Just to add, Saint Bernie also called for Franken to step down.
2
Better late (like three decades) than never for these Democrats.Senator Gillibrand is no doubt positioning herself politically. But not really very sincerely. This is so obvious it is sickening. But no doubt if she should become a candidate for higher office, her newly "astonished at this sexual misconduct" followers will quickly forget how she so recently fawned over Bill Clinton. Well at least BEFORE Hillary lost. Had Hillary won I have no doubt she would've continued to pretend old Wild Bill was wrongfully impeached.
No high ground here for these way late-to-the-party Dems
2
Senator Gillibrand values accusations over due process. Too bad. Now I may have to vote republican....yech.
3
Once again, Democrats bring kale to a gun fight! Enjoy the perch on top of Moral High Ground as Sessions lives his best bigoted life, the Heritage Foundation stocks court with right wing judges, the Repubs bankrupt us (again), and Trump burns down the house. Anyone consider whether this was a political lynching for grilling Sessions? Anyone think Bannon, Roger Stone, et. al. are howling in laughter at how easily Dems led by its star political correctness in chief, Gillibrand, got played? Anyway about that kale . . .
7
I don't support justice by Political Party or the Human Resources Department. Too many questionable motives for each.
What's the crime? Who is defining it? Why?
Perhaps all those legislators who promised to live by their spouses through sickness and health, until death do they part, and who haven't, should be forced out as well. What more of a violation of human oath is that?
And where and when does it stop? Why is an actual crime, having sex with a minor, the same as joking around backstage during a USO show when one is a comedian? As someone who likes to joke around a lot, I don't find the Gillibrand humor chill to be funny. And more people laugh than get their tush pinched, so we have much more right "behind" us.
Gillibrand's devotion to witch hunt runs counter to my devotion to civil liberties. My wife and I (41 years) have discussed this and will never vote for such a person should she choose to run for national office. We can't trust Gillibrand's devotion to self-promotion over civil rights.
5
She lost my vote too. You used Franken as a stepping stone in your career. You're so transparent. Al Franken acted impulsively while a comedian, not as a predator or abuser. He has been nothing but dignified and a champion for the people as a senator.
The democrats are eating their own. Done. Sanders and Warren are the two trustworthy senators.
6
>
The more I think about this the folly the madder I become.
I still don't understand exactly what Al Franken did while in office.
This is nuts. "Women don't want to be bothered by men."
Well I don't want to be bothered by Republicans, who do I see about that?
There was always something I didn't like about Gillibrand but could not quite put my finger on it, now I know what it was.
"How did I get into the world? Why was I not asked about it and why was I not informed of the rules and regulations but just thrust into the ranks as if I had been bought by a peddling shanghaier of human beings? How did I get involved in this big enterprise called actuality? Why should I be involved? Isn't it a matter of choice? And if I am compelled to be involved, where is the manager—I have something to say about this. Is there no manager? To whom shall I make my complaint?"
Kierkegraad
18
Pretty sexist headline, NYT. Whether intended or not, "Keeps herself at the fore" implies the same old charge leveled at strong women, she's "aggressive" and "self-promoting", etc. The high up graf speculating on her 2020 ambitions only reinforces the suggestion. Why not something objective like, "Gillbrand leads fellow Dems"or "Gillinbrand sets tone for Dems" in calling for Franken's resignation? I realize the NYT now has a "gender editor" but your headline writer seems to have missed the memo.
6
Gillibrand IS an aggressive (not sure what issue you have with that word -- maybe you're the one who is sexists?), self-promoting opportunist. It's how she has spent her entire political life. She spent 25 years supporting and taking money from the Clinton machine, then turned on a dime when they reach maximum irrelevance. She's positioned herself at the fore of the sexual harassment issue to the detriment of all Democrats, because in case you have not noticed, people are EXTREMELY angry over what she did here.
You can't request equality and then whip out a fainting couch every time someone uses (perfectly apt) descriptive language to describe a particular woman.
6
she's the judge and jury, all in one
29
Al Franken is owed due process. He received none.
This is why progressives despise liberals. Go ahead, stand yourselves in a circular firing squad and shoot yourselves crazy. Please. Make my day.
This was a crassly opportunistic move on the part of Gillibrand.
27
In a very infrequent moment of utter clarity - I have seen Al Franken's political future...
As a 2018 - Republican - Senate candidate in either of...
> Minnesota
> New York
Al is superbly qualified, for either place...
He knows how to make people living in cold:
> Snowy, rural, upstate places smile - while rest of the US government nails them to the wall
> Stony, urban, downstate places smile - as he did for fifteen years, on SNL
Further, Al was actually born in NYC, and lived there for his first four years - which is more than Clinton could claim...
In a very infrequent moment of utter clarity - I have seen Al Franken's media future...
As a 2017 - light-hearted centrist NYC-based - talk-show host, on the Fox network...
Perhaps even a side-car gig with a partner, with the same number of syllables in their last names...
> Franken and Carlson?
> Franken and Gutfeld??
> Franken and Schumer???
I know that Donald Trump reads all of my comments - so expect an endorsement tweet of Franken by 4 AM...I foretell that Trump may even offer to take campaign pics w/ Al - while giving him a big hug...
It was all there - invisible in plain sight...
COVFEFE...Which obviously stands for:
(remember to, in early 2018)
Campaign On Very-Friendly Elect-Franken Endorsement...
(another prescient Trumpidential note-to-self in the wee AM hours)
This is why Trump is where he is, Bezos is where he is, and the rest of us are where we are...
4
Senator Gillibrand is leading an honorable charge, putting country before politics. She is right about Former President Bill Clinton. If he was President today I would want him to resign immediately, and hand over the presidency to someone with greater moral authority. We must demand the highest standards from our leaders, political persuasions be damned.
Senator Gillibrand is also right about Senator Franken. There are now seven accusers, all with similar stories. Denying their credibility is no different than denying the credibility of Roy Moore's or Donald Trump's accusers. Groups of women do not conspire together to lie about this kind of thing. That means Senator Franken is certainly guilty of some form of sexual misconduct. Is what he did as bad as Roy Moore? Is it even in the same category? No, but it does not matter. Neither of these men belongs in the US Senate, nor does President Trump belong in the Oval Office.
I am very proud that Senator Gillibrand represents my state. Thank you, Senator, for being a leader, for being on the right side of history, and for providing our country with some much needed moral clarity.
5
Vote her out!
26
Robespierre had Danton's head. Then Robespierre lost his own. New York needs a new senator.
22
She seems to be an opportunist and a hypocrite, with no wisdom or common sense. Keep Franken and vote her out.
27
God, please let someone more worthy of the position run against Kirsten Gilibrand for the U.S. senate.
26
Gillibrand just forced out the sharpest mind, most effective questioner, and quite possibly the most progressive voice (excluding Bernie Sanders) in the Senate's Democratic caucus. She did so to burnish her own brand. Like my junior senator, Kamala Harris, she imagines herself stepping into Hillary's shoes and becoming the first woman president. God forbid. Both of them have made it unavoidably clear that they are about their own political futures, progressive values be damned. Ugh.
38
Isn't standing against sexual misconduct a progressive value? She's done impressive work reforming the military's mishandling of sexual assault cases.
Funny how you sexistly only see women as advancing their own careers, whilst Saint Bernie and Al are such selfless defenders of progressivism.
3
The democratic party will be the one with the highest moral standards. It will also consistently lose elections and be powerless. Loser liberalism!
22
She's mostly getting rid of a potential opponent for the 2020 presidential run
26
First she disses her mentor, Hillary. Now she dumps Franken, who votes the way she does. News flash: all sexual indiscretions are not the same. I now have zero tolerance for Gillibrand. If she runs for the Dem nomination in my state, I won't vote for her. If she becomes the Dem noiminee, I'll stay away from the polls.
27
Wow, what a boorish self-righteous hypocrite. She had no problem taking 'Clinton-cash' or the Clinton endorsement for Senate, but now trying to gain political cachet by demeaning Bill Clinton. Talk about 'bitting the hand that feeds you.' If you ask me, Gillibrand is WORSE than Franken, New York, you can do better. Politicians like Gillibrand put Trump in the White House. Back-stabbing turncoat.
21
Have to wonder if the NYT is going to touch the firestorm resulting from this opportunistic action on the part of democratic senators. Obviously, the readers of the NYT are not lining up to accept that denial of true process should be a fundamental tenet of a democratic party. Unverified allegations are enough to ruin someone's career?
27
i live in New York so at least I can volt against this hypocritical, poseur af a Senator who robbed the Senate seat From Carolyn Kennedy
26
The Robespierre of our moment....
13
Raise your hand if you can tell the difference between a predator and someone acting like a juvenile former comedian.
Now raise your hand if you're going to throw your "Gillibrand for President" bumper sticker in the trash when the National Democratic Committee sends it to you.
34
What has Senator Gillibrand accomplished in her time in Congress?
I think Al Franken was worth ten Gillibrands or Schumer’s.
Dems look like big losers on this one.
27
This is sad. NYT's picks are those that bash Senator Gillibrand. In my opinion, she came across as remarkably brave and responsible. But it seems winning politically is more important than courage and being right. I can see now why Trump is successful. The Democrats are playing the same game as the Republicans except that are are sore losers.
It doesn't matter whether you are a a man or woman. Surviving sexual abuse is not easy. I know.
3
The democrats are now toast.
13
With Kirsten Gillibrand on the job, who needs Mitch McConnell? Democrats, do not put her on the ticket in 2020. She is not generating good will with this.
26
Senator Gillibrand's jihad against sexual harassment is only against the Democrats . Why? When Conyers and Franken are leaving the congress, the Republican child molester is coming in the senate. Another proud sexual harasser is in White House. The original sinner (alleged) is in the Supreme Court? I want Gillibrand to be active against the Republican sinners equally. She should find out how much tax payers money was wasted to protect the Sexual predators in congress and who they are? We want fairness.
14
Strategist is not her middle name.
16
Having failed at making severe sexual assault count against Trump and Moore she stood on her soap box and chose low hanging fruit. Shame on her.
17
For any who are interested to know who is financing Gillibrand's political career, here is something you may find interesting.
https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/summary?cid=N00027658&am...
9
Thanks for this link! I've bookmarked it.
2
Unforgiving and ruthless (at least when it comes to Al Franken), all that Senator Gillibrand needs to fulfill her role as Madame Defarge in this modern American Dickensian farce is a bunch of knitting. "Enough is enough!" she cries, so sanctimoniously certain of her own moral rectitude that she can hardly wait to identify the next perpetrator she declares guilty of irredeemable sins and send him off to the guillotine, with neither testimony nor trial. This isn't feminism -- this is vengeful womanism of the worst kind, fueled by a form of moral cowardice that goes after only one's allies and then scurries away when the real misogynists and sex criminals appear. I'll be waiting to see if the good senator from NY manages to find the rectitude to walk out of the chamber when Roy Moore is sworn in by his grinning buddies in crime. But I won't hold my breath.
21
Gillibrand's office is at 202-224-4451.
10
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has gone after only the democrates while sexual harassment is happening in both parties...why isn’t she go after the biggest of them all “45” to be exact. Selective punishments is un-democratic.
12
Does this woman have any other issues?
12
Yet another Wise Latina here:
Gillibrand's politics is what neoliberal feminism looks like. She does not represent the interests of all Democratic or left of center women.
18
gillebrand is a hypocrite. she will never be elected.
she just cost the democrats over $250 a month in recurring campaign donations.
I will do everything I can for there rest of my life to get rid of Gillebrand.
Don't get me wrong there needs to be persertive. but our of all the male bad actors in the world, probably easily over a billion, Gillebrand declares, forthrightly, enough is enough.
I will never donate to democrats again and my only mission to get gillebrand out of office.
16
Senator Gillibrand, you wear makeup? To look good I assume. I think you are harassing me with flirtatious actions. Maybe I should file suit. Then you can resign.
6
Agree. And she should let her hair turn naturally grey to match her personality and credibility.
1
Some things come full circle, I suppose. America has had a long sordid history of these types of accusations. Ask Emmett Till.
8
Hypocrite does seem to be the apt word.
13
Seems just like the kind of woman who I've experienced as bullies in the office. They are arrogant and opportunist and won't hesitate to destroy another woman if they feel their own position or power is threatened, or if it is just politically expediant to get someone else out of the way. Speak out against sexual harassment, absolutely. Support victims... well, only if they're not YOUR victims.. hypocrite.
12
The captain that goes down with the ship still dies
5
"many people are proud that.... she is providing moral clarity"
Well, it's pretty clear to me that an awkward squeeze of the waist during a group photo and some sophomoric holding of hands above breasts is not equivalent to pedophilia and attacking teenaged girls in locked cars and grabbing genitals are not equivalent. So, Ms Gillibrand's "moral clarity" is pretty foggy.
"Gillibrand and other Democratic female senators have in engaged in conversation about WHAT TO DO ABUT MR FRANKEN on the phone, in person and, at least once, IN A WOMEN'S RESTROOM IN THE CAPITOL."
Give me a break!! Seriously, give me a break! Maybe we can get Tina Fey to write a sequel.
17
If Gillibrand is the 2020 nominee, you can expect to see a lot of mattress memes.
5
Gillibrand = grandstanding prude clown. Like so many others.
I met a woman at large concert once. All of us friends or friends of friends.
A month later I ran into her at grocery. We shook hands and said the usual pleasantries, then went our separate ways.
Months later, a mutual friend mentioned the woman had spoken to her of that exchange. The woman stated I had flirted with her and had intentionally shook hands to touch her.
I abused this women, I learned. I infringed on her rights, her space.
I regard her prudish, daytime soap-opera view of what she believes to be sexual activity as appalling and dangerous.
So stands Gillibrand and many others.
Appalling these perceived non-incidents drown out the true abuses women suffer and go on to besmirch those whose gestures were innocently made.
Americans, the most violent prudes on earth.
11
I think we've just reached peak Me Too.
Now that pinching someone's waist is defined as "groping", many women will be horrified to realize they have been abusing their adult privilege by unwanted groping of other people's children, even babies. Will those who are sitting Democratic senators then resign?
9
Roxanne Gay said “Men can start putting in some of the work women have long done in offering testimony. They can come forward and say “me too” while sharing how they have hurt women in ways great and small.” And Al Franken did.
Amber Tamblyn said “We’re in the midst of a reckoning. It’s what toxic masculinity’s own medicine tastes like.” And Al Franken got his medicine.
But Trump still roams the White House.... Why doesn't Gillibrand show some real guts and call Donald out on the floor of the Senate? I'm a Democrat but phrases like "toxic masculinity" is one of the reasons we lost in 2016. I'm a heterosexual white male but it's not my fault as I was born this way. I'm not claiming victim status but when you see things like Chelsea Handler on Bill Maher declare that " the world is getting browner and gayer and that's a great thing" and the audience erupts into cheers I can't help thinking "well I'm not brown or gay so I guess I'm the enemy" . I have nothing against brown or gay people, or gay brown people but the obvious inference is that more of them and less straight white males is a good thing. Enjoy losing more elections.
I am appalled and disgusted by how Senator Gillibrand has acted with Senator Franken. A couple of weeks ago she went on a tirade against the Clintons - the very couple who encouraged and helped her win Hillary's seat!
I'm sorry - but there is a lot wrong with the picture where a SNL 60's hipster comedian is made to resign from having mocked a few women. He was equated in the same breath as a pedophile from Alabama and a rapist, mysogynist in the White House.
Thats sad.
While I agree that Senator Frankens behavior left a lot to be desired he did not accost women in dark alleyways or hotel rooms. He should have been given the opportunity to have a public ethics hearing.
So disgusted by Gillibrand - as she is clearly doing it as a setup for a run for the presidency.
21
Good, Kirsten. Be in opposition for the rest of your life. That's just so Democratic Party. Take down your own leaders, especially those most likely to campaign on your side for this very issue *because* of his own history and not in spite of it. And your support and tolerance to bolster that message. But instead, be a good Holier-Than-Thou-Democrat. Eat your young.
If you wait long enough, a totally flawless person such as yourself will come along to take that seat. But it won't happen in my lifetime, or yours.
17
Senator Gillibrand is a self righteous SHOWBOAT!
Franken has not done anything amounting to resignation.
Unfortunately, in this me too mob prosecution moment, democratic senators led by a black-white female pretentious moralist catered to the sentiment of the moment, kicking our good senator out for minor misconduct.
We must say having colleagues like this who needs enemies (republicans).
Republicans certainly play the party politics better than democrats.
In party politics, one defends not attacks ones colleagues. The attack is preserved for your opponents. These democrats went even further, they even kicked their peers over the cliff for minor misconducts.
So in the future, we will only elect Lily-whites to the Democratic Party.
14
I'll believe in her "ethics" when she goes after Trump.
8
Senator Gillibrand MUST immediately come out as forcefully and as publically to hold Donald Trump accountable for his past assaults on women, as she has to demand that Senator Franken resign! In my adult life I have never seen such blatant hypocrisy. Gillibrand and other members of the Democratic party need to explain why they are not calling just as loudly for Donald Trump to resign. Are they holding members of their own party to a different standard than those of the Republican party? We either believe the women who have come out against Trump, Moore, and Farenthold and make a concerted good faith effort to hold those men accountable, or we play directly into the hands of Steve Bannon and the alt-right trolls who are demeaning our democratic principles and using the moral bankruptcy of the Republican party to ram through their dangerous, destructive agenda. The Democratic party will lose the support of well-educated professional women like me for a generation to come if they do not swiftly demonstrate that they are willing to take on the sexual predator in the White House, and not just attack their Democratic colleague (Franken is low hanging fruit). It is an offense to decency that Trump is still in the White House given all the women who have accused him of harassment and molestation! Shame on the Democratic party – grow a spine!!
8
Monkey see, monkey do. This cascade worries me. It reminds me of when everybody jumped on the “weapons of mass destruction “ bandwagon. Some people will end up with egg on their faces, and some lives will be ruined, needlessly.
11
Four out of five members of Congress are white and four out of five are men. Minority men and women beware of these figures. Ms. Gillibrand has a point. Enough is enough. If these white men who hold public office cannot keep their hands to themselves something must be done. If these men grew up disrespecting women, which is probably the case for most of them, then they have no business working around them, let alone women in short skirts and high heels. Al Franken blew it and he has no one to blame but himself.
1
Franken for President in 2020!
12
I hope that Cotton Mather Gillibrand Stander will now focus on a historical wrong.
We as a nation need to hold Thomas Jefferson responsible for his reprehensible sexual assaults on his household staff.
The difference in power is obvious.
Indeed he impregnated a member of his household staff.
Hopefully Gillibrandstander can have his monument razed.
Have the sexual predator removed from our currency.
The failure to rename TJ High School in Brooklyn.
What message does this send to our daughters, our sisters, our wives?
5
Al Franken had to resign, even though his offenses came nowhere near the kind of gross impositions committed by other politicians and celebrities which haven been uncovered in recent weeks.
Indeed, there is a lingering suspicion that Franken was targeted and that some of his accusers either exaggerated his juvenile behavior or fabricated events with the encouragement of Republican operatives.
We seem to have tossed the concept of due process out the window and are applying a much higher standard to Democrats than to Republicans. The nation will regret this double standard as we move forward.
The idea that this has happened while a man with a history of serial sexual assaults sits in the White House and the Republican Party finances the senatorial campaign of a pedophile in Alabama is sickening.
Kirsten Gillibrand led the attack on Franken, and she has a knack for finding the exact, safest moment to be correct, or nearly correct, on issues of the day.
5
I will vote for anyone running against Gillibrand. Is that comment enough?
12
Another horrible female democratic 'politician' - just great. And in the mold of the one who just lost the biggest gimme election of all time. Really great. And I guess partly why we have complete Republican control of our government despite Clinton's predictions of an inexorable wave of Dem dominance with her at the top..er, perhaps not.
Don't get me wrong - I've been an ardent supporter of female equality my entire life - but this isn't what that should look like. Throwing one of your colleagues (Franken of course) under the bus before due process isn't impressive to hardly anyone and won't score political points. And no, contrary to the parade of pundits here and on the so-called liberal media channels today, this isn't what the future of any party or victory looks like.
Republicans and red stater's are laughing at political correctness run amok - and it's an entirely unforced (stupid) error. This is what political suicide looks like.
Just read the comments sections on these articles and get a feel for what both men and women really think about this - and you get the notion that perhaps the celebrating is premature. I'm disgusted with the fiasco of Trump and his mob associates dismantling government but if this is the resistance God help us all.
10
Gillibrand is dead wrong on this issue, getting her jollies crucifying a
a good and decent man, who has worked hard in the Senate and done right by his constituents. Franken traded in moronic humor decades ago; he is not a serial sexual predator. He's made a gracious apology acknowledging his failure to grasp how offensive the actions were and validating the feelings of violation the women felt. Some of his accusers are actually anonymous: wonder how much the GOP paid them to 'come forward'?
At the very least, Franken deserves a fair investigation before being tarred and feathered and run out of the Senate. My advice to him is to run for re-election immediately and let the voters of Minnesota decide--not Gillibrand et al.
13
I hope Al Franken reconsiders, especially if the accusations are not accurate. If there is some truth, that he is a serial groper, however, he has to go.
Just like the president.
5
Gillibrand sure did not mind the money and support of Bill & Hill, a world class tag team of women abusers. If Gillibrand thinks her fake (and hypocritical) outrage will help her or the Democratic party she has a poltical tin ear as bad as Hillary's.
7
This PC Queen is a gift beyond measure to the Republican Party. The contrast between her and the evangelicals (not favorites of mine, BTW) will not be missed in 2018. They believe in confession, forgiveness and redemption (at least they say they do). They will set her up as a target and this is what they will say: She believes in revenge, not Christian forgiveness. She's out for blood (male blood) and will be satisfied with nothing else. And she is the face of the Democratic party. It's a sure-fire winner.
All you pundits who like to write about how the Democrats are well positioned for the next election, find another topic. That's over.
10
Senator Gillibrand has no chance to become nominee of the Democratic party in 2020 or in any other year. I hope she doesn't survive the 2018 primary. Go Caroline Kennedy!!
6
I was going to switch from Independent to Democrat for the elections next year - but not now!
7
I hope her head is demanded when some anonymous allegation of physical or verbal impropriety from her past surfaces.
And it is shortly coming.
6
I think she's done being a Senator and there might not be other positions available. Could it be the Al Franken was a foe standing in the way of her 2020 presidential attempt? If the squeaky little girl voice didn't already seal her fate, this vanquishing will.
8
How to lose the next presidential election, 101. And just when it was looking almost impossible to do so. One person's groping is another's friendly pat. All touching is not sexual. And the people of this country are apparently way more willing to stand up for due process and examination of evidence than this woman is. She is kryptonite to Democrats hope of electoral success.
14
This just proves that the Dems have NO IDEA how to win a general election. Do you think that anyone in the middle is going to vote for a party that can't discern between the criminality of assault and harassment of a much different ilk? We all want a better, more perfect union but the actions of these senators is so tone deaf they might as well have been clamoring for an investigation of Communists from Congress. People DO care about abuses of women by men in power - I count myself among those - but what price must we pay? The ouster of a man who seems ready to submit to a full investigation in the public eye and who is otherwise a ready ally is hardly the type of sacrifice that should be made to kick off a cleansing campaign, especially when the majority Repubs will hoist up the worst of their own and sell their souls to maintain their control. Are we unable to distinguish between the lamentable actions of the past and the heinous and criminal acts of the present? Dems have truly lost their way if they think - if Gillibrand thinks - that this is the way to reclaim electoral victories. Trump won the vote of white women AFTER his awful tape was made public and he admitted to it! For crying out loud, what part of that message is unclear? If anyone thinks that this is some kind of watershed moment where everyone grows a conscience and good triumphs over evil, please, get them a psychiatric eval immediately.
6
I would vote for Franken any day over Hillenbrand who protests too much to feed her opportunism and I'll temperament. She is exploiting and easy issue, confirming my impression she slid into every position. Another slacker.
In fact, I only needed a nudge to perfect my vow to never again vote for Democrat and never did for a Republican in fifty years. So I am glad to never vote again with a clear conscience in the absence of candidates and a party with a trace of a conscience and character.
The Democrats tossed fine mind over the side for political exediencr, proving they are whimps.
Good night and good luck America. You will need it.
4
Democrats and liberals sadly shooting themselves in the foot yet again. By supporting not just some, but even those of whom were making clearly absurd or exaggerated charges against Senator Frankin, they undermine the cause and will just drive away more swing voters.
When someone has to become afraid to put an arm around someone's waist while taking a picture with them when even the other person has already draped their arm around you and when absolutely 100% non-events like that are tossed in with somewhat more minor incidents and when the somewhat more minor incidents are tossed in with rape and many of the things, say, Weinstein did and tossed in with the attempted sexual assault of someone locked into a car and such terrible cases of harassment and assault what good do any of those supporting that think will come of it all?
Democrats will lose, not gain votes from critical swing voters. Society will become worse not better, less not more caring, more not less angry. In the long run it might backfire and could make it once again tougher for people to bring up incidents that they have every right to bring up. You just know it will lead some to start trying to call it all nonsense and that would be a sad legacy and ending to all of the courageous women who have come forward to expose serious issues or to the ones pointing out somewhat more minor incidents while also having regarded them in proportion.
8
Senator Gillibrand is so pure and yet she takes blood money from gun manufacturers and tobacco. So pure and yet she supports the case of even on 'accuser' whose own account amounts to literally nothing and thus commits injustice.
When they are stating to annoy lifelong liberals and Democrats, hw do they expect to get the swing votes?
Why do we have to have extremes, most Republicans, President Trump, and a some liberals going overboard controlling everything?
6
Gillibrand will now be noted as the senator who didn't go after Trump, didn't confront Sessions, and helped elect Trump/Pence through 2024. This brave senator decided to forgo due process, and the rules of law in an effort to win the 2020 election- for the GOP.
I don't remember a thing she has said on the floor but I remember Franken.
I am not condoning Franken's buffoonery. He could have been sanctioned. How many Senators have acted worse than Franken while in office?
Gillibrand will never have my vote. A vote for Gillibrand is a vote for Trump. I have no party to vote for anymore
10
Although I disagreed w/Senator Gillibrand about Clinton-Lewinsky (Ms. Lewinsky not only consented, but in fact initiated), I think it is more than just Senator Gillibrand who is looking ahead to 2020, or even 2018. Before Democrats could/can lead the charge against Moore, Trump, Farenthold, they needed to clean their own house. Franken sat on the Senate Judiciary Committee; his past transgressions would have made him vulnerable to attacks about hypocrisy. Let's remember Ted Kennedy sitting on his hands during the Clarence Thomas hearings. Not to mention that hypocrite Biden, who now tries to claim he's a champion of women.
1
I thought we liberals were opposed to fundamentalists who say everything the Bible says is literally true because God said it. But we seem to have little trouble adopting a fundamentalist version of if a woman makes an accusation, it is true. Yeah, I know the arguments, all of them. And I know the ones evangelical Christians make about the Bible too. Inerrancy is inerrancy is inerrancy. This needs to stop.
3
Gillibrand will never be elected to a higher office. Her hectoring and claims of some moral superiority plus stomping on anything that resembles due process in the Senate for Mr. Franken ends Gillibrand's needed broad appeal. Move over Hillary, you have company on the sidelines bench.
12
Senator Gillibrand is a political opportunist. Senator Franken is a good man and a great Senator. She should be ashamed but she won't. She's probably practicing in the mirror right now her presidential nomination acceptance speech.
8
Regardless of Gillibrand's reasons for pushing Franken to resign, the reality is that Franken needed to resign. Franken became a symbol, like others in our national politics, of sexual harassment gone wild. In today's political climate, this national shame must be aired out and cleaned out - regardless of how the GOP deals tepid response to their own. My hope is that this national disgrace has reached a tipping point, where at least one political party has made "reparations" to society at large - and perhaps, sometime in the future, the GOP will drag its feet to moral compliance among its own.
If she believes Franken really did something horrendous, why is she a friend and personally fond of him? If I had a friend who I thought did something truly horrendous - truly abused or harassed women, I might be civil to them if they were part of my world - maybe, it depends what they did; but I wouldn't say I like them very much. I can think of men and women I know who were abusive to others and I have contempt for them.
Wait one second - don't tell me it is b/c she is politically aligned with him Ohhh. That would explain the hypocrisy about Clinton (never mind the Kennedys). Not relevant anymore? Please. They make Al Franken resign over maybe, possibly unwanted kissing, but B.C. is fine, though accused of rape and exposing himself to women. This is so hypocritical, that we may need another name for it to distinguish it from ordinary hypocrisy. I'd have more respect if she said she can't criticize Clinton for political purposes but Franken is politically expendable. And feel free to criticize Trump and Moore. A pox on both political parties.
In general, it is a good thing if women feel more comfortable calling out harassment and abuse. But, we can deal with it in a rational way and not throw out every idea about fairness. We don't want sterile offices where people are fearful of interaction. Unless it is all about revenge based on superficial characteristics.
3
i am so livid about this! I called all the senators yesterday and call Sen Al Franken to send my support. With all the senate has to work on, DACA, taxes, CHIP, government shutdown and healthcare they ALL chose this one to speak up about??? Never mind they ever spoke up on a plan for healthcare or Taxes. For those issues they were mum!
Where was the investigation? I don't get it! I am embarrassed to have Sen Gillibrand and Schumer as my senators.
13
Well, Senator Gillibrand, you are going to have to work very hard to earn my vote again next year for your senate re-election after this grandstanding stunt. Leading the call for Senator Franken's resignation before the ethics committee investigation (which he himself called for) has been completed, shows an utter lack of respect for due process in our country. If you think that this was a smart move to solidify your position as a 2020 presidential candidate, I think you will find that you miscalculated.
9
If Senator Franken resigns then the Democrats and Republicans and every woman voter must insist that Donald Trump must resign. If Senator Franken is forced out of office in this way, then Donald Trump must also be asked to leave as well. No turning back on this one.
4
Will Sen. Gillibrand be as adamant that Trump should step down? Where is the rallying cry for that?
7
Gillibrand is riding a wave of societal contagion, when at its apogee the fine points of relative culpability are lost, as those with even the taint of "evil" are castigated, ostracized or worse.
Al Franken who was able to integrate the wit and sensitivity of the fine line between humor and insult, reflected in the classic skits he wrote in the golden early days of SNL, reproduced a version of this in the service of representing liberal values in the Senate. He always was prepared, and hit the perfect note of balance between comity and confrontation of nominees.
His humanity is confirmed by not being able to deflect the mass rage that was directed towards him. My hope is that between now and the "few weeks" period when he said he would resign, that the Democratic party realizes the great harm they have done him in equating this man with Roy Moore and Donald J. Trump, who first committed assaults, and then by lying about it, defamed their victims.
This is my Dailykos article fostering a movement that encourages that he revoke his resignation. It needs some real public support to correct the injustice done to him by his party.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/12/7/1722104/-Al-Franken-You-must-...
8
I will not be voting for Gillibrand or Schumer when they are up for re-election. I contacted both of them and stated as much. I hope my fellow NYers feel the same.
12
I'm a current constituent of Sen. Gillibrand. If she is primaried from the left I will vote for her opponent. She and other Democratic women senators were "uncomfortable" working with Franken. Being "comfortable" is not part of the job description of public service. Usurping the duly elected representative of citizens of another state is also not part of the the job description. I'm not a big fan of Franken, but I don't believe in rushing to judgement.
5
Good job to Sen. Gillibrand and friends. You just tossed aside a true leader before due process while the GOP ignores all the things they are doing. Franken was a very good senator at a time we need really good senators.
This is truly a case of winning the battle and losing the war.
11
Fight the good fight Ms.Gillibrand, not the politically expedient one. You’ve lost my vote.
10
It should be noted to zealous Democrats that the Moral High Ground has not one shred of Legislative, Judicial, or Executive powers under the Constitution; not even mentioned once when I ran text search.
5
I guess Gillibrand is trying to make the case Trump should resign
Or maybe she’s getting an early start on running for President
3
Oh, Kirsten's making lasting change all right. Unfortunately it is not the kind of change she thinks.
Talk about being in a bubble. Maybe she scored points with some on the far left. But much of the country and certainly the majority in Alabama will not be impressed.
This country is in real trouble and all reasonable people should be coming together to combat our real enemies - Trump, Putin, GOP and their puppeteers.
6
I am a supporter of Senator Gillibrand, think she is good for the Senate and the country, and has a top level political career ahead of her. But whoever said it, yes, there must be a line drawn in the sand. Weinstein and Lauer crossed it, but Franken, and i am not condoning his behavior, and judging by his background it seems more like a Saturday Night Live skit. I believe the State of Minnesota, the U.S. Senate, and the country are negatively impacted by his resignation. Yes, I agree that Bill Clinton should have resigned; it is one thing to lie to the FBI, lie to a Senate or House Committee, but to lie to the American public as a whole is entirely unacceptable.
1
Game of Thrones. Gillibrand eliminated a competitor. Disgusted with her, Schumer, Pelosi, and virtually the entire Democratic Party apparatus. The old guard is closing ranks. With every passing day it becomes more painful thinking about how different things would be now if Bernie Sanders had been elected.
6
I keep remembering when Ms Gillibrand caved to Claire McCaskel over the prosecution of military personnel committing female assaults. McCaskel won out and prosecution was left to the military to police their own. She caved, plain and simple.
6
Is having a drink the same as a DUII? The same as if vehicular manslaughter was committed while drinking. Are we to purge anyone who smoked a joint in college? Is that the same a shooting heroin in Senate chambers? And what if someone just claims that any of those things were done by an official? Is that the equivalent of a trial? Imperfect analogies perhaps, but facts matter, degree matters. And this is what the Democrats are choosing to make headlines about, rather than the abomination of a so-called middle class tax cut? The gutting of environmental protections for sacred public land? Pushing for more fossil rules in the face of shifting market forces and the clear evidence of global warming? The epidemic of homelessness and the gutting of the very modest steps to ensure healthcare? Runaway gun violence and mass shootings. Or even closer to this particular home, the actual predatory behavior of men like Weinstein, Trump and Moore? If some tasteless jokes and (possibly) unwanted advances are seen as the equivalent of any one of those, the democrats have only demonstrated how out of touch they are with the reality of the electorate and their actions underscore how someone like Trump and his cadre can occupy the highest office. Gillibrand has not done neither herself nor her party a service.
6
I've never voted for a Democrat for President in my life. I will vote for Gillibrand if she gets the nomination. She puts principle before party. It's what the country needs.
You want pure gender politics? I’m a man and I will never vote for Gillibrand after her demand that a strong, progressive senator like Franken should be forced to resign without due process and regardless of his actions.
9
Violation of your oath of office, Senator Gillibrand, is a good reason to resign. You swore to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. It requires due process, the right of the accused to face his accusers, and the right of the accused to discovery and a defense. You dispensed your star chamber justice without any of those. Now please leave office and let someone who believes that real justice is better than "higher justice" take your place.
May we poll your male colleagues to find out whether you are creating for them a hostile workplace? Will you resign if the answer is yes?
8
The Democratic leadership really missed an opportunity to demonstrate transparency, due process and accountability for elected officials. Senator Franken's alleged misconduct is wrong, but everyone deserves due process. I am a mother, a professional and a feminist. I want my daughter to grow up in a society that stands against sexual misconduct, sexual harrassment and sexual violence. But, I don't think the fight for women's rights have been served well today. There will be a backlash against the #metoo movement if due process is neglected and/or ignored for quick headlines and media attention. The people of Minnesota should have had more say in Franken's resignation then two Senators from New York. Given the vitriol directed toward them, they must now be thinking the checkmate on Franken was a miscalculation.
5
About 15 years ago in Charleston, WV, a female patient accused her male physician of sexual misconduct. The newspapers ran the story on page one every day for months.
When the case went to court, when the physician's lawyer was able to question the woman about dates and times, the physician was finally exonerated because each of the "events" occurred when the physician was out of town or somewhere else- like a faculty meeting.
We have a system in the US, not perfect, but it is called due process. It is time we use it.
6
Unfortunately, we Democrats cannot have it both ways. We can't accuse Repubs of obstructing and engaging in "but what about-ism" and then engage in it ourselves. I am ill about Senator Franken. For awhile, it seemed that perhaps the accusations themselves were suspect (given the timing and relationship to Fox News)...but if this were so, why didn't he stand up and say so and fight? What did he have to lose? He didn't fight. He folded. This indicates to me that there is some truth and he should be out. Trump should be out too. And Moore should be disqualified. And it kills me that the Repubs will not do what is right. But we really can't have it both ways.
1
If enough is enough how come only Democrats are forced to resign? Why are Trump and Clarence Thomas still in office? Why is Roy Moore still being supported by the RNC? Double standard of morality here. How come only the Dems are supposed to be decent moral citizens, but Republicans are allowed to "grab them by the pussie" and prey on teenage girls?
33
Because we are allowing ourselves to become the party of narcissists.
4
this double standard obviously exists why in the world would you give up a fighting soldier and not demand the same? I’m not the only one to notice that the official rule book is only followed by one party; play the game by their rules. Trump supporters don’t seem to mind that their President is a groper who endorses a Ray Moore, a man accused of paedophilia. Democrats, enough of the pearl clutching and get your hands dirty.
1
Will Senator Gillibrand stand up and say the DJT must go as well? How can she disgard Al Franken and Bill Clinton with out calling out the Trumpster? We should ALL be calling out DJT, but because he denied the allegations he gets to walk? I don't get it.
23
Because unfortunately not enough Democrats have guts. Maybe the moral high ground theory might win some moderates and Independents but I doubt it'll have much effect. Republicans obviously don't care what their Representatives do as long as they win. Deny, deny and hypocritically attack the other side is the way to go politically but , once again, Democrats eat their own.
2
No, she will not. And let me tell you why: when it comes to political correctness we liberals find it safer to point out the logs in each others’ eyes. It’s so much safer than standing up to power and evil. This is why we are dismissed as cowards.
6
I'm shocked and angered that Senator Gillibrand and Senator Schumer are leading the witch hunt against Senator Franken, doing what is politically correct for them and not for our party, and sit by while the vested pedophile from Alabama and President Trump have done far worse. Really????
Where is their outrage for their behavior, I dopn't see them on the Senate floor doing what is right for our country, standing up calling them out.
At least Senator Franken asked for the Senate ethics committee to investigate, he admitted what he did and didn't do, he said some allegations were true and some weren't which more than the others do, they just deny and lie.
We have no idea if the all the woman bringing allegations are lying or telling the truth, we have no idea the depth of the charges. In one case we know Senator Franken apologized and the accuser accepted his apology and didn't want him to resign.
There is also word that one of his accusers is friends with Sean Hannity.
They are not leading they are giving the Republicans what they want while the Republicans continue to do whatever they want. They are throwing one of the parties greatest advocates for democracy to the wolves, for what????
The only thing this serves is the GOP not the democratic party.
They booth loose my vote.
36
Lila, Agree with you 100%. So extremely disappointed in Gillibrand and Schumer. They displayed zero courageous leadership. I strongly hope Gillibrand is never on the Democratic ticket, too opportunistic to ever get my vote.I am a #metoo person and I just saw the movement used as a weapon to take a good guy down. Many of the accusers were either right wing operatives or anonymous call ins to media outlets. This is outrageous. We need representatives that will stand up to Trump's & GOPs tyranny and not throw their own under the bus when the going gets tough.
4
Lila, when are liberal women going to say “Enough”? Amber Tamblyn gloated over this “reckoning” in a NYTimes piece last week. When are women going to acknowledge that the demand that men give up their outmoded toxic behaviors ought to include as well the giving up of “vestigial aspects of femininity too that are similarly maladaptive for the modern workplace”? (quoting Laura Kipnis)
1
Time to reread "Tale of Two Cities"
10
Senator Gillibrand
ambition's debt will be paid, unless you are DJT of course!
12
Gillibrand ... Schumer ...
The Clinton contingent clearly still dominates the party. My hopes for 2018 and 2020 are dimming fast.
27
Uh, Giilibrand dissed Clinton, too.
2
Perhaps Democrats now have to only elect women candidates. They are the only ones who seem to be immune from the Democratic witch-hunt. I say this as an almost 70 year-old, lifelong, progressive Democrat who was active in the civil rights and anti-Vietnam War activities. Democrats are now eating their own, without due process, investigation, or any differentiation between real sexual harassment , assault, molestation of minors and predatory behavior vs. bad joke photos, Fox News contributors who admit that they gave permission to kiss, but found the kiss too "slimy", women who thought they were hugged too vigorously when their husbands were taking a requested photo, and a anonymous woman claiming there was a kiss attempt followed by a statement that is strickenly similar to Trump's I can do it because I'm a star.
This situation is going to alienate a lot of men, even those like me who have worked for women's rights for years. Couldn't you at least have waited for an ethics hearing so you could hear Mr. Franken's view of all this?
29
Only Democrats are being burned at the stake.
3
I think Senator Gillibrand should be forced to resign. She has tobacco blood money on her hands, having made her fortune defending these companies while millions of Americans have died from tobacco related diseases. Her actions should exclude her from civilized society.
44
Senator Gillibrand is a self-righteous SHOWBOAT.
Senator Franken's improprieties, even now, have not reached the level requiring resignation. And we cannot afford to lose an intelligent and effective senator such as Franken. In fact, I would rather have a mildly "immoral" Franken instead of a self-righteous Gillibrand representing us.
But, if a female SHOWBOAT keeps parading her moral superiority and trumpeting her colleague's demise, she may cost us a dear senator because repetition can make common male misbehavior appear to be a first degree murder.
In short, we don't need a female senator continues to flaunt her self-righteousness at the expense of our Good, Effective Senator.
Senator Gillibrand, Please Shut Up!
Let voters decide! Not decided by a showboat!
41
This is more of the same from the Hillary bunch. They are well-off women who can afford to be in high dudgeon over small matters and lose sight of the main issues. Gillibrand is pushing herself to the center to become the next Democratic presidential candidate. One potential rival down and several more to go.
Gillibrand, go stand outside the White House daily and call for Trump to step down. His actions are far worse in every respect. By the way, did you get an agreement signed in blood from the Republican women to refuse to seat Moore next month if he wins the election? Did you even try or were you too busy being self-important?
This isn't justice; it is a travesty.
29
Nora: Gillibrand recently said that Bill Clinton should have resigned. She also was instrumental in causing Franken to resign. Hardly seems like she is in the Hillary bunch any longer.
1
Her loyalty is a matter of convenience. She doesn't need Hillary any longer, but she does need Her voters and the cadre of women who are equally smug and condescending.
1
Sen. Gillibrand seems to have plenty to say about fellow Democrats, Franken and Clinton, yet virtually no mention of Trump's 16+ accusers or Roy Moore's 9 former teen accusers. Now that's rank hypocrisy.
35
Did Jeffrey Epstein write any checks to her campaign? Because that would definitely be a clue.
When did Gillibrand anoint herself as the goddess of goodness? As I recall, she was pro-NRA at her election; and is still in favor of guns. She has other shortcomings, so how is it that she's the leader of this miserable pack?
33
How dare Mz Gillibrand appointment herself as Commissioner of Perfect Virtue? This is virtue signaling of the worst kind. What happened to due process?
21
She irks me. If a doctor leaves a foreign object in your body in the course of surgery, new York law provides that you have only one year to sue, cplr, section 201 et seq. However women think they should be given license to complain about alleged wrongs committed 3 decades ago. Furthermore, feminist princesses proclaim that we must always believe the women and must negate centuries of Anglo American law which prescribes that before we believe anyone we must scrutinize the evidence, examine the witnesses and cross examine the witnesses.
14
Okay, Ms. Gillibrand, you are my Senator and you have been a good one. You have earned your spotlight by taking out one of your own.
Now let's see you use your spotlight by executing a Government Shutdown until the Republican Party puts the current Tax Bill through proper hearings and a full vote by the Senate, not a "reconciliation vote" since this is not in any way a "minor adjustment" to the economy, but a full rewrite.
As it is now, this bill will destroy Middle Class New York Homeowners like my family. If all you did was weaken your own party, I will not forgive you, no matter how many waists Senator Franken squeezed over the years.
10
Why is Trump, who is vile every minute of his con-artist life, allowed to stay in the White House while men who admit they did wrong but do much good in the world otherwise, have to leave? Trump has done nothing for anybody in his life except for himself and some of his children.
13
It's a good thing FDR and JFK were not members of the Democratic party of today, they would have been forced out.
Gandhi, if he were an American , would not have survived this witch hunt either.
The Rev. MLK , if he were a Democrat, also would not be welcome now.
At least according to the new purity and morals police now inhabiting the Democratic party.
I'm not saying Franken is in the same league as the men mentioned above, or even that his offenses are easily brushed aside.
But what principles, exactly, does this party really stand for?
27
Side eye to Sen. Gillibrand and the women who led the charge to throw Sen. Franken under the bus. A true Progressive lost to the Senate and the country on these flimsy accusations. So disappointing.
29
Lots of hand wringing by Franken supporters re: due process. The goal of due process is to protect the innocent. Countless innocent women have had to put up with creepy behavior by men as part of their everyday lives for YEARS. The sea change we're witnessing means the piper will be paid... "due process" or not.
Due process for both parties not one!
I don’t think you understand due process. Franken would (have been) presumed innocent until proven guilty, not the accusers.
I don’t think you understand “hand wringing” either. What you are seeing is pure disgust at democrats whacking one of their finest for precious little.
1
Shame on Senator Gillibrand and Chuck Shumer for not supporting Al Franken - where is the ethics investigation? Do we have mob rule? - this is an elected representative of the people - how can they treat him like a criminal without any proof of wrong doing? This looks like a right wing plot - and, of course Democrats fall for it and damage their brand even further .
