December 18, 2017

"What they did to Al was atrocious, the Democrats.... The most hypocritical thing I’ve ever seen done to a human being..."

"... and then have enough guts to sit on the floor, watch him give his speech and go over and hug him? That’s hypocrisy at the highest level I’ve ever seen in my life. Made me sick.... Here’s a man, that all he said [was], 'Take me through the Ethics Committee. I will live by whatever decision and I will walk away thinking about this opportunity I’ve had while I was here. But you find out if I’m a predator.'... I hope they have enough guts ... and enough conscience and enough heart to say, 'Al, we made a mistake asking prematurely for you to leave.'"

Said Senator Joe Manchin, arguing that Al Franken should not follow through with his announced resignation.

Manchin was not one of the Senators who called for Franken's resignation, but Patrick Leahy was, and he's now saying he regrets it: "I think we acted prematurely, before we had all the facts... In retrospect, I think we acted too fast." Oh, bullshit. The whole point was acting fast, and you knew you were acting fast. It's not something you're figuring out later.

I'm calling for Leahy's resignation for acting precipitously, as he now admits, and for lying now and saying he's only noticing the excessive speed "in retrospect." I think the fast action was done to affect the Alabama election. What a sorry business!

157 comments:

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Please keep Franken. please! do it!

Oso Negro said...

If Senators has even a modest sense of decency, they would all resign.

Darrell said...

Please, Al. Don't go! Please stay!

*Franken--You can send the $3500 check to Althouse for forwarding.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

The hypocrisy will ooze forth when they boomerang and keep Franken. Please stay. The left's political stunt helped us out in Alabama and since the left do not have core principles, the big stunt has already paid dividends and interest. The icky sexual stuff no longer matters, because abortion and stolen seats for O-care. Come sit at the right hand of your gods Teddy, Bill and Harvey.

Nonapod said...

Ape shall not kill ape.

Abdul Abulbul Amir said...

It was so obvious that Franken’s “in coming weeks” was meant to give time to change his mind. Frankly, what went on before you were elected should not generally be cause for resignation.

Anonymous said...

It's going to be so much fun when he reneges.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Exactly. We can use Franken as the Bill Clinton poster child for Pig monster.

YoungHegelian said...

I think the fast action was done to affect the Alabama election. What a sorry business!

And, in other news, Prof. Althouse was shock & stunned to discover that the ladies who work at Trixie's Play House are not in the US to finish up their graduate work.

Big Mike said...

I, and hundreds of thousands of other folks, always assumed Franken would stay. It was just a bit of theater to ffect the Alabama election. Nothing more.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Manchin is spineless. There is nothing worse than a so-called moderate democrat who never uses that so-labeled moderation for anything because his marionette strings are wrapped tightly around Chuck Schumer's pinky.

MadisonMan said...

because his marionette strings are wrapped tightly around Chuck Schumer's pinky.

You misspelled 'dick'

dhagood said...

"You misspelled 'dick' madisonman beat me to it.

tonyg said...

Nanopod wrote: "Ape shall not kill ape." I just about spit my coffee out. Well done. My first ever comment posting on the Althouse blog.

tim in vermont said...

Maybe he could bring himself to mention Menendez, D - New Jersey and pedophile user of trafficked children for sex?

Nah. Better to talk about Franken

TomHynes said...

On prediction market Predictit, the probability that Franken is a senator in 3/31/18 just jumped from 9% to 17%

Rob said...

Now that Franken's successor--female successor--has been named, reversal is a little awkward. Couldn't we let them both serve?

BarrySanders20 said...

Al was for resignation before he was against it. Leahy says "#Metoo!"

Turns out Franken is good enough, smart enough, and dog gone it, people DO like him!

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Madison Man - I did misspell pinky. Thanks.

Amadeus 48 said...

This is why I started #FrankenStay2018.
Now we can add #LeahyLeave2018.

What I see here is a bizarre tendency to act immediately (and prematurely) that seems to be 24 hour news and social media driven. Does anyone (other than ARM, Inga, and a few others) not think that Sessions and Rosenstein panicked when Sessions recused himself and Rosenstein appointed a Special Counsel? If they had waited a week, they might have come to different conclusions about whether and who. But that is just one example, and there are plenty of others on both sides of the aisle. Franken is obvious. Think of how quickly Obama fired that lady in the Agriculture Dept. after Breitbart put out that video that showed her telling the story of how she initially viewed white applicants for assistance loans.

The internet has had some very pernicious side effects on personnel and policy.

tim in vermont said...

The she-troll speaks loudest when she speaks not at all.

Birches said...

Who's got the high road now?

LincolnTf said...

The pall of Bill Clinton forever hangs over the Democrats and they know it. Every single one of them was gaga for the Hillbilly Harasser for decades, and now they're tying themselves in knots trying to appear virtuous while still consistent with their past commitment to protecting pols from the consequences of their sexual predation. I've said it before and I'll say it again, anyone who voted for/supported Bill Clinton chose a society where a powerful man could exploit his low-level colleagues with impunity.

Hagar said...

This is not even farcical.

Chuck said...

Yeah, I like Joe Manchin's attitude. I don't necessarily want Al Franken in the Senate. I was disappointed and even a bit horrified when he won the recount that put him in the Senate in 2009.

But I presume that if Franken's resignation is now not submitted, we'll go back to the status quo in which he'll face the Senate Ethics Committee. That, I'd like to see.

Larvell said...

