A part of me does wonder, though, what exactly would have been wrong in this case with letting the ethics process play out, seeing what the committee found, and determining his fate then? Liberals are supposed to love and respect process, which they sometimes do to a fault. So why short-circuit it here?
This is where I see some opportunism at work, in two ways. First, let’s cut to the chase: Do you think we’d have heard all these calls for his resignation from his Democratic colleagues if Minnesota had a Republican governor? No way. Maybe a couple senators would, but as a group they wouldn’t be nearly so cavalier about dumping him if they knew a Republican was going to replace him. And that’s fine; that’s politics. Newsflash: Politics is political. But it does make me take these high-moral-ground statements of his colleagues with a few grains of salt.
I’m not saying the Democrats should reduce themselves to that level. As I said, Franken should go. But I’m not sure what the Democrats are getting out of it. They’re losing one of their best and smartest senators, somebody who would have been a quite plausible presidential contender in 2020; and failing that would have been a great and important lifetime senator.
But there’s more. They’ve circumvented process and the principle of hearing from both sides. They’ve completely ignored the possibility that a person can reform himself (maybe Franken used to be a sexist jerk but has genuinely changed; aren’t liberals supposed to welcome that?) And they’ve blurred the line, which I think should exist, between different categories of sexual crimes, some of which are obviously worse than others. The day will almost surely come when they’ll regret having established these precedents.
"If you consider what are called the virtues in mankind, you will find their growth is assisted by education and cultivation." -Xenophon of Athens
“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.”
― Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 1951
difference is, there is actual and undeniable evidence on Franken, which makes your comparison a bit misapplied.
There's actual and undeniable evidence on Moore.
yet you have not provided it here, or there, when i have requested such?...perhaps you could link me to your post(s) that provided this evidence? I recall you once trying to use one allegation as evidence for another allegation......
Seek freedom and become captive of your desires...seek discipline and find your liberty I can tell if a person is judgmental just by looking at them what is chaos to the fly is normal to the spider - morticia addams If you're not upsetting idiots, you might be an idiot. - Ted Nugent
Some Schmo wrote:Given the sincerity with which he delivered his denial, it makes me wonder if he just doesn't get that he comes off a certain way toward certain women, or that he may confuse their admiration for a comedian/senator as something more amorous. Maybe he thinks groping women, or trying to kiss them without their consent is his way of being genuinely friendly. It's very strange.
On the other hand, maybe he's just a very good liar.
Or maybe the allegations are false. Al Franken said, "I've met tens of thousands of people and taken thousands of photographs". It is possible the first accuser doesn't correctly remember what happened, the second was probably an accidental grab, and the others made it up.
Please read about selection bias and the bandwagon effect. Why can't we consider the possibility that the allegations are false? Not saying Al Franken is innocent, we just don't know. No one knows.
CNN and Washington Post are currently working on a story to expose roughly 20-30 members of Congress for sexual harassment. I'm guessing not all of those will be Democrats in seats Democrats will get to retain in the short-term. We'll see how principled it gets then as Democrats get to drop like flies while Republicans don't budge.
EAllusion wrote:CNN and Washington Post are currently working on a story to expose roughly 20-30 members of Congress for sexual harassment. I'm guessing not all of those will be Democrats in seats Democrats will get to retain in the short-term. We'll see how principled it gets then as Democrats get to drop like flies while Republicans don't budge.
No one ever accused Democrats of not shooting themselves in the foot. Democrats care about kissing without permission whereas Republicans have a more liberal take on the whole sexual molestation thing - unless of course, they are talking about a Democrat.