27
This is a classic case of a politician focusing on issues they think the voters can understand. Chicken in every pot, sex offender on every hook. OK, got it. But Franken is a relatively small fish and once elected actually seemed earnest. So, Gillebrand, where's your force against the sharks surrounding us? Where's your voice on the complex issues?
18
Gilllibrand has demonstrated she is a weak leader who caves in and throws fellow Democrats under the bus without due process I question her judgement and motivation
3
Sen. Gillibrand has also lost the vote of this Democrat if she ever asks for it. These allegations are unproven and asking Sen. Franken to resign is premature. It appears that Sen. Gillibrand is doing this out of personal ambition.
28
This is absolutely infuriating. Because the democrats only lose. We lose Franken and Conyers, the republicans keep Moore and Trump (and so many others). Bill Maher is right, the democrats won't fight back. We need the Franken vote and the Conyers vote on so many other issues.
22
Franken has denied several of the charges. The couple that he has acknowledged do not amount to harassment at all. Has anyone examined the political background of the women whose charges he has denied? For all we know, they may be politically motivated to lie. All we have are unsupported statements on both sides. It is ridiculous for Gillibrand et al to call for his resignation on such flimsy grounds.
27
I am a feminist and a longstanding Democrat, but I agree with the many in this space who have called out Gillibrand for political grandstanding. Was Franken's past behavior boorish? Yes. Had he called for an ethics process to take place? Yes. Is he the equivalent of a Lauer or a Moore? Certainly not. Don't run for national office, Sen. Gillibrand. I and many other dems I've spoken with will not vote for you. Franken? A thoughtful, smart candidate for President.
22
I vote in Minnesota, I voted for Al Franken twice. I wanted to see a fair independent investigation by the ethics committee. Instead Gillibrand decided he needed to be run out of town without a chance to challenge accusers, though she does not vote in Minnesota. I resent her intrusion into a decision that should be in the hands of Minnesota voters, not shills for Wall Street from NY.
39
It seems to me that Senator Gillibrand as usual jumped to a conclusion that makes no sense especially in today’s climate. As she did by mentioning President Clinton in the recent past
I question not only her judgment but her motivation. Perhaps she should confer with other democratic members before she makes a statement.
1
I will no longer vote Democrat.
I hope Gillibrand and Schumer are defeated, even if that means a Republican representing NY. Or Trump staying in the White House.
And I can't stand Trump.
Ending this witch hunt right now is the most important issue. Period.
Also, I am disgusted with the Democrats.
They have no loyalty to their own.
Maybe that is why they are failing as a party. Voters want their politicians to be loyal to them.
When the Democrats threw Franken under the bus, what people see is
disloyalty. They see that the Democrats will sell them out.
22
If, as it appears, Sen. Gillibrand wants to be the Democratic candidate for president in 2020, she will not receive my vote. She's proven herself to be an opportunist, willing to damage her own party, with her crusade for Sen. Franken's resignation, leading the circular firing squad.
Clarence Thomas and Donald Trump would be more appropriate targets for Democrats.
18
I am more disgusted and angry at Gillibrand than you, but but but, should she wrangle the nomination against all of mine, yours and our strong objection, i WILL hold my nose and vote against a second Trump term by voting for Gillibrand and you really should too. Another Trump term - should we make it that far - would be the death knell for the republic. It is unthinkable.
1
Brilliant. And now you lose the absolute critical vote to defeat the GOP "tax bill" (which also lays the foundation to end abortion rights for any reason, which also guts the ACA, which also dooms middle and lower classes to pay for a massive wealth transfer to the .02%).
Just myopic arrogance personified. Need I quote Trump again on how he loves to mistreat women - old and young - to point out what should be your actual target?
13
As a lifelong Dem voter, it’s so sad reading all these comments. There is such outrage among commenters. With all the problems Trump and the Republicans are bringing on the country, the Dem senators have willingly chosen to force out one of their leading lights, without a semblance of due process.
What has been gained? Nothing. Here’s what comes next: Gillibrand shot herself in the foot for 2020. Franken’s out of the running. Other contenders like Warren who jumped on the train are also now suspect. Hardcore Dems are turned off. And when Moore likely wins, Trump will tell McConnell to drop any ideas of doing an Ethics investigation. So Moore’s issues are swept under the rug. MN will have a special election and millions of dollars of Dem money will be diverted to defend Franken’s seat (and with Trump only losing MN by a single point in ’16, it’s going to be a tossup).
This was a profoundly stupid decision by Dem senators and NYT readers are reacting accordingly.
24
I'm a lifelong, diehard progressive Democrat.
Whomever is Sen. Gillebrand's next opponent is getting my dollars.
She completely subverted due process AND deprived us of one of our most humane, progressive senators, all to aggrandize and grandstand herself.
i say that as a 50-something woman with firsthand knowledge of what sexual harassment is -- and is NOT.
What a foolhardy, divisve, poorly approached stance she had taken. SHE is not fit to serve.
28
Gillibrand should be ignored. She has no "dog in this fight", so she must be doing it for personal gain of some kind. Senator Franken has no connection at all with NY politics. Gillebrand should be ignored. Starting a long time ago. She is always looking for media exposure.
14
Due Process is critical. Franken did not get get it. He got a kangaroo court. The basis for the sudden pile on of mostly congressional women is that in 2018 they want the women's vote. They also do not want charges of hypocrisy when they attack Roy Moore.
13
As someone who used to live in upstate NY, I know Sen. Gillibrand's brand of politics all too well. I think of her as a Republican in Democratic clothing, and if this is the leadership the Democratic Party recommends you can forget about any resurgence of the party. How could we possibly unite behind a narrow, almost fanatical, position that does not distinguish between allegations of an unwanted kiss and allegations of rape or serious sexual assault? The consequence of which is a demand for a key Democratic Senator to resign, while out-and-out misogynist Republicans with much greater transgressions are unchallenged? I'm wondering if Sen. Gillibrand is some kind of Trojan Horse.
15
It's time to take back our party.
Gillibrand is an opportunist, and will not be getting my vote for national office. Hillary 2.0. I have always been a Democrat, but the Green Party is looking better these days. Democrats have abandoned themselves to the same type of hysteria that is sweeping college campuses.
12
If I"m not mistaken, Ms. Gillibrand followed in Hillary Clinton's shoes. Now, as a leader in the Democratic Party she should be spending a little more time on the following question, "Why won't women vote for a women just because she is a women?" "Why don't Democrats vote?" "What can we do to get good candidates, male and female to run for public office in Republican areas?" "What can we do to help these candidates rather than tell them what to do?"
5
In discussing issues such as sexual harassment, why are we so willing to immediately tar Gillibrand, who has decided to forcefully lead with adjectives like "ambition?" I find that both interesting and depressing. Isn't it likely that she feels qualified to speak out, and that she feels it is important to be forceful?
So there was no legal due process, granted. Politics IS optics. That's its nature. I guess the message is that if Gillibrand were to ever think of running for president she would know what kind of attitude is waiting for her? - Another "ambitious" woman. Easy target! We would all hate her for her "ambition," then be surprised when a toad of a man wins against her.
People are angry at her because she used #MeToo as a pretext for advancing her candidacy in 2020. This is not ambition. It's repulsive.
3
I think Gillibrand should resign for saying she's a democrat but obviously working for the republicans. She clearly mis-represented her affiliation to her constituents so she has to go.
15
Sen. Gillibrand should be ashamed of herself, along with Chuck Schumer, Maggie Hassan and all of the other Democratic Senators who pressured Sen. Al Franken to resign.
Yes he acted boorishly, but his behavior was in no way egregious, especially as compared to Donald Trump and Roy Moore. So what did the Democrats do? Once again they brought a knife to a gun fight.
They forced out a liberal and reasonable voice from the Senate at a time when it is needed the most, and even before an ethics investigation had even begun! What are the Dems trying to prove, that they play by the rules and have the high ground?
What good is the high ground when you keep losing elections! And where was the outrage when Bernie Sanders was sandbagged during the primaries, guaranteeing that Hillary Clinton would get her chance because, after all, it was her turn?
Misguided ethics, an inability to stand by your colleagues, a naïve expectation on what the Republicans will do once Roy Moore is sworn in. Very, very disappointing.
13
I do not condone Franken's behavior. That said, I found Gillibrand's strident attack to be out of line. I didn't see her lambasting Roy Moore or Trump in front of a battery of hastily organized cameras and cohorts. And yes, there is a difference between what Franken is accused of and what the others have allegedly done. She has lost my vote. Ms. Gillibrand, I am your constituent, a far left Democrat, and I don't miss an election. Good luck.
14
A far better course of action would have been for Sen. Franklin to have due process before the ethics committee. The Democrats lost one of our best senators based on very little substantive information. Sen. Gillibrand lost a potential rival for the 2020 Presidential nomination. She also lost my vote.
27
I said this after another article but I'll repeat it here.
The Governor of Minnesota will appoint an interim senator and he will set the dates for a primary and general special election to fill the senate seat.
Franken should run for that seat in the Democratic primary of the special election. Let the people of Minnesota decide the balance of the transgressions versus good deeds. I don't believe there is any law that forbids someone who has resigned from a congressional seat for running for that same seat subsequently.
If Alabamans have the power to decide the fate of Roy Moore, why shouldn't the Minnesotans?
33
Exactly my thought. As for the legalities of the matter, it seems to me that when Senator Goldwater resigned to run for President and lost, he then ran again for Senator and was elected. Offhand I couldn't tell you if it was a special election, but otherwise the circumstances are very aligned. I strongly suspect that Mr. Franken too would be elected again.
3
So now an accusation is a conviction.
Gillibrand has just shown she has no respect for the rule of law, and she should also resign.
71
I'm sure it all feels very exciting and empowering for Gillibrand to be leading the charge against her male colleagues who "cross the line," but her self righteousness and zero tolerance attitude will almost certainly backfire. I feel fairly certain that anyone who combs through the details of her life with a microscope and a view to uncovering misdeeds would find a treasure trove of them --- after all, she is a US senator. WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND.
48
Can't wait for Karma to present Ms. Gillibrand with the bill
2
well, i was always touched by the line in beauty and the beast...."learning i can change". Sometimes in hurts to face the dark places in oneself. But worth it. Men take the challenge. A person who can go to sleep without hating anyone is a king. Peace of mind is way undervalued.
4
By attacking Franken, she is doing the Republicans' work FOR THEM. Franken had the potential to rise high, maybe run for President. This is destroyed now.
Gillibrand does not have that potential. She has aided her political enemy at this precarious time. I am not a fan.
54
She is also a queen of opportunistic schmaltz. Just check out her Twitter feed.
1
"Enough is Enough", Senator Gillibrand, of your witch hunt against Franken for your own political gain. Franken should have waited on his resignation until the outcome of next week's Alabama elections and, if his response to his accusations today are true, he should have demanded an Ethics Committee hearing. We have lost an excellent senator- much better than Ms. Gillibrand, and I will now do what I can to make sure that her political career ends here.
62
Ms. Gillibrand made sure of that all on her own
2
As a woman attorney who is not only familiar personally with the impact of sexual harassment and abuse, but who has also represented victims of domestic violence for more than thirty years, I find Kirsten Gillibrand smug, ambitious and opportunistic. I feel the same about Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren. Gillibrand's rush to declare that evidence and facts are of no account, under the guise of her "zero tolerance" policy smacks of political expedience. She puts me in mind of the Committee of Public Safety and Robespierre in 1793. She doesn't speak for me or the victims of abuse I have championed. As my father used to sardonically say of those of her ilk, "Don't bother me with facts. You'll be shot after a fair trial."
74
As an attorney, you know that a standard of proof and the presumption of innocence only apply in court, not in employment or popular opinion.
This isn't an employment dispute, or the court of popular opinion: this is a matter involving an elected official and there is a mechanism for dealing with the accusations which have been leveled. As you know, Senator Franken immediately called for an Ethics Hearing and was entitled to receive one. Even Bob Packwood had three weeks to explain himself. This stinks to high heaven.
2
As a voter, I see that Gillibrand has not won the popular vote here and won't win it in 2020.
1
Due process is what you get when you're charged with a crime. Most of these comments forget that. The real question is whether someone who has done what Franken was accused of, by more than one woman, is morally fit to be a U.S. Senator. Opinions can differ as to that question based on how one views the severity of his conduct, but casting this as a "due process" issue is wrong.
4
In any setting the accused has the right to tell their side of the story. Sen Franken deserved the right to know the names of his accusers and to tell his side to his colleagues before being asked to leave.
5
And you know perfectly well that the rules of the Senate provide for Ethics Hearings. A Senator may be summoned to appear or they may request a hearing, but in either case they have the right to defend themselves and answer accusations. This is 'due process.'
Sign the petition demanding that Gillibrand resign. No person with such low public morality should not represent New York State. and Cuomo will appoint a solid Democratic replacement -- maybe himself.
47
Where is that petition? I need to sign it!
7
Be careful for what you wish.. The resultant will most likely be more horrific than it is now.
12
I will take Ms. Gillebrand and the rest of the Democratic "leadership" (sic) seriously when each of them forcefully demands the resignation of Donald Trump. Fair is fair.
24
Senator Franken should not resign, and instead simply change his party affiliation to Republican. THEN, you will have the due process as prescribed by law and Congressional rules - an investigation by the senate ethics committee, with appropriate punishment to follow.
10
"Gillibrand Keeps Herself at the Fore"
Sadly, I think this may be a good bit of what her zealotry is all about: keeping HERSELF in the fore.
This is an important issue, and malefactors should be punished, but somehow I don't see how forcing a strong, progressive voice in the Senate accomplishes anything. Apart from sewing discord, alienating many progressive Democratic voters, and insuring that the Democrats have no ability (or credibility) to counter Trump's disastrous tax plan and the rest of his agenda. Doesn't ALL THAT matter?
24
Well, keeping yourself at the fore is certainly easier than sitting down and studying the ins and outs of tax legislation, as we have seen over and over with our elected representatives.
4
I wish Senator Franken was my Senator, I would be very proud of him and the way he has conducted himself. He was one of the least partisan members of Congress working hard co-sponsoring bills.
Democrats should never have forced this honorable senator out of power without a demand of the GOP party to clean their house.
Franken has humbly apologized and asked forgiveness and now he has been forced out by his own party when the opposition is tearing our nation apart and all it's social contracts? I can't rely on the Democrats.
I'm very sorry for all women who were harmed. At this moment in time we are looking at millions of disabled, elderly and children who will be harmed because they won't have him fighting on their side. Please consider us as well. We need our warriors now, not after this tax bill passes.
29
That raises a good question. Did anyone bother to ask the voters in MN what they think about this issue?
4
No. Not at all.
Gillibrand is leading the charge for her own ambitions. She may see herself as a rising star but her rush to banish the most effective Democrat in the Senate has alienated many Democrats like me. I could never support someone who was willing to jeopardize the interests of the people to further her own career.
36
So Sen. Gillibrand led the crusade to oust Sen. Franken and was joined by her fellow Senate Democrats. All well and good I guess. But when do you go after Trump? Shouldn't he be on the exit list too at this moment of moral reckoning? That's what Sen Franken was basically asking in his speech today. I say good question.
22
Many here decry this resignation as giving in to political correctness or identify politics. I have been a fan of Al Franken since his days as a radio host and I am deeply saddened by his resignation. But really…allegations kept on coming…what else was there to do? It is true that none of these allegations were comparable with those faced by Moore, Weinstein, Lauter, and others, even Trump himself. However, if such allegations came to light in my line of work, I would have to resign too. It is lamentable to loose Al Franken in the Senate and as a plausible future presidential candidate, especially in these perilous times. And yet, the end does not justify the mean, we need to hold our own accountable. It would have been unprincipled if Senator Gillibrand who made sexual misconduct in the military and elsewhere her signature issue would have ignored her fellow senator’s growing list of accusers. She dashed her own presidential hopes in the process.
5
you ask, "what else was there to do?"
I suggest the following. Convene a Senate ethics panel. Get detailed testimony, under oath, from Franken's accusers. Examine their credibility. (I hear rumors more than one accuser is a Trump supporter.) Then get Franken's testimony, under oath. Then come to a decision.
In other words, pursue justice according to the law.
The final result might very well be Franken's resignation. After an open process like the one I described, I would be fully prepared to accept his resignation. But under the current circumstances ... the rumors ... the accusations made while NOT under oath ... the denial of Franken's opportunity to face his accusers and their accusations ... this whole episode does huge discredit and damage to the legitimacy of the Democratic Party.
5
I have been a long-distance fan of Ms. Gillibrand's since she first entered office, and I agree with her positions on about 90% of the issues that come before Congress.
But... I am afraid that this was a blunder of potentially disastrous proportions.
To risk losing a Senate seat to the grimly uncaring and cheerfully amoral, er, politicians, dominating the current GOP because you and some of your colleagues have gotten caught up in the national near-hysteria over an admittedly serious problem is not to make it better.
Franken deserves better than this Democrat-initiated kangaroo court, and millions of us know it. He might well still end up having to resign at some later point, but at least the process would be fair and open.
31
I don't know what "glass house" Ms. Gillibrand is living in herself, but beware of throwing stones at people who are contrite. If she thinks this will make the Democrats look good to voters, she is mistaken. There are likely more Democrats to come with problems in this area and Bill Clinton has done enough damage that voters already see wrong-doing on both sides of isle. Waste of a good man with flaws (like all people).
22
Senator Gellibrand's holier-than-thou attitude concerns me. When several male members of the Senate dubbed her "sexiest woman in the Senate" several years ago, marveling at her weight loss and how well she "takes care of herself," did she scoff at them? Was it "a different era" then? Should not those members of the Senate been called out for holding her, as a female member of the Senate, to higher standards vis-a-vis her weight? She admitted that she'd gained weight when she'd been pregnant with her second child, so she decided to go on a health kick. No one--but NO ONE--has ever said that a male senator needs to lose weight to be "sexy." There aren't enough characters left for my statement here to begin to tell you how many times I've been touched--intentionally or unintentionally--by professional men during my 40 years of working. If it seemed to be intentional, I called the man out right then and there, and sought an apology. Never, however, was I grabbed in a certain private part that our "esteemed" president seems to have bragged about having done one a regular basis to other women. Never was I stalked as a 14-year-old and pulled out of a high school class by a 30-year-old professional male. But I never was a Republican, either.
I marched in the 1960s for civil rights. I've fought for women's rights since I was ten years old. I don't know where this is going to end. Without an investigation, I don't know what to think about Franken. I do know what to think about Trump.
19
I'm a woman, a lifelong Democrat, and was excited about the prospect of Gillibrand running in 2020 -- until today. Big mistake on overreach, Senator Gillibrand. Plain and simple, she and the others should have let justice run its course: Franken deserved an ethics investigation. The accusations leveled against him paled in comparison to many of the others exposed in the Me Too movement -- which I fully support. Like many other women, I too have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace (restaurant work; ugh!) but we cannot let this moment devolve into a witchhunt -- it will hurt the cause in the end. I imagine today that the Rs are just laughing at us.
32
Exactly what qualifies Senator Gillibrand for running for higher office in 2020?
Seriously
Haven's seen Sen. Gillibrand call for 45's or Clarence Thomas's resignations, or for Roy Moore to end his candidacy.
17
I’m pretty sure you know what her position is on both those men. And if anyone asked her she would not hesitate to say so in public. For all I know, she already has... but it wouldn’t be covered in the news because it would be expected and entirely predictable.
You seriously think she’s a closet admirer of Thomas and Moore... and doesn’t believe they should resign?
1
Al Franken became a sacrificial lamb for the cause of political one-upmanship. Unfortunately the Democratic minority could not wait for a ethics hearing to form and start investigating allegations regarding his harassment of some women. With a known abuser of women siting in the White House and the possibility of another alledged harasser of young women to be elected to the Senate,
the Democrats needed to keep the ethics bar higher then the Republicans.
It's probable that Sen. Franken agreed to resigning with the realization that for him to remain would somewhat give the appearance of normalization of the behavior of donald and Moore.
7
Senator Franken is not Roy Moore and has been denied due process. Think, once again, Democrats have given men, especially white men, another reason not to vote Democrat. So, it may feel good to have forced Franken to resign, we will see in 2018! Reportedly it is Alabama voters choice to elect Roy Moore but not that of voters of Minnesota regarding Franken, Democrats in Congress decided for them. As Will Rogers said "I'm not a member of an organized political party, I'm a Democrat!"
8
I don't know why people are upset with Senator Gillibrand. She did not call for Franken's resignation right after Ms. Tweeden's complaint. She did not call for his resignation even after the second or third complaint. How many is enough? Should she have waited for fifteenth complaint before calling for Franken's resignation? It was becoming clear that more and more women were coming forward with complaints of sexual misconduct by Al Franken. Is there some threshold that has to be met? Are all these complaints lies? To call it a witch hunt does a disservice to these women. Perhaps an ethics committee could have let Franken stay with a reprimand but how effective would he be in the Senate? But more importantly, what does it say about the Democrats if they had let this slide? That fighting Republicans is more important than principles? Minnesota has to have enough qualifed politicans who can fill Franken's seat.
4
"What does it say about the Democrats if they had let this slide?"
Not much. Actually, the rest of the country doesn't seem to care all that much. After all, they elected Trump and are poised to elect Moore.
The only people who care are Democrats in comfortable positions. They are the 5% who keep the focus on the social issues to the exclusion of the economic ones. You know, where the rest of the country's concerns are.
Al Franken requested an Ethics Hearing after the first accusation. As his constituent, it angers me that this process was circumvented by his political rival.
2
She should have let the Ethics Committee
do its job, Anand.
2
Personally, I did not feel that Senator Franken should leave office: his first accuser had a political ax to grind, other women refused to be named publicly and he had denied what still others had said. Democrats in the Senate, led by Ms. Gillibrand, disagreed and pressured him to resign, as was their right. But they now have the absolute obligation to speak out, loud and long and every single day, about the more than a dozen women who accuse Donald Trump of sexual assault, or they will have sacrificed a good and important defender of our rights for nothing.
15
So while you have spent energy on removing Al Franken from the senate, Trump is still President, Moore is still candidate for the senate, the republicans are poised to pass an atrocious tax bill transferring wealth from the poor to the rich, and the West Bank is in flames; all you need now is a violin to watch as the rest of our civilization goes up in flames.
10
When is Senator Gillibrand planning to lead the Senate to impeach Trump? I have lost all respect for her.
17
Kirsten Gillibrand feels like the Traci Flick of the Democratic Party.
Moreover, she exhibits the same selective, expedient hypocrisy of the current upper echelon of her party.
All this coming from me : a lifelong Independent who traditionally votes the Democratic ticket.
Get with it -- it's all about consistent integrity, common sense and compassion FOR THE PEOPLE.
