I disagree with your characterization that Gillibrand is being "demonized" here. (Reply #49)

In the discussion thread: About Gillibrand and Franken - a letter, not mine. [View all]

Thu Jan 17, 2019, 04:52 PM

Demit (11,238 posts)

49. I disagree with your characterization that Gillibrand is being "demonized" here.

She made a political calculation and she is being judged on it now. That's perfectly fair, in my book.

Many of us, including women, feel that the punishment she lobbied her colleagues hard for— hounding Franken out of the Senate—didn't fit the crime.

You use the term "fan favorite," as if politics is a game show, with Gillibrand on the celebrity panel of judges. I think politics is serious business, and I think she made a serious political miscalculation. There will be other things she's judged on in her quest to be president, but her instincts on how the Franken matter should have been handled, or could have been handled, will rightfully be part of the mix.

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155 replies	Author	Time	Post
About Gillibrand and Franken - a letter, not mine. [View all]	question everything	Jan 2019	OP
...	handmade34	Jan 2019	#1
I'm with you 100%.	lark	Jan 2019	#11
Bill the Cat	Glaisne	Jan 2019	#120
or mine. she should be ashamed of herself.	trueblue2007	Jan 2019	#139
Don't worry. She'll NEVER become our party's nominee.	NurseJackie	Jan 2019	#18
I will never understand how that went down. Dont see ANYBODY winning in that one.	Eliot Rosewater	Jan 2019	#54
If I can't trust her judgement on something like this...	NurseJackie	Jan 2019	#59
It is so absurd it is almost comical. Al Franken, for those who know him and his family	Eliot Rosewater	Jan 2019	#64
He was railroaded and denied the investigation he sought.	NurseJackie	Jan 2019	#69
In all of the Senate, Franken was the one tRump* and his minions feared the most...	Raster	Jan 2019	#88
+1	mahina	Jan 2019	#101
Thank you for this wonderful post in support of Al Franken,	pazzyanne	Jan 2019	#125
I think that he realized that he was losing his effectiveness with these bogus claims	question everything	Jan 2019	#133
I want to thank you as well	maui902	Jan 2019	#153
Consider that confirmed. n/t	DFW	Jan 2019	#98
My feelings as well.	Pepsidog	Jan 2019	#19
...	iluvtennis	Jan 2019	#38
My feelings exactly	wryter2000	Jan 2019	#47
Her past is ugly and what she did to Franken even uglier	RVN VET71	Jan 2019	#61
Franken 2020	greblach	Jan 2019	#99
I personally agree completely with that letter.	Rene	Jan 2019	#2
Yes, I could not have said it better	question everything	Jan 2019	#5
the loudest distortion was constant from the radio, limbaugh,	certainot	Jan 2019	#90
Agreed	Timewas	Jan 2019	#3
If you don't want to vote for Gillibrand in the primaries, don't do it.	Squinch	Jan 2019	#4
Sorry, not going to self-censor. DU is exactly the place to debate Democratic primary matters.	Demit	Jan 2019	#9
it is not the place to demonize women fighting against sexual harassment	crazycatlady	Jan 2019	#16
We only wanted that 'fan favorite' to have his day in court, so to speak, with the ethics panel.	Gidney N Cloyd	Jan 2019	#31
OMG, your user name	wryter2000	Jan 2019	#48
+1	Gidney N Cloyd	Jan 2019	#79
You really believe that the republicans	Trumpocalypse	Jan 2019	#62
Well, you've got three questions there and I guess they'll never be answered.	Gidney N Cloyd	Jan 2019	#78
Were basic background checks on the accusers done?	suegeo	Jan 2019	#82
You raise a great point-- if KG was interested in justice, she could have shut down the railroading.	Gidney N Cloyd	Jan 2019	#85
They don't usually run background checks on victims	Trumpocalypse	Jan 2019	#102
Victims of what?	NotAPuppet	Jan 2019	#138
Tweeden was a fake.	Trumpocalypse	Jan 2019	#143
Ok, let's look at the other accusers!	NotAPuppet	Jan 2019	#147
OK	Trumpocalypse	Jan 2019	#148
Post removed	Post removed	Jan 2019	#146
