Al Franken is next

[CAA Flagship]

He won't resign if Moore wins Alabama.

[kalm]

The Donk party in a nutshell...throw an effective senator to the wolves when you've got a fight over the tax plan and health care cuz empower wimmin...or something.

Huh?

[AZGrizFan]

The Donk party in a nutshell...throw an effective senator to the wolves when you've got a fight over the tax plan and health care cuz empower wimmin...or something.

Huh?

No shit. They’re dropping like flies on both sides of the aisle.

[houndawg]

Huh?

No ****. They’re dropping like flies on both sides of the aisle.

The donks appear to be showing signs of being able to think past next week but its probably nothing: They are cleaning house in preparation for running fresh new faces against the Grasping Old Pedophiles.

Can't wait for the entertainment boost Moore is going to bring to the table.

[GannonFan]

No ****. They’re dropping like flies on both sides of the aisle.

The donks appear to be showing signs of being able to think past next week but its probably nothing: They are cleaning house in preparation for running fresh new faces against the Grasping Old Pedophiles.

Can't wait for the entertainment boost Moore is going to bring to the table.

Both parties doing what they always do - doing whatever they can to get or hold onto power. Not what to do with that power, just getting to be the ones who hold it. Like it's a game. That's the politics we've been in for at least the past 30 years and it doesn't seem like it's going to change.

[CAA Flagship]

The Donks are cleaning house in order to wear a halo during the Mid-Term campaigns.
The question is, what will Americans remember more, that Donks were accused of sexual misconduct or that they cleaned house?

[houndawg]

The Donks are cleaning house in order to wear a halo during the Mid-Term campaigns.
The question is, what will Americans remember more, that Donks were accused of sexual misconduct or that they cleaned house?

I think they'll work hard to point out the difference between their new faces and the same old pedophiles. Keep Moore talking is what they want to do.

[GannonFan]

The Donks are cleaning house in order to wear a halo during the Mid-Term campaigns.
The question is, what will Americans remember more, that Donks were accused of sexual misconduct or that they cleaned house?

I think they'll work hard to point out the difference between their new faces and the same old pedophiles. Keep Moore talking is what they want to do.

Once he gets elected (assuming that he does) will we actually hear from him? You tend to only hear from Senators in leadership positions or Senators up for election. Otherwise, they tend to be pretty invisible. In PA, you almost never hear from Toomey (R) or Casey (D) outside of their election years, let alone hear from another state's Senator - political power entrenchment at its finest.

[Ibanez]

I think they'll work hard to point out the difference between their new faces and the same old pedophiles. Keep Moore talking is what they want to do.

Once he gets elected (assuming that he does) will we actually hear from him? You tend to only hear from Senators in leadership positions or Senators up for election. Otherwise, they tend to be pretty invisible. In PA, you almost never hear from Toomey (R) or Casey (D) outside of their election years, let alone hear from another state's Senator - political power entrenchment at its finest.

Dude, we apologize for Tim Scott.

[SuperHornet]

Question here. This might be more of an issue if Franken were in the House, given the differences in how Reps are elected as opposed to Senators.

Is Franken's position subject to appointment by his state's governor for the remainder of his term? If there's no guarantee that the governor would appoint a like-minded Democrat (politically speaking, anyway) would that affect his decision to step aside? With these things going on, there could be some influence swings if governors appoint Tea Partiers in place of philandering Donkeys and Commies in place of cheating Elephants who find it politically expedient to step aside without regard to replacement....

[CID1990]

The one good thing about all these Dems being caught up in the PervGate is that it is forcing a due process discussion from the left which would not be occurring if it was mostly repubs doing this stuff


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Gil Dobie]

Fallout from the Franken resignation. Lt Governor Tina Smith will become Senator. President of the State Senate, Michelle Fischbach (R) will become Lt Governor. By state law, she cannot hold both positions at the same time. Minnesota R's have a 2 vote advantage at present. 1 slot is open. If Fischbach leaves and a D wins the open slot, that evens things out.

Link

Even though the state’s constitution says no senator can hold any other state office except postmaster or notary public, Fischbach, Republican Senate leaders and a Senate attorney pointed to an 1898 state Supreme Court ruling that did allow a lieutenant governor in a similar situation to hang onto his Senate seat.

If Fischbach is forced to leave her Senate position, besides all the law suits and tax payer money that will be spent on this. Fischbach is rumored to step down from the Lt Governor position and run for her current seat in a special election if she needs to.

