I was homophobic define me?

[uponit7771]

24. One issue isn't "so many" I have evolved on LGBT rights also but can admit I was single sourced

... on the issues relating to LGBT community.

I would like to know what her reasoning for leaning right on the list of issues Maddow outlined where Gillibrand only explained one.

[Cary]

27. Me.too

[dem4decades]

2. I'm not. I'll vote for her if she's the candidate. I hope she's not.

[Wounded Bear]

30. I'm with you...

[BlueMTexpat]

42. +1!

There are some excellent alternatives.

But her actions wrt Franken STILL rankle with me, and will continue to.

But if she is the Dem candidate, I will clench my teeth and vote for her.

[rzemanfl]

3. You are to be congratulated for having an open mind. I don't.

Like many others here I would support her if she were the nominee, heaven forfend.

[Cary]

9. That's why I have an open mind

[dflprincess]

4. She's dead to me. nt

[democratisphere]

23. My exact thoughts and words.

There are highly qualified Democrats that previously have or will soon announce. Our best is yet to announce their Presidential candidacy.

[Haggis for Breakfast]

37. I feel the same way.

She's dead to me, too. I have no respect for her. She thought she could score political points on the back of Al Franken. Gillibrand can drop dead right now as far as I'm concerned. She isn't half the force that Al Franken was. And we really needed to keep him. Al would have eviscerated Schlitz Kavanaugh and we might not have him on the SCOTUS right now if it weren't for her throwing him under the bus before he even got a chance to defend himself.

Ask yourself if that was worth what Kavanaugh is going to put this country through for his tenure on the bench.

[UTUSN]

5. I can't and am not listening.

[uponit7771]

7. I can't see her conversion on so many issues being true to heart. She's only explained one of them

... and it was the NRA

Not the other right wing stupidity

[Bradshaw3]

61. That's it for me too

Just seems like an opportunist. Trust issues for me.

[lordsummerisle]

8. I can't either

Franken was railroaded out of office. We lost one of our best senators, who agreed to be investigated on the allegations...

[Cary]

11. Pretty bad indeed.

[Beakybird]

14. I disagree

I think Franken didn't fight for himself because there was truth to some of the allegations.
I don't think Jones would have won that squeaker in Alabama unless they got rid of Franken. Otherwise, the Moore campaign would have hammered at the "hypocrisy" of the Dems.

[Cary]

18. Truth to what allegations?

That he squeezed a lady's saddlebag too hard?

[emulatorloo]

54. I think the scientific term is "muffin top"

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muffin_top

A muffin-top (or "muffin top" ) is a slang term typically used to describe a man or woman's skin or body fat that is visible above the waistline of pants or skirts because of tight clothing. The term is a reference to the way a muffin appears when it has been baked in a muffin tin, in which the top of a muffin is wider than its paper casing.

A reason I won’t wear pants that are too tight in the waist.

[Cary]

85. Ah, thank you

I solve the problem by staying lean and mean.

[emulatorloo]

86. Too many Thanksgiving and Christmas treats for me this season!

Up 15lbs since this summer.

I guess that’s what New Years resolutions are for.

[Cary]

87. I understand.

I fast every other day. And I work out a lot.

Karate. I highly recommend it.

[emulatorloo]

88. Thanks for the tips!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

22. Franken did fight for himself by asking for an investigation,

which he didn't get. Typically it's only guilty people who don't want investigations and Franken wouldn't have asked for one if he hadn't been confident he would be exonerated. He resigned only because he realized some of his colleagues were stabbing him in the back.

[wellst0nev0ter]

46. There was no truth to the allegations

Three of the accusers are two-faced trumpanzees. Leanne Tweeden is a documented birther and Fox News propagandist.

Four of the alleged accusers are anonymous and could not be proven.

Tina Dupuy is an attention seeker who doesn't like being held at the waist.

People say to believe women, yet they refuse to believe all of Franken's female staff and coworkers who came forward to testify that Franken is an honorable man. Those people instead chose to believe craven trumpanzees who vote for a pussygrabber over a good man.

[Trumpocalypse]

67. Then prove that all other 7 women

were lying. And with credible links not a conspiracy theorist Twitter.

[Trumpocalypse]

66. I doubt Franken thought there was any truth

I do think he saw the political reality regarding Moore and that an ethics committee hearing would be a no win situation. In the end he took one for the team.

[DFW]

69. I get the impression that you haven't talked to Al Franken or anyone close to him

Al Franken didn't put up much of a fight at first because he knew better than anyone that the "allegations" were pure contrived bullshit, and he expected his Democratic colleagues to be smart enough to figure that out, or if not, at least be smart enough to ask him.

