Franken urged to reverse his resignation.

[Cattledog]

At least four senators are urging Al Franken to reconsider resigning, including two who issued statements calling for the resignation two weeks ago and said they now feel remorse over what they feel was a rush to judgment.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who urged Franken not to step down to begin with — at least not before he went through an Ethics Committee investigation — said the Minnesota senator was railroaded by fellow Democrats.

“What they did to Al was atrocious, the Democrats,” said West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin in an interview for POLITICO’s Off Message podcast to post on Tuesday. Subscribe here.

Franken's unusual timeline — in his departure announcement he said he’d go “in the coming weeks,” without setting a date — has fed the fleeting hopes that there’s still time to reverse course. However, Tina Smith, Minnesota's Democratic lieutenant governor, was named last week as his appointed successor.

People familiar with Franken's plans said he has not changed his mind and intends to formally resign in early January. He praised the selection of Smith and has begun working with her on the transition.

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/18/manchin-franken-senate-resign-300843

[eissa]

1. I just contacted my Senators

using ResistBot and their official email pages, urging them to have Franken stay.

[LexVegas]

2. ...

[Blue_true]

3. Pretty much my reaction.

Franken should transition to Smith as he is and leave to do other things. He can have a powerful voice outside of the Senate. Smith is a perfect replacement.

[JimBeard]

10. Why should he step down? What crime did he committ that

warrants him being removed from office.

[Blue_true]

20. I spoke on the obvious.

Franken is stepping down and a good Democrat is replacing him. And he is working to get her settled in.

[standingtall]

22. He should not step down is the point h op is making

an un-elected Democrat is taking his place while he is being unjustly forced to resign. His seat would've been safe in 2020. Now his seat may very well be in play for repukes in 2020. The only saving grace is his re-election falls on a Presidential election year otherwise I would favor the repukes to pickup the seat under these circumstances. Honestly if Franken had to resign replacing him with a woman is the worse thing the Governor could've done. That is just handing republicans ammunition when they pretend Frankin was their best friend in 2020 to discourage progressive male turnout while solidifying republican male turnout against the Democrat and not winning enough extra female voters to offset the loss because of it. I understand males are not a majority of Democratic voters, but you cannot lose them all and that is what it looks like Democrats are trying to do lately.

[RestoreAmerica2020]

27. Why isnt he fighting for his seat, his reputation...we will lose

...his experience and knowledge, grant it I'm sure his replacement will make a fine senator, however she'll come in as a freshman senator. Right or no? I just find it curious that Franken doesn't want to put up a fight using due process, ethic investigation. Hell, if I were innocent, they'd have to drag me out.

Ps..What happen to innocent until proven guilty?

[standingtall]

29. Probably because with 30 plus Democrats asked him to resign

If he doesn't resign republicans will call the bluff of Senate democrats and push for expulsion. Takes 2/3 of the of the Senate to expel a Senator. 52 republicans and 30+ Democrats do the math it is a loss cause unless a significant number of Democrats walk it back.

[Lurks Often]

36. Republicans won't call for expulsion

If Franken stays, the Republicans will use it to impugn Franken's credibility and it will also provide cover for any Republican senators accused of sexual harassment or sexual assault.

So if Franken does not resign, any Republican senator similarly accused can also say they will wait for the results from the Senate Ethics Committee* which can be dragged out for months.

And if by some chance the investigation is either inconclusive or they find something negative, it will likely hurt Democratic campaigns in 2018.


*The Senate Ethics Committee is EQUALLY divided, 3 Republican members and 3 Democratic members.
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_Select_Committee_on_Ethics

[chimpymustgo]

21. We need Franken on the Senate Judiciary Committee. This is REAL.

[rockfordfile]

33. Smith will not win that seat in a election

Maybe a good place holder.

[LanternWaste]

5. Boring enough to tell everyone how boring it is.

Boring enough to tell everyone how boring it is to you. The t-shirt version of irony is on sale!

[LexVegas]

7. ...

[Proud Liberal Dem]

4. "Act in haste, repent in leisure"

[ProudLib72]

6. We learned our lesson

Till the very next time. But you would think Schumer would be reconsidering this after what happened to him.

[JimBeard]

8. At least four senators, including two Democrats, have reportedly said that Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.)

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/365394-four-senators-urge-franken-to-reconsider-resignation-report

At least four senators, including two Democrats, have reportedly said that Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) should reconsider his resignation.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) told Politico that the deluge of Democrats calling for Franken to resign was “the most hypocritical thing” he has “ever seen done to a human being.”

“What they did to Al was atrocious, the Democrats,” Manchin added. “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.”

Politico also spoke with sources familiar with a private conversation between Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Franken in which Leahy told Franken that he regrets calling for him to resign.

Two other senators said they were rushed to weigh in as pressure on Franken mounted, according to the news outlet, which added that they said did not put enough care and thought into their statements.

[JimBeard]

9. Where's the gang of 3? Maybe its nap time.

I hope cooler heads start talking up about the mistakes that were made.

