The past few months have served up several helpings of disappointment. We’ve all seen men we admired exposed as sexual harassers or worse. The biggest disappointment was Conyers, but Franken is up there too. He is an engaging and compelling voice to have on our side. But if the accusations against him are true (as they appear to be), having him in the Senate sends the wrong message and Democrats should remedy that.
If Franken does opt to give up his seat, as several of his colleagues have urged him to do, he may want to place a couple of conditions before he resigns.
- The House and Senate immediately begin an independent investigation of the sexual assault accusations against Donald Trump.
- His resignation be deferred till the December 12 election. If Roy Moore wins (which he’s unlikely to), the Senate investigates and expels Moore .
Both Roy Moore and Donald Trump are accused of very serious sexual assaults, more serious and severe than any of the allegations revealed thus far against Franken. They are likely to escape justice due to the age of the allegations. Congressional investigations and trials can go a long way towards addressing this wrong.
These conditions have two benefits. First, they advance the cause of justice for Trump’s victims and Moore’s. Secondly, they lay bare the rank hypocrisy of the GOP, which has worked every angle to protect abusers and molesters if they have an (R) after their name.
And because this has all been so disappointing, let’s remember that not all our icons have been implicated: