2018 Senate (& House)

[4th_floor]

Are there any among us who has never made an incomplete pass (in a romantic or sexual way)? Let person host a judgmental podcast.

Let me get this straight. You are ok with Franken's behavior in spite of photographic evidence of groping. In addition, at least 2 women have accused him of harassment. You're ok with that?

 

[Crockett]

Let me get this straight. You are ok with Franken's behavior in spite of photographic evidence of groping. In addition, at least 2 women have accused him of harassment. You're ok with that?

There are degrees of sexual oppression. My response to the actual accusations against Franken that I read are "eww yuk" and he should be ashamed of himself. But if everyone who ever did something like that was unemployable, we'd have a jobless rate comparable to Egypt's.

I don't hold entertainers responsible for 'groping" when it is done in a very public way for what entertainment value is to be gleaned from it. If someone demands sexual performance to keep a job, uses violence of drugs to force themselves on women ... that's a lot worse.

I'll admit I've grabbed an *** or two in what I, in an alcohol impacted state, felt was mutual flirtation. In two specific memorable instances, it turned out I was wrong. I can't defend it or undo what I did 40 years ago. I did apologize to the offended. I was humiliated but forgave myself and don't think the non-repeated behavior is a central, defining issue in illumination of my character.

I don't like Roy Moore much, but his dating behavior in his 30s is not foremost among the concerns I have about him.

 

[Garmel]

Maybe it was just me but I didn't realize that Franken was such a large trigger for the Alt-Right.

Well, conservatives as a whole have had problems with Franken ever since the suspicious way he won his election.

 

[OUBubba]

I watched the roast video. I missed the lewd behavior. Say what you want about him, he seems to admit that his behavior is unacceptable. Too bad our President can't do the same even though we've all heard him bragging about it [that's called yeah but whatabout - but you guys should recognize that, right?].

Do what you will with Franken, Biden, etc. Just do the same with Trump, Moore, etc.

 

[Mr. Deez]

Are there any among us who has never made an incomplete pass (in a romantic or sexual way)? Let person host a judgmental podcast.

An incomplete pass? Sure. Grabbing a boob without permission? No.

 

[Brad Austin]

The Moore hit jobs are starting to take fire...

Stepson of Roy Moore Accuser: Accusations ‘One Hundred Percent a Lie’

That one was from the stepson who's father is still married to the yearbook accuser. Says they're not on bad terms, he speaks to her every few months and regularly with his Dad.

Fmr Gadsden Mall Manager on Roy Moore: ‘To My Knowledge, He Was Not Banned From the Mall’

Seems the actual mall manager at the time would recall if a longtime famous person in the community was ever banned from his mall. Says they filled out paperwork on those kind of things and was part of his job.

 

[mchammer]

The Moore hit jobs are starting to take fire...

Stepson of Roy Moore Accuser: Accusations ‘One Hundred Percent a Lie’

That one was from the stepson who's father is still married to the yearbook accuser. Says they're not on bad terms, he speaks to her every few months and regularly with his Dad.

Fmr Gadsden Mall Manager on Roy Moore: ‘To My Knowledge, He Was Not Banned From the Mall’

Seems the actual mall manager at the time would recall if a longtime famous person in the community was ever banned from his mall. Says they filled out paperwork on those kind of things and was part of his job.

Dems are going to blow this. Overplayed their hand. They should have kept it at creepy guy hitting on high schoolers and one unsubstantiated claim of sexual misconduct. It should have not been used to force him out of race, but to disqualify him in front of the voters. The latter approach a higher moral ground to stand on.

 

[Garmel]

I'm hoping the yearbook gets investigated by experts.

 

[Joe Fan]

Sarah Sanders:

The president believes that the people of Alabama should decide who they want to be their next senator​

 

[Seattle Husker]

Dems are going to blow this. Overplayed their hand. They should have kept it at creepy guy hitting on high schoolers and one unsubstantiated claim of sexual misconduct. It should have not been used to force him out of race, but to disqualify him in front of the voters. The latter approach a higher moral ground to stand on.

Dems? Spoken as if nearly every Republican of consequence hasn't demanded that Roy Moore step down. Clearly McConnel, Ryan, Cruz and others are "Dem" puppets.

