Who is Al Franken?

[no_hypocrisy]

From a friend's page with permission:

Not like the others?

“Another woman has come forward about Al Franken and this is a story you must read (below) I've been pretty quiet on this one but I feel like we have processes and procedures in Washington set by our founding Fathers and they are there for a reason. This current body of government is completely out of control. I believe the woman that did come forward but there are different degrees of misconduct and I wish they had let the ethics investigation happen and they had followed due process.

I have permission to share this story from my FB friend Sandra Levinson:

When my niece Francie was dying of colon cancer and about to celebrate her last birthday, i couldn't imagine what gift to send her. But I knew she adored Al Franken so I wrote to Al, whom I had never met, asking him if he would send her a flower, a card, anything, because he was her hero and her greatest hope was that she'd live long enough to see him elected.

Within the hour of receiving my note he answered saying he would be in Minneapolis that weekend and could visit her in the hospital Saturday or Sunday, which would be better? I told him that Saturday was her birthday and he said he'd be there about 4. I called my sister to tell her but of course warned her not to tell Francie. How could we be sure that a well known comic running to be senator would show up?

That Saturday In June I sat in my office in New York waiting, 4, 5, 6, almost 7 my sister called to say that Al had just left after nearly two hours w Francie. He'd brought all of his books (which she already owned), signed them with her (she insisted he sign one "to my greatest fan,&quot , schmoozed w her and when he left she announced to her mom that it was
The best birthday she'd ever had.

But that was not all. He called her every week after that to see how she was doing. She was home then. One night In September i came home to a phone message from a very excited Francie, "Tía! I went to a fundraiser for Al, it was a garden party and when he came in he walked all across the garden to ME, to hug me and ask me how I was doing!"

The next night Francie collapsed and was taken to hospice in a Minneapolis hospital, in a coma. I flew there to spend nights with my sister in Francie's room. Al and Franni Franken came to visit Francie, stood at the foot of her bed and wept. When she died later that month Al came to sit shiva with the family.

These are kindnesses one never forgets.

This is Al Franken.”

[Mister Ed]

1. Thank you. I wish I could rec a thousand time. n/t

[OnDoutside]

2. Me too. That says so much about the man.

[Rene]

13. I completely agree The country should know about this.

[Meowmee]

3. Rec

Made me cry 😢

[barbtries]

52. me too

and to think it was democrats railroading him is spirit-breaking.

[Meowmee]

93. Yeah

Disgusting really. This is not something I’ll ever get over or forgive. On so many levels. What they did was disloyal and cowardly.

[LisaL]

4. And since most of us haven't heard about it until now, he wasn't doing it for publicity.

[pandr32]

43. Exactly

It is his humanity he shared with this person and her family. He is the kind of person we need in Congress and high office--not a kick to the curb.

[Guilded Lilly]

5. Thanks for sharing this. K & R

[nolabear]

6. K&R

[oasis]

7. Thanks for revealing this confirmation of Al Franken's kind nature.

[mountain grammy]

8. Yes, THIS is Al Franken.. thank you!

[Wellstone ruled]

56. So agree,this is the Al that I know.

[spooky3]

9. Breaking our hearts again...

[stonecutter357]

10. K&R

[demmiblue]

11. K&R. He is a good person.

but

[Nitram]

12. Very recently I read Franken's book, A Giant in the Senate.

I came away with a very strong sense of who he is - exactly the person you describe in your anecdote. I am very sad that he has not been given the benefit of the doubt after apologizing and volunteering for an ethics investigation. I thought he chose an exemplary way to handle the situation, and should have been allowed to remain in office at least until an ethics investigation could be completed.

[rainy]

14. I hope Al Franken reads DU!

[rzemanfl]

15. K&R. There are a lot of people on this board who should read this.

Then apologize.

[luvtheGWN]

16. I think there are a lot of Senators

who should read this (looking at you, Gillibrand and Schumer).

[calimary]

81. Lookin' at YOU, Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris.

But ESPECIALLY Gillibrand. Gillibrand and Schumer, too.

[cwydro]

17. Yes indeed. nt

[mythology]

20. Why? People are complicated. This is utterly unrelated to the accusations

My biological dad does legitimately good work with kids with HIV and AIDS. Yet he verbally and emotionally abuses his family. Just because somebody does good things doesn't mean they can't do bad as well. We aren't cartoon characters either all good or all bad.

[LakeArenal]

24. Wow, you would take this moment to share that...

There have been so many threads to share that tidbit. Just wow..

[ProfessorGAC]

47. And I Think You're Wrong

Roy Moore isn't someone i would suspect would make the follow up calls and revisit and help the family grieve unless there was something in it for him.

"It" would probably not do it at all.

The sociopathy includes their abuse and harassment.

This is what's called a pattern.

You gave one example, but behavioral patterns are real things.