(1) Nobody MADE Franken resign. He could have stayed and fought it out. Of course, that would have meant saying that a woman made a false accusation, or that it's not a big deal -- it's not our fault that Democrats have boxed themselves into a corner where you can't do those things.

(2) He hasn't ACTUALLY resigned, and this seems like battlespace preparation for a change of heart.

Birches said...

If Franken stays, more women will come forward because of their disgust. Expect some other high profile people to be taken down.

Big Mike said...

I think the fast action was done to affect the Alabama election.

@Althouse, ya think?!?

What a sorry business!

So between this farce and the John Doe investigations, at what point do you get permanently fed up with the Democrat Party?

Sebastian said...

Collectively we called the resignation BS as it happened, right here on the Althouse blog.

It will be fun to see Dems squirm, as they try to rein in the Reckoning.

Hagar said...

though I expect Franken will be prevailed on to resign, since his replacement already has been named, and this is mainly Democrats attempting to keep the principle from spreading and possibly be applied to themselves.

rhhardin said...

It doesn't work without women in the audience. The women give the story the legs it needs to crowd its way in as the national obsession story of the day.

Men don't give a shit so it wouldn't work on them.

Althouse thus wants him to resign for playing on women's feelings.

That escalates it to another level. Woman is angry, resign.

Wait, that's the same level.

Unknown said...

So lets see. On the Republican side, the Reckoning has forced out a guy who was looking for a surrogate and had one congressman say he won't seek reelection, due to non-specific allegations of an "Uncomfortable workplace."

Meanwhile, the Dems have Senator "Grabby Hands and forced French kissing" Franken who promised to resign but now is not. They also have Senator Pedophile Child Rapist Bob Menendez. Both of whom the Democrats are cheerily defending. They have a bunch of non-elected politicians like Matt Laurer and Harvey Weinstein going down.

And the Democrats mocked and are still mocking Pence and his rules about being alone with a woman not his wife.
Somehow, the venom and hatred and "We must protect women at all costs!" from certain leftist posters is absent and missing when we talk about Teddy or Bob or Al, the prominent Liberal icons they are. Or Bill.

Let's face it: it's easier to name the liberal men who are not sexual abusers than to name the ones that are. And apparently, that's the way the women on the left like their men: sexual abusers and rapists. Why else have they put up with them and still enable them?

--Vance

Sebastian said...

"What a sorry business!"

What YH and Big Mike said. Althouse would save herself a fair number of exclamation points ("That's crazy!" "That is so unfair!" "That will hurt women!") and question marks ("How can they say that?" "Don't they know that will lead to the unintentional fetishization of women?") by resetting her default to assume Dems are scum and progs act in bad faith.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

No, Franken must go, as I said on the day his groping picture came out. Enough women came out with the same story of groping, there is some fire behind the smoke.

The Drill SGT said...

LincolnTf said...
The pall of Bill Clinton forever hangs over the Democrats and they know it.


Mary Jo Kopechne was unable to comment.

as was the waitress in the middle of the famous Dodd Kennedy sandwich...

Tommy Duncan said...

Franken was collateral damage in a Democrat war maneuver.

I feel sorry for Franken, much like I felt sorry for Charles Manson when he was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer.

Seeing Red said...

You’re finally beginning to see what we’ve seen all along from that party.

Darrell said...

We need a "spontaneous" townhall event in Minnesota, filled with SEIU members during working hours. Transgendered Muslim kids in wheelchairs, Gay baby whales, and Dreamers can beg him to stay on camera after making tearful speeches.

FullMoon said...

A couple of D men just gave the D women calling for resignation a big ol' fuck you. Can't wait to hear ladies reaction. Gonna spread their legs and take it laying down, or stand up and fight?

Gahrie said...

I'll say it again, anyone who voted for/supported Bill Clinton chose a society where a powerful man could exploit his low-level colleagues with impunity.

I am as appalled and disgusted with the fact that Clinton asked his female employees to go out and lie for him, and that they did it, as I am with the sexual abuse.

AllenS said...

Inga said...
No, Franken must go, as I said on the day his groping picture came out. Enough women came out with the same story of groping, there is some fire behind the smoke.

Not according to Alfranken.

Gahrie said...

So between this farce and the John Doe investigations, at what point do you get permanently fed up with the Democrat Party?

Never, as long as they support abortion on demand and gay rights.

Chuck said...

Classic Althouse writing:

I'm calling for Leahy's resignation for acting precipitously, as he now admits, and for lying now and saying he's only noticing the excessive speed "in retrospect." I think the fast action was done to affect the Alabama election. What a sorry business!

It's why I am an Althouse fan.

rhhardin said...

Derbyshire reports that all 50 years of Prairie Home Companion have been disappeared from the Minnesota Public Radio website. I didn't know they were there, but still. The man never existed.

Franken is small change by comparison, as far as creepy reckonings go.

dreams said...

Some of us never expected him to actually resign.

walter said...

Bring on the pussy hats!

walter said...

FullMoon said... A couple of D men just gave the D women calling for resignation a big ol' fuck you. Can't wait to hear ladies reaction. Gonna spread their legs and take it laying down, or stand up and fight?
--
Missed the most obvious position..

JSF said...

As I wrote earlier on here:

Democrats and Feminists don’t believe what they tell the Proles.

Example one: President Bill Clinton
Example two: Senator Kennedy
Example Three: Senator Franken

Bay Area Guy said...