 

[Seattle Husker]

Sarah Sanders:

The president believes that the people of Alabama should decide who they want to be their next senator​

Scared to piss off his base. He's all about that base, bout that base, bout that base.

 

[Joe Fan]

The Moore hit jobs are starting to take fire.......

It does seem like quite a bit of this is falling apart
-The Mall story
-The signature
-That he signed a divorce decree for one of them, which she conspicuously failed to disclose at her presser
-That car child locks were not yet manufactured
-The issue with the telephones
-One of them is a open R-hater/Dem activist
-That the media was offering witnesses money
-The general timing of it all

Add it all together and it does begin to have a Dan Rather feel to it
It's going to be interesting to see what Alabama voters think of all of this

 

[Joe Fan]

....I don't hold entertainers responsible for 'groping" when it is done in a very public way for what entertainment value is to be gleaned from it. ....

One good test might be to see how he would react if he caught someone doing the same thing to his wife. Would he laugh it off? He might if it was Joe Biden. But what if it was Trump instead? This seems to be the way Dems decide most issues. Not what was done but who did it.

I have read Franken is a fighter. He was a competitive wrestler and has challenged people to public fights. There is no doubt that he is belligerent. There are several stories out there of him following people yelling, arguing as they tried to get away from him. While I was in the car a little while ago, I heard a woman describe how he followed her from a green room of some show to her car, arguing and screaming at her the whole way. He then he got her home phone number from the show runner and phoned her for 3 days in a row at home to keep yelling at her. This guy is a belligerent ***.

And I doubt this type of behavior is news to his Dem colleagues. They knew about it but looked the other way for a long time just like they did with Bill Clinton, Anthony Weiner, Harvey Weinstein, Ed Buck, Kevin Spacey, Mark Halperin, Ben Afflect, Joe Biden and so on.

 

[Joe Fan]

another example

 

[Joe Fan]

lovely

Want to guess who represented Franken in these cases?

Spoiler

Perkins Coie is who

 

[Joe Fan]

Moore taking swipes at Mitch

 

[Joe Fan]

Over the last 20 years, Congress has secretly settled 260 complaints of workplace discrimination “at a cost to taxpayers of this country of $15 million.”

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/congress/article184872198.html

 

[Seattle Husker]

Franken called for a Congressional Ethics Investigation of himself, claiming he'd gladly cooperate, in a revised statement.

Looking only at the response to the accusations against Franken and Louis C.K., compared to the many others of their ilk, I think they handled the situation better by leaning into the apology. That doesn't forgive any weirdness or transgressions but I suspect they'll weather the storm better. It certainly takes the hammer away from opposition media trying to bludgeon them.

 

[Garmel]

 

[Seattle Husker]

As if on cue, someone has accused sitting Senator Al Franken of groping and stuff.

This might put the rest of the Senate in an very awkward position if Moore were to win election and then they tried to oust him in some way

"Senator Al Franken Kissed and Groped Me Without My Consent, And There’s Nothing Funny About It"

".... On the day of the show Franken and I were alone backstage going over our lines one last time. He said to me, “We need to rehearse the kiss.” I laughed and ignored him. Then he said it again. I said something like, ‘Relax Al, this isn’t SNL…we don’t need to rehearse the kiss.’

He continued to insist, and I was beginning to get uncomfortable.

He repeated that actors really need to rehearse everything and that we must practice the kiss. I said ‘OK’ so he would stop badgering me. We did the line leading up to the kiss and then he came at me, put his hand on the back of my head, mashed his lips against mine and aggressively stuck his tongue in my mouth.

I immediately pushed him away with both of my hands against his chest and told him if he ever did that to me again I wouldn’t be so nice about it the next time.

I walked away. All I could think about was getting to a bathroom as fast as possible to rinse the taste of him out of my mouth....."​

lots more at the link http://www.kabc.com/2017/11/16/leeann-tweeden-on-senator-al-franken/
click once to enlarge the pic - tape of helmet reads "Tweeden"

Here is Tweeden with her husband

Not that it matters but I don't think that is her husband. Her husband, Chris Dougherty was an Air Force Academy graduate and pilot and is currently in the California Air National Guard. That's a Marine or Army dress uniform.