Trust me, Sen. Gllibrand, you are not an electable candidate for President of the United States. Both your appeal and connection with the average voter across our challenged Republic is, well, slightly better than Hilary Clinton and slightly worse than Elizabeth Warren. Which is to say both you and Warren need to wise up and understand the taint HRC has put on both of you.
Please, for sake of our country, the Democratic National Party must allow fresh, new, vibrant candidates to the forefront.
These has-beens ain't going to cut it in any general election.
6
She doesn't have the intellect of Hillary Clinton and isn't fit to shine her shoes. Neither does Warren.
3
I'm starting to think it's a bad idea to vote for women - they really are driven by emotion rather than reason.
6
Eric, you might not agree with it but there is plenty of “reason” behind Kirsten’s decision, which apparently other Democratic senators who are men agreed with.
Attention Democratic National Committee: I'm a lifelong Democrat, I voted for Obama twice and Clinton this last time. And I would vote for Donald Trump over Kristin Gillibrand, any day. You cannot win my vote by being the party of Puritanical witch hunts who want everyone fired for the most minor of infractions against women. Sorry, I'm done with you.
14
With a friend like a Gillibrand, who needs enemies? She’s happy to supply the knife in the back in search of Democratic “purity.” From my view, the quest for purity from the last election to the current sexual harassment kerfuffle has left Democrats as the losers while feckless Republicans remain immune to any price for bad behavior. I only hope a Republican does not win the hard fought Franken seat the next time it comes up for election or all this moral high ground is going to look like a losers swamp.
Maybe Democrats should have been concentrating on defeating the worst Tax bill in history rather than purging the party of people who actually manage to win elections based only on the accusations of Sean Hannity minions, women who are grinning happily in photos while being molested, or, my personal favorite, anonymous accusers. Oh, well, once the Republicans have created an enormous deficit they can turn their steely knives on Social Security and Medicare while Democrats sit in consciousness circles debating what to do about Democrats who have been accused of misbehaving in states where there is a Republican governor. Do you really think Republicans will fear to use these tactics repeatedly now that they see how well they worked?
14
i think SENATOR GILLIBRAND SHOULD RETIRE asap ! i think she is part of the danger as she has lost her ability understand the challenges facing us and how to play politics......she is another example of a a week democrat manipulated by superior republican political game playing
7
I think it's time for Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to come clean and consider resigning for having worked for much of her career as an attorney defending Philip Morris and later Altria, protecting and abetting corporations that produced cancer causing products.
Shame on her and for this misconceived demand for Franken's resignation.
12
Bad move, Senator Gillibrand. I think today you weakened the Democratic party. If we banished every man who had allegations of unwanted sexual advances made against him from public service there would only be women left. What Utopia are you living in?
12
Of course, we will need to know about any affectionate encounter she has EVER had to make sure she has never sexually abused or manipulated someone, or, God forbid, has ever prostituted herself for any reasons, including politics.
4
When the dust finally settles it will be interesting to see if the Democrats are stronger as a party or if they have irreparably destroyed themselves.
3
It's a pretty thin platform on which to build a presidential campaign.
6
Where is the principle here? Sexual harassment is an equal opportunity transgression. But where are the denunciations regarding Trump, Moore and others in Republican party?
Why does the Senator care only about sexual harassment committed by Democrats?
7
I changed my registration yesterday to Independent. I don't want to be associated with this party OR the party of hate for a long while.
3
I think Gillibrand destroyed her own political future. Senator Franken deserved due process.
11
I am taking Gillibrand off my list of those I would support and vote for. Sure seem to be a lot of selfish motives in all the moralistic posturing we are seeing.
7
And yet nothing about Trump....why aren't Republicans resigning?
5
I believe with all my heart that Al Franken was the conscience of the Senate. He has been made a scapegoat. I'm a feminist, an activist and have been involved with the political process for a very long time.
This is one of the saddest days, in the saddest of times, I've ever experienced in my life.
10
Thank you Sen. Gillibrand. You just ended the dim hope Democrats had to flip the Senate in 2018.
And probably the House as well.
8
Gillebrand's absurd embracing of "mattress girl" was merely a harbinger of her now even more absurd denunciation of her colleague while throwing out due process. She is Abigail from the Crucible now, willing to throw anyone under the bus for the sake of her own trajectory. When she's wondering why her political career stalled in 2018, this will be the reason. You can't cozy up to the Clintons for a decade and then denounce them when it's convenient for you. This is disgusting politics at its most disgusting.
8
Would love to move to NY just so I could vote against you.
7
I wish I knew who Sen. Gillerbrand thinks she benefited in leading the charge to force Al Franken out of the Senate. Other things being equal, it looks like she's an agent of those protecting Trump from the charges of sexual assault about which he boasted to Billy Bush. Is this what she wanted?
6
Interesting lead-in headline - since the cabal basically skinned Franken, where he sat...
My only consolation - the ten most-recommended comments all solidly against this mob action...
Didn't need to read further...
What'll make my day...
A Trump tweet to Franken, asking him to - on behalf of Minnesotans -
to reconsider his impending resignation...
3
Congratulations to Senator Gillibrand and all the Senate Democrats. What a fantastic achievement! All done without any real investigation, in a massive rush to judgment, and despite his contrition. Yes, sexually harassment in the workplace is a serious problem, but how can it be seen that hanging your own is anything but short-sighted and dumb? Sanctimonious self-righteousness doesn't wear well, and will matter little to voters. In the meantime, Trump and the Republicans are rolling on the floor laughing.
The only thing the Senate Democrats can claim by hanging Senator Franken is the "moral high ground," which we will discover next week doesn't go far.
This foolishness in the misguided handling of Senator Franken only confirms my disgust with the ineffectiveness of the Democratic Party.
I will never vote for Senator Gillibrand.
17
Dear Senator Gillibrand,
You no longer have the credibilityy to serve the people of New York. It is time for you to resign.
Sincerely,
The People of Minnesota
27
Now if the Governor of Minnesota was a Republican ??
2
I'm voting for Al Franken for President in 2020
13
This is a terrible tragedy. Franken should not have resigned. Franken had apologized for his behavior which was unacceptable. He had asked for an ethics investigation into his conduct & for the opportunity to make things up to his female supporters. We should have let him do this. He's been a good Senator for Minnesota & would have been a better one going forward. We have to stop equating sexual assault or harassment with men being sexual offensive. They are not the same thing. One is a crime the other is obnoxious behavior. I'm sure almost every man on planet Earth has been guilty of this in some point in time. We can & should hold those accountable who have committed crimes. But we go off the rails when we treat people who are guilty of no crime the same way. This is overreach. There will be a fierce and ugly backlash, when we decide we can’t let Progressive fanatics destroy people’s lives by retroactively imposing today’s sexual standards on past actions. Lets don't kid ourselves what "Jacobin feminists" want. All sexual misconduct is the same. There're no innocent. All men are guilty. All men must be punished. In 1789 the French Jacobins established a revolutionary dictatorship. The Jacobins were known for their Reign of Terror that led to many be-headings. Until the masses revolted & placed them on the guillotine. But not until they destroyed countless lives. Someone needs to ask what's the end game for these political purists while there's still time.
10
Senator Gillibrand has lost my confidence and my vote should she run in 2020. Her idea of an appropriate punishment for Senator Franken does not fit his crime. This all feels like political theatre designed to build her brand. Many, many bigger fish to fry on sexual harassment. Disappointed she chose this one.
16
Nice job Gellibrand! You helped jettison one of the 5 best Senators the Dems have. You know it and everyone else does too. And all in the name of Purity?Well if you can't tell the difference between a Weinstein and Franken then we're all it a lot of trouble. I thought due process was one of the core Democratic values along with it's twin sister fairness!
The biggest joke is that this democrat chorus singing Frankness expulsion will some how give them leverage with public opinion vis-a-vis RoyMoore entering the Senate. Well, guess what? He'll get elected, the republicans will seat him and that will be it. His and Trumps crowd could care less about the Dems moral superiority. They couldn't care if he was a murderer too. So there will be no swaying of anyones vote just another example of the Dems shooting themselves in the foot and expecting everyone else to say ouch.
Whatever Franken did or did not do, nothing sickens me as much as his being forced to resign.
13
Kudos to you Senator Gillibrand for pushing Senator Franken out with your cries for his resignation. I am with you on the subject 100%.
Now, what are you going to do about President Trump who has phoo phooed the women who accused him of sexual misconduct and yet the country went on to elect him to the top office? While I am at it, how can you stop the other abuser off young teenagers, Judge Moore, from winning the seat in the senate in the next few days which will only further strengthen the Republicans hypocrisy of denying the hard working middle class the deserved tax benefits and healthcare while condoning sexual misconduct amongst their leadership?
As President Trump said in his stump for Judge Moore, he would rather have a sexual abuser, like himself, in power than let a Democrat win the seat and potentially stall his misguided agenda of destroying the social fabric of the country. And the world with his stupid decisions.
So much for the party of family values. As the NY Times columnist Nicholas Kristof rightfully stated in his recent article, Blue States practice family values preached by the Red States.
5
When will the Senator demand that Trump resign! Not just once but continualy ask for his resignation!!
8
Gillibrand is such a charlatan. A soulless flip-flopper. I strongly supported Sanders in the last election. Gillibrand's vile opportunism only further reinforces my dislike of the Democratic Party and the poseur hacks like Gillibrand and Schumer that "lead" the party.
10
Senator Gillbrand is an opportunist. First she betrayed the Clintons who supported her for her Senate seat. Now she stabs Franken in the back. Who needs that kind of a person as president? We've had enough of people who put their own ambitions first.
12
I am not an American but as I remember the Clinton/Levinsky case was more of a witch hunt than looking for justice and/or women rights on part of the accusers.
3
Would never vote for this woman, she seems every bit as cynical and calculating as Hillary. Just throwing over a colleague over mere allegations. Shameful.
4
The self-righteous celebrate while their unilateral disarmament destroys the very things they want to preserve and to change. Gillibrand is a fool, along with the rest of them. Once a proud Democrat, I will not identify with "leaders" who dare to claim moral superiority and act like a mob and the Inquisition.
8
Pence's rule about being with women makes him look like a genius
5
Will Gillibrand also be checking out/censuring Vitter of Louisiana with his prostitutes , Joe Barton emailing pictures of his junk online, Roy Moore when he gets elected, Donald Trump, and Marsha Blackburn of TN who keeps repeating the lies about "baby parts for sale" that got people indicted but she sails on, repeating the lies that got people shot at a PP here in Colorado??
Censure ALL these people. As far as I can see, Franken is the ONLY one to apologize. What exactly are we rewarding here.
9
So Gilibrand has decided that she would rather have potluck from whoever the Minnesota Governor appoints rather that a senator with proven abilities to excel at the job? You can't fix stupid. A MacCarthyesque denial of due process from a holier than thou politician.
8
And yet Republican president Trump still sits in the White House with no calls for his resignation for sexual assualt.
After being caught on tape bragging that grabbing women by their genitals was a reward for power and wealth by Trump and his like.
And, with a dozen or so women who have filed lawsuits against Trump.
And the Republicans still support the candidate for U.S. Senate from Alabama, Roy Moore has been charged by a dozen or so women of sexual assualt when they were teenagers.
The Republicans are truely hypocrites! Clean your own houses before you santimoneously critize others!
3
While my senator's Norma Rae turn makes for good politics, it falls short in meting out appropriate justice. Where is the due process is all of this? Guilty or not, Franken has been coerced into skipping his right to due process among his peers, and for that, she (and Mr. Schumer, to be sure), have lost my future votes.
14
Never heard of this woman. Is she running for re-election?
3
thank you for writing this article and identifying Senator Gillibrand.
As a woman, a liberal, AND a feminist, I will do everything in my power to see that she never holds elected office again.
40
Dear Senator Gillebrand,
As a life long Democrat, I will NEVER vote for you for national office.
49
MS Gillebrand, For the sake of all New Yorkers, can you please pay attention to the tax plan?
43
Senator Gillibrand's refusal to recognize the difference between crass behavior and sexual assault and pedophilia and leading the charge to push Senator Franken out of the Senate has resulted in the loss of one of our most effective progressive voices. Without due process, claims to the rule of law ring hollow. This is the path to demagoguery and political defeat in 2018 and 2020.
40
Sen. Gillibrand can author the sequel to "What went wrong" when this PC hysteria puts Trump in for a second term.
28
Senator Gillibrand,
When are you going to demand the resignation of Donald Trump?
22
Sen Gillibrand and the other Democratic senators who jumped on her self-serving, ill-thought out bandwagon should be ashamed of themselves. I've tried calling all of their offices; you can't get through to leave a message! This is beyond stupid. She hasn't the patience for due process or critical thinking about the nature of the allegations? Well, too bad. The rest of us do! What happens when the next group of Democratic congressmen are the subject of unproved accusations? Will she insist that they all resign too? What moral high ground is this? It looks to me like she's conquered the molehill of sanctimonius stupidity. Sen Gillibrand, you'll never get a vote from me.
32
You just lost my vote, lady. A former Democrat.
28
Gillibrand is feeling the power of leading a movement but she is not considering the consequences, just like President Trump. Everyone who has taken advantage of their positions to escape consequences for sexual misconduct should be held accountable if it is to be significantly reduced. But to place this issue has having priority over addressing policies by conservatives who are trying to further social divisions and to deny people of their ability to prosper and to care for their most vulnerable is just wrong. Yet, by giving Republicans more and more power in the legislature by unseating every Democrat who has disrespected anyone no matter the harm done is what Gillibrand is doing by her ham handed tactics.
12
Until yesterday, I was proud to have Gillibrand and Schumer representing my state. I understood them to be mostly reasonable, reliable and fair. I wish I believed their takedown of Franken was the result of some brilliant, higher thinking but I fear it’s just as it appears: misguided, weak and cruel. This isn’t government, it’s junior high. I doubt I’ll ever be able to vote for either one again. Hopefully, there will be alternative candidates for people like me.
52
So I search her website and the NYT and do not find demands for Moore to step down or for Trump to be investigated in light of the METoo movement. She has made statements on sexual harassment in the military, which should be a huge focus right now given how prevalent sexual abuse is in the military. I can only conclude that Sen. Gillibrand is more interested in positioning herself for some future run I cannot foresee supporting. Does it matter to women who will replace Sen. Franken, who to his credit was asking for due process? If it’s a Republican man, we know he will not be held accountable. This is self-interest not real social justice.
25
Yes, and not to mention that these are the days of quick n' easy self branding. Gotta find something quick n' easy that will put you on page 1 right away.
Senator Gillibrand writes on Facebook:
"We have to rise to the occasion, and not shrink away from it, even when it’s hard, especially when it’s hard. That is what this larger moment is about. So, I have spent a lot of time reflecting on Senator Franken’s behavior. Enough is enough."
I continue to wonder why Senator Franken's admitted wrongs somehow represent for Senator Gillibrand that proverbial final straw. Good grief, did Trump's well-known and self-advertised history (e.g. Access Hollywood) seem too subtle or less obnoxious? What are the criterion in play here?
18
Trump did not have a leadership position in the Democratic party, she's just getting rid of the competition...
2
In Massachusetts, you can change party affiliation online with the RMV. Just got off changing from Democrat to No Affiliation (generally called Independent).
I've voted a straight blue ticket every year of my life, and I was thinking about how much to give to the DNC this coming year for 2018. But Warren/Markey calling for Franken's resignation is beyond the pale. As far as I'm concerned, this showed the feeble incompetence of the Democrats in the current time of trial: they can be baited into calling for the ouster of one of their own WHEN THERE WAS ALREADY a path that respected both ethics, due process, and the severity of the misbehavior. Yet no calls for Trump or Moore to resign.
I love the ideals of the Democratic party, but the actualization of them in the current Democratic party is pathetic. I'll probably vote the same, but time to walk away from this party on principle.
23
I gave money to Moore's opponent a few days and now I am sorely regretting it. I have also just changed my party affiliation from Democrat to "no party preference" in my local voter registration. The seeds were already sown in the calamitous presidency election last year where Democrats couldn't fight the election of a narcissistic sociopath, but this latest debacle has sealed the deal.
2
There is no reason for this not to have run its course through the Ethics Committee.
A few decades ago, staff of nursery schools were charged and convicted of sexual abuse of children that never took place.
We lose nothing by investigating first, whether it be Democrat, Republican or the President.
20
I sent a note to Ms. Gillibrand and Mr. Franken saying why I was skeptical of the allegations against Franken.
1) The initial allegation was ridiculous once one read the accuser's own first statement and looked at the picture: as many have noted, there was no grope; as for the unwanted forced kiss, she admits herself that he convinced her that it was funny and that she agreed to do it, and also admits that she agreed to practice it in rehearsal; her complaint appears to be that she felt bullied into rehearsing the kiss and by the ferocity of the kiss. Finally, she said in her intitial statement that she was speaking out to encourage other women with similar circumstances with Franken to come forward, yet in a later statement said that she did not want him to step down - the 2 statements are incongruous. This nature of this initial accusation casts a shadow over the subsequent ones.
2) The acvitivies of Project Veritas (trying to bait the WashPost) further shed a dim light on the accusations.
3) sincere people can have very different takes - when I was in high school, my sister had a sleepover; I came out of my dark bedroom into a lit hallway, squinted, and was accused by one of the girls of having given her the dirtiest look.
4) Sometimes, a pinch is just a pinch. We've all had friends of both sexes who would pinch or goose someone to watch them jump - it wasn't sexual, much ado about nothing. Yet, because Franken continues to deny it, I remain skeptical.
12
Now ,Senator Gillibrand,Tell us all the Senators names who paid women off with our money and Tell Trump to get out of our government,for much worse then Franken.I support your bill 100%.
The women who were forced to sign an agreement not to talk about their experiences were shown even more disrespect then they had suffered already ,
By the Senates requirements.Truly Disgusting,open it up and get rid of those hiding behind our tax dollars
5
I wonder if Gillibrand, et al. have even considered the potential for backlash against the entire #MeToo movement their forcing Franken's resignation carries. If indeed the accusations against Franken are true (and that is not a given here), his alleged offenses were really quite tame when considered alongside the allegations against Roy Moore and even Donald Trump himself.
22
This is not helping the issue of sexual harassment of women. Al Franken should be allowed to have the due process and continue his work while that is going on. We haven't even got a proper definition of what constitutes sexual harassment. And yes, sexual harassment has to be defined, and it has to end, and there are women who are traumatised and they shouldn't be vindictive. It is not helping the issue.
15
"Enough is enough".
For Democrats only, though.
Sure, what Franken did was wrong but isn't great to take such a high moral ground when the Republicans are rolling in the mud and destroying the environment and giving the wealthy blank checks?
Please, go ahead and take the high moral ground but don't lose the larger fight for what America is supposed to represent!
6
Gillibrand wants to run for president. I won't be voting for her.
28
I will not only not vote for her but encourage everybody I know not vote for her.
3
Should Franken be thrown out? Perhaps. But seems like Gillibrand is a bit too keen. I doubt this is for "all women." Seems more about getting rid of a primary rival for 2020.
16
Gillibrand lost me when she criticized President Clinton last month, saying President Clinton should have resigned during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Somebody remind Gillibrand she is a Democrat. She is blunt, brutal and is not being smart about things.
15
The Democrats position themselves as the Party of Purity and wonder why they lose. Republicans just care about winning. And they do.
12
We finally have our "Cultural Shift Moment" that many members of Congress and the news media have fervently pushing for:
Mob rule has come to America. The Kangaroo Kourt of Kirsten, Kamala, et al became the police, prosecutor, jury, judge, and executioner. Due process was deliberately steam rolled. A senator was actually shouted out of office.
A sad, tragic irony is the Kourt further solidified many sexist stereotypes of female behavior and double standards: Women are shrill, angry, too emotional and not logical, complain, whine and talk endlessly until they get their way, they are always right, women want preferential treatment ...
It is a very sad day for gender relations in this country, and another set back for women, brought to you by these women and men of Congress.
For me, "enough is enough". I had hoped the current crop of women and men in Congress would be tough in upholding the law, of which due process is a fundamental part. Instead, everyone of the senators and house representatives who joined the mob have demonstrated they are unfit for higher office.
There is no way I'd vote for any of them to be president or vice president.
If there is a way to recall any in this mob, please let me be the first to sign the petition!
11
I am so disappointed with Democratic leaders that I can scarcely recognize people I have long admired.
They have undermined the entire discussion as to what is illegal by conflating it with inadvertent, accidental behavior.
Senator Gillibrand's redline is when accused of anything by anyone for any reason, just resign rather than make the country a better place or make a contribution to society.
We have bypassed the legal system entirely and gone right to mob justice by accusation - lynchings and Salem witch trials.
20
A life-long Democrat here (70 years old) who is tired of watching the Democratic Party eat its own. First, many people did it to Clinton, and it got us Trump. Sanders called Clinton "unqualified," which didn't seem to rattle the female Democratic Senators very much. Why was she "unqualified" when she had all of the same qualifications as him, plus much more? Wasn't this a veiled attack on her as being a woman?
Franken never even got to defend himself. Half of his "accusers" are not being public about who they are. Half!
Patty Murray is my state Senator. Ms. Murray: I am not voting for you next election.
18
There is something strident about Gillibrand's sudden rush to take the lead on this issue. I sense a drive to place herself out front for political reasons.
21
There needs to be a better definition of WHAT exactly is sexual harassment and what is NOT! Franken is certainly NOT a predator. Maybe he is an opportunist like most men. The president IS a real sexual predator and that fiend gets to stay in office. WRONG! I am a woman and I know the difference. Does Missy Kristen? I wonder??? I am getting fed up with her definition. After all men are not women! Maybe she hates them but I don't. I married a nice one. Who did she marry I begin to wonder?
16
Dear Ms Gellibrand . . . and as for Mr. Trump, your policy would be?
9
This is not a good way for Democrats to win over the uneducated white voters they desperately need. You know...the ones who are about to vote Moore into office next week, the ones unswayed by equally damning allegations against our president.
Until now, I thought of Senator Gillibrand as a contender in 2020. Now she surely spells suicide for the party. If Democrats run her or someone like her, they will lose, which means more Trump, more calamity, more unraveling of all the progress Senator Gillibrand claims to want.
All in all, this was a tactical nightmare. In a political climate where morality clearly holds no currency, why are Democrats doubling down?
31
That's a might fine high horse you're riding Ms. Gillibrand. But you and your horse have just stepped in it.
When going on nothing but the somewhat flimsy accusations against Franken, you've succeeded in giving a weapon to every female with an axe to grind or who just might want attention or to cause trouble. You've also lessened the credibility of women who've endured real harm, and who will now be looked at with skepticism. Thanks a lot.
There's a real argument to be made for Sen. Franken. In the Tweeden picture his hands were above her chest, not touching. The woman whose behind he's alleged to have groped at a state fair? Really? Right in front of her husband, surrounded by many people including some degree of security detail, a stranger to him and he can't help but grab her behind?
