MSM picking up the "plot": Did Democrats Just Fall Into Roger Stones Trap? (Margaret Carlson)

[hlthe2b]

Did Democrats Just Fall Into Roger Stone’s Trap? (Margaret Carlson, Daily Beast)

There are a lot of unanswered questions, from what’s true and what isn’t to how Stone knew beforehand what was coming, that the ethics committee could have answered.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/did-democrats-just-fall-into-roger-stones-trap

--snip--
And there are questions about the charge that got the ball rolling. Why did Trump adviser Roger Stone know well ahead of time that Playboy model and radio host Leeann Tweeden would be going public with her charges that Franken kissed her against her will in rehearsals for an X-rated USO tour skit (they are all X-rated) and that she had a 2006 photo of Franken groping, or pretending to grope, her chest over a flak jacket as she slept? Stone sent a heads up to conservative website The Daily Caller about it hours before a story in The Washington Post.

There is also value in finding out if any of Franken’s accusers told someone in real time about the conduct, as victims usually do, and if they happened in the work setting or were a professional power play. The answers may not absolve Franken but there is an ethics committee in place where the questions could have been asked.

Making distinctions can only strengthen the movement. Establish standards and apply a finer gauge. Turn up the pressure on Congress to clean up its dirty little secrets. Abolish the internal Office of Compliance where everyone is on the take. Strengthen the ethics committee by bringing outsiders on board. Hear every accusation in a setting where there can be justice for both sides. No more NDAs. No more payouts.

[Skittles]

1. there is no way they are THIS fucking stupid

there is some complicity here, for what reason I do not know

[Bettie]

39. Perhaps some of their larger donors

would really like everyone to shut up about net neutrality....that would go for large donors to both sides.

Now, there will be no one to speak against its elimination.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

114. I have noticed AT&T, Verizon advertising Netflix...

... "free deal", for a month or three months in their most recent commercials. Yep, get them locked into that deal, then when net neutrality is killed, charge them extra.

[Bettie]

115. My kids watch a lot of YouTube

I'm betting that's going to cost quite a lot after net neutrality is gone.

And the biggest champion of it is going to be gone soon and is effectively silenced.

[Alice11111]

73. Absolutely

[octoberlib]

2. Aren't investigative journalists supposed to investigate? Yet none of them did.

[kcr]

47. That's because many of the outlets who broke these stories

were outfits like Huffpo, Buzzfeed, and Jezebel, most of them anonymous. They were then picked up by other news organizations without question. It's one big non-story. No way should these all be added together and given the same weight. It's ludicrous. Waist touching!

[blimablam]

3. I wish the MSM would just read this article and then work to answer the questions raised.

https://www.mediaite.com/opinion/the-most-mind-blowing-aspects-of-al-frankens-demise/

[Thor_MN]

15. Amazing that even this post gets it wrong. He has announced that he WILL resign, not that he did.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/07/politics/speech-al-franken-transcript/index.html

[Honeycombe8]

26. +1. nt

[MaryMagdaline]

4. As bad as this was for Democrats,

If Al is viewed as a martyr in the main stream press, maybe we get SOMETHING out of this in our fight against the pervs/Republicans

[Alice11111]

30. ...this could be true. In court, sometimes you let a

Nasty counsel attack your client somewhat, to gain sympathy for your client, and so jury can see what SOBs the other side is.

[Honeycombe8]

41. If he's seen as a martyr, it'll only be by the Dems...half of 'em.

Or 1/4th of 'em. Which splits the Dems.

[Alice11111]

74. Most of them were attackers.

[zentrum]

60. But how does that galvanize

…..people to vote Democratic in '18? I don't quite get the logic of his martyrdom.

It seems just as likely to suppress the vote, because people are so mad at the Dems.

[regnaD kciN]

109. Im sure they thought not ousting Franken would cost them "the women's vote"

…because, after all, wasn’t the latest hashtag #BelieveAllWomen? By not taking these charges as unquestionable fact (however dodgy some of them might seem), they would be violating that principle, and thus appearing to women as defenders of sexual assault and harassment.

Or so, likely, went the reasoning. The thing is, based on the comments I've read from Democratic and progressive women, both here and in other forums, I suspect they're in for a big surprise.