Democrat women Senators led the charge! Pushing Franken out, gives us political credibility to thwart Moore and plant the seeds to push out that pussy-grabbin' Trump! Let's do it!

rhhardin said...

White men went 72% for Moore, white women 63%.

Susceptibility difference.

Big Mike said...

@FullMoon, it was all theater and they played their parts as written. Gillibrand never meant to see Franken ousted. (I was tempted to write "theater of the absurd.")

Bilwick said...

Franken's devotion to Der Staat means far more to the "liberal" Hive than his peccadilloes. As, logically, it should.

Leland said...

So this notion that Democrats had taken the moral high ground because they called on Franken to resign, and got the black man to actually resign with less evidence, it was all just theater?

Huh.

Who could have predicted it?

Bill Owens said...

This latest development, and sunrises, are/were the easiest predictions to make. "In the coming weeks..." we will learn all about Franken's 'dedication' to his state...etc coupled with his 'belief' that he is the best suited to offer that service to his state. The Republicans should (but won't) hammer the dems and Franken as the hypocritical liars that they truly are.

dreams said...

The liberals/Democrats are destroying themselves in their attempt to destroy Trump and the Republicans. Trump is making America great again.

"Another Trump basher fired

President Trump did not meet the standards of Stephen Henderson, managing director of opinion and commentary at the Detroit Free Press. In column after column this year and last, Henderson called Trump a bigot, a bully, and a harasser of women.

Today the Detroit Free Press fired Henderson.

For sexual harassment."

http://donsurber.blogspot.com/2017/12/another-trump-basher-fired.html?spref=tw

FIDO said...

50 Congressional Women just finished demanding an investigation into Trump re sexual harassment allegations.

I would like these same 50 women to be questioned about Franken's resignation.

Big Mike said...

50 Congressional Women just finished demanding an investigation into Trump re sexual harassment allegations.

It would be nice if those Congressional women started by asking each accuser how much Lisa Bloom is paying them.

Darrell said...

All I am saying is give Al a chance.
Lift up your dresses, it's time for romance.
All I am saying is give Al a chance.

Big Mike said...

I imagine that next we'll discover that the two most serious allegations against Roy Moore, the woman he is alleged to have molested in 1979 when she was 14 and the woman with the doctored yearbook, are lies.

eric said...

And as always, the dupes called #NeverTrump fell for it.

They became useful idiots helping the Democrats win Alabama, because heaven forbid the Democrats get the "Moral High Ground"!! Oh no!

As if politicians could ever get the moral high ground.

Chuck and his team are such fools.

kevino said...

Yes. This is predictable. As many of us knew, now that Moore lost in AL, Sen. Franken's announcement to resign is null-and-void. Democrats don't care about women's rights, African American's rights, or anyone's rights.

It's all theater to gain power.

Bay Area Guy said...

Senator Manchin -- time to come over to the other side. Yes, it's flawed, but not as flawed as your current side!

readering said...

These are old men talking. The Governor foresaw this by going ahead and naming a (female) successor. Or will she join Judge Garland in some weird new hall of "selected but not allowed to serve" hall.

Humperdink said...

The R's should attack Manchin the same way Trump is farcically attacked. That is: by uttering those words Joe, you are sexually harassing Kirsten Gillibrand (and her gender).

Unknown said...

Note the furious, repeated denunciations; the repeated calls to quit and kill himself, the smearing of every Democrat as a pedophile sex abuser because Franken and Menendez that Inga has made, just like when she was bloviating about Roy Moore and the fraudulent accusations made against Moore.

What's that? Oh, right: Inga barely can muster a perfunctory "I think Franken should quit." Gosh, look at the fire, the verve, the total full "I must defend women from male predators!" Doesn't her righteous indignation just ooze from her posts?

Who are we kidding? The righteous indignation is only because target X is a republican or conservative. Democrat predator? Meh, who cares? Maybe he should resign, but no big deal, whatevs. He supports gays and abortion, so who cares if a few women or underage teen girls fall prey to him--thems the breaks! Sacrifice for a good cause and all that.

Right Inga? Surely you know that Bob Menendez is out there, preying on more underage girls. But you are perfectly fine with that, because if he quits, a Republican Senator will be the result, and you'll sacrifice hordes of women to prevent that.

--Vance

Brando said...

In all these standards of "believe the women" and "question the women" and "wait, is this guy useful to me politically?" the only one that anyone should follow is "treat the case fairly". That's also the minority standard these days, alas.

Curious George said...

"Inga said...
No, Franken must go, as I said on the day his groping picture came out. Enough women came out with the same story of groping, there is some fire behind the smoke."

#20years2late

Darrell said...

I imagine that next we'll discover that the two most serious allegations against Roy Moore, the woman he is alleged to have molested in 1979 when she was 14 and the woman with the doctored yearbook, are lies.

No shit. Some on the Left even conceded that. But he confessed to dating 17 and 18-year-olds to find a wife. And that was just "creepy." In the meantime, nobody even looked at Doug Jones--not the Media, not the Republicans. Both wanted Moore gone.

Unknown said...

By the way, isn't John Conyers feeling bad now? He actually quit! Can you believe it? Why, he actually believed that the Democrats cared about him molesting women! Well, now we know that he really was as stupid as he came across. He actually believed that Democrats care about women, what a fool.

So the Democrats force out the black guy and keep the white molester (Franken, Menendez). Why do they claim to support African American's again?

--Vance

Yancey Ward said...