I used to have some respect for you and thought you an up and coming dem. All women deserve respect and should never have to tolerate unwanted advances or harassment. Your zealotry, trial by innuendo solely on the word of the accuser has just given fuel to the men who would label women as hysterical, who would keep us down and disrespect us with terms like "feminazi".
You've not advanced the cause, just the opposite. What you've done is give men a weapon with which to discredit and disarm. When we all call foul, with no evidence, why should we be believed when there is?
33
There’s a big hole is this story: What is Senator Gillibrand’s public position on President Trump? Has she called for Trump to resign or be removed from office based on the many credible allegations against him of sexual assault and his own recorded confession? If not, why the double standard? And why did The Times fail to cover this obvious issue in its report? The Times owes its readers a story about any senator who called for Franken to resign but not Trump.
18
I have written many letters to my senators decrying the lack of action on Trump's collusion with Russia, his baiting of Kim Jong Un and his attempted dismantling of international relations, with no action on their parts, but there they are, both women, agitating for Franken's resignation and denying him due process, a man who is intelligent, sensitive to women's issues and head and shoulders above Trump. This is one of those alternate universes Alice must have jumped into.
1
The Democrats are lacing up their boxing gloves before the fight while the GOP slips a clip into their AK47. Typical.
17
...and punching themselves with said boxing gloves.
8
So Democrats, lead by Kirsten Gillibrand, throw Al Franken under the bus instead of allowing a Senate ethics committee to sort things out. Well, unless you use this opportunity to defeat Roy Moore and oust tRump, you have destroyed a good senator's career for nothing.
Hope you enjoyed your righteous outrage, Sen. Gillibrand. Oh, and I'm a progressive Democrat and lifelong feminist but I surely won't be voting for you for Prez in 2020.
28
15 NYT Picks as of 3pm and they're all talking about "due process." There is no such thing when it comes to a Senator's past conduct. What's the procedure here? Was the ethics committee going to conduct a criminal investigation? It was a punt. The reality is it's all politics and there's no upside for keeping Franken in the Senate besides rewarding ignorant partisan loyalty when another Democrat is going to be appointed immediately. Democrats look less like hypocrites and more like a party that's actually feminist.
Terrible news. Franken deserves better than a witch hunt. How will this party ever succeed in 2018?
20
The answer is that the "party" will not succeed in 2018, it is broken and confused.
1
I distrust Kristen. I suspect her motives and think she may be complicit with the Republicans who fear Franken. She is NOT really a democrat and has sold out to the Republicans with their pedophiles and predators!
14
Very upset with Gillibrand's handling of the Al Franken allegations. The one man who stands up and says look at what I have done and judge me on merits, you throw under the Bus. You have taken hope and sanity firmly in your hands and choked the life out of it. If this how you react to opportunity for us to grows as a nation you are unfit for the job. You need to resign.
21
Gillibrand don’t you think president Cuomo sounds good? I do.
1
Distasteful show of naked political ambition by Senator Gillibrand. She chose to score political points by publicly stoning Senator Franken, and belatedly dumping on Bill Clinton as proof of her sincere, and retroactive take-no-prisoners policy on sexual predation. All to burnish her resume for a run at the White House.
24
The Dems always "do the right thing," which is why they keep losing and Americans are getting shafted on everything from taxes to healthcare. This is not unlike the 2000 election when Al Gore and the Dems stepped aside to "do the right thing" for Americans--and we wound up with two Middle East we're still fighting. Chuck Shumer should resign now, for being sexually harassed by Gillibrand to force Franken's resignation. Would Mitch McConnell have done this?
11
If Gillbrand really cares, she should call for resignation of Donald Trump, Clarence Thomas, and of course Roy Moore. The hypocrisy of this woman is too much.
14
I think that Senator Gillibrand is a self-serving, self-righteous monster who is going to rue the day she decided to be the arbiter of behavior for the Dems. Same for those who joined her. A knee jerk reaction to seem as if the Democrats are on 'higher ground'? Ha! Due process, rule of law, facts. By passing these feeds into the right's worse opinions of the left. Selling out Al Franken for being vulgar? Ridiculous.
22
All we are getting is Moore Trump a compination that is just outrageous and I consider an insult to all that the United States stands for and fights for . Just ourageous ,actually the country has all ready SHUT DOWN it's moral compass.
2
Senator Gillibrand made lewd sexual remarks to me on June 15, 2015
Proof?
Oh, that’s not really necessary, is it?
29
This is the problem with zero tolerance: everyone is ostracized and treated the same regardless of the degree of wrongdoing. But those who simply deny deny deny are made stronger by these policies. Here we are, as Democrats, standing by a dubious policy of zero tolerance, cutting off our nose despite our face. We are weakening ourselves and strengthening Republicans in the process, who will in turn wreak 10 times more havoc than anything Franken did or was alleged to have done. Good job idiots.
15
There's harassment and demeaning behavior. There is also bad manners and embarrassing behavior.
Republicans have been winning the war of false equivalencies and Democrats are eating their own in the name of political correctness and expediency.
Republicans are repugnant. Democrats are humiliating.
What a choice...
13
I was waiting for the Ethics Hearing to pass judgment, not a lynch mob.
20
led by KG's very blonde ambition
Retweeting Louise Mensch:
The #Resistance. Not on America’s side. If #MeToo equals hounding out a good anti-Putin senator before any investigation, you can count me out.
7
Ah, the Democrats and their circular firing squad.... what a pitiful bunch.
I am going to have trouble voting for folks who do do not respect due process.
12
This is one woman who is a hypocrite. She needs to step down for ruining the Democratic party. And I am a feminist! But I support Al. He does not deserve this. Kristen you will bask in your petty moment along with Ralph Nader and Jill Stein.
22
Has this turned into a Democratic self-immolation based upon popular outrage? Any GOP senators being called to task over harassment? Any due process, or are we just engaging in a warlock-hunt?
8
Funny, I thought a Gillibrand/Franken ticket wouild have a decent shot at 2020... but now he's out and it's pretty clear that she's an opportunist. Sigh.
12
Apparently "Enough is enough" doesn't apply to the occupant of the White House. Another case of Democrats shooting themselves in the foot and not at the obvious target.
10
Thanks, Senator Gillibrand, for knocking out Senator Franken instead of holding Senate hearings on our abuser-in-chief. Great tactic.
15
I was incensed at the Democrats in the Senate forced Al Franken to resign. I called my Senator, Sherrod Brown and complained. He and Gillibrand and all the others made a huge mistake in my estimation. BTW, I am a female.
14
I see the right-wingers are out in force, swearing up and down that women's being angry with Al Franken, and Al Franken's doing the right thing, is all just cynical politics.
Of course that figures, coming as it does from the kinds of people who support Trump and Roy Moore, then lecture the rest of us sinners on their moral superiority.
Cynicism much, godbotherers?
1
Senator, I will believe that your actions are coming from the right pure honest place when you hold hearings on the sexual misconduct allegations against Trump, with subpoenas for all twenty women who have accused him. Until that time, I have to believe that this is shallow opportunism by you.
12
The (Dem) Party's leadership here does not serve its constituents. It's a missed opportunity to emphasize the difference between how we should treat minor and major misconduct (if any)--with close investigation, weighing of the facts and meteing out of any appropriate punishment.
This ham-fisted, zero tolerance paints everyone with the same brush. It's unthinking, unfair and it demeans the seriousness of more appropriately punishment conduct by lumping it all together.
It's embarrassing that a bunch of women are leading this charge. It makes them look undiscerning and incapable of careful thinking.
7
All right then Ms. Gillibrand - you've won the gimme battle - but if you stop here all you've done is cut your nose off to spite your face.. Are you now ready to fight the real and difficult fight and insist that Roy Moore and Donald J. Trump, who will show no contrition and never simply admit and submit, also be held to account for their accusers as well?
8
“I think when we start having to talk about the differences between sexual assault and sexual harassment and unwanted groping you are having the wrong conversation”
That statement is patently absurd. There is a huge difference between actual assault and an inappropriate comment. All are considered sexual harassment but all are not worthy of the political death penalty. If the Senator is incapable of making such distinctions, perhaps she should consider another profession. Perhaps a religious vocation.
12
Gillibrand will be remembered as the executioner of Al Franken .
5
WHich will hopefully help eliminate her from presidential contention/consideration. She turns out to be really just another NY machine democrat.
Tobacco Gilibrand did more harm to more people than the likes of Franken, More or Trump. Groping a woman or dating a minor is wrong and sleazy and potentially criminal. Destroying people's lives by taking up the cause of Big Cancer, I mean, Big Tobacco against the claims of people it has ruined is far, far worse.
I will not vote for her for anything.
11
Instead of forcing Franken to resign, why hasn't Gillibrand been beating the drums for Trump's impeachment on the much more obviously sexual harassment and assaults? We have entered some backward mirror world of the absurd.
10
it's called Bizarro world
You will never get my vote , Senator Gillibrand. You are so wrong with your political grandstanding .
10
Would the Democrats have acted this way if the Governor of Minnessota were a Republican?
4
Shame on her! As a Minnesotan, I am losing a great Senator because a group of women senators ganged up on him and made him a scapegoat . I trust these same Senators are now going to call for Trump's resignation.
13
I once planned to support Ms. Gillibrand's run for presidential office.
No more.
I’m not convinced Mr. Franken did anything more than one prolonged crude attempt at humor (which generated belly-laughs for everyone but the unfortunate victim, a woman who being used callously as a prop), back when he was a profession crude comedian, and standing too close with his arm round women who asked be photographed standing next to him because he was then a US senator.
Sure, he should be chastised for this - there's plenty to apologize for - , but it pales next to the conduct of Trump and Moore and others alleged to have harassed.
LET'S BE ABSOLUTELY CLEAR ABOUT THIS: Mr. Franken wasn’t even pursuing sex, let alone threatening women who refused him.
These are disgraceful actions on the part of Ms. Gillibrand and other Democrats. Once again, the Democrats eat their own children; the party suffers and the nation suffers more. A related phenomenon is the doctrinal orthodoxy and too often the identity the Democrats now require.
When will the Democrats start nominating candidates who can actually win an election, and keep them in office after they've won, absent true malfeasance?
13
Me too. So in a way it's been good as it's helped us eliminate her from the presidential race. Won't have to waste time considering her later on.
1
Great. Now Sen. Gillibrand can go back to pandering to Wall St. and ineffectively opposing the GOP.
7
Her overreaction on the Franken situation is obscene. She will never get my vote for any higher office.
12
If you want to know why Republicans are winning and Democrats are losing, Kirsten Gillibrand is a prime example. Out today passionately attacking Franken. Where is that passion in going after the Republican's agenda and the Republican predators? Every time she opens her mouth Republicans across the country smile, because they know as long as she's around, they'll keep winning. With people like her, WE ARE DOOMED.
13
Cory Booker and Gillibrand are already running for 2020, both were anointed to their Senate seats by party insiders and then got to run as incumbents, unlike the great Senator from Minnesota whom they decided to take down for their own selfish reasons--shame on both of them. I will never vote for Booker again and if either run for Pres, I will be actively working for whomever runs against them in the Primary--and if they succeed I will have to go third party--I am done, helping the opposition take out a bulldog is unforgivable.
11
It's Gillibrand who ought to resign. A notorious flip-flopper, she was ranked the 185th most-liberal member of the House of Representatives, noted for her fanatical devotion to the NRA who bragged of keeping a shotgun under her bed. She owes her political success to her former employers Goldman Sachs and Philip Morris, and descends from one of the most corrupt dynasties in upstate New York--and that's saying something. Neither she nor Senator Schumer represents my views, and I resent their pretending to represent the needs of the people of New York State. Gillibrand clearly has her eye on the presidency, and if she runs, she's likely to end up the same way Hillary Clinton. Better to stop her now before she makes matters even worse.
11
And so begins the Stalinist chapter of the Democratic Party's storied history. The Party may very well cannibalize itself, freeing up the few seats it holds in Congress and at the state level (outside its coastal enclaves), in a desperate effort to curry favor with a demographic (white women) that did not vote for it in the most recent election.
If the gambit is successful, the Party may once again be able to plant a flag on a political platform that a huge percentage of the population identifies with. If it fails, the GOP could reign for decades to come.
3
I guess it's nice to know which senators are "in tune" with social media as it continues to destroy any sense of proportion, justice, and reason.
2
Senator Gillibrand's actions will become a symbol of when the #metoo movement jumped the shark. When anyone, anywhere can launch accusations about distant past actions and have them seized upon by a mob of bullies to destroy an individual's career WITH NO INVESTIGATION, the incredibly brave work of so many women who have come forward in other instances gets undermined.
I'm absolutely infuriated by this rush to judgement by she and the other senators, and feel the Democratic leadership has no idea of the hornet's nest they have just kicked within their own party. A lot of us will remember your actions when the presidential primaries roll around.
11
I'm starting to understand why people voted for Trump to spite the democrats, and I'm also starting to feel like this country deserves Trumpism.
5
Wait a minute. When are all these Gillibrand co-patriots going to call a news conference and demand the president's resignation.
6
Senator Al Franken is no Donald Trump, or Roy Moore. I do not believe he is a predator of any sort and he shouldn't have been forced out of office.
10
and Senator Gillibrand steps over Franken's body. I'd be careful Senator Warren, you might be next.
8
Gillibrand seems more like an electioneering opportunist. I predict she gets zero new pro woman legislation through Congress.
8
I'll only believe Gillibrand's sincerity if she and the others immediately call for Trump's resignation and for Roy Moore's resignation (should he be elected).
Both of these men have been accused of far worse than Al Franken.
5
Gillibrand has started her campaign for the presidency. I admit that I voted for her. I apologize. I won't make the same mistake again.
12
I don't approve of violence in any form, but a very tiny part of me would like to punch Kirsten Gillibrand in the nose.
As well as every member of my party who joined her holier-than-thou crusade.
Democrats sure know how to dig their own graves, fooling themselves that by taking some "moral high ground" Democrats will win.
They never learn.
No one appeared to care about Trump.
Or Moore.
To watch Senator Franken point out the irony of his resignation while Trump sits in the Oval Office, and a child molester is probably going to win a Senate seat in Alabama was so terribly sad.
The photo was very unpleasant -- the other accusations are she said, he said.
But in giving in to the current hysteria, Democrats have again snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
We're about to lose a fine, fine senator.
Thanks, my fellow Democrats.
When Moore is elected, don't expect the GOP to do anything about removing him from the seat.
7
Enough is enough when it comes to the strident type of feminism being advocated by Gillibrand. This harridan incited other women in Congress to harass Franken into resignation.
Franken behaved like a frat boy pledging a fraternity. He did not not coerce
anyone to have sex or engage in retribution because a woman rejected his overtures. There is an utter disregard for proportionality. Rape is wrong; coercion is wrong; and groping is wrong. All three are wrong but they are not the same. One remedy does not fit all when it becomes necessary to change how men behave. Forcing Franken to resign was wrong.
If women, like the Gillibrand, insist upon going to war against men, they will not get the respect and support to which they are entitled.
7
Go ahead and pile on Sen. Gillibrand exactly as we expect everyone to behave when it doesn't involve a Democratic officeholder. I'm confident that when the smoke clears and the Internet- and social media-fed outrage machine is spent, she'll be seen to be sticking to her principles.
This is McCarthyism repackaged. Why do we even have an Ethics Committee if it is not allowed to function?
8
Clever of her to eliminate one of her potential opponents for the 2020 party nomination.
8
If the ethics committee finds he did no wrong as Senator or says whatever he did was minor or there was no proof and he could have stayed will every one of those women up there with her apologize? I will never vote for any of them if cross my path. If it means I will sit out an election which I have never done in my whole life.
4
I really cannot believe the Democrats are going down this road.
We need to move on from the Clinton era. Did 2016 teach us anything? If they run Gillibrand it will be Hillary by proxy.
Out of the millions of Democrats in the country, the choice is to anoint Hillary's hand-picked successor in the Senate? Hillary wrote the foreword for her book? The Republican media machine won't have any fun with this, will they? I am honestly floored by the density of this move.
5
Senator Gillibrand is terrific. Not only does she speak out on important issues but her office is outstanding. Over the years that I have been Town Supervisor I have referred many constituent cases to numerous elected officials at the federal, state, county and local levels. Senator Gillibrand's office responds almost immediately to every complaint I send her wayand she has helped many with major and minor problems. She hires the best of the best, her office has never let me down. She is the kind of elected official who we need more of. That's why when I have a government related problem at the federal or state level, the first person I contact is Senator Gillibrand.
PAUL FEINER, Greenburgh Town Supervisor
Al Franken delivered an exemplary performance on the judiciary committee. Nothing, absolutely nothing he is alleged to have done merits resignation. If Gillebrand's leading of this lynch mob is her idea of jockeying for position for the next presidential nomination, she's delusional. I hope the voters of NY give her the boot at the next opportunity.
12
Why hasn't Senator Gillibrand and others raised cain about Trump? Moore? Why now? Instead of my fellow women and men speaking out along party lines, why not speak along human lines and call out the venomous snakes when they see them? Why wait? To set an example? I think it's outrageous and insulting that the women that accused Trump of his vile sexual assaults were met with scrutiny and rebuke for speaking out, and not a word of support from Gillibrand or her colleagues. Gillibrand is not being noble here. Because if she was, she would have called out the monster in the white house and his cronies a long, long time ago instead of making Franken the sacrificial lamb. Nice job.
5
Political correctness has gone too far. So now, there is no redemption?
Al Franken apologized. He offered to go before the ethics committee. This was for conduct PRIOR to his becoming a senator. He did everything that a person is supposed to do in a situation like his. And yet, Democrats forced him out?
By the way, I am a woman, someone who spent a career in banking. I experienced sexual harassment firsthand. But this has got to end. You can't force someone out of his job in this manner.
By the way, what exact kinds of behavior will warrant removing someone? What about someone who treats co-workers or subordinates horribly? Someone who repeatedly reduces employees to tears? Are we now going to force them out? Before we go down this route, we better be clear about EXACTLY what types of behavior warrant removal.
8
Due process...she's an opportunists and clearly lacks character...profiles in courage are when you decide based on right and wrong not on the political wind...she should have show distain but allow due process, that would have been the courageous thing to do!
1
Thanks, Senator Gillibrand. Now we've lost two Democrats. The end is in sight for you as well.
8
The hero of the tobacco lobby has just gotten rid of a formidable rival in the 2020 presidential primary. Where's the moral high ground? I'll never for for her or any of the democrats who collaborated with her. And I've been a member of the democratic party ever since I could vote--my first vote was against Nixon
7
I could be impressed by Gillibrand if she could stop Roy Moore and give some pause for something like due process. But she didn't and she won't. There is so much irony of a liberal senator resigning while Donald Trump is president...its truly ludicrous. Democrats/leftists had better start taking a much broader view of the political implications of such actions especially since they are completely out of power.
4
So Gillibrand was inconvenienced by due process for Franken (it's so hard having to explain the difference between sexual assault and unwanted groping), and preferred to get rid of a Democrat who was effective at fighting for his constituents, particularly in nailing down the lies of Jeff Sessions, rather than let due process play out. (Not to mention getting rid of a potential competitor for the Presidency in 2020.) I am angry and disgusted by her actions. It may be that Franken was everything his accusers said he was (the last accusation was particularly ludicrous - he put his hand on the waist of a woman who asked for a photo with him), and it may be that he was nothing of the sort, but we will never know because Gillibrand didn't want the Ethics Committee investigation to go forward, she preferred to decide on unsubstantiated accusations.
The upshot is that we lose a good Democratic Senator, and gain the "moral high ground", which, to my knowledge, has never swayed voters anywhere (just look at the last election.) Furthermore, this will be only the first of many allegations brought against Democrats in Congress, and Gillibrand will have established the precedent of the party refusing to defend against them. She and Schumer, who also called for Franken to resign, have lost my donations in the future, and she will not have my vote in the next primary.
2
I must agree with Franken that it is the height of irony for him to resign and POTUS remain in office. Not the sword to fall on.
5
Senator Gillibrand just removed one of the largest obstacles in her way on the path to a 2020 presidential nomination. Don't think for a second that this is a coincidence. The Clinton is strong in this one.
5
I am hopeful that her political career is over.
2
Has the Democratic Party thought this out? Do they have a strategy? What is the end game?
How far back is this country going to review men's behavior for sexual misconduct? Will we review behavior from one's 20s and 30s? We're going to review both men's and women's behavior, I presume? Will we review only those who are in politics? Or will we also review those in banking, accounting, legal, entertainment industries? If we are going to have a set standard for one industry--shouldn't it be the same for all?
I suspect the American public doesn't care much about the Al Franken allegations, which happened prior to his becoming senator. We do care about health care, jobs, education, taxes, growing income inequality, the growing national debt. But I have barely heard peep from the Democrats the past month while the Republicans have been pushing through a tax plan that will hurt most Americans.
Keep in mind that when there is a Special Election in Minnesota, there is no guarantee that a Democrat will win. Remember, Al Franken barely won that seat.
Our nation's foundation is being destroyed, and the Democrats are quiet as church mice. But give them a soap box from which they can preach their so-called moral high ground, and suddenly they come out in droves.
It is no wonder that American voters went to Trump!
3
Time for this self-flagellation to end. Democrats, we face an immediate emergency of climate change driven cataclysms in California today and Puerto Rico last month; we need to support our fellow Americans in every way we can. And we need to return to getting our country turned around and to expose the Republican tax scam for what it is. The GOP has pulled its Trojan horse tax bill inside the walls of our Republic, whose sole end is to shout "fire" over the inevitable deficits to follow and how we're going to have to cut Social Security and privatize Medicare in order to save ourselves from a terrible fate of artificial debt. All of this noise about Franken's boorishness around women is unfortunate but not (or shouldn't be) a "hanging matter." Yes, if Clinton had resigned we might have had a Gore Presidency and a completely different outcome with respect to Bush 2 and his wars of choice as well as a jump start on combating climate change. Perhaps we woulda, shoulda done all that. But he didn't and we didn't. Instead the country is infected with a politics of lethal polarization and denial and criminality in the White House. Time to focus on the many real problems we face.... Please!!
3
I have not read one post in support of her position (I'm sure they're there, but the dozens I looked through did not). What about the investigation Franken called for? I will definitely be donating to her democratic opponent. When will Dems stop this kind of self destruction... Heart breaking.
2
Show her real power by:
1) Stopping the election of Roy Moore
2) Getting the women who charged Trump to fill charges of some kind so some of these claims can be exposed.
3). Getting Clarence Thomas to resign.
4
Gillebrand seems to be throwing the country under the bus to support her presidential ambitions or her puffed up sense of self-righteousness or both. The apparent inability to grasp gradations of both offense and punishment is very suspicious. I won't be sending any money her way or my vote if that becomes relevant. I'll also cut back on my support for the party outside of Maryland.