You haven't refuted one thing anybody else here has said with a single data point, apropos of little.

[ms liberty]

62. But when that someone does good things like this, without publicity

And then after he is slandered by a few women as a guy who gropes women in public but all of the women who've worked for him for years sign letters of support and share stories of his treating them in private with respect and equality, well that's how you can tell the groper stories are bullshit.

[calimary]

82. Currently having trouble considering "he grabbed my waist..." as any sort of groping.

AND beyond that, I CANNOT ignore that Roger "the Ratfucker" Stone was involved, along with a former Playboy bunny now CONservative talker working at a low-rated hate radio AM station here in L.A.

[ms liberty]

88. Yes, I agree...

This whole business with Al Franken stinks like dirty tricks, the media's coverage has been abysmal, and our democrats and independents in Congress have left me frustrated and angry with their handling of the situation.

[Jakes Progress]

70. Sorry that having such a family messed you up.

But that disqualifies you for recognizing good people vs. bad people.

[BlueWI]

84. Do you interrupt Black Lives Matter events

with a chant of all lives matter? Wouldn't surprise me if you do.

[Stuart G]

18. K and R...thank you for posting this.

[Bettie]

19. K&R

A kind and decent man who is willing to fight for what is right.

And we're probably trading him in the Senate for Roy Fucking Moore.

[Little Star]

21. k&r

[DFW]

22. Admittedly, five minutes of banter does not tell you who a man is

But MY five minutes gave me the impression that this story is typical and very indicative of who Al Franken is. It will stay my impression of who he is until I see concrete unbiased evidence to the contrary.
[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[hurple]

36. OMG!!

Is he grabbing your butt in that pic? It so looks like he's grabbing your butt. You need to run tell the press. It looks like he's being totally inappropriate! What a monster...

</sarcasm>

[DFW]

76. It turned out OK

I bit off his hand when he tried. If you look closely, he has been wearing a prosthesis ever since.

[Denzil_DC]

23. I'm not surprised.

But I'm impressed with the commitment of time and emotional involvement.

It would be a very mean-spirited person who'd play whataboutery and gripe after reading an account like this.

[LakeArenal]

25. I continue to stand with Al.

[lark]

26. I weep for the unnecessary loss

of this man's kindness and keen intellect where it is so needed.

[snacker]

27. Thank you.

[PatrickforO]

28. Franken is a good guy who goes out all the way for

his constituents.

I've seen story after story after story of how he truly cares about people.

I guess the party figured that this made him an excellent sacrificial lamb. So they sacrificed him, his kindness, his caring and silenced his voice.

For what? So they can call on Trump to resign based on his harassment of women?

They couldn't have just gathered 'round Franken in support, sent a big 'fuck you' to the right wing for trying to smear him and STILL called on Trump to resign?

Was the railroading of Franken without due process really worth it politically?

[smirkymonkey]

32. This! Absolutely!

I honestly believe that Senator Franken is a good, decent man who works hard for the people of this country and not for his own self-interest. This whole fiasco has just been a rotten shame.

[LisaL]

83. And they can call on Trump to resign day in and day out.

He is just not going to do it.

[geardaddy]

29. K & R

[dchill]

30. K&R.

[COLGATE4]

31. Al Franken is a mensch nt

[pazzyanne]

33. Thank you

for reinforcing what I already knew about Al Franken. My heart weeps for what we are about to lose in the US Senate. I just sent him an e-mail this morning asking him to fight to reinstate the CHIP program for the 9,000,000 children who will be without health insurance after December 31st because our congress has let it expire. I am hoping that he will continue to fight for us until his last day in the senate. We need him so badly in our fight against the evil this country is now facing.

[WyLoochka]

90. +1000 You know Al would fight for CHIP for 9,000,000 kids

This man cares about all of us.

[seta1950]

34. Thank you

😢😢

[Paladin]

35. K&R.

[hurple]

37. OMG!

Right there in your story, yet more proof of what a perverted deviant monster this man is... He *hugged* her in public without getting written consent signed in triplicate and notarized, then filed with the Gillibrand Agency and awaiting approval from the appropriate-physical-contact-overlord?

I bet he even *squeezed* her waist...

HOW DARE HE!!!

</sarcasm>

[UCmeNdc]

38. K&R!

[110liberal]

39. Franken

We truly are loosing a giant in the Senate to a smear campaign. Thank you Kirsten for showing the nation what you are like.

[ananda]

40. This is why so many Dems are now dead to me.

It was clear to me all along that Franken was such a good
guy with a big heart! And strong when he needed to be ::
against Reeps!

[riverwalker]

41. Thank you for this

I’ve been looking at photos of his USO tours, such sheer joy on his face and the troops. He loved making them laugh. I absolutely hate Tweeden for turning his USO devotion into something ugly and sordid.