How many of those 7 women filed lawsuits against Al Franken?	pazzyanne	Jan 2019	#131
Why would they?	Trumpocalypse	Jan 2019	#141
No evidence was found to support the allegations.	pazzyanne	Jan 2019	#142
What proof?	Trumpocalypse	Jan 2019	#145
...	pazzyanne	Jan 2019	#150
I' take that as a no	Trumpocalypse	Jan 2019	#151
You can take it anyway you want.	pazzyanne	Jan 2019	#152
Have a nice day too	Trumpocalypse	Jan 2019	#154
Thank you!	pazzyanne	Jan 2019	#155
Weiner and Franken are not a good comparison	Perseus	Jan 2019	#32
I agree with everything you said	PatSeg	Jan 2019	#52
Forgot about that. This, alone, should disqualify her	question everything	Jan 2019	#72
She and over 30 other Senators	Trumpocalypse	Jan 2019	#63
Franken wanted an investigation, which he did not receive.	The Velveteen Ocelot	Jan 2019	#41
I won't defend any of the other men accused	wryter2000	Jan 2019	#51
And LeAnn was buddies with	PatSeg	Jan 2019	#55
They are going to try	FuzzyRabbit	Jan 2019	#74
I don't doubt it	PatSeg	Jan 2019	#84
+ 1	loyalsister	Jan 2019	#44
I disagree with your characterization that Gillibrand is being "demonized" here.	Demit	Jan 2019	#49
She might as well be Satan on this forum	crazycatlady	Jan 2019	#58
I am truly sorry that you were victimized while still so young.	kag	Jan 2019	#71
Gillibrand "focused on sexual assault in the military" - as did Franken, on defense contractors	question everything	Jan 2019	#73
I remember that. They showed the case on an HBO special.	Caliman73	Jan 2019	#119
You just made the case for Franken having been a sacrificial lamb.	Demit	Jan 2019	#75
Let me ask about the Weiner hearings, the Conyers hearings, etc	crazycatlady	Jan 2019	#81
Senator Bob Packwood, a Republican, in the early 90s	question everything	Jan 2019	#87
thank you	crazycatlady	Jan 2019	#89
Notice that Louis CK is on the road and getting standing O's for doubling down.	SleeplessinSoCal	Jan 2019	#50
Respectfully, I think you're missing the point.	kag	Jan 2019	#57
Not so quickly	Trumpocalypse	Jan 2019	#68
FYI, you are posting a hit piece by a right winger.	Caliman73	Jan 2019	#121
Loud and consistent??	Trumpocalypse	Jan 2019	#128
Yes. That opened the floodgates	Caliman73	Jan 2019	#129
An ethnics committee hearing	Trumpocalypse	Jan 2019	#149
+1	Gidney N Cloyd	Jan 2019	#80
Excellent details. Knee-jerk reactions do not serve any of us well.	Cassidy	Jan 2019	#97
Thank you for your post. The country certainly needs a public discussion of what is acceptable	question everything	Jan 2019	#135
Not all women are telling the truth.	LakeArenal	Jan 2019	#105
An act of self-aggrandizing betrayal is not simply a conflict.	dchill	Jan 2019	#24
Disscussion board! Get it??? Nt	USALiberal	Jan 2019	#30
I do get it, but there is no discussion in having 9 threads that say, "Rachel is having Gillibrand.	Squinch	Jan 2019	#45
I suspect this will sink her early on...nt	2naSalit	Jan 2019	#6
K&R!!!!!	Ernesto	Jan 2019	#7
And there's no reason for KB to expect any favors from the Clinton people. nt	oasis	Jan 2019	#8
They should keep their pocketbooks closed and the endorsements non-existent.	lark	Jan 2019	#12
Gee, I was told NOBODY cares or remembers about Franken-- and Gillibrand's role in his departure	hlthe2b	Jan 2019	#10
Really? Interesting.	SDJay	Jan 2019	#91
I'm not excluding anyone even if there are things in their past (even recent past) I don't like.	aikoaiko	Jan 2019	#13
I agree	rbnyc	Jan 2019	#107
She's the only one that gave no due process to Al..	LakeArenal	Jan 2019	#110
Good	ananda	Jan 2019	#14
please reconsider...	handmade34	Jan 2019	#15
Well said	Perseus	Jan 2019	#34
Agree 100%.	zentrum	Jan 2019	#17
That's what I think too	TexasBushwhacker	Jan 2019	#65
Yup. Me too.	zentrum	Jan 2019	#77
Or, the GOPee/Putin were blackmailing Gillibrand for something?	suegeo	Jan 2019	#83
As were the rest of us. Robbed of Paul Wellstone's legacy twice.	mahina	Jan 2019	#103
mahina, thank you for remembering another great Minnesotan.	pazzyanne	Jan 2019	#134