The Jones campaign was presumably the factor in the timing of the bogus allegations against Al. He was completely blindsided by Democratic gullibility in accepting that there was any substance to the allegations (some of his "accusers" weren't even real!), and he only decided to resign after the governor of Minnesota had publicly announced his replacement, the last humiliation. If he told you something different (and I know he didn't, since he doesn't have two versions), I'm all ears.

[Clash City Rocker]

15. Watching her right now, she doesn't seem very inspiring

She’s a bit lacking in personality, and she seems to be relying on talking points. She doesn’t stand out in any positive way.

[Cary]

17. Agreed.

[Leith]

21. She has no gravitas

She sounded like a teenager pleading to be allowed to go to a cool party with Rachel.

She will not be able to avoid the elephant in the room: what happened with Franken. Very few of us are satisfied with the total lack of info on that. I'll be giving her the stink-eye until that she addresses that.

[PatSeg]

26. She has a very prepared response

for each of her major shifts in policy when she went to the Senate. I can see a person "evolving" on some issues, but she expects us to believe she has been transformed into a completely different person. She was a very conservative Blue Dog Democrat and now she is a progressive liberal?

She's been running for president for a long time and she will do or say anything to achieve her objective, including throwing a real liberal under the bus to further her own ambitions.

I wasn't going to watch her, but in Rachel's introduction, she brought up the previous conservative positions and Al Franken. I figured maybe Rachel wouldn't let her off the hook.

[PatSeg]

29. "I'm not a real progressive liberal,

I just play one on cable news."

[Lisa0825]

49. This.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

19. Nor I. I miss Al so much........

Al got the shitty end of the stick at the hands of Gillibrand.

[ificandream]

53. Al would have kicked Trumpty's butt

I hope he comes out of the woodwork and runs. That's a fantasy, I know ...

[NurseJackie]

20. She won't be our party's nominee.

[customerserviceguy]

64. True

But she will sap a bit of strength from Warren, Harris, and Klobuchar.

[NurseJackie]

71. Someone once told me that's NOT how it works.

So maybe I was right all along.

[WeekiWater]

25. As someone who really likes her.

I appreciate you keeping an open ear.

[Cary]

31. I don't do cults of personality

She is a human being which means she has more flaws than merits. The question is whether she can do the job. I am proud to be liberal (never shied away from that word) and a Democrat. We are good at choosing candidates.

[WeekiWater]

34. I think we are going to have a number of good people to choose from.

I’m looking forward to the upcoming presidential primary.

[Cary]

36. Yes I want to hear from them all

If I have an early favorite it's Corey Booker. But I have to hear from all of them.

[NurseJackie]

28. The DVR skip button works on Gillibrand's segment!

Ugh. She'll never be nominated.

[Cary]

33. You may be right

Too early for me to make any calls. That's just me.

[brooklynite]

35. I didn't hear anything in her policy positions that a Democrat would object to.

[NurseJackie]

70. Having good positions and showing good judgement are different things entirely.

[AlexSFCA]

32. I'll keep open mind

I’d be interested to see her platform. Warren probably is the stronger candidate but Kamala is the most charismatic and positive.

[Gothmog]

38. Same here

[BlueTsunami2018]

39. I won't.

No vote from me unless she somehow gets the nomination. That will be done grudgingly but it will be done. I don’t think I’m going to have to worry about that though.

[Cary]

40. Why worry?

I trust our collective judgment. I always have. So far I have not been tested on that collective judgment, as Republicans have been with Unindicted Co-Conspirator.

That they nominated him just takes my breath away. If we ever did something like that I don't know what I would do.

[TheCowsCameHome]

41. I can't, and I won't.

She will never make it to the launch pad.

Next candidate, please.

[Mme. Defarge]

43. Non! Pas moi.

Absolument pas!!!

[Baltimike]

44. me neither. nt

[BigmanPigman]

45. I hold a grudge when there is good reason...this is a good reason.

The only way I will support her is if it is between her and a GOP candidate.

[Cary]

84. I wouldn't call it holding a grudge

She is interviewing for the job. Her judgment and character are relevant.

[PufPuf23]

47. I can't and won't.

I won't ever consider voting for Gillibrand because she did not let process play out regards Franken and because she rather ham-handedly used the circumstance to advance her own cause.

[Merlot]

48. If it weren't for the Franken episode she would not be getting

all this attention. It made people take note of who she is for good or bad. Name recognition is a big part of the game.

I watched her on Colbert and was very unimpressed. She kind of reminds me of Mrs. Betty Bowers, without the edge. She tries to be clever and engaging and it just falls flat. She spoke but didn't say anything. To me she doesn't have the charisma to be a contender, she may not get far is my guess.