[zentrum]

116. Yeah, it's hard to

….tell how this is going. On these politically active sites, their "higher road" plan has backfired, but can't tell if its a media created story or if masses of Dems are actually calling and writing the Democratic leadership in ire.

[questionseverything]

85. the millenniums i know think the democratic party is totally corrupt

and they got rid of franken because he fought so well for net neutrality, so i wouldn't count on any gains

[Alice11111]

95. Probably. So are we done for? The Fox News crowd

Has convinced their ignorant, mean fans that Mueller is corrupt and a Clinton lackey. Trump and gang say it all day. They say they won't accept his findings. I wonder where it all leads. He has made most of the world hate us again.

Guillibrand really lost a huge part of the base and evidently some mellenials too when she stuck a knife in Franken. We had enough problems already.

[questionseverything]

129. as long as i have breath, i am not done

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029955431

alabama's elections have been corrupt for years, election integrity activists are busy trying to bring transparency that i personally believe would change the entire country

[Alice11111]

131. Good, positive attitude 🔔🎶🥂

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

128. Sure wasn't worth it!

[Alice11111]

132. !!!

[CentralMass]

130. Right. They will laugh so hard it will throw them off their game.

[L. Coyote]

5. There will still be an ethics investigation, and not just Franken. Trump, Moore, and more.

[Alice11111]

36. Is this one real or a joke? Enjoy it while we can

because the Koch related media is trying to buy Time. Can't imagine why?

[Duppers]

48. Good photoshopping.

[L. Coyote]

52. Thanks.

Lots of fun too!

[regnaD kciN]

110. "Trying"? They already have

It’s just a matter of finalizing the paperwork on a deal that’s already been accepted.

[Alice11111]

112. I wasn't sure. So, I guess we will see Trump gloified now.

They said they wouldn't interfere. BS. That's why they want it, to stop the freedom of the press. Am I being cynical or realistic?

[Honeycombe8]

42. There will not be a Franken ethics investigation. He was fired.

If Moore is elected, the Repubs may hold an ethics investigation on him.

[L. Coyote]

54. Franken wasn't fired, he plans to resign in the future, and

I hope he's waiting in line after Rrump
That's a typo, but hey ...

[Honeycombe8]

55. He was effectively fired.

A Senator cannot do the job w/o the support of co-Senators and especially without the leadership's support. They told him to get out. It's a tightnit group. They work on small committees closely together. They share information. They have meetings, go to each other's office with information and to hash over issues.

A Senator cannot function on his own in the Senate. He was fired.

[PatrickforO]

65. Yeah and that's bullshit.

Which is why I've been calling and left messages for ALL these gutless wonders. You know what kills me? I'm expected to just suck it up and vote for the Democrat because, hey, look at how BAD the GOP guy is.

I think the 38 Dem senators that made the despicable decision to turn on Franken are going to face massive blowback from the base. I'm part of the base, and most of the people I have spoken to about this feel as I do - this was a gutless move by these people to pander to the 'me too' movement. Period. And they 'fired' one of our best and most powerful voices BEFORE he had due process.

That's bullshit, and until these people EARN BACK my respect, my pocketbook is closed to them and they can count on my active opposition whenever possible. This gross and despicable political miscalculation will particularly hurt Gillibrand and Harris in their contemplated presidential runs.

Because when Franken is shown to be innocent by the ethics investigation, which I'm confident will happen, then these jerks, including Sanders, Warren, Merkle and some of my other favorites, had better abjectly apologize for ruining this man's career before anything was proven. That shit doesn't wash with me.

And, I don't think I'm alone here.

[Honeycombe8]

68. No, you are not alone. This went too far. I think it's about Gillibrand & others...

planning on running for President. Franken was in the way, sucking all the attention.

I've very ticked off about this.

[Alice11111]

75. Yes!!!!! She is compromised. Investigate her

[disndat]

122. Dumbass Gillibrand

She stepped on a bomb of her own making trying to breakout of the pack of women salivating at a chance to run the POTUS race 2020. She forgot that NYS is one of the most progressive State like Calif. NYS Democrats won't forget she killed the most effective outstanding Democrat in the Senate, Al Franken before he had a chance to meet with the Senate ethics committee to tell his side.
Dumbass has already climbed the reelection NYS guillotine with the Clintons who used to be her biggest financial supporters. BTW, Tweenden was cited in DU for being a long time Don JR Twitter buddies.

