Recently, Sen. Al Franken has been accused of sexual assault in 2006, when Franken was a private citizen. A picture of the assault has been made public and leaves little room for doubt. Sen. Franken has acknowledged his behavior and offered his apology.
Should Sen. Franken resign his public office?
I know my own opinion on this, and I am interested in knowing how other liberals think, so I have included a poll below.
My own opinion is yes, Sen. Franken should resign. My thinking is that sexual assault is a crime, and I think our law-makers should not only adhere to the laws of the land, but should hold themselves to a higher standard.
However, there are many factors that come into play:
- Seventeen women have come forward to accuse Trump of sexual assault, and Trump has admitted in a “hot mic” moment to serial sexual assault, and to ogling undressed underage women. Yet Trump is president and has faced no consequences for his statements or the behavior.
- The balance of power in the senate is an issue, and do-or-die legislation (ACA repeal, tax “reform”, ) may hang in the balance. Currently, conservatives hold a narrow advantage. Should Franken resign, Dem. Governor Dayton would pick a replacement.
- Six women have come forward to accuse conservative senatorial candidate Roy Moore of sexual assault, in some cases when the women was underage. Judge Moore has responded by denying the accusations and angrily accused the women of making false accusations for financial or political gain. While the GOP has been distancing itself from Moore and suggested he drop out of the race, Moore has refused to quit and Alabamian republicans are mostly sticking with him.
- Our country and political system are under attack from a foreign power whose goal is apparently to divide Americans against each other and thereby weaken our ability to respond to difficult events at home and abroad. This foreign power would be perfectly happy to see us fight each other over Sen. Franken, and are in all likelihood right now using social media to fan the fires of ruckus and animosity here in America.
- Since the beginning of time, women have been victims of sexual assault at the hands of powerful men. Its seems there has recently been a change in our society in the willingness to hear and acknowledge the existence and pervasiveness of this pathological sexual dynamic. How Sen. Franken and the senate itself respond to this specific episode of sexual assault will powerfully influence how the country responds to future incidence of sexual assault.