How will you remember Senator Al Franken after his resignation takes effect?

[lapucelle]

I'll remember him as the senator whose question opened the door to the Mueller investigation.

[tenderfoot]

1. A great senator that was totally railroaded

eom

[Hortensis]

50. For what he does next, of course. He's not dead.

Btw, next week the FCC votes to cancel net neutrality. I think Franken would rather people talk about that specifically than complain about how unfair the world can be.

Net neutrality is the First Amendment issue of our time. Today, a blog can load as fast as the Wall Street Journal — and, if the blog is good, it can get more traffic than any media conglomerate. But if bigger companies can pay for faster, priority Internet access, that blogger no longer has a shot. And these big companies know that when they pay for access, they win. They want preferred treatment on the Internet like the preferred treatment they get in the rest of their lives. ~ Al Franken

I've said that net neutrality is the most important free speech issue of our time. It's true. If Republicans have their way, large corporations won't just have the loudest voices in the room. They'll be able to effectively silence everyone else. Every small business they'd prefer not to compete with. Every blogger who publishes something they don't like. We have to stop them. ~ Al Franken

"Whining is anger through a small opening." ~ Al Franken

[Bettie]

2. A rare thing: A senator

who didn't back down.

And who was stabbed in the back by his own party for political points that they will never actually benefit from.

[hlthe2b]

3. an honorable and highly intelligent man who did his best to live up to his mentor, Paul Wellstone

[NRaleighLiberal]

4. that for sure, but like all things this year, in a very complex way

It is going to take a long time to sort out what the last year of mayhem has wrought - trump has been a catalyst for chaos, and with actual truth in such short supply, aside from using my own personal morals and ethics as a measuring stick, what is real vs what is being set up is just impossible to clearly understand right now.

He is just one of countless political tragedies that all started with the election theft, but my intuition tells me he is a good person trying to do what is best for his constituents, and the country.

[ebbie15644]

5. railroaded by our own

[dalton99a]

6. A good man, a fearless patriot, a great senator, and an innocent victim.

[BigMin28]

9. Exactly

nt

[gordianot]

7. I will never forget those who betrayed him and stopped the investigation.

He did not have to scream at Republicans to skewer them.

[Generic Other]

8. I will remember that when I called his office they answered

They did not say I could not call or write him because I was not from his state.

[MoonRiver]

10. A martyr to the rule of law

[LenaBaby61]

20. A martyr to the rule of law.

THIS^^^

[mn9driver]

11. As my vote that was stolen from me by the DNC.

[lunamagica]

12. A great senator who was doing a better job than those who railroaded him

[Vinca]

13. Ditto what you said.

[Doodley]

14. I just await his best selling book that will mock Trump like never before.

[flamingdem]

15. My favorite senator since

Obama

[Bucky]

16. and Gosh darn it, I like him.

Reminder: he ain't dying. He's stepping down as a senator. He's still going to be a voice for political progress.

[LexVegas]

17. A flawed man that let his personal shortcomings derail a promising political career. nt

[tapermaker]

21. Your wrong

But that's okay.im fat.

[mythology]

25. This

People are complex and can fall short in one or more aspects of their lives while still having a macro level positive impact. He could obviously have done more if he had better self-control. In that sense he reminds me of Bill Clinton.

[Loki Liesmith]

39. We owe it to victims to believe their accusations

[Alice11111]

26. Wrong!!! Railroaded by stupid, ambitious people

[underpants]

18. Loved his work for a looooong time. Good man. Got railroaded

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029954924

Two early Franken quips from Tom Davis's autobiography

First I'd highly recommend this book. Davis wrote knowing he was soon to die. He was very frank and honest. There are some really funny stories with Dan Aykroyd and Tom was very close to Jerry Garcia.
Second I include the book cover to set up the second joke.



The first was about Franken's first summer back in Minnesota from Harvard. He worked as a caddy at a golf course. Franken was on the bag for a guy having the worst round of golf of his life. He grew increasingly frustrated until finally he snapped.
"You have got to be the absolute WORST caddy in the world!!!"
Franken right back at him, "THAT would be too ironic"

They MC'ed a review in Vegas in one of the side rooms. On an off night the casino treated the whole crew to dinner and a show in the big room. Robert Goulet performed and backstage afterwards was very gracious and complimentary of their show. The other headliner at that casino came by to also offer his appreciation. John Davidson.
Franken walked right up to him and said, "You can't believe the number of times people come up to me on the street and tell me how much I look like you"

[Break time]

19. Actually

I like him and think he would be great to have on our side, too bad he is a quitter, thought he was more of a fighter than this...

[KT2000]

22. won't have to -

I will be reading his book on his experiences in Congress.

[TheCowsCameHome]

23. A great man, thrown to the wolves

by so-called allies.

[Drahthaardogs]

24. Victim of Republican operatives taking advantage

Of well - meaning people who lacked real wisdom.