[Snotcicles]

11. Sen. Joe Manchin has a new fan. At least for one day anyhow. nt

[triron]

12. I called Udall's office in NM

They did not seem receptive.

[JimBeard]

16. Did you call Washington or the local offices? Call them, all the more if they seem to not be

receptive. You will get a reaction.

[JimBeard]

13. An extreme long article-Al: Dont Resign Youre good enough. Youre smart enough. And doggone it, we

love you.

It at least tries to give as much information as possible about the Anonymous accusers.

http://southsidepride.com/2017/12/18/al-dont-resign-youre-good-enough-youre-smart-enough-and-doggone-it-we-love-you/

added link

[Lucinda]

14. KNR

[JimBeard]

15. The gals on CNN are HOWLING because the men are EVEN discussing leaving Frankin.

And even more so maybe not being supportive of the Feminist.

Bill Clinton Revisited.... Another long article

Why We Shouldn’t Let the #MeToo Movement Change History

History requires reconstructing the thought processes of historical actors, which are invariably different from our own. The way people acted in the past was shaped by assumptions, conditions and norms, some deeply embedded in their culture. Those norms shift over time, and it can be surprising to see how differently people in other ages thought about any number of problems, including the intersection of sex and politics. The Gilded Age, for example, boasted a rowdy political culture in which the yellow press splashed tales of politicians’ philandering on its front pages, with respectable newspapers like the New York Times often hard on its heels. Today we remember little more from that era than the taunt that greeted presidential candidate Grover Cleveland in 1884—“Ma, Ma, Where’s my Pa?”—when he copped to fathering a child with an unwed woman. (He weathered the story, prompting the riposte from his supporters, “Gone to the White House, ha, ha, ha.” Two years later, at age 49, he married a 21 year-old Frances Folsom in the White House.) Yet debate swirled over how much politicians’ sexual transgressions should be publicly aired and censured. In a famous 1890 law article, Louis Brandeis and his law partner, Samuel Warren called for a “right to privacy” to shield individuals from having their personal lives unduly vetted.

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/12/16/bill-clinton-harassment-me-too-history-216063

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

25. Are you refering to Jake Tapper today?

Those three women (I don't remember their names) were making so many false equivalency arguments that I turned off the TV in disgust.

[JimBeard]

30. The one on the left used to work for FOX news

found her..... Kirsten Powers

[lapucelle]

28. I hate it when the gals howl,

especially when the men are busy discussing stuff.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

31. Jake was the only guy in that discussion

And the three's style was more like what one would see on Fox News - outshouting the opposition and making false equivalency.

[roamer65]

17. Franken is deserving of due process.

That was not provided to him.

[stuffmatters]

18. I thought only Repugs were incapable of admitting a mistake and reversing course.

Why can't the DNC and all the Dem Senators just admit that they made a premature judgment, a mistake, and allow Franken his due right to full Senate investigation?

The majority of Dem voters want them to do this I'm sure, based on our overwhelming expressions of anger at Franken's railroading on copious threads ad posts on DU and the other Dem sites. Franken is simply the best liked and trusted Democratic politician; this fiasco has not changed the vast public affection for Franken only made it more evident and vocal.

Maybe Eliz Warren will step up to the plate of responsibility and get the ball rolling on reversing this horrible mess. At least Leahy should have the courage to make his objections public.

They scapegoated the wrong Senator for purely political motives & everybody knows it.

[uponit7771]

19. Some humility here among dems

[Kirk Lover]

23. I will say one thing...he announced his resignation and the allegations have STOPPED. n/t

[standingtall]

24. So far the highest the highset elected official that

is resigning over allegations of sexual harassment is Al Franken. Repukes are coming out ahead in this despite leading in sexual allegations about 2 to 1. This ought to teach the DNC something, but it probably will not.

[LenaBaby61]

32. This ought to teach the DNC something, but it probably will not.

It won't unfortunately.

Dems and their circular firing squads 🙄

[Lurks Often]

38. Stopped or just stopped being reported?

Because the allegations against Moore seem to have stopped as well or at least stopped being reported.

[IluvPitties]

26. At this point, the country knows

that Al was used as a sacrificial lamb. Even if he does not return to Senate, he will be vindicated by history. He made some mistakes, sure, but he should have lost his job over them.

[Drahthaardogs]

34. Senator Gillibrand needs to come out, apologize

And call fir due process

[WyLoochka]

35. Yes, Gillibrand owes Franken an apology

She needs to realize she has been a tool of injustce.
That's not going to happen though. She'll be stubborn.

Senator Franken should stay.

There should be an open, televised investigation as was held for the Keating Five.

No hiding behind anonynimity. Accused and accusers tell their stories on camera, under oath.

This will help the #metoo victims. These women are exploiting the devastating pain real victims suffer in order to accomplish a political assassination.

[MoonRiver]

37. I hope he does, but wouldn't blame him if he's fed up enough to go ahead with his resignation.

I will NEVER forget or forgive Gillibrand's position in leading The Mob attack against Franken. We can do MUCH better when selecting a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate.