U.S. Democratic Senator Al Franken, who earlier this month announced his plan to resign following sexual misconduct allegations against him, will step down on Jan. 2, a representative for the lawmaker said on Wednesday.
The 66-year-old former comedian from Minnesota had been seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party, but faced growing calls from fellow Senate Democrats to step down as allegations against him mounted.
Franken is one of several influential men who have lost their jobs after being accused of sexual misconduct, assault or harassment, including Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein and journalists Matt Lauer, Charlie Rose and Tavis Smiley.
He will be the third lawmaker facing misconduct allegations to depart from Congress following Democratic Representative John Conyers and Republican Representative Trent Franks. Two others, Democratic Representative Ruben Kihuen and Republican Representative Blake Farenthold, have said they will not seek re-election next year.
I'm just really saddened by this so I don't have much to add here.
Al Franken was a much needed voice in the Senate and losing him will be devastating to the progressive cause.
I can understand why Franken may have washed his hands of D.C. When your own party becomes a lynch mob for personal and political reasons, completely ignoring due process, it’s time to leave.
ReplyDeleteI do hope he continues to fight for the people of Minnesota in his home state. I’d love to see him as Governor Franken.
And you know the people of Minnesota are not stupid. They know what he did and DIDN’T do. They’d vote for him again.
Hopefully he has learned from his mistakes and won't commit sexual assault ever again.
DeleteSorry but the Minnesotans are not going to put him back in office. That picture, and that stupid look on his face, "Im a 50 something year old teenager", will never disappear.
He actually may be able to do more outside the Senate. I am confident he is not going to stop his fight for progressive causes and will simply find another way to do that.
ReplyDeleteStatesman!
DeleteFighT:
http://www.politicususa.com/2017/12/21/rep-elijah-cummings-vows-fight-death-save-democracy-trump.html
Resist!
" “We have seen over and over again how the very pillars of democracy are being cut down. Peoples’s right to vote. You know that. Freedom of the press. You know that. CIA. FBI criticized. Over and over and over again.”
Democrats aren’t backing down from the threat that Trump poses. They aren’t shrugging their shoulders and saying that’s the way it is. Democrats are fighting this president’s assault on democracy at every turn, and that attitude will serve them well if they will back all or part of Congress in 2018."
Statesman!
DeleteFighT:
http://www.politicususa.com/2017/12/21/rep-elijah-cummings-vows-fight-death-save-democracy-trump.html
Resist!
" “We have seen over and over again how the very pillars of democracy are being cut down. Peoples’s right to vote. You know that. Freedom of the press. You know that. CIA. FBI criticized. Over and over and over again.”
Democrats aren’t backing down from the threat that Trump poses. They aren’t shrugging their shoulders and saying that’s the way it is. Democrats are fighting this president’s assault on democracy at every turn, and that attitude will serve them well if they will back all or part of Congress in 2018."
You may be right. I have no doubt that he will continue his efforts to make this a better, safer, and more equitable country for all who live here.
DeleteNow he will no longer be constrained by the rules and traditions of Congress.
Basically what you all all saying is that, like most politicians, he is now free to make a ton of money as a lobbyist.
DeleteIn Final Senate Speech, Franken Says ‘We’re Losing The War For Truth’
ReplyDeleteIn a farewell address on the Senate floor Thursday morning, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) criticized the policies and political tactics of President Donald Trump and Republicans.
Franken will resign from his seat on Jan. 2 due to allegations from several women that he forcibly kissed or groped them. In his Thursday speech, Franken did not address the accusations against him. Instead he criticized Republicans and reflected on his time in the Senate.
The Minnesota senator walked through several major policy issues, starting with the tax cuts passed Wednesday by both chambers of Congress.
Franken also criticized Republicans’ climate change denialism, efforts to suppress minority voters and work to squash LGBT rights. He said that Trump and Republicans tell lies to push their policies that marginalize minority groups. Franken argued that Trump did not create those lies, but happily pushed them.
“As I leave the Senate, I have to admit that it feels like we’re losing the war for truth. And maybe it’s already lost,” Franken said. “If that’s what happens, then we have lost the ability to have the kinds of arguments that help build consensus.”
Franken said that ordinary Americans need to become better informed in order to “get this country back on track.”
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/franken-farewell-speech-republicans
Republican Control of the Senate Hangs by a Thread
ReplyDeleteA series of freak circumstances could change the course of politics in 2018.
...Should the health of these two senators force them to step down, the political consequences could be hugely consequential. Arizona would have two Senate seats in play in 2018. Democrats have already targeted the seat of retiring Republican Jeff Flake, finding encouragement in the narrow results of Arizona’s presidential contest (Donald Trump won with a 3.5 percent plurality, contrasted with Mitt Romney’s 9-point win in 2012). Capturing both seats could be enough to put Democrats in control of the Senate (assuming they hold all of the seats they’re defending next year—10 of them in states Trump won).
While Mississippi is deep red, Cochran barely survived a 2014 primary challenge from state Senator Chris McDaniel. The Tea Party favorite actually ran slightly ahead of Cochran in the first primary, then lost the runoff by only 7,500 votes. An open seat in Mississippi could trigger an intense fight that could wind up with a fringe candidate sufficiently unappealing to put that safe GOP seat in play. Just ask Alabama.