[aikoaiko]

50. I'm not excluding anyone at this point. No one is perfect.

[Little Star]

51. I don't even want to hear a word she has to say....

What she did to Franken still makes my blood boil.

We have plenty of better fish in our Democratic ocean than her.

[ificandream]

52. I can't

The only way I would support her was if it was between her and Humpty Trumpty. She basically stepped on Franken to do this. She's as bad as Sean Hannity.

[KT2000]

55. not a fan of hers

and I hope she is not the candidate. For me, she is known for what she did to Franken with no investigation. All I need to know.

[cilla4progress]

56. Same here.

She has the passion and I love her politics of course.

Not sure about her judgment though, based on her role in the Franken matter.

Was Kamala Harris in the Senate at the time? Where did Klobuchar come down on it? I mean, I know Franken was her fellow Sen. From MN.

[Dolly123Jimmy]

57. ARE WE KIDDING OURSELVES

Franken was our guy...

We have no balls...He should be with us

She is not the answer...Shes a joke...Already lied about her running after she said that she would not

[brooklynite]

59. So you won't be supporting Warren, right?

[LongtimeAZDem]

76. Partly depends on how she responds to questions about the issue.

Gillibrand not only sees nothing wrong with what she did, but doesn't even understand why it is an issue. That's pretty clueless.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

58. 0 + 0 equals 0

She's a-goin nowhere.

[Bettie]

60. There are plenty of great candidates

out there. Gillibrand isn't going to be our nominee. I'm sure of that.

[KPN]

62. I do. I can't. But i'm not and haven't

been a fan ever anyway. Frankenstein just sealed the deal as far as my excitement level.

[customerserviceguy]

63. We have so many better choices

than this opportunist.

[Trumpocalypse]

65. And what about the over 30 other Senators?

Many of whom called on Franken to resign minutes later.

[nilram]

68. I know I won't forgive. But, if she's the nominee, I'll absolutely vote for her.

[Joe941]

72. Nope. I'll support someone else.

[Blue_Tires]

73. I can, and have...

My only issue with her is she should have dangled Franken falling on his own sword to get something, ANYTHING out of the Republicans.

[themaguffin]

74. I don't think it will matter. I don't think that she will stand out in the field

[Cary]

83. Agreed but the fat lady hasn't even arrived at the opera house.

[Tom Rinaldo]

75. Depends on how I define "forgive." I don't forgive what she did.

In a sense I might still be able to "forgive her" in the sense of putting it behind me over time in the larger context of who I can "support" in some manner. I think the role she played and how she played it RE: Franken was wrong on a high stakes level. I also think that if you do a rough cut of the world into two categories, "good guys" and "bad guys" (I know, we need better language) that she is clearly in the good bucket.

Some cross off Biden for all time due to either his role in the Thomas hearings, or for his support of legislation, for the credit card industry in his home state, that made personal bankruptcies harder. I think there are too many big issues that come up over time to automatically permanently condemn any politician for blowing it big time on one of them - but we all have to decide when bridges should be burnt.

Anyway, of course I would support her if she becomes the Democratic nominee, but she does not make my short list of those whom I am rooting for.

[gordianot]

77. Watching her on Maddow creeped me out.

When your history indicates you were much more conservative and you tout liberal credentials I am extremely skeptical. Remember Trump did the same in reverse, the almost liberal Democratic Donald claims a conservative history today. This is not directly related to Al Franken.

[Ninga]

78. Sometimes in life, we quickly lunge at a preceived big opportunity, to find we've been snookered

by a shell game.

Sen Al Franken asked for an investigation, and eventually withdrew because the voices piled on.

WE DESERVED to have him and his accusers testify.

[snowybirdie]

79. Listened to her carefully

last night. She seems to change her positions on a whim. First she was a conservative blue dog Democrat in Congress. She gets appointed Senator and becomes a sharply left progressive. Me Too becomes big in the news and she turns against a fellow Senator with scant, suspicious evidence. I really wonder if she has any real core beliefs. She didn't seem to really feel the talking points she was sure to mention. No chance once the big show starts.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

80. I'm done with her. That was without hearing and a cynical misuse of #metoo movement.

Two big strikes against her. Biiig strikes.

[Cary]

82. No argument from me

I'm just not ready to draw any hard conclusions.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

90. That's ok.

[lunamagica]

81. It's not just Franken. The way she used and then threw the Clintons under the bus when she thought

they weren't useful to her anymore was deplorable

[LeftInTX]

89. I just don't like her

She's uninspiring...and very bland....

[barbiegeek]

91. I can't.