4
The general thread of these comments typifies how women in power are treated in America — and why it may be simply impossible for one to ever rise to the White House. No one forced Al Franken to resign; that was a decision he made, likely because he knew there was more bad news that would emerge. Due process was still open to him, and not shut off by Sen. Gillibrand and others who called for his resignation. He could have stuck it out and gone through the ethics process, but we would likely have wound up in the same place. Stop pretending that his career was salvageable. His position as a Democratic leader was sacrificed by his own poor past decisions.
This isn't as transparent as one would think. Why is Senator Gillibrand on fire to shut out one of the top Democratic leaders in the party? It's not personal I'm sure. It's not self-serving? Oh, I'm sure that isn't the case. Hmmm...let me think on this.
2
This was personal politics on the part of Gillibrand, she attacked Franken to get rid of a 2020 presidential rival.
The DNC has lost my support and my money.
5
I thought Senator Schumer was our grandstanding senator. Apparently, it is Gillibrand. I respected Gillibrand until this moment. She has lost my support and vote for as long as she hold political office.
5
I had high hopes for Senator Gillibrand, but this stunt just placed her out of contention for my vote. I will keep the list of Senators who threw Al Franken under the bus as my handy future voting guide.
If these Senators can pass such harsh judgement, then they too should be judged.
5
Two political careers likely ended today.
The first is Sen. Franken's. I believe this is unfortunate. Though I disagree with many of his political views, he should not have been forced out of the job he was elected to fill.
The second career is likely Sen. Gllibrand's. Judging by the comments here and elsewhere, the large majority of those posting, mostly liberal Democrats, believe she was primarily motivated by her own political ambitions. Most believe Sen. Franken should have remained in the Senate. I think Sen. Gillibrand has lost a big piece of her constituency. Good riddance.
6
How convenient this has become quite apparently: fairly newly expressed moral outrage over an ancient problem, masking one’s personal political ambition at an opportune time. Politicians!
1
I share the thoughts of many: Ms Gillibrand is on a shameful career to presidency. Why didn’t she go after Moore or why didn’t all Democrats Senators who joined her make more noise against the Tax Bill that will lead US, Social Security and Medicare to shambles? I would never vote Republican but I encourage all New Yorkers to register Democrats and not allow Ms Gillibrand to represent her party them any more in the Senate when she goes for re-election. I thought Country came before Party and party before self. The New York Senator has reversed the equation.
5
I'm a constituent of hers and a life-long democrat. I'm disgusted with the way she has handled this.
I will never vote for her, and would certainly vote against her in a primary. I might even vote for a Republican for the first time in my life.
If this is the democratic party, I may have to go find another one.
5
While the Dems and the left lament the ouster of Franken and clamor for the resignation of others, it is important to note that Republicans did not march and howl in the streets while wearing pink, knit hats. No, it was the left that turned everything into a moral temperance movement and when they looked in the mirror and did a self evaluation they discovered that the enemy was themselves. How will SNL handle this in a parody? I can't wait.
1
Stepping up is good, stepping up evenly is even better. Mr. Trump is scott-free from allegations by 16 women, that have not even been investigated, and on top of that there was a withdrawn lawsuit of abuse of an underage girl (at the time of the alleged event). That becomes the elephant in the room, if we claim to hold elected officials accountable.
The resignations carry an implied admission of guilt, which is not the standard for justice in the US. If Mr. Franken recognizes that the allegations are true and that the honorable thing is to resign, that is one thing. If an elected official is forced to resign without admitting guilt and without recourse, and allegation turn out to be untrue or overblown, it is not such a good thing.
1
I might have some respect for Ms. Gillibrand if she:
1. Had privately talked to Senator Franken first, encouraging him to resign, before calling attention to herself publicly. Did she?
2. Was calling for Trump's resignation over the same issue, and I mean non-stop, going to the mat, talking to Republicans in the Senate about the need for consistency. Is she?
3. Was calling for the Senate to refuse to seat Roy Moore, even if he wins the election. In his case, you have the double whammy of actions against women plus his demonstrated attitude to the ignore the U.S. Constitution as a judge. No brainer. Will she?
5
Franken was driven from office as a result of a prank photo, a second very dodgy accuser and five anonymous accusers (who only surfaced when serious questions arose concerning the first two). Thus, whether Senator Gillibrand realizes it or not, she has effectively set up a situation in which Democrats can be driven from office on the basis of little more than innuendo. Is that really what she wants?
And to those who call her stand the "moral high ground," I would point out that there is nothing particularly moral, nor even lofty, about bullying a dedicated public servant into resigning based on allegations that have never been investigated.. It is worth noting, too, that of all the men who have been similarly accused, Franken's response was far and away the classiest one of them all.
Gillibrand, et al. seem to think that voters, come next year, will remember that they took this supposed "moral high ground" and will reward them for it. I think she will be rather surprised to find that voters don't reward politicians who allow themselves to become chumps.
I have been an enthusiastic supporter of SEnator GIllibrand, but both she and Senator Schumer, for their roles in this fiasco, have received the last vote of mine they will ever receive. Frankly, I take one Al Franken to any ten Gillibrands and Shumers any day.
.
3
Where's the due process in all of these allegations? Simply saying "I believe the women" when someone is accused of something inappropriate is not a gold standard.
3
I don't know. From her conduct, I suspect she's a Republican in Democratic clothing. Senator Franklin has apologized. He could be simply sanctioned, or removed from committees, but his forced resignation only serves the interest of the monied interests-Republicans, both traditional and tea party varieties.
4
I do agree that Gillibrand is painting with too broad a brush stroke ... however, if she were a man, would there be so much uproar about her statements?
Just had a discussion with a friend about this. I am always astounded that no matter how informed people are they still think they are dealing with politics as usual. The Republican party is no longer playing by the old rules which defined politicatical strategy. This is a war against a party that has conclusively shown that they will do anything to win, even sell out the country. My friend believes that making Al Franken resign will allow us the take the moral high ground. The same old, 'When they go low ' nonsense that has gotten us to where we are today. We better learn who are enemy is and that they most likely set up Al Franken and we fell for it once again.
2
Sen Gillibrand, you effectively negated my vote for a senator to represent me, without any due process or distinction between lewd humor (which private citizen Franken performed) and criminal behavior (of which Senator Franken has been neither accused nor convicted). How you think that's justified is beyond me.
I now expect you to lead the charge against the current President and the soon-to-be-elected Senator from Alabama.
6
I hope the good Senator makes it her daily mission to call for Trump's resignation without due process. If she doesn't she will show herself to be even more grossly opportunistic than her Clintonian tutors. But maybe she'll win in 2020 this way. One thing is for sure, republicans must witness such self flagellation with mild amusement. These types of moves have no register in their grammar of politics. If a republican wins Minnesota to replace Franken, Sen. Gillibrand should herself resign due to what that will mean for women.
4
The Republicans were against Roy Moore while it was politically expedient. Then they decided they needed that vote, so it became politically expedient to back him.
Gillibrand ignored Bill Clinton's behavior as long as it was politically expedient. Then she decided to excoriate Clinton and Franklin when it became politically expedient for her career.
Remind me again what the difference is between Democrats and Republicans these days?
3
This is a high risk Gillibrand strategy - claiming the moral high ground on behalf of women - in an atmosphere and in an population and electorate, both Democrats and Republications, that does not embrace that position over and above other factors. Gillibrand paints these as "black and white" issues with no position for nuance, when many, both men and women do not see this are not ever likely to see this with moral clarity with which she sees it. In the current atmosphere a male and female backlash is not only inevitable but is happening and strident un-nuanced female perspectives may backfire.
9
I like Senator Gillibrand but I think she has made a mistake leading the charge to force Senator Franken to resign. I believe he had earned the right to go through the ethics investigation and the people of Minnesota had the right to decide if they wanted the Senator they voted for to serve out his term. I hope we don't lose the Minnesota seat in 2018. If we do she will be responsible.
11
Supposedly, Gillibrand is one of the few Democratic Senators who have good personal relationships with and respect of Republican colleagues. It is possible they set up some kind of tacit agreement that Democrats would do this with Franken as long as Republicans do the same thing with Moore, it elected. That's my idealistic dream.
5
Ruth Marcus of the Post said it best, that in every revolution there are elements of extremism, and I think this is the case here. Is there no middle ground between a Roy Moore and Al Franken? Are we turning this movement into a modern version of the French Revolution? I like the senator, but zero tolerance is not the way to go here, she may inadvertently end up being the Rosspiere of this movement . And that would be sad, not only for her career, but more importantly for this enlightening moment for women. The damage of throwing true allies overboard will inevitably bring everyone who had a ligitimate incident into the realm of those who doubt women all the time.
28
its shameful to me that due process wasn't allowed by completing the Ethics Investigation. where was the outrage over Conyers? meanwhile 45 and Moore are skating away while Franken was the sacrificial lamb.
37
The outrage over Conyers forced him to resign.
1
If democrats are going to go after Roy Moore tooth and tong we need to essentially walk on water where sexual harassment, assault, rape et al, are concerned. It is simple political expediency and Ms Gillibrand is a political animal.
Unfair is putting the likes of Roy Moore, Trump and Franken in the same sentence or universe of thought.
Al Franken had great timing his whole performing career - his timing finally failed.
There is no margin for error here unfortunately for Sen. Franken. It isn't this simple but it appears so to most - you are either for women or against them - all the grey in this discussion left the hall a long time ago when woman after woman nearly self immolated with contained rage after enduring yet another degrading defilement at the hands of men.
4
It is difficult to remain calm before this injustice! I will NEVER vote for Senator Kirsten Gillibrand again. Her presidential ambitions led her to this shameless betrayal of Senator Franken which led to his ouster without even affording him the opportunity of due process! It was a deplorable move for which I also blame the 35 senators that joined her. Great "friends" and "colleagues". Schumer will not be getting my vote either. And why are they not doing their job, addressing the disgraceful tax bill, there is not time to waste, instead of going after Senator Franken, one the very best among them. Shame!
64
If you look at the comments here at the Times, which pretty much defines her core group of supporters, she's being crucified for taking such a hardline stance. So how can you reasonably claim she's grandstanding to further her political aspirations?
1
She grandstanded before she knew the backlash. I hope she's reading these comments. I'm sure she thought women would be getting behind her 100% on this but she was wrong.
2
Because she is tone deaf and blinded by ambition. She thought she could find a raison d'etre for her political aim in this righteous feminist argument. That she manage to enlist even Bernie Sanders to banish Senator Al Franken is jaw dropping. That so many senators allied themselves to this move , including Senator Bernie Sanders is a HUGE disappointment. He should have known better than throwing under the bus the only other left leaning progressive senator in the body. I still don't get what Franken has been kicked out of the Senate for. All I know, his no longer being part of that body is a loss for all of us. Al Franken was an exemplary senator. And his constituency had no say in his removal. Mind boggling.
why isn't senator gillibrand focusing on donald trump or ray moore - is her only concern democrats? - please explain why trump and moore are not her targets also???
34
I believe that Democrats would have backed due process (including Senator Gillibrand - the junior senator from Wall Street) if the governor of Minnesota were a Republican instead of a Democrat. In fact - I'm sure of it!
15
I believe ... In fact - I'm sure of it!
There's the problem right there.
Inflation of belief. Once we hear someone say it, and it agrees with what we were thinking, then we cross that threshold from rational to irrational.
The fact that the person we heard saying was none other than our own self only makes it plainer and more common place not to mention easier.
1
Franken got railroaded because his Governor is a democrat and will appoint his replacement. This would not have happened if the Gov was a Republican I guarantee it. This is all about Roy Moore.
23
Stealing a candy bar from a store is stealing. So is sticking a gun in someone's face and taking their money. But we don't make the consequences the same for both acts. Lines in the sand and zero tolerance policies are utopian concepts that lead to very negative consequences in the real world. It is an obliteration of important distinctions. It is being utilized by Gillibrand, et. al. for political reasons, period.
Lest we forget, Gillibrand was antagonistic to gun control when a representative from Upstate New York, and, low and behold, suddenly became a big gun control supporter once she represented the whole state.
Unless there is something we don't know, Franken's actions were juvenile and disrespectful. That is of a totally different order than what we (anybody willing to look at the evidence) know was done by Trump, Moore and Weinstein. It should be treated differently.
41
Gillibrand is delusional if she thinks this will help her get the nomination in 2020. The former Big Tobacco lawyer is going to be portrayed as a repackaged Hillary Clinton, but only less qualified. Throwing a good Senator under the bus for personal political gain isn't going to help her image.
55
Senator Gillibrand is quick to ask Franken to resign, but is silent on Trump. Am I the only one who has noticed this disconnect?
27
Senator Gillibrand's hypocritical purism is both revolting and alarming.
If women, if any persons, want to be dealt with fairly, then fair dealing
should be demanded, required of them. This lifelong liberal who remembers FDR, Joe McCarthy and the history from then until know, is appalled and
ashamed that Democrats are acting in super-political mode for crass political reasons.
Franken should stay in the Senate, and any legislator of either party should not knuckle under to a lynching without benefit of hearings, evidence, accusers unwilling to remain anonymous.
In the end, it is up to voters to choose whom they wish to have represent them. The Gillibrand-led Purity Police smell of Stalinism, McCarthyism and just plain ol' rotten politics.
Franken's willingness to cave is more than disappointing, it gives undeserved strength to the Hanging Judges willing to abandon fairness in their lust to win elections. Donald J. Trump is not alone in his mongering for power.
A friend wrote a famous last line in a classic western picture, and I'l borrow: COME BACK AL.
Doug Giebel, Big Sandy, Montana
27
Gillibrand must be a closet Trumper. She had no problem getting endorsement from Bill and Hillary Clinton. Now she is playing a righteous card that does not suit her. Al Franken was elected by the people of Minnesota and she has no business calling Franken to resign. In fact Franken has done more for the people than she can imagine.
27
Don’t even think about running for President, Gillibrand. As a life long Democrat, I will vote for Trump before I support you.
31
Erik,
How'd that work out the last time? When Bernie Bros voted for Jill Stein or Trump or not at all.
Grow up! Judgment, not grudgment should inform your vote.
1
If Senator Gillibrand does not, at this point, channel her righteous indignation toward denouncing Trump for the allegations made against him - for which he got a free pass! - she will have lost all credibility in my book. Wow, give a Democrat an opportunity to shoot their party in the foot and they’ll seize it every time.
22
I have never much liked Al Franken and I regard sexual harassment as unacceptable behavior. But I like vigilantes a lot less. Kristin Gillibrand and her ilk demonstrate a woeful lack of respect for due process and standards of evidence. If such vigilantism is what the Democratic party chooses to stand for, it will do so without my vote or support.
28
Google "Leeann Tweeden" and click on "images" & tell me this woman did not advertise herself as a sex object for years. Please. Franken was railroaded out of office by his own party and he should have fought these ridiculous charges. As long as Trump is POTUS Franken should serve in the Senate. No wonder the Republicans win elections. They fight for what they believe in and they circle the wagons and defend their own. Today I am ashamed to call myself a Democrat.
30
Gillibrand is an extremist if she thinks someone's life should be destroyed over unsubstantiated claims of "side boob" touching and unwanted kisses.
And so close to her reelection? People will remember.
48
The last time I heard from Al Franken, he was having his people send out emails in an effort to raise money to support people like Gillibrand. He has done this often for her and and for others on the list of those who condemn him now - for what?
Minnesota is losing a great senator and Democrats and this country are losing an important voice for justice.
This is sickening! An enthusiastic squeeze when one is being photographed is not harassment, regardless of what some people try to make it out to be. Something is rotten in the state of - Congress, and we are disgusted with Democratic congresspeople who aid and abet the Republican takeover.
Get Roy Moore and lose Al Franken - that is not my idea of progress.
And what about the Groper in Chief, if we're going to talk about sexual harassment? Nothing that Al has been accused of rises to the level of Trump's admitted predilection for grabbing at women's genitals.
38
Kristen Gillibrand should resign for demanding the destruction of an innocent man and his career on nothing but allegation without a scintilla of proof. She is right though enough is enough of this feminist witch hunt.
40
Perhaps Senator Gillibrand should adopt the name Jezebel. And perhaps the many militantly secular NY Times readers should read the Biblical book 1 Kings. There is nothing new here.
8
None of the Democrats needed to go public with their qualms. This could have been done back door. Since when are we the moral superior to the Repuglicrats? Alabamians by the score will be voting for a child molester and somehow forcing him out publically makes us better?
I'm sure Al would have resigned if they had asked him to quietly. But this knee jerk reaction to everything Weinstein is a huge mistake. This ain't Salem.
15
Here is a wild conspiracy theory for you all - if Hillary Clinton were to run again in 2020, who are her biggest opponents? Franken and Biden. Suddenly, out of nowhere, I keep hearing in the same week that Biden is a creep vis-a-vis Anita Hill and Franken is just another Harvey Weinstein. Good week for the GOP, good week for Hillary.
11
This is not Seneca Falls, this is Salem. And Gillibrand takes the lead as the primary inquisitor, turning legitimate feminist issues into a theocracy allowing no quarrel or question.
44
I'm disgusted with Senator Gillibrand. I'm a woman, born and raised in NY state, and I'm a Democrat. Gillibrand can't tell the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony - and that analogy does hold for degrees of sexual misconduct.
The Senate should censure FRanken and put him on probation.
Put your smug anger somewhere else, KG.
60
This needs to be an equal opportunity campaign, Kristen. You MUST go after the troll in the White House in any way possible. If you don't then you do not truly mean "Enough is enough." We need you. We are counting you. If you can call out Franken (my senator - I am a resident of MN) then you can call out the president and not stop until he's out.
17
Grandstanding Gillibrand has lost any future vote of mine. Shame on her for the attention grab and rush to judgment.
38
Please set your sights on Justice Thomas now. It seems only right.
14
Indeed. Nothing I'd like better than to revisit the Clarence Thomas case, just to watch him and his wife squirm, if nothing else.
Thank you most sincerely for your gift-wrapped Chanukah present to the Trumpenvolk. They are smirking all the way to their Twittering.
17
No, no, Senator Gillibrand. It's 'Me Too'. Not 'Me Me'.
33
a zinger, PaulW
While you've taken out the good senator from Minnesota - you may as well say Good-bye to your own career. As a woman, my perspective is you are never going to get a woman in the White House - because we are losing our men! Men aren't going to vote for woman in power! Why? Because just like men - they are going to abuse it. What about waiting for the ethics committee to make the call and let the truth see the light of day. Dems failing Dems again. Canada really does call!
25
Pure opportunist. Appointed to a Senate vacancy over Caroline Kennedy against the will of New Yorkers by David Paterson (had nothing to do with the Clintons), himself an unelected governor rising to office with the fall of Eliot Spitzer after a wildly poltical incursion into his private sexual life. To wear the mantle of a champion battling sexual predators, especially to throw under the bus a popular liberal senator whose indiscretions, at least to date are both unproven or positively puerile compared to the predator in chief, to advance your own blood stained political agenda, is beneath contempt.
39
So we’ve got Franken paying the price for his harassment. Dems are all over him for those transgressions. I don’t disagree with it though I’m disappointed in Franken himself :-/
But, WHY DOES CONGRESS GIVE TRUMP A PASS ON HIS BEHAVIOR?
Frankens behavior is not worse than the Donald’s. But Trump doesn’t have to answer for his disgusting displays, behavior & comments.
Pathetic. Congress could do better.
3
I will be turning 66 in a couple of weeks. I have been a democrat my entire life, but I am seriously considering leaving the party after the witch hunt that the democratic party (not the GOP!) conducted on Senator Franken. How dare you ask Senator Franken to resign when a known sexual assaulter resides in the Oval Office and a known pedophile is about to become a senator from Alabama!? Yet the response from the democrats on those two offenders is...silence. No calls for them to step aside. How come?
Good luck.
34
Yeah you go ahead and lead that battle. While your at it don't forget to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic
11
If we really want these so-called witch hunts to stop, then we'd better start with college campuses, where there is no shortage of kindling.
4
When is Gillibrand going to call for the resignation of Representative Blake Farenthold who used $84,000 of taxpayer funds to settle a sexual harassment case?
11
Franken crossed the line and and should resign. It's the right thing to do.
However, you would never-ever see any republican resign. They're cheered on for their resilience, toughness, conservative & religious values, love of country all while praising God and hugging the flag.
It's clear the republicans are in moral "tatters". Their reply: So What.
1
if Clinton had won there would not be a single peep about any of this. Weinstein was so close to Bill and Hillary he would still be running Hollywood, the media would have buried all of this like they did for years when it was politically expedient.
7
Enough is enough. I have had enough with my senator Kirsten Gillibrand. How dare she climb upon her high horse and tell the people of Minnesota who should be their senator. Make no mistake, the Gillibrand organized this Democratic debacle. She wants to run for president and Al was a highly visible target in her way. What she did yesterday was despicable. She and her female co-decided to be Judge and Jury and convict Al Franken before allowing him the right to defend himself. The Democrats are going to pay for this mess. They so wanted to get Trump. Instead they have gotten themselves. Shame and a Pox on both their houses.
DD
Manhattan
22
How strong could Franken be if he resigned instead of fighting someone like . . . Gillibrand? Gillibrand had no legal right to deny Franken due process, Franken could have stayed in the Senate to be judged by his constituents in the next election. Instead, Franken took the coward's way out when Gillibrand said boo.
Franken didn't take the coward's way out. He was pushed out by craven democrats. Alway lacking a spine and shown again and again. Gillibrand, you will never get to be president. Get over yourself. Franken was my senator and I choose to believe him. Shame on you.
2
They humiliated him & he probably didn't want to put his family through it. But I wish he'd reconsider.
1
Gillibrand lead this scapegoating exercise. She has lost my support.
25
So when does Trump pay? How many women have come out with stories of his behavior?
11
Franken was not legally obligated to resign. Franken could have stayed in the Senate and demanded due process. Franken could have stayed in the Senate and said he would be judged by the voters of Minnesota. But Franken wimped out, proving he did not have the heart for the fight. The problem is not Gillibrand, the problem is Franken wimping out.
3
Tony, you reply was inane. He was pushed out and not happy about it either. Difference between wimping out and being kicked out. Gillibrand is obnoxious.
2
She better start demanding due process with all these allegations or this New Yorker is NOT voting for her again. Witch hunts are fun when you're not the witch, but beware...one day that will change and she will bear the burden of creating this.
17
Untill women turn violent, they will not gain political power over men. Justice has been denied victims by civil means. Women prove themselves weak if they stop when society fails and concede they have no recourse. A better political move is to become violent, assault Weinstein and others back. Face the consequence and force evolution.
1
She will never get my vote. Opportunist.
15
Call me an incorrigible misogynist but I cannot disagree more about Gillibrand's comment on Bill Clinton. I am no fan of the Clintons, but if Bill had simply come clean I would have no problem. If Bill had said, "Yes, I slept with that intern. It was a lapse of moral standards, but what transpired is between me and my wife:" then, I would consider Starr's indictment little more than a witch hunt.