It was clear from the start that Franken hoped finesse the issue and stay in the Senate. Manchin and Leahy's statements are the trial balloons. However, Franken can withdraw the resignation if the female senators who called for it speak up to support him. That Dayton had already chosen a female replacement makes this more difficult for Franken to remain.

Even though I predicted he would stay the day he announced he was leaving, given the outcome of the Alabama race and Dayton's quick choice for a replacement, I don't think Franken has any choice but to follow through on it. For sheer entertainment value, though, I would donate at least 100 dollars to Franken's campaign to see him stay. It would be hilarious!

Anonymous said...


rhhardin said...
Derbyshire reports that all 50 years of Prairie Home Companion have been disappeared from the Minnesota Public Radio website.


I have never listened to Prairie Home Companion, I am not now a listener, I cannot imagine becoming a listener, and I do not sympathize with the Prairie Home Companion principles and procedures of which I know nothing, nothing at all. I despise storytelling in all its forms, and I rarely advocate the overthrow of the Government of the United States.

MAJMike said...

Really doesn't matter if Franken goes or stays. He'll be replaced by an equally odious DemCong.

Hagar said...

The picture of Franken "groping" Tweeden's armored vest can be laughed off as adolescent high jinks (though very inappropriate for a middle-aged legislator), but the "French kissing" in this age of rampant HIV, etc., is serious. I do not understand why this has not received more attention. It probably is as common as groping and much more dangerous to both involved.

Yancey Ward said...

Well, Conyers knows his son will get the seat, so there is that difference right there.

Yancey Ward said...

The quickest way for Franken to prevail here is to convince his replacement to withdraw from consideration and support his staying. Franken may have some pull to make this happen.

walter said...

Put Al in a cage match with the hubby of the woman he allegedly groped at the fair...in front of the husband.
Could be Al's best comedy bit.

CWJ said...

If it's true that his presumptive successor is a democrat woman, I see letting Franken reneg on his resignation as insane politically for the dems. Rather, this all may be nothing more than allowing dems like Manchin to be able to say they wish it were not so while holding the exit door open. There will be more "more in sorrow than..." statements, but behind the scenes I expect Franken will be pushed if he balks.

rhhardin said...

If you want to look for Christ-like behavior in male-female relations, you pretty much find it only in the males.

Chuck said...

rhhardin said...
Derbyshire reports that all 50 years of Prairie Home Companion have been disappeared from the Minnesota Public Radio website. I didn't know they were there, but still. The man never existed.

Franken is small change by comparison, as far as creepy reckonings go.

There's not much suspicious about that. MPR said that is what they'd do, from the first day of the controversy. I think that they are the property of Prairie Home Productions, and MPR and/or PRI just distributed. The early ones might pre-date Prairie Home Productions.

If Garrison Keillor put out a boxed set of every Prairie Home Companion, I might buy it.

As for what he did versus what Franken did, my impression was (I haven't really devoted myself to their details) that Franken was a more offensive offender.

PB said...

All those Dems who called for his resignation were in on the con.

LYNNDH said...

So Shut Up about Trump then.

Chuck said...

Yancey Ward said...
Well, Conyers knows his son will get the seat, so there is that difference right there.

I guarantee you; Conyers does NOT know that!

Conyers' son isn't even the only "Conyers" running. Conyers' great-nephew, State Senator Ian Conyers, has declared for the primary. Before John Conyers III could even get it together for an announcement. And it now turns out that JCIII had an arrest warrant for domestic battery in California.

stevew said...

Franken hasn't yet left. Not likely he ever will leave. Team D are executing their script exactly as I expected. Now that Mission Stop Moore is accomplished, Franken need no longer be sacrificed. His job is done.

-sw

Chuck said...

Has anybody asked this question: in deep-purple Minnesota, would a reconstituted Al Franken be their best candidate for the 2018 election? Would he invite a destructive primary? Would he demoralize part of the DFL Party base?

I presume, as does Althouse it seems, that Leahy & Company are all about the most craven political calculations. Might it not be the best political calculation to jettison Franken now?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Exactly- it was all a stunt for the greater common good of the big leftwing lie that is our corrupt system of D-crat government.

Humperdink said...

PB said: "All those Dems who called for his resignation were in on the con."

Yep, remember the charade? Alfie was accused by six (6) women. Stone silence. When the seventh allegation surfaced, all the commie-pinko dem senators leaped to their feet in unison, calling for Alfie's head.

tcrosse said...

Mark Dayton can appoint a successor for Al Franken, but he can't force him to resign. Note that Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), a card-carrying women, did not take part in the pile-on. In any case, an army of Madame DeFarges are knitting up a storm.

Paco Wové said...

"There's not much suspicious about that"

rhhardin didn't say "suspicious"; he said "creepy".

Tom said...

And Trump gets to make an appointment for life to the 9th circuit. And, he set a prescedent that a conservative judge must resign under accusations but not proof. Liberal judges should be scared to death. Trump has a year until he potentially loses the Senate - how much of the federal judiciary can he remake for a generation? Further, if the SEC case invalidating Administrative Law Judges is successful, he’ll remake the entire regulatory state for a generation. I can’t say Trump isn’t the right name for this guy, even if he scares me to death.

Bay Area Guy said...

Whether Franken resigns or not, his replacement, Smith, is a garden variety leftist, so their voting records will be identical. Smith does have a vagina, so there's that.

None of this matters, once the tax cut bill is (crossing fingers) passed.

Rick said...

