Full response by Senator Franken

[brooklynite]

[C_U_L8R]

1. Well said. Thank you, Senator.

[emulatorloo]

2. Thank you for posting.

[Eliot Rosewater]

3. PERFECT as he knows what will happen if there is an investigation

He will have EVERY single witness telling the same, true story, that NOTHING happened other than this dumb sexist joke photograph that he is right to apologize for.

He took a photo that he is apologizing for that compared to ALL other allegations of others is so minimal it is ridiculous.

The liars attack of Al will have one great effect, it will have good and decent liberals fighting with each other because normally I would insist to myself to believe the woman first, because that is my job as a liberal.

But I cant believe a word this Hannity and trump lover says, not one.

[Eliot Rosewater]

30. I will ignore you from now on, safer that way.

[billh58]

34. Good call... n/t

[Eliot Rosewater]

35. No shit, right LOL

I am not kidding around when I say it is NOT safe to unconditionally support the Democratic party on this site.

It is in fact the most dangerous thing you can do, instant hides and bans.

You can see who the people are here who use situations like Al's to jump all over you and me AND democratic leaders, yet they are all still here.

I am losing patience with that, might just lose interest here all together if they are allowed to continue.

Right here in this thread.

[melman]

32. So you're saying you believe women when it's convenient for you

But otherwise...not so much.

[Dawson Leery]

4. He is clearly demonstrating his innocence from these

allegations from a Trump supporter.

[Fresh_Start]

5. I think it strikes the right tone nt

nt

[B2G]

6. A lot of DU members need to read this carefully

and take his words to heart.

[SaschaHM]

10. They won't.

I tend to disagree w/ you a bit, but your responses to this issue have been spot on.


And I'll just say it: It's disgusting that folks are discrediting her account entirely because she is a Trump supporter. You know who else was a Trump supporter? The women who accused Roy Moore of raping her when she was 14. Sexual Harassment and sexual assault predate Trumpkins and crosses party lines.

[Kingofalldems]

17. Yeah, like we should trust a friend of Hannity.

[SaschaHM]

21. So you don't believe the Trump supporters that accused Roy Moore?

Don't bother replying. I have no qualms filling my ignore list w/ assault apologists. I don't know if her claims are true, but I'm not going to dismiss them out of hand based on some unsourced twitter quote and political leanings.

[Kingofalldems]

25. Her accusations deserve scrutiny but I don't trust them/

Sen Franken has actually called for an ethics investigation on himself. I am sure she will get a hearing. I would challenge both to a lie detector test.

[tymorial]

43. So much this.

And yet these are the same people who posted threads questioning why conservatives support Moore out of hand. It's the same damned reason as people here; bias. In-group bias to be specific.

[SaschaHM]

47. You know who else was reading notes? Roy Moore's latest accusers. Many of Trump's accusers.

Not everyone is camera-ready and as such, the write down their statements to attempt to be clear and concise.

[INdemo]

48. So you believe Al Franken is guilty as charged before any investigation?

You need to watch the segment (it will be replayed several times no doubt) and what her actions and her reading from her script..

[SaschaHM]

49. I'm sorry. Did I say that I believed that he was guilty?

I'm just pointing out the fact that victims and alleged victims tend to read from scripts when making public statements and giving interviews. And that happens regardless of political affiliation.


I'm waiting for the results of an investigation before I stand w/ either side. You've seemed to have condemned the woman as a liar for having the audacity of preparing something to say.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

50. So you believe Roy Moore is guilty as charged before any investigation?

See how that works?

[Trumpocalypse]

53. Maybe in Russia people are guilty until proven innocent

but here in America we believe the opposite, people are innocent until proven guilty.

Give my regards to Vladimir!

[Kingofalldems]

15. Too bad Trump won't call for an investigation of his own alleged sexual assaults

like Sen. Franken just did.

Don't you think?

[ChubbyStar]

26. Exactly! Thank you.

[LanternWaste]

29. I wish you would apply your sentiment more consistently.

I wish you would apply your sentiment more consistently. There is a dramatic lack of it in regards to Moore, Trump, and other members of the GOP.

[ChubbyStar]

37. That is so weird isn't it?

Massive incongruity. Puzzling.

[B2G]

42. Did any of their accusers

require defending in here?

[Snotcicles]

7. That is owning it, if you ask me. nt

[Leith]

9. Wow! Excellent Response

As crass as the word is, the only way to describe this is "class."

There is a world of difference between Roy Moore's "bring it on" and Franken's "I am asking that an ethics investigation be undertaken, and I will gladly cooperate."

[CrispyQ]

11. Now that's an apology from someone willing to be held accountable.

None of this "I'm sorry if you were offended" bullshit.

Thank you Senator.

[Ezior]

12. Good!

He wants an investigation, and I do hope the result of that investigation will be that it wasn't as bad as some assume now. I have a lot of respect for Al Franken, I don't want to lose that respect, so let's see what comes out of this.

[rogue emissary]

13. Really disappointed in his actions.

This statement is what every man should do in a similar situation and glad he's not fighting an investigation.

Also, no Republican would ever apologize like this and not blame their drinking, drugs or mental breakdown.

[moda253]

19. What are you disappointed in?

A bad joke?

Or the allegations made by someone? There is no indication whatsoever that the allegations are true yet the credibility of the accuser is in serious doubt.

[rogue emissary]

31. The unwanted kissing.

He admits in his apology it matters how she felt about that interaction.

[emulatorloo]

14. Full text version here (not a screen capture, so can be copied and pasted)

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10141915874

[Freethinker65]

16. And finally I am satisfied with the response. The investigation will be partisan, but it is needed

Harassment needs to be exposed. Everyone in power needs to take a fresh look at their actions.

