when Swiftboater, Birthers, are behind attacks/accusations against Democrats

[JI7]

there is good reason to question it. in the case of Al Franken it turned out to be a right wing attack . but Franken is much smarter than they are and they no longer have Karl Rove and some of the more intelligent types who knew their limits .

Franken handled it well. he did the right thing and i believe the reason he did was he was thinking of the many real victims of sexual abuse out there. he didn't want to react in a way which would make those who are and will be victims in the future from coming forward.

he called for an Enquiry on himself and Tweeden's entire attitude changed after he did that. she backtracked in how she spoke of what happened and how she did not want him to resign and said he was a good senator and forgave him.

this was an attempted swiftboating of Franken. a huge part of it has to do with his questioning for Jeff Sessions on the Russia issue. Sean Hannity was hoping it would distract from his support for scumbag roy moore and keep from losing for advertisers.

[brush]

1. Correctomundo. Big K&R

[arthritisR_US]

15. + 1000!

[madaboutharry]

2. Democrats must demand an apology to Sen. Franken.

This was a set up and a dirty trick.

And everyone needs to focus on how this story does real damage to true victims.

[JI7]

3. disagree. Franken doesn't want that. Franken is thinking of real victims of sexual abuse

and he is responding in a way which will not make them fearful for coming forward.

[madaboutharry]

7. Both can exist at the same time.

An apology to Sen. Franken doesn't cancel out encouraging real victims. I think anyone who is the target of a right wing smear would want their good name restored.

[dflprincess]

5. The Democrats that have been so quick to throw Al under the bus need to backtrack fast

Three of the DFL candidates for governor have said he should resign and the only good thing about that is I now know that I certainly won't be supporting any of them at the caucus in February.

Prior to this I could have supported any of them but I have a hard time supporting anyone who is so quick to walk into a Republican trap and help them do their dirty work. I expect my elected officials to be a bit smarter than that.

[TomSlick]

4. Well played, Sen. Franken.

Well played, sir.

[Kingofalldems]

6. And the GOP's internet pals jumped right in with feigned outrage.

[Beartracks]

8. Given that targets of sexual assault allegations are guilty before proven innocent...

... in the court of public opinion (even among some Dems, it seems), and given that powerful "Hollywood" (read: liberal) figures like Harvey Weinstein can be so easily dispatched, it was only a matter of time before the Republicans latched onto some idea like this as a response to Moore/Trump.

=============

[Hekate]

9. KnR

[Gabi Hayes]

10. when Swiftboater, Birthers, are behind attacks/accusations against Democrats

You can be certain the msm will latch on to it , just as they did almost every single BS story about the Clintons for the last 25 years, running them into the ground

That’s the real reason she “lost”

Fools for Scandal

Read the book

PS: it’s also why Kerry “lost”

[Denzil_DC]

11. Sadly, the bastards have already inflicted collateral damage:

Al Franken wrote a bill to help rape survivors like me. He can’t lead on it now.

In November 2014, I was raped.

I’m certainly not the only one something this awful has happened to, but afterward, I felt as though I was. I was a 19-year-old college student. My life changed overnight. I faced an incredibly long fight to bring my attacker to justice: Daniel Drill-Mellum was wealthy, well-connected, and willing to throw me and my reputation under the bus. The #MeToo culture I’ve seen develop publicly over the last month wasn’t around to help me then. I was nearly harassed off the University of Minnesota campus for reporting. I was turned away by the Minneapolis Police Department despite the mountain of evidence in my case.

Over the next two years, I learned how to hold my frustration in, because I had an end goal in mind. I knew that my attacker belonged in prison, and I was determined to get the justice system on my side. I made mental notes about everything that was going wrong. I tried to have patience that someday I could make a different world. When my rapist was sentenced in August 2016 to six years in prison, I finally had my chance.

I sought help from Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.). He took up my cause without hesitation, and he worked with his aides to draft legislation to pay for training to help police departments treat assault survivors with more concern for what we’ve been through. But now that allegations have come out that Franken himself assaulted a woman years ago, I want another lawmaker to sponsor the bill we worked so hard on. This work deserves to be led by those without a history of sexual harassment or assault.

The news this week was especially disappointing for me because of how effective an advocate Franken has been for my cause. I felt my heart sink when I saw the news, but I was prepared to support the woman involved. I remember what it was like to be shamed and not believed.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2017/11/18/al-franken-wrote-a-bill-to-help-rape-survivors-like-me-he-cant-lead-on-it-now/

Whether Abby Honold changes her mind later, we'll have to wait and see. The article's worth reading to learn about the sensitive way Franken and his staff helped her to frame the legislation as a result of her experiences.

[JI7]

13. does this mean she would be opposed to Trump signing such a bill if it were to pass both houses of

congress ?

sorry but most people will see this as just silly .

[Denzil_DC]

14. I've no idea.

She wants this law to pass. If it has to be signed by Trump to pass into law, I guess that's what has to happen unless he's out of office for some reason.

There's a plain difference between him scribbling his moniker on the final legislation (assuming he would) and working with a rep and his staff to sponsor and champion a bill.

I've also no idea how most people will see it. I hope she changes her mind. She says she's looking for a woman to sponsor it instead.

[robbedvoter]

16. Should this woman be blonde or brunette? What age? What ethnicity?

Sometimes people are their worst enemies (cough cough - Gillibrand too)

[Denzil_DC]

17. I detect the snark, but rightly or wrongly, this woman's upset at the moment.

I don't underestimate how brave she's had to be and how much the process of helping draft this bill may have demanded of her - nor how laudable Franken and his staff have been in supporting her through that process.

So I'll give her a pass for what I think (from the luxury of my laptop, not having been raped, though I did have one close call in my youth) is an overreaction.

[betsuni]

12. K&R