Not likely [Franken] ever will leave.

He'll be gone. The activist wing needs him gone, his presence undermines their plans. The legislative wing doesn't gain anything with Franken they won't also get from his replacement. Since his presumptive defenders have no reason to protect him it's just a matter of time.

So why the delay?

The tax bill. If Franken resigns Trump can get the tax bill through even without Collins or whoever the most difficult Rep is. That is why the Dems already identified a successor, so when Franken does resign they're ready.

Qwinn said...

The only possible way Trump loses the Senate in 2018 is via MASSIVE voter fraud, given Republicans only need to defend 2 seats not designated "safe" seats, and Democrats are defending 25 seats, 10 of them in states Trump won. I'm calling Republicans get a minimum of 58 seats in the Senate after 2018, and 62 is more likely.

Brando said...

"The tax bill. If Franken resigns Trump can get the tax bill through even without Collins or whoever the most difficult Rep is. That is why the Dems already identified a successor, so when Franken does resign they're ready."

MN has a Dem governor, so losing Franken doesn't sacrifice anything from a partisan perspective. Some Dems don't want to lose him because they considered him a good spokesman, and others probably don't want to lose him because it sets a precedent (and I'm sure a lot more have done worse than him and are waiting for it to come out).

Wake me when a political party is ready to jettison an elected politician where it means losing the seat.

exhelodrvr1 said...

Liberals have a much higher significance of asshole-ness. They've been able to hide that because the media covered for them, but that coverage is losing it's effectiveness.

Rick said...

MN has a Dem governor, so losing Franken doesn't sacrifice anything from a partisan perspective.

The vulnerability is the time between Franken's resignation and the point at which his replacement is seated.

Chuck said...

Qwinn said...
The only possible way Trump loses the Senate in 2018 is via MASSIVE voter fraud, given Republicans only need to defend 2 seats not designated "safe" seats, and Democrats are defending 25 seats, 10 of them in states Trump won. I'm calling Republicans get a minimum of 58 seats in the Senate after 2018, and 62 is more likely.

Oh, I can think of a rather clear way that the Republicans could lost the Senate in 2018; nominate 32 more Roy Moores. If you can lose Alabama with a Roy Moore, you'd lose anywhere/everywhere with a Roy Moore.

Unknown said...

No Chuck, Roy Moore didn't lose the race: it was you and your people supporting Doug Jones like he was Ronald Reagan that caused Moore to lose.

It's because you prefer Democrats over conservatives, that's all there is to it. And so does McConnell and Ryan. They would gladly do the same to Mike Lee and Cruz. If they could dig up a Gloria Allred fraud to accuse Mike Lee of something, even knowing it was false, McConnell would personally pay that ladies mortgage, and you know it.

You and your side do not want conservatives in office. You side with the Democrats.

--Vance

David said...

Inga: "Franken must go, as I said on the day his groping picture came out. Enough women came out with the same story of groping, there is some fire behind the smoke."

That's a hell of an evidentiary standard. Find 7 or 3 or 5 people to say the same thing. Declare that you perceived some flame amid smoke and (presto) guilty.

I think Franken should resign because he showed that he was a weak little wuzz in saying he would resign.

FIDO said...

Well, if they lose Franken, they lose a guy who couldn't win without 'finding' 312 votes in the back of a car somewhere.

That is not exactly the Political Svengali that the Dems like in such a critical seat. They want a winner...and Franken isn't a winner. He is a cheater.

Hmm. And his wife Frani can't be too pleased to read about her husband constantly. This is Karma Mr. Franken.

This new girl is a toss up, but that is better than a known fraud as Franken.

Yancey Ward said...

I guess your comment, Chuck, is another wonderful insight from you about Michigan politics. I predict John Conyers III wins the primary in a runaway. I trust his father's instincts about Michigan politics more than I trust yours, and with ample evidence for doing so.

Qwinn said...

Yep, 7 accusations appears to be the standard being set. And we know from Lisa Bloom that the going rate for bribing women to make accusations is $700,000. So, the price of a Senate seat appears to be $4.9 million. Pocket change for a Soros or Bezos.

The number of accusations tells us absolutely nothing. Whatever you think it means, it can also mean that the person funding the attacks is rich enough to afford multiple fake accusations. Nothing more, nothing less.

Jersey Fled said...

At some point the Dems have to call this whole thing off or there won't be enough of them standing to fill a phone booth. Or a nightly news broadcast.

Maybe Franken is the trial balloon for how they can symbolically resign without having to resign-resign.

Chuck said...

Yancey Ward said...
I guess your comment, Chuck, is another wonderful insight from you about Michigan politics. I predict John Conyers III wins the primary in a runaway. I trust his father's instincts about Michigan politics more than I trust yours, and with ample evidence for doing so.

Wanna bet? You take Conyers III and I take "the field."

Did you know, for instance, that the primary has been delayed, until August of 2018, when they will run two primaries, for the then-remaining couple of months in the current term, and also the primary for 2018? Giving establishment candidates ample time to overcome name-recognition in a low-turnout off-time primary? Do you know who else is talking about running?

Anyway, I just want a bet. How much?

Richard said...

I think the fast action was done to affect the Alabama election.

I can't believe you fell for the oldest trick in the book

Brian said...

What is the percentage of Roy Moore's in the party though, Chuck? 1%? 10%? 50%?

At 1% it's a negligible impact on the elections ("0.1 seats"). Even with 50% (half are perverts!) it's a handful of seats. And that's if they survive the primary.

