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Why the Left Is Reconsidering Al Franken
Townhall.com ^ | July 24, 2019 | Ben Shapiro

Posted on 07/24/2019 2:32:06 AM PDT by Kaslin

On Monday, The New Yorker printed a lengthy piece by reporter Jane Mayer about the sad fate of former Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn. Franken resigned from the Senate in 2017 after a bevy of women accused him of sexual harassment; their accounts ranged from unwanted kisses to unsolicited a-- grabbing. In the midst of the #MeToo movement, Franken stepped down, all the while decrying President Trump's own record of allegations concerning mistreatment of women.

At the time, there were two possible interpretations of events. The first was more inspiring: After decades of defending sexual misconduct by powerful Democratic figures, Democrats and their media allies were finally willing to reset a social standard. In the wake of #MeToo, they had reconsidered their worship of Teddy Kennedy, their pathetic willingness to cover for Bill Clinton. A new day had dawned.

Then there was the second, more cynical theory: Democrats and their media allies were looking to set a new standard out of pure partisanship. They weren't really concerned about Franken's victims any more than they had been about Clinton's victims. Instead, they were looking to establish a level of morally superior ground upon which to attack Trump and demand that Republicans disown him.

This week, we found out which theory was true.

Mayer, the New Yorker reporter, rose to public acclaim just last year when she reported on then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's supposed sexual evils. With no supporting facts other than the hazy accounts of decades-old events, she attacked Kavanaugh with alacrity. Now, however, she has flipped: She's concerned with Franken's lack of due process; she questions the political motivations of one of his accusers; she points out that the evidence is supposedly scanty. Democrats, too, have risen to Franken's defense. Many now claim that Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., was the real villain in this scenario, having rushed for Franken's scalp precipitously.

In other words, Franken was kicked out of the party when Democrats were trying to build a case against Trump. Now that they've concluded that case won't work, they want Franken back again. Presumably, they'll soon be back to praising Clinton, too.

This sort of behavior is deeply destructive to American public discourse. That's because a standard upheld only as a weapon to target political opposition is no standard at all. What's more, the partisan interpretation of the standard creates an incentive for opponents to violate their own commitment to the standard. It's a classic prisoner's dilemma: The person who actually abides by a common moral standard and speaks out against bad behavior on all sides ends up the sucker. Only a fool would call out his own side to the cheers of opponents while his opponents defend their own degenerates.

he problem of politically motivated standards isn't restricted to sexual abuse. It extends to race: Why should Republicans condemn President Trump's tweets about the so-called Squad while Democrats maintain support for Rep. Ilhan Omar's anti-Semitism and Rep. Ayanna Pressley's racism? Why should Republicans provide ammunition to their ill-motivated opponents?

The only way to restore a common standard in politics is for both sides to rebuild trust, step by step. And that can only happen when both sides share common goals and values. Otherwise, everyone will decide that losing by abiding by the rules must take a back seat to victory by any means. And that means the destruction of our standards, one by one, until there are no standards left.

We're getting pretty close already.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: alfranken; demonrats; franken; metoo; sexualharassment; sexualmisconduct; theleft; thesquad
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1 posted on 07/24/2019 2:32:06 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

What’s he been doing since leaving office? He’s really disappeared from the radar...until now.


2 posted on 07/24/2019 2:34:30 AM PDT by Cowboy Bob ("Other People's Money" = The life blood of Liberalism)
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To: Kaslin

There’s an important difference between Kavanaugh and Franklin. We have photographic evidence Franklin did what he was accused of.


3 posted on 07/24/2019 2:45:47 AM PDT by TennesseeProfessor
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To: Cowboy Bob

I was surprised he stepped down, but assumed it was because the Dems felt it was a “safe seat”. The picture of him with his hand over the female soldier’s breast was just bad optics, and I think the article is correct in that Dems thought it would give them leverage against Trump. When Franken wasn’t joined by the TOP THREE Democrats in Virginia who had blackface and sexual assault scandals, I’m sure he felt like a jackass for stepping down; the Senate is the best gig going (six-year terms instead of two for representatives and four for president, with no term limits) - it really is our “House of Lords”.


4 posted on 07/24/2019 2:54:20 AM PDT by kearnyirish2 (Affirmative action is economic warfare against white males (and therefore white families).)
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To: Kaslin

Bwahahahaha! That’s all we need is another comedian in Congress.


5 posted on 07/24/2019 2:54:45 AM PDT by ImNotLying (The Constitution is an instrument for the people to restrain the government...Patrick Henry)
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To: Kaslin

Traffic cone liberals need a second chance—two scoops.


