If Al Franken had refused to resign, what might have happened?

[guillaumeb]

1)Mitch McConnell could have blocked any investigation and allowed the accusations to continue. A win in his book because the GOP would use the continuing accusations to undermine Franken's work on the Trump investigations.

2) If an investigation had shown that any part of the accusations were true, the GOP would have watched the right wing media attack Franken and many Democrats might still have insisted on his resignation.

3) If Franken had stayed with no investigation, every appearance would have led to questions about the allegations. The US media is not neutral, it is right wing owned and reflects that ownership in editorial bias and general reportorial focus. The focus would be off the Trump investigation and all about Franken.

4) Given how the GOP treated Hillary Clinton during the endless Bengahzi investigations, imagine how many women the GOP would have paraded in front of cameras, again, to deflect from Trump and Moore.

[flamingdem]

1. Sorry. No cigar. This was an error by the Democrats that they'll live to regret

It would have blown over especially with the flimsy accusations.

[guillaumeb]

3. The GOP, and their friends in the corporate media,

would never have allowed this to pass. Franken would have been asked about this to the exclusion of all else. The example of Hillary Clinton's treatment by the media shows this to be true.

[flamingdem]

5. Do you actually care what the right wing smear machine says?

Well I guess I should not be surprised, the dem leadership seems to live and die by it, and make decisions based on its preferences.

[guillaumeb]

6. Many voters care. And many uninformed voters actually vote.

Unfortunate, but true.

[kcr]

13. This, right here, is why we lose.

Caring about what they say and bending over backwards to appease them. It never works. It has never worked. When will those of you who play this game ever learn? I'm just gobsmacked by this.

[guillaumeb]

14. Giving in IS appeasement.

And it only emboldens the GOP to do this over and over and over, while their own pedophiles, predators, and corporate sellouts continue to do the work of the 1%.

[Willie Pep]

7. But resigning just shows the Republicans that these tactics work.

An ethics investigation would have at least given us a chance to see how substantive the claims against Franken were. Trial by media is not acceptable.

[guillaumeb]

8. I agree. I have posted a few pieces urging Franken to stay.

But these are scenarios that I considered to be likely outcomes if Franken stayed.

This is a total abandonment of due process in favor of mob rule, in my view.

[Demsrule86]

2. Oh so everytime the GOP attacks one of our own, we need to force that person out for the greater

good...because the GOP is so scary and all...we look weak and everyone will say now that Franken was guilty and they all do it...terrible day for Democrats...there is no spin that can improve this.

[guillaumeb]

4. I agree. I was imagining scenarios.

Plausible scenarios in my view.

[Demsrule86]

9. Ok sorry...very angry about Franken.

[guillaumeb]

10. As are we all I think.

I contacted his office, as well as my own Senators Durbin and Duckworth of Illinois. I expressed my dissatisfaction with their comments as well as talking about the complete absence of any due process here.

[Demsrule86]

16. I did that too...and I called my Senator Sherrod Brown as well.

The GOP will keep this up forever.

[eleny]

11. Due process

And let the chips fall where they may. That's not too much to ask.

[guillaumeb]

12. Apparently for some it was.

Unfortunately, that some included many Senators.

[OnDoutside]

15. Option 2 is the only rational one, and if that transpired then Franken would have done the right

thing, HAVING HAD DUE PROCESS, which has been denied to him by his own colleagues.

[Vinca]

17. 1) I don't think McConnell could block an ethics investigation.

2) If found guilty, Democrats would be quite right to insist on resignation. 3) There would have been an ethics investigation. 4) You think this is over? The GOP just bagged Franken and now they'll move on to the next one. This isn't a Hillary-like obsession, it's a campaign for a filibuster-proof Republican majority. They don't particularly care about Franken, they just want the seat.

[dragonlady]

18. Given what the Senate Dems had already done, they might have doubled down

Here in Wisconsin we have a Dem member of the Assembly who refused to resign after two accusations (because the behavior happened some years ago before he addressed his problem with alcohol, so he says). The Dem leadership then asked to have him removed from all his committee assignments. Perhaps Al Franken was threatened with that outcome or other punishments if he refused to resign. He would then realize his ability to represent Minnesota would be crippled and as a conscientious legislator would feel forced into leaving. This all should have been handled by playing out the investigation, not with a panicky rush to judgment.

[guillaumeb]

19. Excellent points, and agreed. eom