Me too, from so far away. He still lifts my heart.	mahina	Jan 2019	#136
+100	MoonRiver	Jan 2019	#20
EXCELLENT letter.	LisaM	Jan 2019	#21
Teen Vogue has some great articles, too.	deurbano	Jan 2019	#25
I just don't see anyone running now or anyone we know may run	mastermind	Jan 2019	#22
Keyword: progressive.	Gidney N Cloyd	Jan 2019	#28
Warren is another topic..	LakeArenal	Jan 2019	#113
Given her history with Phillip Morris and the NRA rating, how is she a Democrat?	CaptYossarian	Jan 2019	#23
She seem chameleon-like	SoFlaDem	Jan 2019	#29
Bernie Sanders is a better "Democrat" than this Democrat. (n/t)	thesquanderer	Jan 2019	#93
?Bernie signed that Railroad letter too!	LakeArenal	Jan 2019	#114
I was talking about all the republican-ish positions KG has taken over the years	thesquanderer	Jan 2019	#118
She doesn't think fast enough on her feet to be president.	Gidney N Cloyd	Jan 2019	#26
Saw that this morning in my paper newspaper and was going to post it here	The Velveteen Ocelot	Jan 2019	#27
Gillibrand	pamdb	Jan 2019	#33
I do hope that if she were to become the candidate for the Democratic party	Perseus	Jan 2019	#39
? Both Harris and Brown signed the Railroad letter...	LakeArenal	Jan 2019	#112
K & R	Duppers	Jan 2019	#35
I have asked this question before, maybe someone here can answer it	Perseus	Jan 2019	#36
So far it doesn't seem like he's ever expressed an interest in it.	The Velveteen Ocelot	Jan 2019	#42
People often are best in specific posts and Adam Schiff is excellent as head of	question everything	Jan 2019	#76
I do agree. But maybe we NEED him to run	LakeArenal	Jan 2019	#115
His fan base has mentioned it, but he isn't talking.	Caliman73	Jan 2019	#122
She will have my complete support if/when she comes out of the Convension with the nod.	marble falls	Jan 2019	#37
Exactly the way I feel. As they say, "She's dead to me."	pdsimdars	Jan 2019	#40
Wonderful Letter. Thanks for posting!	bitterross	Jan 2019	#43
Please let me once again. . .	Hangdog Slim	Jan 2019	#46
Welcome to DU	wryter2000	Jan 2019	#53
Hypocrisy of Gillibrand	marieo1	Jan 2019	#56
Spot on analysis.	SergeStorms	Jan 2019	#60
Thank you for bringing this to my attention.	Butterflylady	Jan 2019	#66
The one thing I knew for sure when that all happened.	JNelson6563	Jan 2019	#67
There were two letters	Trumpocalypse	Jan 2019	#70
It was not Chuck Schumer that was the deciding factor in Al's decision to resign	DFW	Jan 2019	#111
Ok	Trumpocalypse	Jan 2019	#123
I'm not interested in permanently obsessing over this	DFW	Jan 2019	#130
Thank you for your clear analysis	question everything	Jan 2019	#137
There was a reason he was slow to react	DFW	Jan 2019	#140
I believe that Gillibrand used Franken for her personal political purposes.	Zen Democrat	Jan 2019	#86
she wont get far....you can tell she's fake	mentalslavery	Jan 2019	#92
I'll just put this here	cannabis_flower	Jan 2019	#94
As a former	LittleGirl	Jan 2019	#95
The Franken thing stuck in my craw a little bit	padah513	Jan 2019	#96
Nor mine. Her spectacular flameout on. Rachel Maddow (1st interview. Since	mahina	Jan 2019	#100
It was ALL about HER career. Get rid of a more popular candidate;look good & (feel good)doing it.	flying_wahini	Jan 2019	#104
How do you know that?	Trumpocalypse	Jan 2019	#106
Me too.	firstwife	Jan 2019	#108
While I am really sorry about the loss of Franken, who	Perrenial Voter	Jan 2019	#109
If this was political jiu-jitsu to calibrate the Democratic Party to the #MeToo movement . . .	MrModerate	Jan 2019	#117
Agree with your second paragraph.	LakeArenal	Jan 2019	#126
She's dead to me. n/r	MrModerate	Jan 2019	#116
+1000	Power 2 the People	Jan 2019	#124
Gillibrand is a small ripple in the pond, there are far more important things to attend to.	NoMoreRepugs	Jan 2019	#127
I will vote for Gillibrand.	Collimator	Jan 2019	#132
Good letter to the editor	cp	Jan 2019	#144

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