Unknown said...

It's interesting how Chuck wants to bet on a seat that no matter what will remain in corrupt Democrat hands, and in the Conyer's family.

That's his interest. If it comes to "how can conservative politics and politicians be advanced?" well.... we know how he stands: Side with the Democrat and try to destroy the conservative by promoting false accusations. Because that's how a true Republican rolls--doing their best to destroy Conservatives and promote Democrats.

I'm not going to take Chuck's bet--he undoubtedly is more familiar with corrupt Democrats like Conyers than he is with conservatives like Mike Lee. It's all a question of who you pay attention to and like more.

--Vance

PackerBronco said...

"Okay Al, you don't have to resign anymore.

But we'll hold onto your resignation letter just in case we decide to impeach Trump for sexual harassment ..."

walter said...

"Mistreated" by the Dem party, he should team up with Jill Stein...because fun.

Yancey Ward said...

How about this Chuck- if Conyer III wins the seat next November, you vanish from the Althouse board and never return. If Conyer III doesn't win, I will send you a check for $100. Agreed?

wwww said...

"I think the fast action was done to affect the Alabama election."

I think it was in response to that final accuser who was in foster care. Her story came out in the 12 hours before the women senators started tweeting about Franken resigning.

It was far more to the Ds advantage for Moore to win the election. The seat will go back to the Rs in 3 years. But Moore would have been a disaster for 2018 and 2020. Every R would be asked about Moore & the things he said. Just as every D Senator was asked about Franken on a daily basis. For both the R and the D Senators -- None of them wanted to deal with the press questions about it.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

" Find 7 or 3 or 5 people to say the same thing. Declare that you perceived some flame amid smoke and (presto) guilty."

Yep. This is very tricky, because while it stands to reason that a sexual harasser would have more than one victim (which is one reason why I never bought Anita Hill's bullshit), it's much harder to defend yourself against multiple accusers than it is against one.

One thing we know about Franken's accusers - the spawn of Gloria Allred was not promising them three-quarters of a million to testify against him. She's not interested in sexual harassment if Democrats do it.

Brando said...

How long does that take, though? Especially when they can time it to their own liking to happen during a recess?

I wonder if all those calling for Franken to resign would have done otherwise if Tim Pawlenty was still governor of Minnesota.

Big Mike said...

@Yancy Ward, Chuck will just come back with a different handle, but this time he won’t pretend to be a Republican.

Ken B said...

I think people are misreading this. Franken will go because his replacement, a woman, has been named. The game here is not to keep Franken. It's to play up the "we're so pure we even jettison senators who really did nothing wrong because Democrats don't do wrong,they just don't, everyone knows it, but when there's even an appearance, even the appearance of an appearance, we take steps, unlike those child-raper Republicans. But look at the sacrifices we make."

It's a CHUCK move, Tokyo gaslighting.

Chuck said...

Yancey Ward said...
How about this Chuck- if Conyer III wins the seat next November, you vanish from the Althouse board and never return. If Conyer III doesn't win, I will send you a check for $100. Agreed?

You're on! Deal.

Conyers III's arrest:
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/12/06/john-conyers-son-arrested-february-accused-stabbing-girlfriend-domestic-dispute/

The special election schedule, as set forth by Gov. Rick "NeverTrump" Snyder:
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2017/12/08/snyder-special-election-next-year-replace-conyers/935485001/

Yancey Ward said...

Then we are agreed, Chuck.

Qwinn said...

I agree with Ken B. Franken will go. The Dems lose nothing by getting rid of him, and (they think) they regain their "moral authority". The current posturing that he didn't do anything that bad is to get as much moral authority as their trivial non-sacrifice can.

walter said...

Al Franken in "Fast Action!"

Hagar said...

Every R would be asked about Moore & the things he said.

I thought it was supposed to be about the things he (allegedly) did?

RichardJohnson said...

rhhardin
Derbyshire reports that all 50 years of Prairie Home Companion have been disappeared from the Minnesota Public Radio website. I didn't know they were there, but still. The man never existed.

It appears that the disappearance has more to do with copyright ownership than with an Orwellian erasure. MPR: Frequently Asked Questions,

Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) recently terminated its contracts with Garrison Keillor and his private media companies. (MPR cannot discuss specific details. Here is the full statement.)
MPR does not fully own the rights to continue to use the names or provide archive content for A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor and The Writer’s Almanac programs. Garrison Keillor and his companies own many of the rights to this artistic content.


As Keillor owned at least some of the rights to PHC shows, it sounds plausible that he refused permission for MPR to post any of the PHC shows. Why should he permit MPR, who just fired him, post content on its website for which he owns at least some of the rights?

Yancey Ward said...

Big Mike, yes, I know that is possible. However, I don't think Chuck will even pay up to that extent if he loses- I expect a full repudiation of his bet if he loses.

Rick said...

How long does that take, though?

Reps can call a vote whenever they want to. No matter how short the you think the time is it might not be enough so why take a chance? Even if the Gov officially appoints the replacement concurrently what if Reps seat her after they take the tax plan vote?

Bay Area Guy said...

None of this matters, if the tax cut bill falters. And, it's not an absolute guarantee, because McCain is sick, and Cochran is sick.

I will breath easily the sooner the vote is held.

Chuck said...

Yancey you can make your check payable to "Ice Station Zebra Associates." That's my loan out. It's totally legit. It's just done for tax purposes.


Howard said...