[Gil Dobie]

Just when you thought it was safe, Michelle Bachmann comes out of the woodwork. More Franken fallout.

Link

Former GOP congresswoman and presidential candidate Michele Bachmann says she is considering running for Democratic former Sen. Al Franken's Minnesota seat.

[kalm]

I'm skeptical of this as well unless the Republicans believe they can win Franken's old seat but it's not far fetched especially when Roger Stone is involved. He was dropping hints the day before the story broke. I also like the part at the end where the article suggests that Democrats don't have these type of operations up and running. Typical Democrats...lazy and disorganized....

• • HOW AN ALT-RIGHT BOT NETWORK TOOK DOWN AL FRANKEN

BY NINA BURLEIGH ON 2/19/18 AT 6:00 AM

White nationalist provocateurs, a pair of fake news sites, an army of Twitter bots and other cyber tricks helped derail Democratic Senator Al Franken last year, new research shows.

While everyone has been focused on Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election to support Donald Trump, the Franken takedown originated in—and was propelled by—a strategic online campaign with digital tentacles reaching to, of all places, Japan. Analysts have now mapped out how Hooters pinup girl and lad-mag model Leeann Tweeden's initial accusation against Franken became effective propaganda after right-wing black ops master Roger Stone first hinted at the allegation.

A pair of Japan-based websites, created the day before Tweeden came forward, and a swarm of related Twitter bots made the Tweeden story go viral and then weaponized a liberal writer's criticism of Franken. The bot army—in tandem with prominent real, live members of the far right who have Twitter followers in the millions, such as Mike Cernovich—spewed thousands of posts, helping the #FrankenFondles hashtag and the "Franken is a groper" meme effectively silence the testimonies of eight former female staffers who defended the Minnesota Democrat before he resigned last year.

The operation commenced on November 15, when Stone—who is now banned from Twitter for racism and profanity—tweeted from one of his accounts “Roger Stone says it’s Al Franken’s ‘time in the barrel.’ Franken next in long list of Democrats accused of ‘grabby’ behavior.”

On the same day, a developer named Atsufumi Otsuka registered a web domain in Japan called RealUSA.site, and a fake-news website soon emerged at that web address, according to research shared with the voting rights outfit Unhack the Vote.

Tweeden’s account of Franken groping her was first amplified by a network of right-wing media, including KABC in Los Angeles, where Tweeden has a radio show, The Hill, Infowars and Breitbart, which mobilized within hours of Stone's tweet and the release of a picture of a Tweeden and Franken at a USO performance before he was a senator.

http://www.newsweek.com/alt-right-trump ... ter-810355

[GannonFan]

I'm skeptical of this as well unless the Republicans believe they can win Franken's old seat but it's not far fetched especially when Roger Stone is involved. He was dropping hints the day before the story broke. I also like the part at the end where the article suggests that Democrats don't have these type of operations up and running. Typical Democrats...lazy and disorganized....

• • HOW AN ALT-RIGHT BOT NETWORK TOOK DOWN AL FRANKEN

BY NINA BURLEIGH ON 2/19/18 AT 6:00 AM

White nationalist provocateurs, a pair of fake news sites, an army of Twitter bots and other cyber tricks helped derail Democratic Senator Al Franken last year, new research shows.

While everyone has been focused on Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election to support Donald Trump, the Franken takedown originated in—and was propelled by—a strategic online campaign with digital tentacles reaching to, of all places, Japan. Analysts have now mapped out how Hooters pinup girl and lad-mag model Leeann Tweeden's initial accusation against Franken became effective propaganda after right-wing black ops master Roger Stone first hinted at the allegation.

A pair of Japan-based websites, created the day before Tweeden came forward, and a swarm of related Twitter bots made the Tweeden story go viral and then weaponized a liberal writer's criticism of Franken. The bot army—in tandem with prominent real, live members of the far right who have Twitter followers in the millions, such as Mike Cernovich—spewed thousands of posts, helping the #FrankenFondles hashtag and the "Franken is a groper" meme effectively silence the testimonies of eight former female staffers who defended the Minnesota Democrat before he resigned last year.

The operation commenced on November 15, when Stone—who is now banned from Twitter for racism and profanity—tweeted from one of his accounts “Roger Stone says it’s Al Franken’s ‘time in the barrel.’ Franken next in long list of Democrats accused of ‘grabby’ behavior.”

