Title : Moral Scolds Will Try To Take Sen. Al Franken Down - But They Will Lose
link : Moral Scolds Will Try To Take Sen. Al Franken Down - But They Will Lose
Moral Scolds Will Try To Take Sen. Al Franken Down - But They Will Lose
In any eruption of moral indignation - justifiable or not - there will always exist scolds who play the game of false equivalence: equating one brand of misdeed (say Roy Moore's groping of under-aged girls) with a comedian's skylarking before he even became a Senator. That latter refers to the case of Sen. Al Franken, recently "exposed" by Leeann Tweeden in a photo showing a comic "hands on breasts" photo taken while she was sleeping - on the way to an overseas gig (USO tour) for the troops.
Look, no one is asserting Franken - back in his comedian past- was doing any kind of noble action, and yeah, it disrespected Tweeden. But it is emphatically NOT on the level of what the Alabamy slime ball Roy Moore has been accused of doing, including to a young girl of 14. Anyone who tries to mate those two things on a moral spectrum is guilty of false equivalence,.
But you can be sure in the current climate of #MeToo, there will be many who make an effort to brand Franken with a red letter for "misogynist" or worse, and even attempt to drive him from the Senate in an "ethics committee investigation". Franken himself, obviously hoping to be pre-emptive, has called for such an investigation. But as Michelle Goldberg put it on 'All In' last night:
"What does that even mean to investigate a sitting Senator before he became a Senator?
Well, no one seems to know, and even Steve Kornacki - appearing on Rachel Maddow last night, couldn't recall a single instance where that ever happened. But one thing we DO know is that there once was a Repuke House member (David Vitter) who was involved in a D.C. prostitution ring, and he actually WON a seat in the Senate. My beef then, if a so-called "ethics committee" was fine with overlooking that: they also need to overlook Franken's one off transgression (kissing Tweeden on her mouth during a rehearsal) now. Not to do so is to flagrantly accept a double standard.
And again, what Franken did is in no way comparable to what Vitter did, let's get that straight. We have to because in the midst of the cumulative clouds of high moral dudgeon it is easy to lose sight of perspective .
For sure, politicians who acknowledge frequenting prostitutes usually don't get elected to any office - especially Senator.. Except that Vitter went public with his ties to the "D.C. Madam" way back in 2007. And, in 2010, he won reelection to the Senate by 19 points over a sitting Democratic member of Congress. Subsequently nothing ever came of Vitter's ascension though later he did lose a race, the take at that time being he finally had a real "hard seed" primary opponent.
The other aspect is why hold Franken - as a current sitting Senator - accountable for something he did as a comedian. Likely as not at that time he hadn't the foggiest notion of ever going into politics or becoming a U.S. Senator. People in their earlier stages of life often do things ridiculous or untoward not thinking it will affect them later, but they do. Should people forever be punished for past minor moral transgressions or sexual skylarking? (Again this is not what Vitter or Roy Moore are guilty of).
Yes, "conduct unbecoming" is something to reckon in - as was the case with former Sen. Bob Packwood. The Republican resigned from the Senate in 1995 amid multiple allegations of sexual harassment and assaulting women. The Senate ethics committee had voted unanimously to recommend his expulsion. BUT he was already a Senator!
There seems to be no standard at all for going after a guy like Franken, who committed his "misdeeds" against one woman while a comedian. As Ms. Goldberg said: "What would that ethics investigation even look like?" Well, a joke, to be sure. As Steve Kornacki said, this could even be tested in the courts if Franken decided to play hardball.
Meanwhile, we had the likes of Donnie Dotard- who kept his twitter shut down on child predator Roy Moore, tweeting about Franken:
"The Al Franken picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words Where do his hands go in pictures 2,3, 4, 5 & 6 while she sleeps?"
Well, obviously Dotard would be thinking "her pussy" - because that's what HE would do in the same situation. After all, we heard him on the Access Hollywood tape bragging about "grabbing pussy." Let's also recall at least eleven women came forward during the campaign - including Miss Universe contestants - who complained about Trump even fondling bare breasts. Yet this asshole became a sitting president. So, I don't want to hear an BS now from moral scolds going after Franken's set for a much lower threshold transgression.
No one is saying that in this new climate of sensitivity to sexual harassment Franken deserves to get off Scott free. But at the same time, whatever sanction has to be both judicious and sensible for misdeeds done before even assuming office. The only one that stands out as just, to my reckoning, is censure. Anything more, like expelling him from the Senate - is analogous to using a gas chamber to punish a jaywalker. Bottom line: any sanction must have temperance built in especially in light of the Vitter precedent.
See also:
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Excerpt:
President Trump, who has remained silent on the accusations leveled against Moore, was quick to comment on Franken’s case through Sarah Huckabee Sanders, with the spokesperson telling reporters the Senate ethics probe is the “appropriate action.”
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