[Honeycombe8]

137. +1. nt

[flamingdem]

91. As I wrote yesterday the silver lining is that we can line up against Harris and Gillibrand when

they try for Potus.

We can't count on the metoo movement to get us the presidency, we need the best candidate .. they
are not what we need to win in my opinion but the metoo movement could have pushed them to the
front of the pack.

[Demsrule86]

121. He was forced out and those who participated can go fuck themselves...

[joshcryer]

97. HAHAHA, GOP and ethics investigations.

HAHA, thanks, you gave me my laugh for the day.

[Alice11111]

98. Really, like with Nunes, the purpose is to clear their

Own treasonous mobsters!!

[Lifelong Protester]

6. Can I add "d'uh"??

[madaboutharry]

7. Kristen Gillibrand whipped up a lynch mob.

She wants to run for president and she saw this as a springboard. Those who followed her didn't want to have anyone say they weren't standing up for women. It's pathetic.

[onetexan]

11. Yeap. If enough of us keep this going to stand up to her opportunistic power jockeying

she will not get traction for her POTUS run. I will not be voting for her.

[TryLogic]

12. Yes, very disappointing. I resent what she has done.

[LoveMyCali]

24. I emailed her

to say exactly that. I hope she gets an avalanche of disapproving emails and calls.

[CatMor]

29. I too emailed her....

I have contributed to her in the past and told her I could no longer support her. I've heard nothing back.

[Alice11111]

37. Me too and called before and after the day Franken announced.

[CatMor]

40. She never had trouble asking for money....

but can't reply to the dishonorable action she took.

[spooky3]

102. I appreciate her fighting for justice for victims generally, but commitment to justice

means commitment to due process and fairness for people who may be falsely accused or targets of dirty tricks.

[PatrickforO]

94. I called her office today.

I expressed my feelings about this betrayal, and told her about the serious blowback she will be facing in my state.

We'll see.

[Generic Brad]

20. And she knocked out an opponent before any primaries

Convenient

[Alice11111]

32. Exactly! EXACTLY! 1000pc

[Honeycombe8]

43. That's exactly what happened. nt

[dhol82]

62. I will be changing my party affiliation

I am currently an Independent.
I want to switch to Democrat just so I can vote against her in the primary.

This witch hunt was so unnecessary.

[Alice11111]

99. That's one more vote against her.

[octoberlib]

63. I just read the comments on the Franken resigns article in the NYT.

Gillibrand's getting crucified. A lot of Dems are extremely angry.

[tblue37]

70. Good! I hope she is a nervous wreck about the blowback she is getting. nt

[Alice11111]

96. Now, I'm off to read them too. Thx for telling me. Good news!

I'm just glad so many people are woke.

[PatrickforO]

67. Well, I called her office and put in my two cents worth.

In fact I had a nice, long talk with a staffer about it.

Maybe if more of you than just me do this, she will walk it back.

[tblue37]

69. +1. nt

[Skittles]

72. makes no sense

Franken was a popular senator, and he welcomed an investigation....why would she think this would garner support?

[dlk]

8. I've Lost My Respect for Kirsten Gillibrand - She Doesn't Have What It Takes

Her blatant backstabbing disguised as taking the moral high ground disqualifies her in my book.

[ollie10]

19. backstabbing indeed.....in the guise of taking the "high road"

Call it for what it really is: bullshit

[Alice11111]

35. Plus, she just last week was saying Bill Clinton should

have resigned. Kind of did his time already. Someone told me she had called for a new investigation of Bill.
My guess, she wants the Hillary and Bill hater vote.

[disndat]

125. Gillierbrand is finished.

She won't win reelection in this progressive State We won't forget this betrayal of Al Franken, the most progressive and effective Democratic member of the Senate in her haste to keep him from meeting with the Senate Ethical committee to hear his side. His nemesis, Tweenden, has a shady background of collaborating with Stone and Fox news conspirators. Most important of all, she's lost the large financial and mentoring support of the Clintons.
If Minnesota doesn't run a special election for Franken to be reinstated, then Franken should run in NYS against Gillibrand's in the next reelection campaign. I think he may still have a residence in NY. He would win in NYS in a landslide.

[Alice11111]

126. That's exactly what I think. Im not in NY, but I will come &

Work for him, again.

Interesting, you said she lost the Clinton funding machine. Good. I hope she goes down. Nothong could be better than for him to beat her. When is she up for reelection?

