by Mark Angelides
As news breaks that Senator Al Franken was sexually inappropriate with journalist Leeann Tweeden whilst on a USO tour in 2006, it’s time to see if the Democrats and Republicans are really as concerned by the Roy Moore allegations as they claim to be, or whether it is just a feeble attempt to remove a conservative from the race.
Consider that for one of the “suspects,” there is no evidence, and for the other, there is a photograph of him groping her breasts while she sleeps aboard a C17 on her way back from entertaining the troops. It will be hugely interesting to see if the same reactions the DNC and RNC have had to the Judge Moore allegations are the same towards Franken.
Let’s review the reactions to the Moore case:
- The RNC has pulled out of a funding arrangement (effectively cutting off any financial support from the party in his campaign).
- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel (R) has called for him to step down; and even stated that if he won the election, he would immediately be hauled before an ethics committee.
- The Democrats have denounced him as a pervert and insisted that he withdraw from the Senatorial race.
So what is the very least we should expect for Al Franken:
- The DNC should pull funding for all projects Franken is working on, including getting re-elected (cutting him off from party finances).
- Mitch McConnel should demand that he step down from his position immediately or at the very least be hauled before an ethics committee.
- The Democrats should denounce him as a pervert and insist that he withdraw from the Senate.
If these three conditions are not met, we will have proof positive that the actual sexual allegations mean nothing to these people, and that all they care about is their “inner sanctum” maintaining power for as long as possible.
Just in the interest of fairness, here is what Tweeden said about Franken:
“He repeated that actors really need to rehearse everything and that we must practice the kiss. I said ‘OK’ so he would stop badgering me. We did the line leading up to the kiss and then he came at me, put his hand on the back of my head, mashed his lips against mine and aggressively stuck his tongue in my mouth. I immediately pushed him away with both of my hands against his chest and told him if he ever did that to me again I wouldn’t be so nice about it the next time. I walked away. All I could think about was getting to a bathroom as fast as possible to rinse the taste of him out of my mouth. I felt disgusted and violated.”
Whether you believe in Moore’s innocence or not (and let’s be fair, the yearbook being fake is beginning to look probable after Allred refuses to state publically that it is genuine), we should all look for fairness and evenhandedness in what our “leaders” do. What do you think?