[Chasstev365]

36. OMFG: You trust Mitch McConnell to run a fair investigation?

[Freethinker65]

38. Hell no. I said it would be partisan.

The partisan attacks on Hillary Clinton during the Benghazi/Server hearings were a fu@$ing hit job, but she came out looking presidential and stronger than ever. Al Franken is a smart man and he knows what he needs to do. He will own up to what he did, and dispute what he did not without disparaging his accuser(s) directly.

Also, if the Republicans get all high and mighty on harassment issues, it will backfire on them, as many of them have committed far more serious transgressions. Their hipocracy will be further exposed.

[wryter2000]

18. IMHO, unless it turns out he's done this with other women...

...an ethics investigation will be enough. He's not doing what Repugs do...deny and blame the women. He's not going to play martyr or try to fundraise off this. The one thing that struck me is this: How many abusers have a picture taken of them doing the abuse? Most hide what they're doing because they know it's wrong.

All that said, if it turns out he's done this to other women, all of the above is OFF.

[nolabear]

20. Well done. If hes willing to learn and change and be an advocate

then that’s all we can ask. If other women don’t show up accusing him of assaultive behavior or coercion then letting him turn this into good is the best response.

[standingtall]

22. Nowhere in his statement did he say he groped or fake groped her without her consent

I believe the events of the photo itself are more than likely staged. She is sitting in a chair wearing a kevlar helmet and a flack jacket , it would be very hard to fall asleep in that position so I believe she was awake.

[cilla4progress]

23. Honorable response

a model for these situations. He seems to have become woke on this behavior.

[yallerdawg]

24. The great thing about this...

a Republican Congress will probably allow an investigation and ethics hearing on Franken - while the Dotard and Roy Moore will continue to get a pass on hearings and being held accountable by anyone in their Party.

That's how it works for really stupid people who fall for the same double standards and hypocrisy over and over again.

When will we learn the same rules do not apply!

[jalan48]

27. Good response. I will add that Franken, as a Senator, has been leading the charge against

Jeff Sessions for his lying about his meetings with/or about the Russians. This accusation serves to damage him in this respect also. Politics can be a very dirty game.

[Lazy Daisy]

33. Thank you Al

THAT is what a decent man does when attention is called to bad behavior. We all make mistakes. Thank you Al for moving forward and promising to be a male voice against this behavior. Once again you prove to be a decent human being.

[BoneyardDem]

39. A link to this statement should be included on every Al Franken post here in DU

"THIS" is what a generous, genuine, contrite and honest apology looks like.

To have someone like this STAY in the Senate, to be able to view all actions that could possibly be detrimental to women from this shifted paradigm, will be helpful in the future and NOT harmful.

[Corvo Bianco]

40. Thank you Senator Franken.

[egduj]

41. Al Franken has the opportunity to either set the standard or stay the course.

[DeminPennswoods]

44. Excellent statement

Sen Franken takes full responsibility for his actions regardless of intent or context. It's clear he's thoughtful and introspective. Many people don't like to hear the phrase "it was a different time", but it is true. Things that were acceptable 10, 20, 50 years ago today are seen in a different light. Watch any episode of "I Love Lucy" or "The Dick VanDyke Show" or even "Mary Tyler Moore" is you want to see how women's roles have evolved. When I think back on my workplace, some of things that we did in my early years were completely unacceptable by the time I retired.

[mindfulNJ]

45. Thanks Sen Franken.

What you did was shitty and you owned up to it. I respect you for that.

I think that most men are going to have to do the same at some point in their lives and come to terms with their treatment of women.

[cp]

51. Thank you, Senator Franken

Appreciate the genuine apology.

Now may I say, there's a mess of DISTRACTION in this airing today:
1) Senator Franken has been dogged on the trail of Russian/Trump collusion
2) GOP thinks we'll ignore Roy Moore's child sexual abuse (their "what-about-ism," see John Oliver's brilliant piece)
3) Oh yeah, let's not look at the crap screw-Americans, shovel-money-to-the-rich tax plan passed by the House today

[BlueMTexpat]

61. Exactly!

The latest distortion to distract ...

[marble falls]

52. Al Franken gets it. I'm glad he's in the Senate.

[Rainngirl]

54. That is how a decent human being responds. eom

[Honeycombe8]

55. This is a non-issue to me. It was a joke in bad taste, that they ALL had a history of doing.

He was a comedian and comedic writer. I've said before, and I reiterate: I give comedians a wide berth. They are in the habit of pushing the envelope. Sometimes they cross the line. It happens. It's a matter of whether there's malice, or why they did or said it.

One of the women on The Talk, said she went on repeated trips with that woman...some sort of entertainment thing they did. She said the woman was conservative, but nice & got along with everyone. She also said they were in the habit of doing things like that, when one of them was asleep.

This was NOT predatory behavior, or molestation, or trying to get at a minor, or trying to have sex with someone, or trying to use your position of power to get over on someone. This was a joke. I would not have been offended, if it were me. Another person might (and apparently did).

This is not sexual harassment or molestation. Not even close.

(Ozzie Osborn's wife said she used to do things like that, when people were asleep and they were traveling. Drawing pictures on their faces of penises or whatever. Just punking others in the group.)

[cab67]

56. THAT is an apology.

Louis CK also took ownership, but not at this level.

[XRubicon]

57. This!

[Mountain Mule]

58. Thank you for posting this!

[zentrum]

59. Now that

...is a real apology.

[PaulRevere08]

60. So, when will we be seeing POSPOTUS's apology for molesting women along with Moore's apology

for his acts of pedophilia?