[Alice11111]

81. We need to take her down. She is poison. Maybe a

Repub at heart. Maybe worse. She is going after Bill Clinton too...more false equivalency. Bill C has done his time. Over with.

[Honeycombe8]

44. +1. She's enjoying the limelight, now that she got Franken out of the way.

Except I think she's a bit taken aback by the backlash...very defensive.

[LenaBaby61]

59. Except I think she's a bit taken aback by the backlash...very defensive.

A friend went to Kirsten Gillibrand's Facebook page to tell her where to go yesterday, and she noticed that there were a LOT of other people on there who were also telling Gillibrand to go take a flying leap.

[Alice11111]

107. ...warms my heart

Thanks for info.


It's good to hear that so many people got it. Wow, I hope we can primary her next time. If Al won't move, then maybe new blood who will call her out.

[bagelsforbreakfast]

113. What warms my heart is seeing there are so many perceptive folks on this thread! Now

That I got rid of the AntiFranken Trolls the board is good to read again. All hail FULL IGNORE!

[Alice11111]

124. There are truly some anti franken trolls. They seemed like

Bots to me. Their responses were like AIntelligence responses. They would come back immediately w the same bs.

I think trolls were alerting on folks too, bs.

[bdamomma]

9. I don't know

women in the Senate need to be very careful now with the emergence of these men who have no respect for women Moore and Trump, and McConnell for that fact. They would like to see women in their places of being subservient for men.

[Honeycombe8]

46. Trump has no control over the Senate. Moore will be a newbie with little power...

and everyone knows he's an accused child molester.

I've never heard of McConnell accosting women. But of course, he doesn't appoint them to committees...he doesn't seem to like them. There's nothing the rank & file can do about that. Feinstein & others muddle along. It's up to them, and they, as we have seen, are followers, not leaders.

[bdamomma]

57. should be interesting if this sorry

ass man gets in. I am sure there will be some women Senators like Kamala Harris and a few others that will have some choice words for him.

Gone are the days of Robert Byrd (carrying around his pocket size Constitution booklet) and Edward Kennedy (the true lion of the Senate). Very sad.

[Honeycombe8]

58. They shouldn't. There are rules about how the Senators address each other.

They are not allowed to criticize each other in public, I believe. Maybe that's restricted to hearings...but they used that rule to shut someone up at a hearing.

[Alice11111]

100. Yes, and Al was rising to their league. Now, it seems to be just

A backbiting, petty, craven pack of mediocres, at best.

[TryLogic]

10. Reported elsewhere at DU... Tweeden and Trump Jr are buddies as soon on Twitter.

[Honeycombe8]

49. +1. I THINK this Franken story made its rounds among Trumpers...

my brother, who talks politics with my Trumper father & stepmother, was a little too familiar with Franken accusations, and was convinced that he'd groped her either right before or after the photograph. Sound familiar? That's the meme that Trump ordered to be spread around.

This may have been an organized takeout of Franken by the alt-right.

[tblue37]

71. MSNBC walked back their panicked firing of Sam Seder, so maybe enough

blowback will force the Dems who went after Franken to say wait for the investigation.

You'd think the Shirley Sherrod incident would have wised them up about letting themselves be stampeded by RW dirty tricks.

[Alice11111]

108. I noted the comparison too. I guess anything is possible.

I would like to hear Howard Dean's opinion. Anyone know??. I wish he would take over the DNC, and try to turn our part right side up again

[Alice11111]

101. So wrong , but they think they are right. I have fam

like that too. I am aghast by half of the things they say, but we have a tacit agreement to avoid politics. It seeps in in this highly polarized country.

[KT2000]

13. our senators need to see this

and the other info about this fiasco. They must be aware of the games being played so they don't keep doing stupid things like this.

[yurbud]

14. hopefully, Al is holding off on his actual resignation until GOP prematurely

spikes the ball in the end zone, does a victory dance, and spills the beans.

It always happens.

[MrPurple]

34. I love it if Al stays, but think it's unlikely after high publicity announcement

It would look opportunistic if he announced he was staying after the Alabama election. They'd need highly publicized proof that he'd been set up.

I think more likely, Al will clear his name once he's out of office. He has loads of media friends and can talk about it all on Seth Meyers/Stephen Colbert/Bill Maher, write about it in his next book, etc.