Politicians playing politics, the horror.

Howard said...

However, IMHO, it's a political mistake not to go through with the Franken sacrifice on the alter of the re-conning.

tim in vermont said...

Politicians playing politics, the horror.

Democrats are never surprised when the party leaves the true believers hanging in the wind. Any Democrat voter who truly believed that the party cares about the rights of individual women was a fool.

One need look no further than child rapist Bob Menendez - D New Jersey and the lack of outcry at the sitting Senator who traveled abroad to indulge his pedophilia with trafficked young girls.

tim in vermont said...

The way it works is the more you prattle and crow about your support for women’s rights, the more egregious behavior is overlooked. Not that any amoral sociopaths would ever notice that paradigm and exploit it by becoming Democrats, so it’s perfectly oK to keep it going.

tim in vermont said...

By the way, His Nibs himself, William Jefferson Blythe Clinton flew dozens of times on the same pedophile’s private jet as Menendez, ditching ihs SS protection six times, per the flight logs.

The association of Bill Clinton is part of what keeps Lolitagate out of the news. But you can trust them to tell you everything else important!

FullMoon said...

Wanna bet? You take Conyers III and I take "the field."

Gamblin' man has a track record:



Chuck said...

... your problem isn't with me, you miserable asshole. I am going to vote for Trump and he's still going to get schlonged in this election.

I just want it clear that I was never stupid enough to support his candidacy. I knew all along what a monstrously shitty candidate he'd be. If you are as disappointed as I am at the prospect of four more Democrat years in the White House, you should be questioning the mouth-breathers who put Trump where he is now; in the perfect position to take the public beating of a century.

10/14/16, 3:15 PM

Humperdink said...

Oh, I can think of a rather clear way that the Republicans could lost the Senate in 2018; nominate 32 more Roy Moores. If you can lose Alabama with a Roy Moore, you'd lose anywhere/everywhere with a Roy Moore.

Moore didn't lose it Chuck, and you know it.

I can tell another way to lose the senate Chuck. Run a bunch of McConnell, Ryan, and Chuck clones.

wwww said...

"I thought it was supposed to be about the things he (allegedly) did?"


McConnell was worried about every person running for a R. Senate seat being asked not just about what Moore did, but what he said. I don't know how much you followed Moore, but he's made strange statements.

wildswan said...

We need a Beaufort scale of social change to track the strengthening Reckoning. This is the Beaufort Scale.

Force 0 - Calm, smoke rises vertically
Force 1 - Smoke drift indicates wind direction, still wind vanes
Force 2 - Wind felt on face, leaves rustle, vanes begin to move
Force 3 - Leaves and small twigs constantly moving, light flags extended
Force 4 - Dust, leaves, and loose paper lifted, small tree branches move
Force 5 - Small trees in leaf begin to sway
Force 6 - Larger tree branches moving, whistling in wires
Force 7 - Whole trees moving, resistance felt walking against wind
Force 8 - Twigs breaking off trees, generally impedes progress
Force 9 - Slight structural damage occurs, slate blows off roofs
Force 10 - Seldom experienced on land, trees broken or uprooted

I would say we have gone through faint breezes such as one story by Ronan Farrow, through increasing winds swaying and stripping tress and have now reached Force 9. At Force 9 slate blows off roofs which equals minor non-structural figues resigning. Force 10 is the highest on the land scale. That is, "Trees broken" which equals "Bill Clinton thrown under the bus and does not slither over to the other side and climb out and walk away whistling" or in other words, real social change happens. But there are two more on the ocean.

Force 11 - Exceptionally high (37-52 ft) waves, foam patches cover sea, visibility more reduced
Force 12 - Air filled with foam, waves over 45 ft, sea completely white with driving spray, visibility greatly reduced.

Force 11, Force 12 - Real social change does not happen and social solidarity liquifies creating terrifying conditions which bring people to their senses.

Chuck said...

Full Moon, the only person on this blog who ever accepted a bet with me was Fabi. He lost. Ask him about it.

Nobody ever bet me on the outcome of the 2016 election.

This is yet another one of your badly informed, half-baked attempts to harass or troll me. You should stop it.

Rusty said...

Blogger Etienne said...
Justinian Code: All persons present at a pagan sacrifice may be indicted as if for murder.

When innocence is no longer a basic right, then the country is no longer in compliance with the UN Human Rights, and the UN may vote to intervene militarily.

They may set up an interim government to protect the citizens.

Never happen.

Kevin said...

So Roy Moore doesn't need due process. He can be tried politically rather than in the court of law, or so we've been told.

There is no room for him in the Senate, we're told. He won't be seated, we're told. Electing him will kill the Republican Party, we're told.

Franken, who has admitted at least some of the allegations, should be allowed to defend himself, we're told. His case should be reviewed by the Senate Ethics Committee, we're told. However, the Committee has never take action against a Senator for acts prior to them being a Senator, we're also told. So if precedent stands, he would come out of the Committee with his seat, we're told.

And now we're told the greatest hypocrisy is demanding Franken's resignation?

Just reading through that it's so evident Al is the real victim here...

FullMoon said...

Some TT twister racist gambler said: And I shall pay, if I lose. It is incomprehensible to me; the notion of losing that bet. But I confess that as Trump's reputation as a misogynist and abuser has grown, I thought that he might pick up votes among blacks.
10/13/16, 3:03 PM

FullMoon said...

Full Moon, the only person on this blog who ever accepted a bet with me was Fabi. He lost. Ask him about it.