Senator Gillibrand, I do not accept, and will not tolerate, an imposition of your moral standard on me or any other male. I would no more tolerate your standard any more than I would allow some evangelist demanding that I accept his religion or die.
12
My Senators from New York State, who I admittedly have voted for in the past, have had a unique role in ruining the Democratic Party in the 21st Century. It started with Chuck Schumer supporting the Iraq War, was perpetuated by the delusional egoist and serial liar Hillary Clinton, and now is continued by Gillibrand, who in trying to woo Hillary's former base has succeeded in ousting her colleague Franken. Opportunistically putting herself in the spotlight nationally while eyeing the next Presidential primary. The Democratic Party as is stands going in 2018 is run by a bunch of aging, out of touch career politicians or overly ambitious clowns who run to the media virtue signaling their allegiances in the sphere of identity politics. The leadership should have been ousted under Obama but never was. He got himself elected, they did nothing for him. Many voters like myself and anyone from the center to the far left are going to stop begrudgingly supporting the DNC and seek another party to represent us. I know the first thing someone will think or say in response to this will be "...but Trump!". I frankly do not care. I do not define my ideals and hopes for American society in opposition to him. The vast majority of the United States looks at the Democratic Party as a bunch of sniveling losers with no clear economic vision, perfectly content with illegal immigration, and narrowly focused on endless victim narratives and "diversity" above all else. They can't win like that.
10
Thank you for your eloquent synopsis for what is wrong with the Democratic Party. As of today, I am no longer a Democrat and will not vote for or support the party in any way. You think they would have learned after they sabotaged Sanders and lost the election. In California, I hate Trump and company, but the Democrats are doing everything they can to lose my support and that of the middle class for their identity politics.
The depth of my disappointment is indescribable
17
The sane voices of Congress have left or are leaving. Bipartisan governing is over. Franken is resigning although he didn't get due process and his party deserted him. The Republicans threw their support to a man accused of sexual harrassment and Trump is in the White House, despite 20 women accusing him of sexual harrassment and an audio tape of him proclaiming it! SAD!
6
The Witch Hunt led by Gillibrand to deny Franken DUE PROCESS ( Ethics Committee hearing) is motivated by her desire to be the Democratic nominee for 2020 President. It will not work for her. She will be primaried, and lose BIGLY!
15
The Senator is walking a dangerous fine line.
While it is certainly proper to speak out on issues that women need (not want) like ending violence in the military, sexual harassment, if you go over the line and start sounding like identity obsessed Hillary, it will be fatal to you.
I have been telling my liberal friends since before the last election don't harp on identity obsessed politics like blanket equal pay, men are evil and have to pay for five million yrs of existence, women should rule the country etc.
One can point to several reasons why Hillary lost the election but one of the main reasons was the previous paragraph.
Learn from history or forever be condemned to repeat its' worst mistakes.
5
Ms Gillibrand would have been at home in the Salem witchcraft trials exhibiting a rather self righteous attitude on her part. A shame. Now the whole situation is beyond control when anything done in a males past makes them liable for persecution/prosecution now. Accusation now takes precedence over proof.
Bottom line, "men make fools of themselves over women and women take advantage of it."
8
Franken bad?
Trump good?
That's not being "at the fore". That's playing politics (as usual).
Ms. Gillibrand might consider finding a spine if she's going to play hardball.
3
The idea that cleaning house can somehow protect the Democrats against accusations of double standards, hypocrisy, etc. when they attack Republicans ("whataboutism") is wishful thinking. Here, we are tossing out Congress members accused of unwanted sexual attention/harassment/assault but who knows what the next litmus test might be. How about we focus on the real problem, the guy in the White House. Even if we let him skate on sexual assault, that doesn't get rid of the collusion, obstruction, lying, emoluments, and other impeachable offenses.
1
Do Wall St. Gillibrand and Pochanatas really think a strive for absolute purity within the party is going to end well?
(And I say that as a huge fan of Warren)
6
Senator Gillibrand is nothing but a grandstanding, ambitious politician. Her stand had nothing to do with "doing the right thing". She supported the Clinton's until she did not need them any more. I think Gillibrand saw in Al Franken a serious contender for the Presidential race in 2020 and wanted him out of the way. It will come back to bite her
9
One can only hope, Jean, that your voice finds God's ears.
Talk about clutching defeat from the jaws of victory! While American's are slowly awakening to the moral depravity of the GOP, Democrats are poised to gain back much of the representation lost in the 2010 midterms. Along comes this do-gooder who draws a false equivalency between a law-breaking pedophile and a champion of women who hugs people in photographs. We have already learned time and again that taking the moral high ground is not enough when fighting the GOP. They go low, and the only way to beat them is to go even lower, I'm afraid. Killing one's own just for the sake of creating a moral example is appallingly bad judgment at a time when so many people's lives and the environment are on the edge of the abyss because of the GOP's extremely poor judgment. As a white, heterosexual wealthy person with health insurance, she is completely tone deaf to the needs of her constituents. Democrats need to unify and strengthen to stop this madness.
As a New York democrat, I can safely say that Kristen Gillibrand's political future is toast. I will endeavor to rally support for her opponents, even Republicans, to make sure she never steps foot in the halls of Congress again. Hopefully she will be primaried out before it gets to that point.
9
The democrats are doing the right thing, sexual harassment and sexual assault should not be tolerated in any workplace including Congress. Yes there is a political penalty to pay by losing the seat but there is a moral penalty to pay by continuing to support someone who has mis-used his power to harm women who work with him or for him.
Worrying about or waiting for the Republicans to do the right thing would mean waiting forever. The Democrats should stick to the high road.
This is a travesty, and Democrats are again proving that they can't govern. I'm stopping all my donations to Democratic candidates.
6
The heart of the issue here is that Democrats seem to have consciences and will make someone resign over allegations, while the Republicans will support the dirtiest, creepiest candidate they can find, regardless of what accusations about said person come to light. This is an extremely horrible time to be an American. I’m growing wearier by the day.
2
You've miscalculated, Senator Gillibrand. Senator Franken, unless there is a lot we do not know that you do, deserved an investigation and not a summary dismissal.
Disappointing. I hope he runs in 2020.
11
The way things currently are not and maybe never were, but I would prefer them to be:
“It is the close of a busy and vexatious day -- say half past five or six o'clock of a winter afternoon. I have had a cocktail or two, and am stretched out on a divan in front of a fire, smoking. At the edge of the divan, close enough for me to reach her with my hands, sits a woman not too young, but still good-looking and well dressed -- above all, a woman with a soft, low-pitched, agreeable voice. As I snooze she talks - of anything, everything, all the things that women talk of: books, music, the play, men, other women. No politics. No business. No religion. No metaphysics. Nothing challenging and vexatious - but remember, she is intelligent; what she says is clearly expressed... Gradually I fall asleep -- but only for an instant... then to sleep again -- slowly and charmingly down that slippery hill of dreams. And then awake again, and then asleep again, and so on. I ask you seriously: could anything be more unutterably beautiful?”
--- H.L. Mencken, In Defense of Women, 1918.
1
I am disturbed that we are losing a Senator that supports many of the things I believe in. My God - Although I don't find it acceptable, he had no leverage over any of these women as far as I can tell so it is not harassment. And the allegations of assault are fairly benign (although you will say that no sexual assault is benign, I have experienced such without my life being ruined). Why can't this be a learning moment for Franken that the world has changed and male "handiness" is not longer accepted and let him go on with he life.
5
America deserves an ethics investigation. Just because it is women does not make mob rule right. I no longer trust Gillibrand who now behaves like Republicans. America wants an orderly sane process that we can trust. Signed, A Liberal Woman Voter in PA.
9
While it may generally be a good strategy for Democrats to march in lock step on many issues (as do the Rep's), Al Franken is not the best lightning rod to choose at this time. Yes, his scandalous actions have been deplorable - not to mention an embarrassment to the liberal cause for which he is a shining star, but those of Roy Moore and Donald Trump are on a scale far more agregious to the country as a whole. If our congressional leaders force Franken out of office, then the Roy Moores and Donald Trumps will win the day. Republicans are doing everything to insure their dominance by standing behind these despicable creatures. It's therefore simply bad strategy at this moment to eat our own. For the greater good, Dem's hear this: take a lesson from their playbook. Fight fire with fire. DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN!!
1
Franken's forced resignation is a terrible result for the Democrats and for our democracy. This is a relatively decent, intelligent and devoted legislator who is being thrown in the same category as the serial rapists! This dilutes the message Gillibrand and others think they are championing and supports the witch hunt analogies. Why would any successful person subject themselves to this type of lynching without a trial? Better to have the mediocre politicians who need a job be the only ones to run for office. This does not give Democrats the higher ground. It shows they are willing to be extremist and tone deaf all to serve politics rather than the people.
4
We've gone beyond a witch hunt. Senator Gillibrand has led a lynching party. We can't see into the hearts of his accusers and he wouldn't refute them on the public stage. Where was the harm in his case? This lamb has been sacrificed for the "good" of the Democratic Party. I'm not so sure this is the way for women in politics to show their power.
7
No one wants to see sexual harassment end more than I do, but this is NOT the way to do it. If it was just a few bad apples, that would be one thing, but it's not. It's an extremely pervasive problem. Is Senator Gillibrand planning to call for the resignation of ALL those who are guilty--or appear to be guilty--of any form of sexual harassment? There are thousands. It looks like selective enforcement to me. Senator Franken struck me as a responsible and sensible senator. I can't say that of many. And now we've lost him.
I commend Senator Gillibrand for her many efforts on behalf of women, but she has overstepped this one.
6
Are they going to hold Trump to these same standards? He should be. Doesn't make any difference whether he said he did it or not (Access Hollywood Tape). Standards are standards.
1
History will note that Gillibrand's approach was every bit a failure as were the Temperance Leagues that led to the 18th Amendment.
She successfully got a Democratic Senator to resign in one of the most dangerous times in our history.
Can't see how the punishment and the self inflicted damage equal the crime Sen Al committed.
5
Senator Gillibrand knocking out a potential rival for the 2020 Dem nomination for President. I wish she were as tough on Republicans as she is on Democrats.
3
Where is Kirsten Gillibrand regarding Trump's sexual harassment allegations? I don't hear her ask for Trump to resign or even request an investigation into these charges brought by a larger number of women than who came forward in Franken's alleged misconduct. Where is due process?
4
“And we, as elected leaders, should absolutely be held to a higher standard, not a lower standard, and we should fundamentally be valuing women, and that is where this debate has to go"
We should not fundamentally be valuing women anymore (or less) than we are valuing men. We should be working together to restore the rule of law and democracy after a year in which both have been subverted to the point that citizens are in utter despair over their loss of political agency while the government removes vital protections and puts their future at risk.
Against this backdrop, Gillibrand has chosen to exploit the trust and legitimacy of the #MeToo movement and deny rightful due process that a fellow senator and those who elected him deserve, all to gain publicity while deposing a rival for the Democratic presidential nomination that she covets. Gillibrand deserves heaps of criticism for this damaging stunt as well as a primary challenge that calls her out for her self serving manipulation that puts herself before party or country -- assuming she has the gall to run again, which seems all too likely.
We would be much better off if Gillibrand were the senator to resign and Al Franken remained to speak for progressive Americans while participating in a fair investigation of allegations made against him for conduct that is alleged to have taken place before he was in public office.
We should be sorry and concerned to see Franken leave the senate. Now, Gillibrand must go, too.
4
"But a review of thousands of documents and interviews with dozens of lawyers and industry experts indicate that Ms. Gillibrand was involved in some of the most sensitive matters related to the defense of the tobacco giant as it confronted pivotal legal battles beginning in the mid-1990s....Ms. Gillibrand represented Davis Polk on a high-level Philip Morris committee whose work included shielding certain documents from disclosure, according to several lawyers and industry observers. Serving on the panel placed her alongside some of the country’s top tobacco industry lawyers."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/27/nyregion/27gillibrand.html
Thank goodness we have someone in Senator Gillibrand who knows when to make a real stand for virtue!
Electing someone who uses her talents to protect tobacco companies from consequences for causing millions of cases of cancer is a small price to pay for a world in which she keeps us safe from Al Franken.
7
According to the American Conservative ""Gillibrand won her upstate New York district by running to the right: she campaigned against amnesty for illegal immigrants, promised to restore fiscal responsibility to Washington, and pledged to protect gun rights." You might say her platform was a precursor to the Trump agenda. Any one of her early views makes her a less worthy Senator than the alleged early misdemeanors of Al Franken whom she helped to bring down. She became more progressive as she sought statewide office. I don't want to begin a vendetta against Gillibrand who has done some good things in office - but she seems to blow with the wind. Is there a there there?
4
The Senator is making a calculation that her action will make her look strong, resolute and squeaky clean.
Instead, she looks weak, like a blade of grass that bends in the political wind. She has lost my vote.
6
If Senator Gillibrand runs for President in 2020 she just lost my vote. I no longer think she is capable of making good judgements and decisions but clearly likes scoring political points. We already have way too much of that going on.
6
I am a liberal and a feminist and I am so appalled by Senator Gillibrand’s grandstanding and lack of proportion and judgment in this matter that I wouldn’t vote for her for president even if she was running against Trump. I’m not a New Yorker, but at this moment I feel like moving there just so I can not vote for her. As a Californian, I am also disappointed by the lack of judgment of my own Senator Kamala Harris—who I thought a more independent thinker. There was no courage in jumping on this bandwagon. Senator Franken had engaged in boorish behavior, and I wish the women he took photographs with and who had taken offence at his inappropriate touching had educated him at the time, so he could have learned from it. I’m sure he would have been open to how they felt. And unlike women who are abused in the workplace, they had absolutely nothing to lose by correcting him. His level of misbehavior needed correction and education not the destruction of his career.
10
Well - It's an inventive way to kneecap a potential rival. She's lost my vote.
11
So Senator Gillibrand has brought down someone with the intelligence, the talent and the courage to forcefully confront the Trump administration. Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell send their thanks.
8
What Senator Gillibrand calls the "wrong conversation" is precisely the right conversation to have before drumming someone out of the Senate. There should have been process to evaluate the actual circumstances and policy deliberations determine where to draw the "line [or several lines] in the sand." There is an appearance that Senator Gillibrand hoped to look like a leader of vision and courage. Her hasty actions and words seem instead the work of an opportunist. Senator Franken has responded with dignity and shown what a horrendous mistake this is.
4
Well, we may never regain actual political power, but at least our moral bar is high.
6
Senator Franken was hounded out of office before an ethics committee could review the charges or claims. Somehow it doesn't seem just or fair to deny him his due process to defend himself and make sure the charges are true and verifiable. I would have preferred a more orderly process, especially since Senator Franken appeared to be apologetic and willing to acknowledge any wrongdoing. The U.S. Senate is supposed to be a deliberative body of colleagues and this rash action undermines the tradition of the Senate. I wish Sen Franken did not resign, and I hope he will continue to fight the good fight after the dust settles on this ugly and seemingly unreasonable episode.
3
Whatever one thought about Sens. Franken and Gillibrand (and Rep. Conyers) a few days ago, the deed is done.
It's crucial for Democrats stick to the fragile higher ground that has been so painfully staked out. Symbolically, at least, our morals are in order on this issue, in these crucial days before the Alabama Senate election. I won't pretend this tableau will sway many votes there, but we've just won a battle in the national culture wars. That's why broadcast deplorables such as Laura Ingraham last night were pre-spinning Franken's as shooting ourselves in the foot. True or not, they know that foremost, it makes Trump and Roy Moore loom bigger and uglier than ever.
Firing anyone for any allegations is not a sound way to effect cultural or institutional change. Feminist outrage & blind vengeance are not justice nor likely to allow for reasonable mechanisms of transformation.
While racism lives covertly despite legislation and public posturing, gay marriage emerged without outing folks.
We need to promote acknowledgment, atonement and advocacy against male entitlement, abuse of power and self-justification. Egregious acts should lead to dismissal.
Many people have extramarital affairs, many women seek powerful liaisons. The warped incentives for both men & women should change. The primary issue here is how to use feminist power wisely. Gillibrand may be a first wave reformer who needs some second thoughts. Shall we triumph denouncing every president who behaved badly since ..Eisenhower ?
3
Enough may be enough for Gillibrand but it is not for the Constitution. The man was never allowed to face his accusers in a court of law. It is called due process and it has been thrown out the window with all the other guarantees we once had from the Constitution. The Democrats want to take the high road here by forcing out two of their own hardest working members. Yay for them! But the law was kicked to the curbed along with them. Gillibrand has lost my vote.
4
I miss Obama! A true leader would have responded to this fraught political moment with equanimity, a regard for institutional process, and a sense of proportionality. He would not have seized this as an opportune moment of personal aggrandizement.
Let's keep in mind: aside from the first instance, none of the other allegations against Al Franken are anything more than that. Shouldn't we at least consider the possibility they've been fabricated by political enemies, exaggerated or simply not remembered accurately? I understand completely that that might not be politically expedient, given the "bigger fish" that also stand accused of wrongdoing. But acknowledging this and demanding an investigation by an Ethics Committee would in no way have diminished the women who have made the claims-- it would simply have reinforced our once hallowed concept of due process, one of many institutions that are now apparently on the endangered species list.
The irony is that Democrats have lost two bright prospects: Al Franken who, as a Senator, has been overwhelmingly friendly to women's interests; and Kirsten Gillibrand, whose binary response to the allegations-- yes, allegations-- will prove to have diluted the cause of gender equality by championing a totally unjust response to it!
2
It’s clear from the comments here that Gillebrand is NOT being opportunistic — as many disdainfully allege — but rather merely speaking her mind. By being such a forceful advocate for women she seriously risks alienating many men and not a small number of women. Reading the comments here is one indication of this. Yes she spoke against Bill Clinton after his political career was over, but she’s speaking out now, at the height of Franken’s career. It’s obvious that women generally suffered badly 20 years ago when they called out men on their bad sexual behavior. We need more honest politicians like Gillebrand.
I can just see it now. A congress composed of a minority of Democratis afraid of their own shadows, and a Republican majority that protects goodness who knows how many sexual predators and child molesters who even if their transgressions are known won't admit it or take responsibility.
Just as there's a difference between felonies and misdemeanors, or capital and non-capital murder, so there's a difference between Roy Moore's and Al Franken's transgressions. But I don't think Sen. Gillibrand understands that - or at least wants to understand it, pending her presidential ambitions.
10
So now we know who Hillary II is going to be, i.e. the female Democrat who is going to lose to Trump in 2020. With Bill and Hillary's help she aced out the Kennedys for her initial appointment to Hillary's old Senate seat, which was itself carpetbagged with Bill's connections.
Liberal women are spoiling for a rematch with Trump. But are they as eager for the second thumping he's going to give them? It's starting to look a lot like a domestic abuse situation. Why doesn't she just leave him?
8
No evidence, no ethics investigation on the "allegations", and that photo was a joke wherein Al was making FUN of someone thinking that that kind of Frat-boy behavior was funny...he knows it was ironic, but try explaining that to the public. Impossible. So he just said he was sorry. Gillibrand gets nothing from me, not a penny, ever - so long as she's a democrat not a penny goes to that party. I'm done supporting this party of cowards.
20
I am so disgusted, disheartened and enraged by this forceful resignation of Al Franken from office that I will never support any of these women again who have asked for his head on a platter. I have yet to hear anything from any one of them about the true egregiousness that sits in the Oval Office, the chaos that is being sown in this country and around the world by this person, and the fact that this pedophile from Alabama will hold a senate seat while one of our own, who has been nothing but a thoughtful, serious, outspoken champion of democratic and Democratic values has been forced out. Shame on you women. Everyone gets due process and there are definitely "degrees" by which someone should be judged for which they are accused. Every act isn't the same thing. I worked in stand up comedy for years and put up with enough harrassment, humiliation and assaultive behaviors. I also worked as a legal secretary and lawyers, both male and female, are some of the worst people to work for, mentally and emotionally abusive. You speak up, you fight for your rights. You don't wait ten years to say, He grabbed my fanny while taking a picture. How is someone supposed to defend themselves from that? We could all point fingers at each other and say you did this or you did that and then what? This is why Democrats lose and are losing, plain and simple. Republicans don't admit and have each other's backs. They are reprehensible, sure, but this is why they stay in office.
28
Gillibrand has never impressed me as a politician, among other things, she's a lousy public speaker and I can't stand the sound of her voice. But now, with her betrayal of the Clintons and the way she hounded Franken out of the Senate without an ethics investigation, she sounds downright opportunistic.
She can't count on my vote.
30
Why demonize and force out a a decent man for alleged sexual harassment? Kirsten Gillibrand was grandstanding and insufferable. Democrat women in Congress should do something constructive like write guidelines on appropriate male behavior. Or, even better, become vocal about the horrific tax cut being worked on.
This whole episode has really turned me off the Democrats.
26
She sacrificed a lamb.
15
As a resident of the state of Minnesota, I resent yet another New York politician (looking at you, Trump, Clintons, Schumer) throwing their collective weights around.
19
I mean, I love the city but the politicians, not so much.
Gillibrand is one lucky lady — so far.
When she ran for a House seat, she was behind in the polls until it was discovered that her opponent, a sitting Congressman, was a drunk and had abused his wife. She won.
Then her friend Hillary left the Senate and Gillibrand was appointed to take her place, which surprised no one, especially since Gillibrand's family had been active in Democratic politics and had given generously to the cause.
Now she hopes to ride the wave of outrage over sexual misconduct allegations (to what, the presidency?) and doesn't seem to care what bodies she crushes in the process, Al Franken being the most prominent casualty so far. But she did seem squeamish in condemning the creepy conduct of Bill Clinton in that "different era" and certainly failed to criticize the actions of his wife who was on the frontline in calling Bill's many accusers liars.
You may run in 2020, Gillibrand, but you won't get my vote. And you won't get Andrew Cuomo's either, because, yes, he's running, too.
23
His resignation is no surprise, nor is it out of character for democrats to invoke the wrath of moral conscience to again hasten the total collapse of their party. They’ve been steeped in near Calvinist moral outrage since the early 20th century. Gillibrand is just the current mouthpiece of religious intolerance, and spare me, please, the diversion tactic by bad mouthing republicans. Why, Gillibrand, and the other fire breathing senators, would not know the truths in moral issues if it came up and bit them on the nose. I have a constitutional right to be left alone; so senators, get lost and don’t call me, I’ll call you, or not!
8
Civilization progresses only when the feeling of 'enough is enough' arises. So Sen. Gillibrand is right. Women will be treated equally if, and only if, blatant sexual harassment and gender discrimination ceases. And symbols are important.
4
Agreed. She made the right decision. And, take care all of you who disagree with her. This story may continue to unfold. Likewise, women who have been harassed, groped, assaulted, and raped may not be as loud about their agreement with Gillibrand as those who so quickly put Senator Franken on a pedestal. But, millions of women quietly support her. Guaranteed.
2
I expect her resignation.
11
I have been watching Senator Gillibrand and looking forward to her running as a potential Presidential candidate. She had my vote. Not now.