On the same day, a developer named Atsufumi Otsuka registered a web domain in Japan called RealUSA.site, and a fake-news website soon emerged at that web address, according to research shared with the voting rights outfit Unhack the Vote.

Tweeden’s account of Franken groping her was first amplified by a network of right-wing media, including KABC in Los Angeles, where Tweeden has a radio show, The Hill, Infowars and Breitbart, which mobilized within hours of Stone's tweet and the release of a picture of a Tweeden and Franken at a USO performance before he was a senator.

http://www.newsweek.com/alt-right-trump ... ter-810355

Does it matter if it's true? I don't believe anyone ever said she made up the story or that the photos were edited. Franken didn't deny any of what was reported. Sure, the right jumped on this story and amplified it, but in the wake of the Weinstein story somebody was bound to amplify this. We've seen that happen with almost everyone who's been accused in the past few months.

[kalm]

I'm skeptical of this as well unless the Republicans believe they can win Franken's old seat but it's not far fetched especially when Roger Stone is involved. He was dropping hints the day before the story broke. I also like the part at the end where the article suggests that Democrats don't have these type of operations up and running. Typical Democrats...lazy and disorganized....



http://www.newsweek.com/alt-right-trump ... ter-810355

Does it matter if it's true? I don't believe anyone ever said she made up the story or that the photos were edited. Franken didn't deny any of what was reported. Sure, the right jumped on this story and amplified it, but in the wake of the Weinstein story somebody was bound to amplify this. We've seen that happen with almost everyone who's been accused in the past few months.

I think it matters because this type of dishonest crap from both sides increases voter apathy and Franken loses his seat over it.

[CAA Flagship]

Does it matter if it's true? I don't believe anyone ever said she made up the story or that the photos were edited. Franken didn't deny any of what was reported. Sure, the right jumped on this story and amplified it, but in the wake of the Weinstein story somebody was bound to amplify this. We've seen that happen with almost everyone who's been accused in the past few months.

I think it matters because this type of dishonest crap from both sides increases voter apathy and Franken loses his seat over it.

Root Cause = Franken's actions. That is why he lost his seat. Anything else is a different animal.

[GannonFan]

Does it matter if it's true? I don't believe anyone ever said she made up the story or that the photos were edited. Franken didn't deny any of what was reported. Sure, the right jumped on this story and amplified it, but in the wake of the Weinstein story somebody was bound to amplify this. We've seen that happen with almost everyone who's been accused in the past few months.

I think it matters because this type of dishonest crap from both sides increases voter apathy and Franken loses his seat over it.

Franken lost his seat because he groped women and we're in the middle of a huge societal movement that demands accountability for people who have sexual assaulted women in the past and are still in power today. Franken wouldn't have lost his seat if this was the 1950's, but it's not, he groped women, and he's out. Heck, if you think about it, if Trump hadn't been elected, with his own history of sexual harassment and assault launching the #Resist movement that probably helped to peel away the layers of the Weinstein sexual assault empire, Franken would probably still be grabbing women and still in office today.

[kalm]

I think it matters because this type of dishonest crap from both sides increases voter apathy and Franken loses his seat over it.

Franken lost his seat because he groped women and we're in the middle of a huge societal movement that demands accountability for people who have sexual assaulted women in the past and are still in power today. Franken wouldn't have lost his seat if this was the 1950's, but it's not, he groped women, and he's out. Heck, if you think about it, if Trump hadn't been elected, with his own history of sexual harassment and assault launching the #Resist movement that probably helped to peel away the layers of the Weinstein sexual assault empire, Franken would probably still be grabbing women and still in office today.

Allegedly and denies the way the story was portrayed and the other women’s allegations. But yes, don’t get caught in compromising photos and this doesn’t happen. By the same token, Trump still in office, diaper wearing hooker fucking Vitter remained in office, serial abortion customer Scott Dejarlais ...

Franken’s problem was indeed timing and being a Democrat. Calls for his resignation from his own party due to the “amplification” and before due process are what pushed him to leave.

That’s not a good thing. But you guys obviously need less than due process to convict.

[93henfan]

Kalm is putting his new toy to work!

[kalm]

Kalm is putting his new toy to work!

Except the parts where I said both sides are guilty and it was the Dems that forced Franken out.... yawn....

