Shouldn’t Al Franken get a pass?

This certainly seems written to encourage thoughtful discussion.

C’mon, Josie, don’t sink this low. I know you can do better than make fun of his appearance.

He’s getting the heat he deserves for acting a fool. There was a pressing urgency to deflect attention from Moore, and conservatives are digging up all the liberal dirt available to shift the focus of discussion. Too bad there’s no corresponding pedophile from the left quite so busy as Moore. There’s nevertheless enough frantic noise to dazzle the reliably short attention spanned rube rich American audience. Thus the sudden necessity to reindict Bill & Hillary neither of whom are running for office. Franken’s pranks amount to little more than tasteless jokes.

Personally I just hope this gets more and more ludicrous so at some point people will realise how fucking stupid this is becoming. The Anglosphere needs a very strong attitude readjustment when it comes to public reactions, due process, innocent until proven guilty, definitions of “sexual harassment”, “sexism”, and plenty more.

You gotta know how fucking stupid this situation has become when Weinstein, who was accused of actually forcing himself on someone, is lumped in with Louis C.K. who asked if he could masturbate in front of someone and did it when they accepted out of embarrassment.

Are they both sex pests? Yes. Are they in the same league? Not even close. If we could stop pretending that shit like this deserves any sort of public outrage instead of being dealt with by the two people involved (and possibly their superiors) like mature fucking adults it’d be great.

Anything to distract attention from pussy grabbing Golden Boy. For one thing, the Hillary Horse has been pretty well ridden into the ground. And what the hell has bad breath or apperance have to do with the price of tea in China?

Trying to deflect from your buddy Moore, eh?
How much did the Russians pay you for this?

OMG, how two faced!
Donald never said he was a pussy grabber, nor has there been any complaints. He simply stated that because he is insanely rich, he could. It was male bragging. Now a dem is busted, and it is all in good fun. Make up your minds. Do we hang men for airing a fantasy, or not?

“nor has there been any complaints”
There are at least 12

@Patty_Melt , I heard the remarks Trump made. He did not just say that he could. He said that he did. Now he says that he was just engaging in “locker talk”. Given Trump’s propensity to tell lies, that would be a good alibi, if not for the large number of women who have come forward, as pointed out by @ragingloli . Also, Trump’s narcissism, crudeness and general lack of sophistication do not work in his favor.

All short men, with bad breath, should get a few passes. I mean, they could brush their teeth, but can’t do much about height. Women should expect to be lenient to these types…

What about shorter women, with worse breath? Do they get passes on Franken?

This is a SLIPPERY slope!...

^Don’t forget bald men. They never get a break.

^Bald, but what about height/breath ratio?

Franken screwed up and admitted he screwed up. Should he get a pass? No, he should not. There should be an accounting on his part. And, I don’t think we should get into whether or not the timing of the accusations are politically motivated. Of course they are. They are being used to further someones agenda no matter what. Even if they did not start out that way, they will be used that way.
My fear is that by focusing on the political aspect we seem to have a tendency to either minimize or ignore the fact that there was harassment or assault of a sexual nature involved.
I am also concerned that we will also begin to grade the actions of these men on a sliding scale. Pussy grabbing -10 points, Boob grabbing -5 points, Boob grabbing though a flak jacket, -2 points? From my perspective it kind of trivializes the problem as a whole.

Except that there are legit questions over whether or not any sexual harassment or assault actually did take place. At least two other people who were there during the photograph state that Tweeden was not asleep and was in on the gag. Photographs of her during that same tour show that her own behavior was just as debauched. Several women co-workers and of Franken’s (both from his comedy career and his political career) have spoken of his respectful behavior towards them (usually there’s a pattern and history of behavior with these things).

It isn’t just the timing that’s suspicious, the whole claim is suspicious.

Fortunately he has asked for the Ethics committee to look into it. Hopefully they can do so in an ethical, non-partisan manner. doubtful, but hopeful

Well for what it’s worth the Senate Ethics Committee is, by requirement, bi-partisan and must include an equal number of Republicans and Democrats.

@Darth_Algar it does appear there is more to the story than originally reported. Context is an important aspect. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that Franken engaged in inappropriate behavior, not sexually predatory behavior.