[Bluepinky]

27. Im hoping he wont end up resigning.

But if he does, he should run again in the next election.
He has also said he’s not going away, so perhaps he will use his voice, intellect and heart in even more ways.

[MaryMagdaline]

28. The Senator who nailed Sessions

And Who kept wellstone's kegacy alive.

[ollie10]

29. The Reason Gillibrand Won't Have A Chance To Get The Presidential Nomination

[malaise]

30. As a brilliant man who exposed the lying AG -Jeff Sessions n/t

[dalton99a]

36. Yep.

No Franken questioning, no Sessions recusal, no Mueller investigation

[Kirk Lover]

31. I don't think I'll need to remember this much since I think we'll be seeing and hearing

a lot of Al in the very near future.

[no_hypocrisy]

32. READY FOR HIS THIRD ACT ! ! !

The Senate will regret that they cut him loose, both Dems and Pukes.

[Leith]

33. I Hope to See Him as a Regular Contributer on MSNBC or CNN

as well as the talk show circuit. He will be free from the constraints placed on him by being a sitting member of the Senate and could really screw shit up for the 99 that are still there.

He just may become more valuable now.

[Denzil_DC]

34. I don't need to remember him.

He'll carry on in whatever way he chooses. I look forward with interest to what he does next.

[lapucelle]

38. That's why I included the title "Senator" in the question. N/T

[Denzil_DC]

48. Well, all bets are off till he actually resigns!

I'm not holding on to false hopes, but ...

[roamer65]

35. Future Governor of Minnesota.

[Chasstev365]

37. The Last Warrior of the New Deal!

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

41. A decent man denied due process, thrown under the bus & run over 32 times.

[Lifelong Protester]

45. YES!!

[nuxvomica]

42. A man who turned on thousands of people

to liberal politics with his books and radio show; who fearlessly and brilliantly asked tough questions of fascists and nailed their sorry asses to the record; a champion for veterans and women's rights and the social safety net; a bookish, naive, warm-hearted person who was stabbed in the back by people he thought were his friends.

[tazkcmo]

43. A quitter.

The Democratic Party has a long way to go in the "Can take the heat" area if they want to to compete with GOPee that has ZERO shame.
In this specific case, Al didn't have any reason to resign except for the "heat" applied by the GOPee and their Democratic allies. He could have been disciplined in other ways (Loss of committee positions for example) but resignation was over kill and he shouldn't have caved, imo, but he did and that is why I will still have some respect for his work but to me he'll ultimately be defined by his quitting.

[R B Garr]

44. A popular man who has left us way too soon and left us wanting more.

Railroaded over a RW hit job and over some superficial, flimsy "allegations". He was a super star in getting to the bottom of the Russia investigations and actually holding Republicans accountable. We need him desperately.

He was utterly betrayed by his own party, and over nothing. I am sick with anger over those superficial fools who jumped on a twitter hashtag and overturned an election just to advance themselves personally. There is absolutely no excuse for what was done to him. No excuse for what was done to Minnesota voters who elected him. This is an unbelievable travesty.

[oasis]

46. A champion swimmer who was unaware of the surrounding jellyfish.

[SeattleVet]

47. A Senator that was way too effective to be allowed to remain in office...

that made some mistakes of judgment in the past. And as someone who has realized his errors and apologized for them, yet took the high road and stepped down rather than become a distracting target.

[eissa]

49. As a formidable Senator and intelligent man

As one of the strongest liberal voices we had who was betrayed by a lynch mob headed by a self-serving, mediocre Senator clearing her way to 2020.

[Sophia4]

51. Great man, great senator, honest, admitted to mistakes and stepped aside

from Congress when called to do so.

A man with a wonderful sense of humor. A great comedian.

I hope to hear even more from him out of the Senate than I did while he was in the Senate.

A great voice. A great wit. A lovable person.

NEVER A QUITTER. Not really.

[secondwind]

52. I think he will run again.

[Heartstrings]

53. I will remember him for Mueller, as well!

Nothing else about him changes in my mind concerning his character. Guess he took one for team?

[LWolf]

54. As

a senator who may or may not have resigned too soon due to pressure from party leaders;
a senator who did some things I liked, even though, overall, he was a disappointment, not living up to my progressive hopes
as a senator who may or may not have committed some sexual harrassment or worse at some point, like SO MANY MEN OF HIS GENERATION;
as fodder for a "jumping the shark" moment at DU, in which those fervent partisans who were "with her" because of their deep commitment to women's rights abandon their previous commitment to flock to his side when there's not enough evidence to determine what, if anything, he's guilty of, choosing his word over the words of the women involved.

[krispos42]

55. An outsider who actually had the knowledge and smarts to be good at his job

Diametrically opposed to Fanta Menace.

[CommonHumanity]

56. Hoping against all odds

I am hoping against all odds that his resignation will not actually come to pass. That the MSM will further expose the Roger Stone/GOP angle and that the dumb ass dems who called for his resignation will walk it back.

I am just not ready to accept it.