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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHow will you remember Senator Al Franken after his resignation takes effect?
I'll remember him as the senator whose question opened the door to the Mueller investigation.
tenderfoot
(8,426 posts)eom
Response to tenderfoot (Reply #1)
InAbLuEsTaTe This message was self-deleted by its author.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)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.
Bettie
(16,100 posts)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
(102,247 posts)NRaleighLiberal
(60,014 posts)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
(1,214 posts)dalton99a
(81,482 posts)nt
gordianot
(15,237 posts)He did not have to scream at Republicans to skewer them.
Generic Other
(28,979 posts)They did not say I could not call or write him because I was not from his state.
MoonRiver
(36,926 posts)LenaBaby61
(6,974 posts)THIS^^^
mn9driver
(4,425 posts)lunamagica
(9,967 posts)Vinca
(50,269 posts)Doodley
(9,088 posts)flamingdem
(39,313 posts)Obama
Bucky
(54,003 posts)Reminder: he ain't dying. He's stepping down as a senator. He's still going to be a voice for political progress.
LexVegas
(6,060 posts)tapermaker
(244 posts)But that's okay.im fat.
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
(4,602 posts)Alice11111
(5,730 posts)underpants
(182,791 posts)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
(195 posts)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
(20,577 posts)I will be reading his book on his experiences in Congress.
TheCowsCameHome
(40,168 posts)by so-called allies.
Drahthaardogs
(6,843 posts)Of well - meaning people who lacked real wisdom.
Bluepinky
(2,268 posts)But if he does, he should run again in the next election.
He has also said hes not going away, so perhaps he will use his voice, intellect and heart in even more ways.
MaryMagdaline
(6,854 posts)And Who kept wellstone's kegacy alive.
ollie10
(2,091 posts)malaise
(268,980 posts)No Franken questioning, no Sessions recusal, no Mueller investigation
Kirk Lover
(3,608 posts)a lot of Al in the very near future.
no_hypocrisy
(46,094 posts)The Senate will regret that they cut him loose, both Dems and Pukes.
Leith
(7,809 posts)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
(7,233 posts)He'll carry on in whatever way he chooses. I look forward with interest to what he does next.
lapucelle
(18,252 posts)Denzil_DC
(7,233 posts)I'm not holding on to false hopes, but ...
roamer65
(36,745 posts)Chasstev365
(5,191 posts)InAbLuEsTaTe
(24,122 posts)Lifelong Protester
(8,421 posts)nuxvomica
(12,423 posts)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
(7,300 posts)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
(16,950 posts)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
(49,382 posts)SeattleVet
(5,477 posts)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
(4,238 posts)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
(3,515 posts)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
(16,903 posts)Heartstrings
(7,349 posts)Nothing else about him changes in my mind concerning his character. Guess he took one for team?
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
(49,445 posts)Diametrically opposed to Fanta Menace.
CommonHumanity
(246 posts)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.