Franken on Running Again: 'Won't Rule it Out, Won't Rule it In'

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Former Sen. Al Franken said he did not rule out the possibility of running for office again in his first sit-down interview since leaving his seat amid a sexual harassment scandal.

In an interview with a Minnesota CBS affiliate, the Democrat from Minnesota said he missed working in the Senate.

“I miss the whole job. I loved that job, I loved the job as Senator. … It was very meaningful for me and bittersweet, I would like to still be there,” he said.

Franken resigned in January after multiple reports of inappropriate sexual conduct with women both before and during his tenure in the Senate.

Franken was attending the dedication of a new high school on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation. One father said Franken repeatedly visited the school that was replaced and said he wanted Franken to return to public life.

Sen. Tina Smith replaced Franken and is running in 2018 in the same cycle as Minnesota’s senior Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
Franken’s wife Franni said leaving the Senate was hard for both of them.

“It has been a challenge, but we do get to spend more time together, and I think there are times that both us would like spend less time together,” she said.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/franken-on-running-again-wont-rule-it-out-wont-rule-it-in/ar-BBLj8Wd?li=BBnb4R7

[NurseJackie]

1. Good! He was railroaded... we need his strong voice again. Especially now.

[BigmanPigman]

26. DITTO!!!!!!!!!!

I will never forgive or forget those who railroaded him. We need more like him. PLEASE AL...COME BACK!!!!

[Progressive dog]

63. He resigned,

If he could be that easily railroaded, he was right to resign.

[NurseJackie]

64. He made the best choice that would do the least...

You made the best choice that would do the least amount of damage to the party. A prolonged fight against the mob that was against him would have been devastating to the party. He took the hit. It wasn't fair.

[Progressive dog]

65. I disagree that there was a mob against him

That "mob" had no means to force Franken's resignation. He made the decision to quit. Maybe he felt guilty about the way he sometimes acted towards the women around him.

[NurseJackie]

67. Oh, please! Stop it.

That "mob" had no means to force Franken's resignation.

Yeah right. And they didn't "hold a gun to his head" and the "didn't actually have torches and pitchforks".

He made the decision to quit.

Because of the unfair and undue pressure put upon him by a "mob" who didn't want to give him the DUE PROCESS HE FUCKING DESERVED!! Yes he "made the decision to quit" because he is the BETTER MAN and did not want to cause further division and distraction by fighting against the "mob" who wanted to deny him due process.

[Progressive dog]

68. Due process includes pleading guilty

by resigning. Bill Clinton, Grover Cleveland, and even Richard Nixon did not resign. The groper in chief is still President. Franken is gone, he walked away from due process and nothing anyone says changes that fact.
The "mob" is still there and I e1xpect that they will continue to support women's rights.

[NurseJackie]

69. ...

Due process includes pleading guilty by resigning.

even Richard Nixon did not resign

Franken is gone, he walked away from due process and nothing anyone says changes that fact.

He was denied due process by an angry mob. He asked for due process... he wanted an investigation, and was bullied out instead. He understood that facing up to the bully mob (and having a public battle within the party) would cause more damage to the party than his resignation would, so he resigned for the benefit of the party... NOT because he was guilty... but because he was a BETTER MAN than the mob that forced him out. Nothing changes that fact.

The "mob" is still there and I e1xpect that they will continue to support women's rights.

Oh, brother.

[Progressive dog]

70. I'm still trying to understand why you

support a person who is accused of touching women inappropriately (with a picture of him holding one woman's breast while she slept) over more than half of the other elected Democratic Senators.

[NurseJackie]

71. Well, it's not about me, is it? The fact will always remain that Franken was denied due process...

I'm still trying to understand why you

Well, it's not about me, is it? The fact will always remain that Franken was denied due process... the legal requirement that the state must respect all legal rights that are owed to a person. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual person from it. He was the victim of a mob mentality.

[Progressive dog]

72. Which "state" didn't respect Franken's rights?

You seem to be confused about what a "state" is. You want to deny Democrats who work for the "state" of their rights as citizens.

[NurseJackie]

73. The word games and hair-splitting shows how weak your position is.

You seem to be confused

I assure you, I'm much smarter than you're giving me credit for. I can also assure you that I see exactly what you're doing. The word games and hair-splitting shows how weak your position is.