Pushing Franken out of the Senate for these ACCUSATIONS is a total failure of our system. Either she doesn't believe in due process or she is overly ambitious and couldn't resist attacking a potential rival. Either way, we don't need her in the White House.
Franken deserved better. Gillibrand just shot herself in the foot.
39
The Democrats, with their knee-jerk action to force Al Franken to resign may have just handed Roy Moore a victory in Alabama. There is a big difference between annoying and unwanted touching, which can be dealt with by most women, and abuse of power using sex. By not making this distinction, the Democrats have made Al Franken just as bad as Roy Moore in many people's minds. So, if Democrats are just as bad, why vote for one? Most Alabamans don't like Democrats anyway. Its too bad that the Democrats couldn't have let the ethics commission investigation play out before forcing Al Franken to resign. I'm afraid that those of us who want Democrats to win the senate next year will come to regret this move.
17
And what should we tell our children, Senator Gillibrand? That Franken exhibited fratboy behavior and was removed while--at the same moment--we elected a pedophile to congress? Or how about this? If you're going to commit sexual assualt in politics, wait until to reach the top because when you're president, you're untouchable.
20
This is all so ridiculous. I don't like Franken or his politics but to pressure him to resign because of that picture is political correctness brought to the leading edge of insanity. This crazy woman from NY with her eye of the big prize is willing to throw anybody under the bus to achieve her dream. Go ahead, Dems, nominate her and see what kind of support this selfish, self-indulgent, craven politician gets. The left is eating its young. Truly truly amazing.
26
I hope all constituents of Gillibrand and Schumer write them and express their disgust with what they've done. I have. I am a lifelong Dem and I am simply horrified how hypocritical thees two are. They ask me for money to support taking Trump and the Republicans to task then do this despicable thing to one of their own. Why? Because Time Magazine, (bought by the Koch Brothers) named women who report harassment Person of the Year.
Well, Chuck and Kirsten, you miscalculated on this one. You both blew this so bad you have lost the support of this lifelong Dem who first voted for JFK.
According to Kirsten, she would forced Bill Clinton to resign. I guess she includes JFK in that too? This is preposterous. Gillibrand will rue the day she took upon herself to be the Savior of Women's Rights. A bridge too far, Kirsten. That bridge is looking pretty shaky at best.
DD
Manhattan
23
Yes, write letters! Tell Schumer and Gillibrand to publicly reconsider their misguided campaign to pressure Franken into resigning. They were wrong to do so!
1
Well said. A few Minnesotan have sent her notes as well.
1
Ms. Gillibrand and the Democrats in the Senate should be ashamed of themselves. Al Franken was a far more effective Senator than any of them. They have no ideas, nothing to offer this country. Franken would be well advised to simply resign from the Democratic Party and continue serving until the people of Minnesota tell him to go, not a bunch of harridans like her.
13
Senator Gillibrand -- you've lost my vote
30
I'm very much afraid that Senator Gillibrand may have been played. By the evident conflation of vulgar bottom pinching with assault, child molestation and rape it's all too possible that actual progress has been stalled.
10
Why isn't Gillebrand going after Trump?
17
Even if she does, that doesn't make her actions against Franken right! No comparison between what Trump SAYS he did and what Franken has apologized for and what he is ACCUSED of.
If my senator Gillibrand thinks this is going to help her win the nomination for president in 2020 she's got a rude awakening coming her way. I am a lifelong Dem going back to the days of JFK and what Gillibrand did yesterday along with my other senator Schumer was as despicable as anything Trump, the worse president in history, has done. They've managed to lose my support of both of them. Come November 2020, I will be writing Al Franken's name in on my ballot. Good going, Kirsten, you've lost me on this one note. Keep up the great work.
DD
Manhattan
13
When is Gillibrand going to call a press conference and demand that Trump resign? "Enough is enough????" You bet it is but she ought to focus on the right target.
12
Gillibrand is just posturing for a Presidential run in 2020.
She's a bit delusional if she doesn't realize Republicans and Independents alike will point out that she sang the praises of both Bill and Hillary Clinton in order to receive their endorsements, fund raising efforts/ political contributions, all the while knowing about their past of using their political power to abuse women.
Her actions until now confirm that she is nothing but a panderer and a hypocrite.
But let's give her the benefit of doubt: If Kirsten Gillibrand has truly had a change of heart, let her today demand that Hillary and Bill Clinton be held accountable for their past actions against women and also admit her guilt in turning a blind eye to their behavior for her own political gain.
Let's be clear...that ain't ever gonna happen.
10
Shame on Gillibrand, throwing one of the most effective senators under the bus for political capitol so she can run again or use it to springboard to bigger places. Shameful... Sexual harassment is now a witch hunt. No trials, just judged by mobs. Injustices like what happened to Franken will occur on a consistent basis until this extremism taking the form of zero tolerance stops.
9
Though a lifelong Democrat, I'd never vote for Gillibrand. With friends like her, who needs opponents. As a key perpetrator of this current round of American hysteria, she's the one who should resign.
12
Replace Hillary with Gillibrand, and that's why Trump is President.
I hope wannabe president Gillibrand's political stunt backfires spectacularly. I hope she pays dearly for this. From everything I have read, and I have been reading everything I can get my hands on, Democrats across the country do not want him to resign. I am done voting after voting in every election since I came of age, and I am ancient. Apparently, our elected Democratic officials are so blinded by their ambition that they aren't seeing and hearing what people want. This is a travesty of the highest order.
16
Yes, this is the same opportunistic Gillibrand that NYT editorial from Jan 2009 (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/31/opinion/31sat1.html?_r=1) spoke of: Gillibrand the gun control opponent beloved by the NRA, her unprincipled positions (and changes) on marriage equality, her anti-immigrant positions and embrace of expulsions Republicans.
As was commented previously on a different story, Gillibrand's message is:
"Hi,I'm Kirsten Gillibrand.I'm running for President in 2020. Years ago when Bill Clinton was the most powerful person in my Democratic Party, I enthusiastically endorsed him. Today I criticize him because his is no longer powerful. I want Al Franken to resign so I can gain political points. I will throw anyone under the bus to advance my presidential ambition."
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Now the Democrats have a leg to stand on in regards to the removal of Moore instead of the election.
2
Enough IS enough.
New York democrats need to primary this grandstanding Trojan Horse next year.
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“You need to draw a line in the sand and say none of it is O.K. None of it is acceptable."
It's hard to draw a line in the sand when the line keeps moving. To equate Al Franken's actions with Weinstein is ridiculous. I don't know what Gillibrand's agenda is, but it's clear that the democratic party likes the pain it feels when it shoots itself in the foot!
12
Her agenda is to win the presidential nomination in 2020, or maybe the vice presidential nomination with Shumer in the top spot. In their dreams...
This may not be politically correct, but it seems to me that this sexual harrassment issue has evolved into a mindless feeding frenzy. And, if elected, what do you bet that Republicans will seat Moore without comment or limitation while laughing at those overreaching Democrats who forced fellow democrats to fall on their swords?
11
This is too hilarious to watch. Democratic Party is on the verge of becoming suicidal. Funny how it turns out that most of the men involved are or were Democrats.
Politics never a boring day.
3
I wonder where Hillary stands on this? Does she support Franken staying in the Senate? Does Hillary think Kirsten Gillibrand and her female colleagues in the Senate have gone too far? Does she question the bona fides of Franken's accusers?
3
Our deal Hillary is MIA, probably too embarrassed by the criticism of her book and her pity-party. She can't be happy that Gillibrand has now turned on Bill, and by extension on Hillary. Oh, she'll seen be calling Hillary out for enabling Bill and attacking his accusers. She'll do this for the same reason she went after Al--to further her own ambitions. Just as Hillary would do.
Senator Gillibrand turned the MeToo movement and "This moment of reckoning" into what those on the right will call a "witch hunt by feminazis". What we needed badly was a cerebral approach to allegations of sexual harassment and assault and, in Franken's case, letting the Ethics Committee do its job. I only hope her opportunistic attempt at positioning herself as a presidential front-runner backfires. She has lost my vote.
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And so where are all these folks when it comes to getting rid of the Molester-In-Chief, a guy who actually bragged about this behavior? Why are the women in the House silent about bringing Articles of Impeachment? I am not saying that the D's in the Senate should put politics above behavior, but that means EVERYONE's behavior deserves the same scrutiny and consequences.
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You forget the Bill Clinton precedent. It's just about sex, everybody does it, and it happened before he became President.
Franken should resign and I'm glad he did so with little resistance. There are millions of people who'd do just as good as him in the post and not engage in distasteful 'jokes' and borderline harassment.
Next target, PLEASE, Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and in general, everyone who believes sex crimes and pedophilia is wrong, should be Roy Moore. Whether or not he's elected, I want to see such a hue and cry go up as has never been seen before. No, he didn't admit guilt, but the evidence is overwhelming. He's lying; not the women accusing him. End his career for good.
Congratulations on punching yet another hole in an already sinking ship, Senator Gillibrand. Identity politics, gun control, social engineering, and now this--these issues are not worth sacrificing Social Security, Medicare, the environment, affordable healthcare, reproductive rights, income equality, education, investment in infrastructure, SNAP, and the basic commonsense that a nuclear war is probably not the best way to make America great again. Please, if you care one iota about this county, prioritize your platform.
Of course, sexual harassment should not be ignored, but as an issue, it doesn't promise to put food on the table, nor help to pay rent.
4
Looking more like Pakistan or the US under Senator Joe McCarthy's reign of terror. What happened to due process? And from looking at the folks who show no inclination to step down, does bragging about it make it right? Sorry, but I am very confused and concerned at where this is going and specifically who is getting 'stuff' dredged up to force them out. Given who is running the country it seems odd to have a surge of 'purity' in the ranks.
4
Is Senator Gillibrand going to also put pressure on the current resident of the White House, Mr. Donald J. Trump to resign due to the same allegations that put pressure on Senator Franken?
4
I wish she would stop painting in such broad strokes and try to take a stand on more spescific things for her constituents, even though they may be difficult if not impossible to accomplish, like;
1. finally getting some equity under Social Security for unmarried participants, who have fewer benefits available to them for same amt of contribs as married people. Many of the people affected by these rules are women, so is surprising she makes no effort here.
2. do something about NYC teaching hospitals (NY PResbyterian, NYU, Mt. Sinai) getting billiions from Medicare, but placing more and more restrictions on Medicare recipients (not one doctor or geriatric dept. I contacted would accept Medicare reimbursement for a Medicare "wellness check." They all want a $300 or $400 " consulting fee") Many docs at these hospitals will no longer treat Medicare recipients under any circumstances.
3. Do something to help middle class people over 65-70 get jobs. Many are feeing great financial strain because of issues described above, plus things like the enormous dental bills many incur as they encounter the expensive to resolve dental issues of older age. It is not enough to send cupcakes to senior centers. There are people out there looking for jobs, not cupcakes and old movies at senior centers!!
2
I am sooooo disappointed in Ms. Gilibrand and will be sure to let her know as I am one of her constituents. This move was bone-headed and detrimental to the Democratic party. When will the Dems learn that they have to get out of their feelings if they want to win elections and enact their agenda?
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I, who am a liberal Democrat, am appalled at the damage wrought by Sen. Gillebrand. My opposition to Gillebrand is in no way a defense of Franken's behaviour. But her grandstanding, holier-than-thou attitude is unacceptable, especially in a minority party that has few, if any, truly excellent elected representatives. You may be assured that I will NOT support her in any way and will work hard to have her replaced at the earliest possible moment. The same goes for you, too, Sen. Schumer! You first chose Gillebrand when Hillary became Sec. of State. The Republicans must be SO happy!
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Senator Gillibrand has knocked off a possible contender for the position she has her sights on next; The Presidency. Who elected her judge and jury combined? She came into our town and knocked off the local party's favored Congressional candidate in order to push her own ally in the race, who was subsequently crushed by Lee Zeldin, Trump's lackey. Senator Gillibrand never even met with local party leaders. Very often we find Senator Gillibrand doing the Republican's work for them.
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“At this moment,” [Gillibrand ]concluded, “we need to speak hard truths or lose our chance to make lasting change.”
What about not speaking "hard truths" about the pending Trump agenda and thereby forfeiting the "chance to make lasting change” in all those areas? Have Gillibrand and others completely forgotten about THAT obligation?
Healthcare, tax windfalls for the rich, destruction of our economy, war on the environment, gun violence, a world teetering on the edge of multiple wars, unprecedented elections corruption? Instead of focusing on these issues, the Dems seem to prefer to destroy themselves via internal struggle -- thus totally dropping the ball in holding Trump's feet to the fire or mounting an effective opposition to his ruinous agenda.
Franken is an effective Senator and a progressive one. Nobody should get a pass for sexual abuses, but some offenses and offenders are more egregious than others --and some issues are paramount, or should be. Namely, protecting our nation and its people from the ravages of Trump!
Attacking Franken now is also really doing the work of Trump and Bannon for them. The Dems have been almost comically ineffectual for years -- and this will only continue to ensure that. While they dither, Trump continues to run amok! Shouldn't preventing that be Job #1 for the Dems?
As a lifelong Democrat, I'm disgusted by this attack on Franken. The Dems have just lost any effort to counter Trump's tax agenda. "Great" work!
6
The difference between Democrats and Republicans is made clear by the response to accusations of sexual harassment and assault. Consider there has been little comment by McConnell or other Republicans on payouts (using taxpayer dollars no less!) to victims of Blake Farenthold (R-Texas). The Republicans have not called for ethics investigations of either Mr. Farenthold or Joe Barton (R-Texas) -- both accused of sexual harassment and both admitting fault. And one cannot ignore that no Republican has spoken out on Trump's infamous Access Hollywood tape or the many claims against him by women. On Tuesday, Mitch McConnell declared that should Roy Moore win next week's election in Alabama the senate will instigate an ethics investigation. But, does is anyone believe he will follow through on this promise? Perhaps he will request an investigation, but it will be, at best, a sham and at worst an attack on Moore's victims.
Sexual assault, sexual harassment and abuse are NOT minor issues despite what some would have us believe. These actions are more about the abuse of power than about sex. Women and men who have been victimized deserve much more than partisan politics and finger pointing by opposing sides. Any man or woman who uses his/her position to intimidate, harass or assault another individual has no place in our government - NOBODY should be above human decency - not even the President.
Yay! Booker/Gillibrand, Harris/Gillibrand, or Sanders/Gillibrand for 2020!
Despite the claims and whining of the weak progressives in the comments below, I'd say Senator Gillibrand has just secured herself a position as our VP or Presidential candidate for 2020, and I couldn't be more elated!
1
Trump would beat all of those tickets, no problem.
1
I despise Trump but I'm starting to feel like I'm going to vote for him out of spite in 2020.
Four of his accusers are anonymous. This should have gone through the Ethics Committee process which Al was more than willing to do. Defining bodies accidentally touching during a close photo shot as sexual harassment is a gross exaggeration of what sexual harassment really is. I do not know of a single woman, NONE, that have not been subject to inappropriate or uncomfortable conversations or interaction with a man at some point, whether intentional or unintentional. That is NOT the same thing as harassment or assault which involves intimidation, fear and even rape. Al Franken was convicted without any investigation. To determine whether they were true or not he deserved his day to face the accusers with a thorough Ethics review process.
8
Why does Senator Gillibrand think she can "make lasting change" when her party has absolutely no power to actually do so at the current time? Her political opponents understand that politics is the art of the possible, not the art of destroying your allies without proof. Could she not have let the ethics investigation of Franken move forward while pursuing justice for the women assaulted by Roy Moore and Donald Trump? And does she not understand that turning an ally into a sacrificial lamb will not win back the Blue Wall for the democrats or connect to voters who don't happen to live on the coasts? Minnesota voters can decide for themselves about Frankin. They don't need an East Coast liberal making their decisions for them. That is EXACTLY the arrogance that lost Hillary the presidency.
2
Gillibrand launches her 2020 campaign on a promise to repeal the 5th and 6th amendments. She thinks she's done the smart thing, leading the kill of Franken in the cloak room to advance her political agenda. She thinks she can ride atop the hysteria of the metoo witch hunt to the Oval Office. But like Cassius and Brutus before her, she has effectively ended any chance of being president. I will never vote for her under any circumstances and the public will be solidly against her as the severe backlash against the metoo agenda sets in.
5
Republicans are getting ready to pass the most regressive tax cut, Republicans are gutting our EPA, and packing the SCOTUS. And Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin - to whom I contributed $100 in 2012 - is distracting from all that, helping Republicans. To me, it seems like Dems are doing everything they can to divide and discourage voters.
Tammy probably won't get primaried, so right now I feel like voting for her Republican opponent in 2018. Wisconsin once had 2 Democratic Senators. They will probably have zero in 2019, because of stuff like this - while the minimum wage is still a horrible joke.
80% support Social Security. 70% support a higher minimum wage. Most support balanced trade - not decades of trade deficits. Democrats distract and won't take these popular positions, and will continue to *lose* on all issues - including their pet wedge issues.
I am so angry at Democrats for helping destroy the New Deal, that I will now vote for Republicans over fake Democrats like Tammy Baldwin. I voted for Obama twice, then Trump. If Gillebrand is on the 2020 ticket, I will vote for Trump, Pence, whomever. Fake allies are more dangerous than adversaries.
If we are going to start purging corrupt Democrats, we need to start with the ones taking campaign contributions and speaking fees from banks.
Enjoy your overturning of Roe V Wade, because that's what's coming if Democrats continue to lose.
4
Regardless of her motives, her actions are too narrowly focused. Why isn't she calling for Justice Thomas to resign? Why isn't she demanding that Trump resign. Focusing on Franken loses credibility without consistency.
4
I really would like the democrats in congress to spare their energy and use it for things like fighting for health care for all Americans, or for equal pay for women. I haven't heard anything from the democrats about what's their strategy to save the Obamacare. Are they so disorganized and weak that the only people they can challenge in the political arena are other democrats?
6
Disappointed in Senator Gilibrand's role as judge and executioner - in her imbalanced and impulsive arbitration in damaging the career of a good senator who voiced the frustrations for many people - we needed him in the senate. I am a feminist and proud to stand up for women's issues, but she does not speak for me.
Franken earned his senate seat the hard way. She got a free ride with Clinton's resignation - there are better candidates that can take her place.
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In the private sector almost all employment contracts contain what we call a "morals clause." This means that you can be dismissed for any activity that causes embarrassment or disfavor to your employer.
We see this in corporate America and increasingly in the sports world where some world class athletes were told 'thanks but no thanks'. Your misbehavior is more detrimental than your contribution.
So why not apply a similar standard to public office?
1
We do! It’s called holding elections! Leaders are accountable to voters, period.
I have supported both parties throughout my 71 years and I can't help but feel that the Democrats calling for Al Franken's resignation are out of order. I can't understand their motivation because while it is alleged that he kissed or squeezed several women , he has acknowledged and denied the charges as he recalls. If he isn't allowed due process as is his right, then I can no longer support these Democrats led by Gillibrand. "So, despite Senator Franken's repeated apologies, acceptance of the apologies from at least one of the women, willingness to present his case to the Senate's Ethics Committee, extensive history of fighting for women's rights, and the vocal support of scores of women who have worked for him, the leadership of the Democratic Party has determined this is a fight worth battling, likely resulting in the removal of one of its strongest voices. And yet look who sits in the White House. Are Senators Gillibrand, Schumer, and the others calling for his removal based on even more allegations that are far more troubling?" as quoted from William previously. He said it well and I agree.
4
Senator Gillibrand led the charges against sexual abuse against women in the military when NOBODY wanted to confront it. She had the courage to stand with those women. Her voice and backbone are needed in Congress more than ever. Some other leaders (men and women) should take a lesson from the honorable Senator.
1
Good luck with your witch hunt. But fortunately by the replies here you are a very small minority. You know like the Democrats in D.C. 99% of the comments here are lambasting this grandstanding wanna be. Not only will she never be president, she'll be lucky to hold on to her seat in Congress.
1
As a registered New York State Democrat, I pledge to do everything I can to see both Schumer, who had no problem saddling up with Trump recently, and Gillibrand, who preens for national attention but is dreadful at constituent services, are unseated in their next elections.
The disservice they've done to our country, forcing out one of our most effective champions without giving him a chance to defend himself, has to have Trump and the GOP rolling with laughter.
The liberals fell over their own feet again.
13
Without any type of due process, anybody can say anything about any sitting Congressperson. That should make every single one of them fearful. By forcing Senator Franken out before an Ethics Investigation, one which he called for, was bad politics for Senator Gillabrand and company. It's truly a sad day.
6
Not sure that Gillibrand really advanced her Presidential candidacy here. If she pressed Franken to resign because that was the right thing to do (I don't agree, but she's entitled to her own view on that), that's fine. But if her action was motivated at all by her desire to eliminate a competitor for the 2020 nomination, two points: (1) shame on her; and (2) I don't think it worked.
6
I wonder how much of this is politically motivated - within the Democratic Party. Does Schumer and Gillibrand, two rather dry New York establishment Democrats really want Franken competing against them?
5
Where is the due process? How well have zero tolerance policies worked in the past? The only outcome of this approach will be to further hurt women because we are shutting down any meaningful process for examine the issues and finding solutions.
4
I wonder if Senator Gillibrand and the other Democrats would be acting the same if Franken's seat was not safely in the Democratic column. So long as there is Democratic governor of Minnesota this is freebie virtue signalling.
6
As we navigate this new political terrain we need every resource possible. And Franken was quite a valuable resource. I am unimpressed with the political savviness displayed by here by Gillibrand and others.
10
Well said. Very disappointed at the rash, rush to judgement.
1
When will Gillibrand lead the troops demanding that Clarence Thomas resign? Apparently there were three other women, along with Anita Hill, who can verify his sexual transgressions, all of whom were inexplicably denied a chance to testify.
If "enough is enough," surely Thomas should be included in her rage and disgust?
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I'm more concerned with how fast we can get a recall going to remove her and Schumer from office for gross incompetence.
3
A travesty of justice. With Senator Gillibrand in the forefront of this witch hunt. A good man, solid Democratic with an intellectual grist far beyond many of his peers; forced to resign by enemies and political opportunist.
The junior senator from New York with very high political aspirations, should tread lightly. The tobacco litigations of the '90s in which the senator represented the industry may well be her future albatross.
The Democratic Party should be focused on corralling the baboon in the Whitehouse, with all of the severe negative consequences his actions are causing.
RJC
Retired.
21
Submitting my resignation from Democratic party today. No more votes or contributions from me. Senate democrats have become a circular firing squad. Their behavior is worse than evangelical republicans.
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Senator Gillibrand made a crass political calculation that the party she hopes to lead can be made to appear as pure as the driven snow related to sexual transgressions. To achieve this goal, she helped cast aside one of the Senate's foremost champion of, and advocates for, women's rights.
I would call it a Pyrrhic victory, and one she will eventually regret.
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