Really hope he stays in the Senate, but if not, I think he'll have a very active advocacy presence afterward.

[Honeycombe8]

50. He can't stay. He was effectively fired. nt

[Honeycombe8]

53. I think he said he would resign shortly, to give the Gov time to name his replacement....

turn over to HER any work in progress, and for him to wrap up things, pack, etc.

[yurbud]

117. I would be fine with a female replacement, but that person's policies & competence

will have more impact on my family.

[Honeycombe8]

138. I heard on tv it'll be Franken's assistant. nt

[yurbud]

139. that would be fine.

[Pathwalker]

16. Stephanie Ruhle brought up Ms. Tweedon on the 11am show,

noting her connection to Stone, and Don Jr, asking if the Democrats got played. So, it's out there now.

[Alice11111]

92. Good. Geez, to think that neither Schumer nor Perez

called for a timeout before they destroyed a very good man's reputation and ejected our most forceful voice.

The Repubs must be thinking we don't even need to come up with cheating schemes anymore. We can just wait and they will destroy themselves.

[malaise]

17. I'm sure Stone has all the juice on ReTHUGs as well

Hence their obedience to the Con although many of them are as corrupt and nasty.

[DeminPennswoods]

18. I hope it all unravels in the next couple weeks

and Franken withdraws his resignation.

Gillibrand, and especially Klobluchar, are going to have to eat some crow and apologize to Franken.

[ollie10]

21. Just a question for Lynch Mob organizer Gillibrand:

Since you are so sincerely concerned about sexual harrasment and abuse....when is the last time you spoke out publicly for the resignation of Donald "the Groper" Trump?

There are more questions, but please answer this one.....for starters.

[Duppers]

51. Got a please donate email from her today. Wrote...

Back:

"Franken was framed by the RW. You called for his resignation without an investigation, without due process. I do not want to hear from anyone asking for his resignation!!! You fools were played!! Good bye"

[Alice11111]

80. I've raised money for her. I Plan to do the same. Her, and

Newly elected Cortez-M,NV. New Hampshire, Hassan. 5 of them just last election, and many before, including Dear Al.
Who do these witches think they are? Calling on us to carry their water and going rogue, ejecting our best Senator with no due process, without public feedback from Dems. Of course, the DNC piled on too.

[Duppers]

84. Alice...

And I'm not gay.

[Alice11111]

89. How wonderful. Thank you. You made me smile.

[Alice11111]

78. Yeah, where was that speed driven energy during the tax

bill debacle. She was probably plotting to take down Franken.

[mahannah]

22. How about an ethics committee meeting on Monday.

[Texin]

23. Lawrence O'Donnell just tweeted a link to Carlson's piece.

He also indicated that he'd be discussing it tonight. The whole thing reeks of a political hit job. It begs the big question: Who's next?

[hlthe2b]

25. THAT is very good to hear n/t

[rzemanfl]

27. Good. n/t

[hlthe2b]

123. do you know if Lawrence discussed this last night? I fell asleep early...

[Moral Compass]

28. Yes, they got ratfucked

Last edited Fri Dec 8, 2017, 05:31 PM - Edit history (1)

This followed the same pattern as the swiftboat campaign and the decades long campaign against Hillary.

The timing always gives it away. Where were these people hiding with their stories all those years?

But the press is all over it and aren’t asking any hard questions and the fear rises in those currently in power and they shy away from defending the accused.

In this case, the accusations were enough because what you don’t do in sexual harassment cases is question the accuser(s) because that’s what sexist male pigs always do.

Tweeden wasn’t even close to believable once you started looking at the real history and who she is buddies with but if you can’t contest the accusations you’re pretty well screwed from the get go.

That the Democratic leadership didn’t know to close ranks and just say that the investigation would have to be completed before any action was taken is just mind boggling.

Instead the women split off from the men and attacked Franken like he was a serial wife beater and a known pedophile. Then Schumer piled on for good measure.

What a bunch of clowns.

[NoMoreRepugs]

31. Fall into a trap? No. More like DIVED INTO IT

[mountain grammy]

33. Yes they did.. good article

Al Franken was hit because Sessions recused himself. What do you say, Democrats?

[Chakaconcarne]

38. Well, good on Franken for not resigning immediately.....

Let this all play out in the media and expose these SOB's.

