Al Franken Makes First Public Speech Since Announcing His Resignation

[mfcorey1]

An emotional Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) thanked his supporters and friends during a speech in Minneapolis Thursday night, in what is expected to be one of his final public appearances as a senator.

“Serving the people of Minnesota in the United States Senate has been the honor of my life, and I’m here tonight to say thank you,” Franken told the crowd.

The speech was Franken’s first public appearance since announcing his plans to resign after eight women accused him of various instances of sexual harassment and misconduct over the years. Earlier this month, dozens of Franken’s Democratic colleagues called on him to resign because of the allegations.

“Let me be clear,” he said Thursday. “I may be resigning my seat, but I am not giving up my voice.”

Franken, who has said he will resign in early January, was met with applause during his 20-minute speech, in which he thanked close colleagues and his wife. He also discussed the things he was able to accomplish in office.

“When I think about the last decade or so of my life through the lens of the people I’ve met, the people I’ve had the privilege to work alongside of, the people whose lives I’ve had the honor [of] fighting to improve, I feel hopeful for the future of our country,” he told the crowd.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/al-franken-makes-first-public-speech-since-announcing-his-resignation_us_5a463eebe4b06d1621b82b1f

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. I want him on every TV show exposing the traitorous scum in the Senate and House

and WH.

[eleny]

2. It would be a better book than Omarosa's

[SoCalMusicLover]

3. Sorry Al, But You ARE Giving Up Your Voice

You are much less powerful as a regular Joe.

[LakeArenal]

4. or Giving up our voice....

But you are right... I haz sad.

[randr]

5. Empty rhetoric

Thanks for the memories.

[vi5]

6. There were a lot of people who chimed in on Al who shouldn't have....

...I was one of them, and was disappointed at first, then confused, then when I dug deeper I realized this was a much more nuanced and nefarious situation than what I first thought, and not on Al's part.

I may be disappointed in a lot of the folks who chimed in on this who maybe should have just let things play out a little more and get more information before they said something. But I can forgive that since I did it myself to some degree (obviously without a larger pulpit than those folks). This includes folks like Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Booker, and and a few others.

But Gilibrand cemented herself in deal breaker territory for me by leading the charge, and already being suspect from the outset because of her former Blue Dog status and need to be the center of attention. Her move on this reeked of calculation and confirmed many previous suspicions I had. Nope. Just nope.