FTFNYT:
Gillibrand didn't take Franken down. Franken's past and his inability to overcome it, and people like Roger Stone who were out to get him, took him down.
I heard her speak at a rally at the Lincoln Memorial a few months ago. She needs work on her delivery, but she said the right things. I dunno if she thinks she should run for President in 2020, but she isn't an empty suit and she has a bright future in politics.
FWIW.
Cheers,
Scott.
That calculus may be playing in Democrats’ minds. After Politico published accusations from a former congressional staff member on Wednesday morning that Mr. Franken had forcibly kissed her, Democrats lunged. Unlike earlier accusations, the newest one involved a congressional employee in the workplace.
Mr. Schumer quietly worked through the day to urge Mr. Franken to step aside. According to a person familiar with the conversations, Mr. Schumer called Mr. Franken before any of his fellow senators went public with their resignation calls and later met with Mr. Franken and his wife in Mr. Schumer’s Washington apartment.
But that did not head off a deluge that started when Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York declared on Facebook, “Enough is enough.”
“As elected officials, we should be held to the highest standards—not the lowest,” Ms. Gillibrand wrote on Twitter. “The allegations against Sen. Franken describe behavior that cannot be tolerated. While he’s entitled to an Ethics Committee hearing, I believe he should step aside to let someone else serve.”
Ms. Gillibrand was joined by Senators Mazie K. Hirono of Hawaii, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Dianne Feinstein of California, Patty Murray of Washington State, Kamala Harris of California, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Maria Cantwell of Washington State, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, who issued statements after talking privately with each other for weeks about what to do about Mr. Franken.
Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat, added his support, as did Senators Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts and Sherrod Brown of Ohio, as well as Mr. Perez of the Democratic National Committee.
“It’s time for him to resign,” Mr. Durbin said. “It just seemed that the credible charges continued. I thought it might be an isolated incident or two. It seems to be that there was a pattern of conduct.”
Gillibrand didn't take Franken down. Franken's past and his inability to overcome it, and people like Roger Stone who were out to get him, took him down.
I heard her speak at a rally at the Lincoln Memorial a few months ago. She needs work on her delivery, but she said the right things. I dunno if she thinks she should run for President in 2020, but she isn't an empty suit and she has a bright future in politics.
FWIW.
Cheers,
Scott.