[GannonFan]

Franken lost his seat because he groped women and we're in the middle of a huge societal movement that demands accountability for people who have sexual assaulted women in the past and are still in power today. Franken wouldn't have lost his seat if this was the 1950's, but it's not, he groped women, and he's out. Heck, if you think about it, if Trump hadn't been elected, with his own history of sexual harassment and assault launching the #Resist movement that probably helped to peel away the layers of the Weinstein sexual assault empire, Franken would probably still be grabbing women and still in office today.

Allegedly and denies the way the story was portrayed and the other women’s allegations. But yes, don’t get caught in compromising photos and this doesn’t happen. By the same token, Trump still in office, diaper wearing hooker **** Vitter remained in office, serial abortion customer Scott Dejarlais ...

Franken’s problem was indeed timing and being a Democrat. Calls for his resignation from his own party due to the “amplification” and before due process are what pushed him to leave.

That’s not a good thing. But you guys obviously need less than due process to convict.

Allegedly? Where has Franken ever said that stuff with Tweeden didn't happen? He apologized to her as well. Nothing that was amplified was lies, just stuff that was apparently true (as Franken apologized for it) and didn't have the reach it did to broader media until it was amplified. I have a hard time getting upset about true and valid stories getting amplified, regardless of the means or the intent. What do you have against the truth?

Trump stays in office, despite a far worse record of sexual harassment, because voters put him there and the means to remove a President from office are pretty steep (Dems win the House in November and he'll be impeached, but unless the GOP sees a benefit from removing him from office - say, to get Pence in there and have him run as an incumbent as President in 2020 - then there won't be enough of a turnover in the Senate to remove him). If it was easier to remove him and if it wouldn't be as seismic of an event as it would be (a single Senator being drummed out is one thing, it's happened before, but to impeach AND remove a sitting President would obviously be groundbreaking) then Trump would be out.

As for conviction, no one is pressing charges (that I know of) against Franken. He held a political office and was removed because of politics. There's no real due process about that, it's just how it goes. Due process is for the courts and for everyday legal matters - politics is apart from that, especially national politics. Where has Franken been denied his civil rights because of this?

[Skjellyfetti]

Trump stays in office, despite a far worse record of sexual harassment, because voters put him there and the means to remove a President from office are pretty steep

Franken wasn't voted into office?

Removing a Senator from office is also pretty steep.

The difference is that Democratic leadership forced him into resignation. Republican leadership made a few press releases about Trump's behavior being "disappointing" and then bent the knee.

Look at the response to Weinstein vs. Steve Wynn as well.

[Pwns]

To quote one of the creators of the "Shitty Media Men" list:

"I get the queasiness of no due process. But…losing your job isn’t death or prison."

Get with the times...men have all the privilege so it's okay if a few innocent men lose their jobs. Just collateral damage to emparrrrr wimmin'. With Franken out the Democrats can now elect a woman or even (!) a woman of color to his seat!

[GannonFan]

Trump stays in office, despite a far worse record of sexual harassment, because voters put him there and the means to remove a President from office are pretty steep

Franken wasn't voted into office?

Removing a Senator from office is also pretty steep.

The difference is that Democratic leadership forced him into resignation. Republican leadership made a few press releases about Trump's behavior being "disappointing" and then bent the knee.

Look at the response to Weinstein vs. Steve Wynn as well.

Trump was voted into office with people fully aware of his sexual misconduct. Nobody knew about Franken's serial groping until the story that kalmie was upset about got more air time, some 9 years into his tenure as Senator, again something kalmie didn't like. Stop quibbling, removing a Senator is not as steep as removing a President. How many Senators have left/been removed from office versus Presidents? I got one (1) for Presidents, and at least twenty (20) for Senators.

And yes, Democrats forced Franken to resign. Your point? They saw a political advantage to be had (optics of having Franken resign while the GOP was potentially going to have Roy Moore win) so they took it. Doing so cost them very little, if anything, and it probably benefitted them anyway. The GOP deciding to impeach and throw out Trump, as a sitting President, would've been political suicide and would've devastated their party. Tossing a clearly guilty Senator over the edge for something that just came to light is far smaller potatoes than jettisoning a President in the same year he took office for behavior that voters knew about when they voted him in in the first place.

I admit I haven't followed the Wynn story as much. What's the difference? Didn't Wynn get booted from the RNC and from his own company as a result of his decades long sexual misconduct? How is that different from Weinstein? Both were rich, influential men who gave gobs to political parties and both have faced, rightfully so, banishment and exile as a result of horrid behavior. What don't you like about that?