[Botany]

42. I'm crying .... Please don't quit Al

"The next night Francie collapsed and was taken to hospice in a Minneapolis hospital, in a coma.
I flew there to spend nights with my sister in Francie's room. Al and Franni Franken came to visit
Francie, stood at the foot of her bed and wept. When she died later that month Al came to sit
shiva with the family."

[Egnever]

44. Of course.

The guy has a track record of being a caring individual. So glad we threw him out to make a point with no consideration whatsoever of his character.

[orleans]

45. k&r n/t

[whathehell]

46. Beautiful..

Just beautiful.

[flamingdem]

48. He was railroaded and we won't forget

Thanks for this lovely story

[eissa]

49. This is the real Al Franken

not the guy people like Gillibrand and Leeden are trying to lump in with the Roy Moore crowd. I DON'T BELIEVE THE ACCUSATIONS. Franken was railroaded, period.

[Collimator]

79. I QUESTION the accusations. . .

Both in regards to the motivation behind bringing them forth at this time and the details regarding the degree of contact and the resulting emotional impact that has been claimed.

This is why an investigation was/is absolutely warranted.

What I do NOT question is Senator Franken's ability to listen with respect, validate the feelings of others with empathy and respond with a committment to learn from these experiences and modify his behavior going forward.

[eissa]

80. "It's my right as an entertainer!"

I cannot, for even a nanosecond, take this allegation seriously. It not only sounds like an obvious play of "when you're a star you can do anything," it sounds completely uncharacteristic of Franken.

[snort]

50. snort does not easily cry

[renate]

51. thanks for sharing this

What a lovely and genuine person he is.

[Alice11111]

53. Thank you!

[Amaryllis]

54. Was anyone able to read this without tearing up? Both for what he did and for what we

have lost.

[dragonlady]

63. Not me.

[Thor_MN]

55. That is the Al Franken that I know.

[PatSeg]

57. What a wonderful story

Everyone needs to read this about Al Franken.

[Demsrule86]

58. He is such a good man...I will never get over what some in our own party did to him...

I won't vote for them in a primary.

[SunSeeker]

59. K & R

[Lifelong Protester]

60. K & R

[workinclasszero]

61. Wow what a great story

I still can't believe this man was railroaded out of the Senate like a convicted criminal without a hearing and unable to face his accusers.

It's a damn travesty of "justice"!

[KT2000]

64. this is who I thought he is

all along. He is a giver, not a taker. I wish this story could go to everyone who participated in this crime.

[yonder]

65. I'm in tears, thanks for the story

That kindness is how a person should be measured

[mn9driver]

66. Odd. Some posters seem to be missing from this thread.

[LiberalLovinLug]

67. I hope you forwarded this to those Democrats that rushed to judgement over him.

[stuffmatters]

71. And to Gov Dayton, who's in such a rush to replacement Franken BEFORE foral resignation

[nadine_mn]

68. dang it - I'm crying

What a beautiful story

[Honeycombe8]

69. Trying to stifle the tears.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

72. Sobbing my heart out. This is who he is-I truly believe that.

A Good Man (a mensch), like President Obama.

Makes what was done to him even more upsetting.

I pray for a life partner like him, someday.


💔😭💞

[CaliforniaPeggy]

73. This beautiful story! It shows us so clearly what we have thrown away. n/t

[Hekate]

74. Al Franken is a real mensch

And some of us know a sight-gag from a comedian when we see it.

[grantcart]

75. You can't hide this kind of kindness but you can manufacture slurs against it.

[KT2000]

77. sent this to my senators

Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell
That they were a part of this just makes me sick. They are so inside their bubble, they have forgotten why they have their jobs in the first place.

[no_hypocrisy]

87. If they ask for a reference:

The author was the aunt of the unfortunate woman. Her name is Sandra Levinson, Executive Director at Center for Cuban Studies.

[KT2000]

89. thank you

I will pas that on.

[flamingdem]

78. Let it be known we've lost someone on a level with Obama

We've lost so much potential in losing Al Franken.

It sucks

[LisaL]

86. Sure does suck.

[Drahthaardogs]

85. But anonymous but gropes...

This pisses me off. What a hit job. I pray Justice be done.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

91. This doesn't surprise me a bit.

I met Al Franken in 2002, just after Paul Wellstone was killed. He came to a DFL phone bank where a bunch of us were calling for Walter Mondale, who took Wellstone's place on the ballot. And he was so involved and sincere and encouraging. He's the real deal. I just can't believe what those short-sided knuckleheads have done - not just to him, but to us.

[MustLoveBeagles]

92. K&R

That say's it all. I hate what happened to him. I always knew he was good guy. Thank you for posting this.

[C Moon]

94. Al Franken is a man who is smiling with the rest of us tonight. nt

[colorado_ufo]

95. I didn't know my heart could break twice.

But I believe in miracles come and I hope we have one with Senator Franken returning.