Posted on 12/08/2017 11:46:17 AM PST by Sopater
Edited on 12/08/2017 11:55:46 AM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
Contrary to popular perception, Al Franken did not resign yesterday.
He only announced his intent to resign on a future date. Here's what he said:
"[T]oday I am announcing that in the coming weeks I will be resigning as member of the United States Senate. I, of all people, am aware that there is some irony in the fact that I am leaving while a man who has bragged on tape about his history of...sexual assault sits in the Oval Office and a man who has repeatedly preyed on young girls campaigns for the Senate with the full support of his party."
In fact, not only did Al Franken not resign yesterday, it is my prediction that he will never resign. He will not resign until Roy Moore does – and since there is no way Roy Moore is going to do that, there's no way Al Franken is going to do that either.
This is the chief takeaway from Franken's apology-less Senate speech yesterday, a takeaway that most people have missed because they continually underestimate the capacity of swamp dwellers to deceive while appearing to tell the truth.
All Franken said what he would do is resign "in the coming weeks." That is a gloriously indefinite time frame. Franken can cram as much of the future into that phrase as he wants.
Immediately after Franken mentioned his resignation at some unknown, unspecified point in the future, he spoke of the "irony" that a president who has a "history...of sexual assault" sits serenely in the Oval Office while Roy Moore, a man who has "repeatedly preyed on young girls," is still on the ballot in Alabama.
(My position on Roy Moore has been unmistakably clear from day one: there is not one single shred of actual evidence that he did anything he's been accused of. The stories of his accusers completely unravel on closer examination. Moore rightfully should still be enjoying the presumption of innocence, and it is an absolute travesty that the members of his own party have pitched him off the boat with zero evidence of guilt. Shame on them. Shame. Shame. Shame.)
Franken's point will be, Look, there's no way I should resign when two notorious sexual predators like Trump and Moore are alive and well in the Republican Party. In fact, they should resign, not me, since unlike them, I have always been a "champion of women."
We likely won't hear from Franken again until December 13, the day after the results of the Alabama Senate race are known. What we will hear from Franken that day will be something like this: "I have offered, in good faith, to tender my resignation as a member of the United States Senate. Roy Moore, as a serial sexual predator, must do the same. In fact, I propose, as a gesture of nobility on my part, that Mr. Moore and I depart the Senate together. I will be happy to resign the same day Roy Moore does. Until then, I ain't going anywhere."
The Democrats, at that point, will be happy to say, "Hey, you know, Al's got a point here," and train all their fire on Moore and then Trump.
We have seen this charade before. In August 2007, Idaho Senator Larry Craig was busted for propositioning a Minneapolis law enforcement officer in an airport bathroom. I attended the senator's widely broadcast news conference on September 1, in which he pointedly said, "It is my intent to resign" effective September 30. Well, September 30 came and went without a peep from the senator. In fact, he never did resign. His view was that he didn't actually lie about it, because it was his intent to resign when he said it. He just changed his mind. Craig served out his term and ever since has been collecting the extra $5,000 a year in retirement benefits he got by stonewalling. "Intent" was his weasel word, just as "in the coming weeks" are Franken's weasel words.
The GOP establishmentarians, with their shameful, craven, and traitorous abandonment of Moore, have played right into Franken's hands. They've pretty much obligated themselves to try to run Moore off the cliff in order not to look like the duplicitous swamp dwellers they are.
Senator Franken should indeed resign and Moore should continue to stand tall and strong and unbending in the face of this manifest injustice. Abandoned in the hour of trial like his Master before him, Moore will have only God and the truth on his side. Fortunately for him, that's all a man needs.
POS
That picture was the end of Franken. As long as he’s around, Republicans will gleefully use it in endless negative ads. That can’t be allowed. He serves the Dems no useful purpose, so he’ll be gone by Jan 1.
That is money in the bank, right there.
Also, the Franken "non-resignation resignation" speech was carefully crafted to give him an out while capitalizing on the upcoming Alabama election. He's hoping that some "dumb Alabamians" will vote for the Democrat instead of Moore because of Franken doing the noble thing.
Fortunately, Alabamians aren't as dumb as the Democrats think they are.
If Moore wins, Franken is not going anywhere so long as Moore is still sitting in the senate.
****The GOP establishmentarians, with their shameful, craven, and traitorous abandonment of Moore, have played right into Franken’s hands****
They didn’t play into his hand, they helped deal the cards. They were in on it from the beginning of this charade.
However, the ‘lady with the yearbook’ has admitted today that “She forged the yearbook”. She changed RAY to ROY & added the Christmas date, etc.
The whole thing was a farce from the first word.
Franken cannot change that ball of lies.
Franken should be removed from every single committee post he now holds.
He is leaving——he shouldn’t be able to contaminate any discussions in Congress.
“That picture was the end of Franken. As long as he’s around, Republicans will gleefully use it in endless negative ads. That can’t be allowed. He serves the Dems no useful purpose, so he’ll be gone by Jan 1.”
—
I’d hope he stays and makes that pic his 2020 campaign poster! But yeah, he’s too far down the Weiner road to turn back - he’s been reduced to just a punchline; which is kinda ironic justice considering his previous career.
Franken wants to be on the Senate floor when Moore is sworn in. He may
use that time to resign or at least castigate Sen. Moore from the floor.
Franken won’t resign whether Moore is seated or not.
If Moore is seated, Franken will use him as an excuse for not leaving.
If Moore isn’t seated. Franken will use Trump as an excuse for not leaving.
It’s all gamesmanship. If Franken intended to resign, he would have done so. Not put it off to some future date.
I’ve never wanted him to resign. He’s damaged goods, he’s been “outed” and will never have a chance at a presidential or VP spot with that picture hanging over his head of him groping a woman’s boobs while she’s asleep. He’s not a likeable candidate anyway, so let him sit in the Senate and bloviate. Better that than some fresh new clean appointee who will be the most liberal female Mark Dayton can find in the DFL and who will then stand an excellent change of being elected as she will run with the advantage of incumbency.
If Franken stays it ruins the libs ability to use him against Moore, Trump, or anyone in the future.
Do not want the Dems to have any high ground. Ever.
What did Rush say? I was not able to listen to him today.
“Problem is that if he doesn’t resign Gillebrand, Schumer et al. will be very pissed ...”
Oh really? What makes you think so? These people still venerate Slick’s willie.
Let me rephrase the last sentence: “Do not want the Dems to be PERCEIVED as holding the high ground. Ever.”
(Moore in and Franke out will be twisted to create that perception).
*****Everybody is ripping off what Rush said******
Actually, many FReepers made these exact comments before Rush.
FReepers are so savvy about liberal lunatics.
Well, keep in mind how Democrats operated. Even now they are polling on the Franken resignation, you can take that to the bank. They will know before Tuesday what the polling says about the popularity of Franken staying vs. leaving, and then they can exercise options. If Franken leaving is just a minor ripple in the Democrat party they’ll still push him out to gain the potential advantage. But if it’s really causing damaged in the party, they could go the other way.
Dems always work this way, never from priniciple.
Let us see who the voters of Minnesota are.
If the current secretary of state is anything like Mark Ritchie, Franken gets re-elected in 2020, the same way he got elected in 2008.
“Abortion is the sacrament of the sex mad Left.”
That should be your tag line!
I agree.
It will have to do, though.
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