Less than two weeks after we learned that Senatorial candidate Judge Roy Moore has likely been involved in acts of pedophilia, Senator Al Franken is revealed to have sexually accosted at least one woman. For the good of the Senate, he must resign immediately.
The United States is in the midst of a cultural and identity crisis the likes of which it may never have seen in its history. We can argue that the seemingly endless revelations of sexual assault committed by Hollywood mega-producer Harvey Weinstein opened the floodgates. Since then, we have been deluged in scandals of sexual assault throughout Hollywood (Kevin Spacey and Louis C.K.,for example), the tech industry, and now, the government. Thursday’s accusations against Senator Al Franken — and his apparent confirmation that they are true — send yet another shockwave through the country and the institutions which power it.
Just to recap Thursday’s story: KABC news anchor Leeann Tweeden alleges that, during a USO comedy tour, Franken both forced her to rehearse a routine which involved kissing, and, in a later incident, groped her breasts while she was sleeping, the photo of which can be found in the article.
Tweeden said she reluctantly agreed to rehearse the line leading up to the kiss and that’s when Franken “came at me, put his hand on the back of my head, mashed his lips against mine and aggressively stuck his tongue in my mouth.”
“I immediately pushed him away with both of my hands against his chest and told him if he ever did that to me again I wouldn’t be so nice about it the next time,” she said. “I felt disgusted and violated.”
Unlike many people in power, Franken was relatively quick to issue a statement of apology. You can read the full text for yourself, but I do want to highlight a couple of key passages:
“The first thing I want to do is apologize: to Leeann, to everyone else who was part of that tour, to everyone who has worked for me, to everyone I represent, and to everyone who counts on me to be an ally and supporter and champion of women. There’s more I want to say, but the first and most important thing — and if it’s the only thing you care to hear, that’s fine — is: I’m sorry.
…
“But I want to say something else, too. Over the last few months, all of us — including and especially men who respect women — have been forced to take a good, hard look at our own actions and think (perhaps, shamefully, for the first time) about how those actions have affected women.
Franken at least appears to be sincere in his regret for what can only be described as shameful, disgraceful conduct. This pales in contrast to Roy Moore, whose response to the latest allegation of child sexual misconduct is to confiscate the woman’s yearbook for handwriting analysis. To date, Moore has done nothing but claim that the accusations are fake, even as more and more alleged victims share their stories publicly. It has also come to light that he has, in his previous role as Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, challenged Alabama’s rape shield law, arguing that defendants should have the right to use their accusers’ own sexual histories against them to disprove sexual assault allegations. Moore, of course, may be elected to the US Senate himself come December 12th.
Senator Franken Can Set the Example
Though the actions of both Senator Franken and Judge Moore are deplorable, what sets the two men apart is their responses. Franken was — relatively speaking — quick to come clean, apologize to the woman he accosted, and even open himself up to a formal investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee. Moore, despite the far more disturbing nature of his actions, has not only denounced the accusations as untrue, he has attempted to use them to further his political agenda by attempting to maintain whatever shred of moral ground he still claims to hold. The difference between them is night and day.
And this is one of the core reasons Franken must resign. The Senate is one of the highest levels of the Federal government; Franken no longer possesses the moral character which all officers of the chamber should maintain in order to serve. The fact that he is personally opening himself up to a formal ethics investigation gives him the moral high ground in this battle for the moral conscience of the Senate.
Moore, on the other hand, appears to have no moral conscience. He can thump the Bible all he wants, but religion will never be equivalent to morality. As I have written previously, his election to the Senate has the potential to destroy what’s left of America’s own moral compass.
To that last point, let us not forget one very important thing: The person pretending to play President was elected on a platform of sexual molestation. In case you have forgotten:
Let us also not forget Donald Trump’s disturbing remarks regarding contestants at his beauty pageants, including walking in on underage girls in various stages of undress, his vile comments at Alicia Machado, and even apparent attempts to sleep with contestants. Donald Trump himself is a sexual predator. And he ascended to the presidency anyway.
Senator Al Franken is in a historically unique position to combat the moral vacuum within our government. Joining Roy Moore at the crest of a wave which has the potential to upend sexual misconduct in America, he has the opportunity to use his resignation to exert tremendous pressure on Roy Moore, the Republican Party, their supporters, and potentially even Donald Trump himself. By doing the right thing and resigning his Senate seat as a means of restitution to Leeann Tweeden and to his own supporters, Franken sends the message that he will not only speak out against sexual assault, he will hold himself up as an example in accountability. There is nothing progressive or liberal about sexual assault; there is nothing biblical or conservative about pedophilia. It is time for Al Franken to make a personal sacrifice to send a message to Moore and to Trump that this type of behavior will never be acceptable traits in the elected officials of the United States of America. Franken’s sacrifice may finally give us the means to defeat the likes of Roy Moore and — ultimately — to take down the scandalous, catastrophic presidency of one Donald Trump.