[Progressive dog]

87. "Due process"

Ha

[Meowmee]

85. Due process includes pleading guilty

Umm wtf😹😹😹😹

[Progressive dog]

88. Due pricess is actually defined in US law

In fact,

fair treatment through the normal judicial system, especially as a citizen's entitlement.

So due process has to do with the judicial system,
and it has to do with PROCESS, not result. Since you can plead guilty under our judicial system, then a guilty plea is allowed under due process.

[Kingofalldems]

2. I hope he runs.

Cavers won't like it one bit.

[rogue emissary]

3. This is probably not a popular view.

Felt he did the right thing by resigning. I also hope Franken runs again. We do need to have a discussion in society about someone that has acquiesced to charges of misconduct. Do we banish these people forever or do they get a second chance? Watching that interview makes me feel he's paid the price for his transgressions.

[Denzil_DC]

4. There were NO charges. n/t

[LisaL]

6. Exactly.

[rogue emissary]

9. okay, an assertion.

[LisaL]

10. Accusations which curiously stopped coming right after he agreed to resign.

[rogue emissary]

12. It's a sign he harmed a few people.

As someone that thought he should resign, I never thought he was a monster. SOmeone unable to have any interaction with women without being inappropriate.

[yardwork]

34. I don't believe that he harmed anybody.

In fact, I thought that the accusations were ridiculous. He put his arm around somebody's waist and squeezed? That is not sexual assault. It just isn't.

Sorry. It's how I feel.

[rogue emissary]

47. Nothing to be sorry about, we're just sharing our differing opinion's.

[DFW]

53. I have been around him when there were plenty of attractive young women around

He never even indicated the slightest interest. He was blindsided by this whole thing precisely because he knew it was all made-up and never expected any of his political allies to fall for it. His "apologies" were to ward off flak from the right, not the left.

(By the way, emissary from what country? Your English is impeccable, but there isn't a school K-12 in the English-speaking world that teaches forming a plural with an apostrophe).

[rogue emissary]

54. I'm still a fan of his and will support him in the future.

I think the majority of women that dealt with him would say the same thing. I also acknowledge their might have been a woman that felt differently about their interactions with him.

Thanks, Good old America by the way of Florida then Virginia schools. I use the Grammarly plug-in to check spelling and grammar on my post.

[mythology]

21. Have you heard any new allegations against Roy Moore lately?

Matt Lauer, Donald Trump, Louis C.K., Harvey Weinstein etc.

That talking point is silly at best.

[Butterflylady]

28. No, not silly

Very truthfull, since all but 2 were anonymous.

[DownFromTheMountain]

81. Bingo....we have a winner

Touche, and match LisaL. That the drumbeat on the sketchy "accusations" have ceased points directly to the spurious and concocted origin of them. Consider the 16 assault suits 3,000 lawsuits plus the limo driver against "businessman" DJT. None vs Fraken. But me no buts.

[Denzil_DC]

11. The word you may be searching for is "allegation". n/t

[rogue emissary]

13. Nope, the word assertion is what I wanted to use.

[Denzil_DC]

14. "Charge" has a strict legal sense; so does "allegation". "Assertion" not so much. n/t

[rogue emissary]

18. Dang are we getting into the definition of "is" territory. LOL

I was WRONG to use the word charge. I didn't use the word allegation as I believe some of the women. So assertion fits for me and not you.

[Denzil_DC]

20. No. We're in the territory where you've assumed guilt on the basis of hearsay. n/t

[rogue emissary]

24. He acknowledged some of the assertions and the photos I saw with my own eyes.

[Denzil_DC]

25. You sound like you're the one who's intent on parsing.

One can acknowledge assertions without making any statement on their veracity.

I suggest you read his resignation speech:

A couple months ago, I felt that we had entered an important moment in the history of this country. We were finally beginning to listen to women about the ways in which men's actions affect them. The moment was long overdue. I was excited for that conversation and hopeful that it would result in real change that made life better for women all across the country and in every part of our society. Then the conversation turned to me. Over the last few weeks, a number of women have come forward to talk about how they felt my actions had affected them. I was shocked. I was upset. But in responding to their claims, I also wanted to be respectful of that broader conversation. Because all women deserve to be heard and their experiences taken seriously. I think that was the right thing to do. I also think it gave some people the false impression that I was admitting to doing things that in fact I haven't done. Some of the allegations against me are simply not true. Others I remember very differently.

https://edition.cnn.com/2017/12/07/politics/speech-al-franken-transcript/index.html

And if you're going to go the tiresome route of relitigating "the photos", then presumably you were there when they were taken and know the full context and what actually transpired.

[yardwork]

35. No, Franken did not acknowledge any of the assertions.

And photos plural? I saw a staged photo with a member of a comedy troupe known to do racy skits.

[Bettie]

60. There were also two pictures of smiling women

standing with him. I guess we're to assume that he was "groping" them as they smiled happily with zero sign of distress.

I disliked that people seemed to think that squeezing someone's waist or taking a photo (where he wasn't actually touching anyone) is exactly the same as rape.

ETA: He should run again. We NEED his voice.

[LisaL]

74. Don't forget the third photo where the accuser claimed Al groped her waist.

[Bettie]

75. And then claimed that not even her husband

is allowed to touch her waist.

Weird.

[MontanaMama]

8. IMO, we can't afford to banish those of us

who have made mistakes, apologized and made amends. Who is us hasn’t made mistakes, even big bad mistakes??? I’ve made doozies in my life. When you know better you should do better. That’s the motto I’m raising my son by. Al has certainly done that in his life. If we can’t accept that, as Dems and as people, we are doomed as a party. President Obama has made a similar point recently. There’s no perfect candidate or message. Just my random thoughts on this topic. I’d hate to see Al disappear from the conversation...he has much to offer.

[regnaD kciN]

38. The thing about today's "callout culture"...

...is that it reduces everyone always and forever to nothing more than the worst thing they've ever done in any time in their life. How many of us would like living by that standard?

[MontanaMama]

48. Agreed.

I guess I’d be banished from several circles if I were judged by that standard. Thank you for this thoughtful post.

[Liberalagogo]

29. Yes you're right

It's NOT a popular view as it is utterly and completely WRONG.

[dubyadiprecession]

39. Franken's jury will be Minnesota's voters.

If they forgive him at the ballot box, that would be great.

[smirkymonkey]

5. I hope he runs again. We need him in the Senate.

He was totally screwed over and didn't deserve to be pressured to resign. But he's a decent man and did what he thought would be the right thing. I don't think he has anything to apologize for.

[brooklynite]

66. Which Democrat should he run against?

One replaced him; one asked him to step down.

[dhol82]

76. How about the one who replaced him?

AFAIK she was just a place holder anyway.

[brooklynite]

79. Well, I know Franken's campaign people...

...and they're now working for Tina Smith, so.....awkward!

[dhol82]

80. Would they possibly do a turnaround?

Just curious.
Think that Franken is more important.

[brooklynite]

82. Answer: no

First, Franken isn't going to pull a Lieberman and run against a Democratic Senator.

Second, the Primary is this month; he'd have to run as an Independent.

Third, as much as people HERE are still angry, I'm not seeing any opposition to Smith among the Minnesota electorate.

[FreepFryer]

7. He should never have been forced out. I hope he runs, wins, and returns to the fight.

We need him WAY more than virtue signalling.

[global1]

15. I Have A Feeling That We Haven't Seen The Last Of Franken....

I believe he will run again. I even think he will be a presidential candidate.

[Old Vet]

22. If all they have is that one female comedian, Run again Franken............

[RhodeIslandOne]

16. Please do!

I'd love to see the passive aggressive to full blown meltdown posts that follow.

[Tarc]

17. He was 100% right to resign, as these weren't made-up accusations. He admitted responsibility.

I hope he does run again, leave it to the people of Minnesota to decide if he has repented enough. That is how it should be.

[NurseJackie]

31. He was railroaded. No due process.

He saw the mob with pitchforks and torches coming after him... the writing was on the wall and he knew that a fight would harm the party. He sacrificed himself for the good of the party.

[Tarc]

49. I have to disagree somewhat

Yes, he took the hit to save the party embarrassment, but he still put himself in this position to begin with. As much as it is unfair and hypocritical that conservatives don't hold their accused to the same standards and demand accountability from them, Democrats could not use that as an excuse to give Franken a pass.

Leann Tweeden was a stooge, bought and paid off by deep right-wing pockets, to blow up what happened between her and Franken at the worst possible time, and they expected us to keep him, and then they'd be able to make that a campaign issue. They pulled an Alinksy, "make the enemy live up to its own book of rules", and Franken had to make the least bad choice.

But the core of all of it still is that he admitted culpability and apologized; An admission of guilt renders questions of due process moot.

[NurseJackie]

51. Due process was DENIED.

An admission of guilt renders questions of due process moot.

Due process was DENIED. He was DENIED due process by a mob with torches and pitchforks. His "admission of guilt" does not change the fact that he was bullied and railroaded. He correctly anticipated what would happen if he tried to defend himself, so he chose what was best for the party.

Moot? GMAFB!

[Trumpocalypse]

58. Mob with torches and pitchforks???

Do you have links to pics to prove that?

[NurseJackie]

61. ...

Sure, whatever. Here you go...

[Tarc]

59. I think we agree that he did what was best

and I also agree that the entire thing was egged on by the far right. I have no doubt Tweeden has a fat checke signed by Hannity, or Hannity backers.

But there was truth to "the entire thing", is my point. He did those things.

[Trumpocalypse]

57. Well said!!! nt

[LanternWaste]

55. When it happened, I would have disagreed w/ your assesment

Since then, having read more and more and more about him, his accusers, and his deft handling of the situation, I realize how incredibly biased and stubborn I was reaching my original conclusions.

I think you're dead-on: his was a sacrifice for the greater good of the Democratic party.

[Le Gaucher]

19. I hope he does. It will be the biggest ' Fuck You' to everyone who benefited from shafting him

Give them hell Al.


Maybe you should run for president.I will knock on door for you.

[Old Vet]

23. I like the way you think Le Gaucher.........

[zeusdogmom]

33. Me, too

[donco]

27. Need some

Franken chasing some tRump.

[LS_Editor]

30. He never should have resigned.

[JDC]

32. I will take thst answer!

[PatrickforO]

36. I hate it that Franken was railroaded. If he runs again, I'll bet his constituents will

overwhelmingly vote to put him back in office.

I don't like that he was railroaded, and I won't be forgetting the people who called for his resignation, even Bernie. It was uncalled for and he did not get due process. I still have MAJOR heartburn about this.

[EffieBlack]

44. Me, too. It was callous and politically stupid.

[zentrum]

37. In, Al, rule it in.

[regnaD kciN]

40. The thing is, he can't run for Senate again in Minnesota...

...unless a Republican wins one of the two seats -- which would be disastrous for us. And, even then, we'd have to wait another six years for that seat to open up again, and I'm not sure Franken would want to restart his political career that far away; after all, he's getting into that late 60s/early 70s age range that we're hoping to move away from.

OTOH, I admit that I'm vindictive enough to wish that he could move to New York and successfully primary Gillibrand.

[Trumpocalypse]

62. He should run for Governor

when that office opens up.

[dhol82]

77. Love your thought.

Bet he would win.



Hell, I would vote for him!

[tinrobot]

41. RULE IT IN !!!

We need you, Al!

[Mike Nelson]

42. Yay!

… hope he returns. He was treated unfairly.

[EffieBlack]

43. Good. I hope he takes back the seat he was wrongly run out of

[B Stieg]

45. Looks like Mrs. Franken has a sense of humor as well! (nt)

[kyburbonkid]

46. We forgive you... now run again already.

Please. Pretty please. Do run again.

We need you man.

[dalton99a]

50. Please run, Al.

[mulsh]

52. I hope he runs again. even more than that I hope he releases transcripts of the campaign slogan

brainstorming sessions. I imagine as gifted a writer as he and his buddies are the snark in those sessions would be overwhelming and funny as hell.

I hope he runs for the Senate and wins. Then he can update his modest magnum opus "Al Franken, Giant Of The Senate By Al Franken, #1 New York Times Best Selling Author" A great read as is but there's room for more Senate and post senate info.

[Trumpocalypse]

56. He should run for Governor

Get some Executive experience.

[Matthew28]

78. I'd vote for him in a second

I'd also like to see him run for governor so he can run for president one day.

It was shameful what the right did to franklin.

[brooklynite]

83. The Democratic Primary is this month...

Both Senate seats and the Governorship are up this year...

Everyone here who's saying he should run for the Senate again or run for Governor would mean they'd be supporting an opponent of the Democratic nominee.....

[LisaL]

84. He is not saying he is going to run this year.

[brooklynite]

86. Six or eight years is a long time.....