This speculation might seem morbid, but there’s a point that has to be kept in mind as the 2018 midterms loom.
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/12/21/republican-control-of-the-senate-hangs-by-a-thread-216156
Heiress To Disney Empire Knows GOP Scammed Us – SHREDS Them For Tax Bill
ReplyDelete...And then she dropped a truth bomb. (We like truth bombs.)
Republicans insist this plan will cut taxes for the middle class, but the truth is that any meager savings will be offset by losses elsewhere — in deductions no longer allowed, loss of Medicaid and Medicare coverage, and less funding for education, all of which are on the chopping block in order to provide a tax cut for a few very wealthy people like me. There is even a tax break to private jet owners.
“This bill will give me this tax cut while also killing health insurance for over 13 million people,” Disney wrote. “It will let me pass over $20 million to my children, tax-free. And all my friends with private jets? They get a tax cut too.”
“With a suffocating education system, a dying infrastructure and a national debt that will be at least $1.5 trillion bigger, that social mobility will be far out of reach for people like you,” Disney continued. “But I will be able to stay comfortably right where I am. Does that strike you as fair?”
No, it does not, thankyouverymuch.
“But given how this bill was written, I think it’s looking a lot like a nightmare from Pirates of the Caribbean,” Disney wrote. “Have I made you angry yet? I really hope I’ve made you angry. You should be. No one who votes for this tax bill will be voting with your life in mind. But you will pay for it.”
Watch:
http://addictinginfo.com/2017/12/20/heiress-to-disney-empire-knows-gop-scammed-us-shreds-them-for-tax-bill/
Who will come to our Fantasy?
Delete"In the 1950s, Disney expanded into the amusement park industry, and in 1955 he opened Disneyland. To fund the project he diversified into television programs, such as Walt Disney's Disneyland and The Mickey Mouse Club; he was also involved in planning the 1959 Moscow Fair, the 1960 Winter Olympics, and the 1964 New York World's Fair. In 1965, he began development of another theme park, Disney World, the heart of which was to be a new type of city, the "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow"
"One Nation Under God
Walt Disney had originally wanted an attraction similar to the "Hall of Presidents" called
One Nation Under God
at Disneyland in Anaheim, California." aka
'The Hall of Presidents'^
Jesus FUCKing Christ! the Meek?
'It is the third verse of the Sermon on the Mount, and also third of what are known as the Beatitudes. In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads: Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.'
'The adjective meek describes a person who is willing to go along with whatever other people want to do, like a meek classmate who won't speak up, even when he or she is treated unfairly. A meek person can also be humble, but these words aren't quite synonyms." If they have any MonEy$$$
I'm not good enough, I'm not smart enough, and doggone it, people don't like me.
ReplyDeleteDonnie jr go get your teeth fixed
DeleteFranken is such a good guy! We are going to miss him terribly! Thank you for your outstanding service, Sir!
ReplyDeleteAnd also for the titty grab pic, priceless!
DeleteHe didn't grab anything.
DeleteHis hands were poised above her chest, and her boobs were protected by a flak jacket.
If you are going to troll IM at least bring your A game.
So the picture of the Tweed woman grabbing the ass of the guitar player on the same tour, and obviously laughing about doing it, means nothing to anyone? Double standard, much?
DeleteWhat about jumping on the guy an grinding her pelvis on the guy,that is harassment!
DeleteIt goes both ways,which some of these womem will soon find out
Priceless.
Deleteonce again, money has changed hands. some people will do anything for a buck, and that woman is one. looks like she did a lot of sexual harassing herself. it does go both ways.
DeleteAl Franken resigned amid sexual misconduct allegations, but Democrats aren’t making him leave in disgrace
ReplyDelete“He will not be quieted in any way”: Democrats laud Franken’s work and legacy.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/12/21/16807156/al-franken-resign-democrats-disgrace
A little too late since they hounded him out
DeleteDems couldn't afford to lose this seat, but lose it we did. His margins of victory were so small that this seat will go GOP in 2018. Wish he would have stood up and just said no, but hey, Dems aren't even known for doing the right thing.
ReplyDeleteEight women. Not one, eight!
ReplyDeleteAgree but I think he had to go.
ReplyDeleteNo he didn't have to go
DeleteBecause he's good enough,smart enough and dog gone it we'll miss you Al!
ReplyDeleteOnly the good "die"young
LeeAnn tweeden lied according to her friend Tom Arnold. Rodger Stone coached her for weeks on how to take Al Franken down. The other accusations are b*******. And I also just read that Putin wanted Frank and gone so Rodger Stone fixed it for him. I hope Rodger Stone goes to prison for the rest of his damn life.
ReplyDeleteOh yes absolutely. Definitely Al Franken, man-of-steel, posed an enormous threat to Putin, who fretted day and night how to remove Al. As he knew Al was the only barrier that would prevent his world takeover!
DeleteAnd as far as Tom Arnold, listen to everything he says, and put all your money in his stock predictions. You will be a millionaire.
we will miss you, Al a man of infinite jest. and better yet, a congressman with integrity. i'm sure you will be back.
ReplyDeleteNope. He is done. Stick the fork in.
Delete