6 posted on 07/24/2019 3:00:28 AM PDT by Scram1
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To: Kaslin

Compared to the squat, Franken looks positively statesmanlike.


7 posted on 07/24/2019 3:02:06 AM PDT by Attention Surplus Disorder (Apoplectic is where we want them)
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To: Kaslin
That's because a standard upheld only as a weapon to target political opposition is no standard at all.

Duh! Good of Ben to finally figure this out in time to make a buck off selling a column about this blindingly obvious point.

8 posted on 07/24/2019 3:14:28 AM PDT by Avalon Memories (This Deplorable is not fooled by the Marxist-Stalinist totalitarians infesting the Dem Party.)
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To: Kaslin

With all the PEDOPHILES and COMMUNISTS in the DEmocrat Party, the really Dumbass Franken looks like Churchill.


9 posted on 07/24/2019 3:28:50 AM PDT by Ann Archy (Abortion....... The HUMAN Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: Kaslin

He may as well get back into office. Look at Virginia. The top officials there are still in office after doing stuff that would sink you decades ago. Franken is the kind of guy you just want to smash his face in. But his face already looks that way.


10 posted on 07/24/2019 3:53:48 AM PDT by HighSierra5
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I hope Jane Mayer wiped her chin when she finished that slathering media-splain in the New Yorker; it was an amazing act of dissemblance for Franken. Rarely have logical gymnastics been put through such vigorous paces.

As for Franken, karma’s a bitch.

He’s spent his entire career as a sneering SOB (not just playing a character— actually being one). I hope he has a long retirement to think about that, and the betrayal of his ‘friends’ like Schumer...


11 posted on 07/24/2019 3:59:29 AM PDT by IncPen ("Inside of every progressive is a Totalitarian screaming to get out" ~ David Horowitz)
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To: ImNotLying

Who is the other comedian? And by the way, Franken used to be in Congress, until he was forced (rightfully) to resign.


12 posted on 07/24/2019 4:02:10 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

All the Demoncrats are comedians, and yes of course I knew Franken was previously in Congress.


13 posted on 07/24/2019 4:07:35 AM PDT by ImNotLying (The Constitution is an instrument for the people to restrain the government...Patrick Henry)
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To: IncPen

Jane Mayer’s crowning achievement as a zealot footsoldier for the Democrat Party was her hitpiece on Linda Tripp, which in no small part saved Rapin Bill’s presidency.


14 posted on 07/24/2019 4:14:16 AM PDT by kiryandil (The Media & the DNC tells you who you're gonna vote for. We CHOSE Trump.)
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To: Kaslin
Mayer, the New Yorker reporter, rose to public acclaim just last year when she reported on then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's supposed sexual evils. With no supporting facts other than the hazy accounts of decades-old events, she attacked Kavanaugh with alacrity. Now, however, she has flipped: She's concerned with Franken's lack of due process; she questions the political motivations of one of his accusers; she points out that the evidence is supposedly scanty. Other Democrats , too, have also risen to Franken’s defense.

15 posted on 07/24/2019 4:19:12 AM PDT by conservatism_IS_compassion (Socialism is cynicism directed towards society and - correspondingly - naivete towards government.)
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To: Kaslin

This failed comedian, failed politician pervert is still failing. What a jerk.


16 posted on 07/24/2019 4:23:15 AM PDT by GoldenPup
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To: kiryandil

Hey, when you’re a democrat you change laws, morales, and the mores of common decency at will. Lis become truth and truth becomes lies. History becomes fantasy and fantasy becomes history. Your reality becomes totally plaztic and is what you say it is. Convenient if you’re a politician.


17 posted on 07/24/2019 4:26:03 AM PDT by .44 Special (Tiamid Buarsh)
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To: Kaslin

And he will last about five minutes. And that’s only because the other women he groped were away from their phones for four minutes.

He is a pig.


18 posted on 07/24/2019 4:32:38 AM PDT by Vermont Lt
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To: Kaslin

This is an exercise in futility!


19 posted on 07/24/2019 4:35:12 AM PDT by DarthVader (Not by speeches & majority decisions will the great issues of the day be decided but by Blood & Iron)
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To: Kaslin

Because, compared to the new wave, he looks like a prize...diapers and all...


20 posted on 07/24/2019 4:37:26 AM PDT by trebb (Don't howl about illegal leeches, or Trump in general, while not donating to FR - it's hypocritical.)
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