Here is her husband.

 

[Mr. Deez]

Franken called for a Congressional Ethics Investigation of himself, claiming he'd gladly cooperate, in a revised statement.

Looking only at the response to the accusations against Franken and Louis C.K., compared to the many others of their ilk, I think they handled the situation better by leaning into the apology. That doesn't forgive any weirdness or transgressions but I suspect they'll weather the storm better. It certainly takes the hammer away from opposition media trying to bludgeon them.

I agree, but I think it pretty much kills his credibility in going after Moore or Trump for being sleazy. In fact, Al Franken may have just put Roy Moore into the US Senate and probably ensures that the Senate will seat Moore if he wins. In other words, the bar has been lowered a little more.

 

[Joe Fan]

Mitch referring the Stuart Smiley case for an "ethics investigation" translated is "please get this off the front page." Those mean nothing, never have. Everyone knows it. It was probably enough to remind Alabama voters of the depth of the swamp. It gives the voters the perfect opportunity to shoot the finger back at DC, even if they never liked Moore to begin with.

 

[Clean]

Franken is willing to submit to a Congressional Ethics investigation because he knows that it will NEVER amount to squat, not even a slap on the wrist. It's his way of appearing to do something without actually doing anything, like Harvey Weinstein's ruse of going for therapy.

 

[Joe Fan]

Franken, ironically enough, has been a major proponent of Title IX policies that would get college students in trouble and strip them of due process when facing investigations for the exact same kind of misbehavior he committed here.

 

[Joe Fan]

You do have to credit Dems with how the circle the wagons. The make a strong effort to protect their party, at all costs. Republicans protect K Street. Here, Kate Harding is basically saying “Al Franken is bad but those Republicans who haven’t groped women are worse.” This is printed by the WAPO which handpicked this motto for itself -- "Democracy dies in darkness."

“I’m a feminist. I study rape culture. And I don’t want Al Franken to resign.”​

Harding is co-editor of "Nasty Women: Feminism, Resistance, and Revolution in Trump's America"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-al-franken-to-resign/?utm_term=.900b49275187

 

[Joe Fan]

Interesting silence from Mitt on Franken

 

[Mr. Deez]

Interesting silence from Mitt on Franken

I'm not sure how smart of a political move this is for Mitt. He wants to run for the Hatch seat next year. Just a few years ago, Utah Republicans ousted an establishment-friendly Republican who was far less controversial. Even though they're Mormon, a significant number of Utah Republicans are probably not as anti-Moore as Mitt is. And though many are probably OK with condemning Moore, they probably aren't OK with being hypocritical and inconsistent by condemning Moore and saying nothing about Franken.

 

[Brad Austin]

The Rhinos better pray to their special interest Gods that Moore doesn't win the AL election.

That's one mean SOB and he'll bring hellfire and fury with him. Those guys tried to ruin his career and name (big deal to devout Christians).

On the other hand, DT would have a new ally for refusing to join the stampede of guilt by allegation and demand he step aside.

DT is also likely the only one who endorsed Strange in the primary that didn't pile on Moore and demand he quit.

By saying to leave it in the hands of AL voters he's also putting the ball in Moore's court to earn the win if he still can.

Still not sure Moore would be an addition to the MAGA agenda. But I damn sure don't want to see the weaponized MSM, resist by any means Libs, and corrupt Rhinos get a 'W' by means of a vicious, orchestrated hit campaign.

If the "no attack is off limits" strategy provides this big of a dividend (topples runaway leader in deep red state), the MSM will go nuclear on 2018 races.

 

[theiioftx]

Franken only apologized to save his own rear. He even started out saying that it was not his recollection. Him volunteering and agreeing on an ethics review is laughable. They mean nothing and this apparently occurred prior to him being elected.

I expect this is just one of many to come. I do not think they should be forced to resign. Just require a special election to see if constituents want them to remain in office.

 

[Mr. Deez]

I expect this is just one of many to come. I do not think they should be forced to resign. Just require a special election to see if constituents want them to remain in office.

There's no legal mechanism to force a special election. Franken would have to resign or be expelled to take his seat away from him before 2020 when he's up for reelection.