Nobody ever bet me on the outcome of the 2016 election.

This is yet another one of your badly informed, half-baked attempts to harass or troll me. You should stop it.

12/18/17, 1:24 PM


Fabi, you lost a bet to huck. Where do you send the payment? Asking for many friends.

eric said...

If Franken we're a Republican we would still be hearing nightly stories asking when he is going to resign. And everyone would think, "Of course the news would cover this. Get thee gone so we can clear the front page of this terrible distraction."

Since he is a Democrat, he is able to use an old strategy. I'm going to take care of this problem sometime in the future.

No reason for the media to cover that. Much more important stuff to be covering.

lgv said...

I'm waiting for Vegas odds. As soon as Franken said he was resigning in the future, I new he wasn't resigning. Just wait for it. The Senate ethics committee has no power or sway over anything that happened before Franken's presence in the senate.

Just as the existence of a special prosecutor means someone will be indicted for something that has nothing to do with Russian collusion.

Once we hit the 150 mark on tainted men, we will seen a slow pullback on the punishment.

Jim S. said...

The reason they tried to get Franken to resign was so their hypocrisy wouldn't be so blatant when they criticized the Republicans for electing Roy Moore. Now that the Republicans didn't elect Moore, Franken's resignation is a pointless sacrifice. Might as well rescind it.

Qwinn said...

All of you saying Franken won't resign now are playing into the Left's hands (admittedly, I thought the same at first, but they've tipped their play in a few ways in the last week). It will only make him look more "impressive" when he does resign. It costs them nothing (a seat they stole in the first place, replaced by another prog, female this time so immune to the Reckoning) and Franken gets to become a talking head on MSNBC as a hero. Free virtue. It's pretty obvious that's where this is going now.

Howard said...

Qwinn: you have more faith than I do that the Dems will be smart and do the politically advantageous thing here. Because the other pols don't want to get Frankened, they might let him slither back in through the back door to prevent setting a president.

Peter said...

Am I first a man or first a Republican? Decisions, decisions.

Qwinn said...

Howard: Conyers already created the precedent (again, at no cost to them) and think how bad it'll look if Conyers resigns and Franken doesn't.

Fabi said...

Chuck and I bet on the percentage of the vote Trump would receive from blacks. I lost. I purchased a very fine bottle of Scotch from the liquor store of his choice to be held for "Chuck", but never heard anything more of it.

What brand of Scotch was it, Chuck -- curious if you ever picked it up?

robother said...

Franken welches on his resignation in 2017, preparing the way for this 2018 Variety headline story:

"Harvey's Back and Streep's Got Him!"
Oscar-winning producer and recovering sex addict Harvey Weinstein and Meryl Streep announced they are partnering to produce a new film based on Hillary Clinton's What Happened....

FullMoon said...

Yeah, I saw it. Racist Chuck assumed if Trump was an abuser and misogynist, black people would identify with him and vote for him. Was funny coming from the guy who wanted to bruise up little Greta van Sustern.

Chuck and I bet on the percentage of the vote Trump would receive from blacks. I lost.

But I confess that as Trump's reputation as a misogynist and abuser has grown, I thought that he might pick up votes among blacks.

walter said...

Ruh roh...

n.n said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
n.n said...

Denying due process. Summary judgments. Disproportionate sentencing. Atrocious.

Throw the last baby on the barbie, the witch trials, and baby trails, are done, right?

n.n said...

Speaking of bigotry (sanctimonious hypocrisy), they will always have political congruence ("="). Baby steps, I suppose. Meanwhile, the tell-tale hearts beat ever louder.

Eric said...

For those of you playing the game to guess which other Senators and Representatives are nervous that there may be complaints about them, put Manchin on your list.

Anybody else discovering the importance of due process and stuff?

Kevin said...

Conyers already created the precedent (again, at no cost to them) and think how bad it'll look if Conyers resigns and Franken doesn't.

Conyers picked his own replacement so as to continue his largesse.

Franken was given no such opportunity to appoint Julia Sweeney in his stead.

n.n said...

the importance of due process and stuff

Also, independent witnesses and the time and space-decay of accuracy in the scientific domain.

I suppose anything is possible at the twilight fringe. Still, the conflation of logical domains by ostensibly "secular" individuals is extraordinary, second only to the consensus belief of liberals, libertarians, and progressives in the theory of spontaneous human conception or "Stork delivery" that justifies and rationalizes the doctrines of selective and recycled-child.

walter said...

Largesse?
He seems like more a "taker".

Brando said...

"Anybody else discovering the importance of due process and stuff?"

"Due process" isn't the right term here because we're not talking about a court of law but rather public opinion--we can be as unfair as we want because no one has a right to get elected and stay elected. But if we don't want to devolve into a country governed by smear and innuendo (and thus easily manipulated by disinformation) we'd be wise to look at these cases reasonably. What were the accusations, and did they make sense? What was the alleged abuser's defense, and did that make sense? Any other witnesses/evidence? And are we letting our own partisan bias cloud our judgment?

Of course, we don't follow that ideal. Instead, it comes down to "how does it help or hurt my own side?" Though admittedly I thought the Dems were foolish to protect Bill Clinton back in the day because (1) at that point he was already a lame duck and (2) replacing him with Gore in '99 would have given Gore an edge in the 2000 election and policy-wise wouldn't have hurt the Dems. But I suppose their calculation at the time was different, and they stained themselves for a long time.