[Duppers]

45. Funny how I'm getting "sign my petition...

And donate" emails today. I replied to 3 Dem Senators' emails today with:

"Franken was framed by the RW. You called for his resignation without an investigation, without due process. I do not want to hear from anyone asking for his resignation!!! You fools were played!! Good bye"

[Alice11111]

77. Great response. I filled out their stupid email forms &

Left messages. They were all over the place last night saying Franken didn't apolgize. F them!

Anderson Cooper kept asking, Do you think Sen Franken is sincere when he didn't apologize and such? He is usually better than that. I zapped him.

[Duppers]

82. Good for You!!

I'm very disappointed in AC.

[Alice11111]

88. His brain seems to have taken a break.

[Mr. Ected]

56. All I know is that I watched MSNBC during the lead-up to this

And it seemed every single "analyst" they trotted out went straight for Franken's jugular.

Kasie Hunt comes to mind as one who seemed to revel in turning the knife in Al's back.

[octoberlib]

79. They did. And I don't know how many times I turned on Chuck Todd and

there'd be a big graphic of Franken's picture next to Weinstein's, conflating him with one of the worst sexual predators in America. It made me sick.

[Alice11111]

105. OMG! Outrageous. Poor Al , his reputation devastated

and he was so damn good. He tried so hard.

To even think of him with Weinstein is like comparing Jeffrey Dalmer to someone who popped off with a joke to a cop.

Not to mention I listened to Tweeden's interview several times, she knew that kiss was a big turning point in the skit. They had to get it right. He had performed it three years. She consented on the tape to practice it. During the actual skit, he has his lips to the side of her face, fake kiss. Others were in the room fot the practice, which was important to this skit.

[flamingdem]

93. She was painful to watch yesterday

So convinced of herself and so unaware of how the majority of us view this.

They're tone deaf.

Or it's third wave feminism and they are either not that bright or not that wise due to youth, hard to tell

[2left4u]

61. my thoughts

I am new here as far as posting goes but have been reading and visiting this site for over 2 years.

At the risk of getting slammed or banned here are my thoughts:

I think that we've all become completely reactionary.

The GOP has us go after Trump on morality issues knowing that they won't concede to them and we will. The whole "woman's issues" that we held the high ground on is now getting manipulated into us either morphing into a GOP similar stance or starting to argue about the allegations being credible or not credible. Any of the above hurts us and makes us look like hypocrites unless we offer up our own. I am not saying the allegations aren't important or shouldn't be taken seriously. We lost two people...important people with no investigation just trial by MSM.
Now with the Moore allegation and the yearbook bs we keep getting pushed into a corner that makes us look reactionary and not credible.
The educated party should be better than that....we won the election last year...we just didn't get the numbers in the places that mattered.

They have us doing the above while Trump puts more rightwing judges on Federal benches without a whimper on this site (that I have seen, I could be wrong) or in the MSM about it.
Keystone gets a little coverage but back to this crap while they open up the Arctic to drilling.

While we chase purge womanizers, create moral equivalency on issues that bite us in the ass, we do nothing but complain, make fun of and/or fight each other on the Berine/Hillary issues all the wile the GOP keeps trudging along winning.

They even have us celebrating wins in districts we carry as if we are moving forward accomplishing something more than we would normally have.

We need to focus entirely on elections, elections, elections, elections all and any.
I don't believe these polls because we've seen the polls during the last election and I don't think racist/facist fucks tell the truth or out themselves.

We are letting them dictate the fight....WE ARE THE PATY OF THE MIDDLECASS, THE BLUE COLLAR WORKERS AND THE POOR.

They have us focused on fringe issues (not saying they aren't important...we need to pick our battles).

So sorry if I offended or violated any rules and if I get banned just know I just want to see energy directed in the right places.
Before anybody starts in on "what are you doing?" know that I do a lot out here in Colo. I just won't brag or create a list that on the internet could be pure bs anyways. The type of reaction is what Im trying to point out.

This is a wonderful site and a powerful tool if we utilize it to organize a resistance to win elections.

Thank You, and I owe those who read this 5 mins of their life back

[dhol82]

64. Nicely said.

I think you are right about turning out for every election!

[Egnever]

66. You did fine

you don't owe me a damn thing.

A reasoned response is always welcomed here. Or at least mostly welcomed here

[Alice11111]

76. Definitely agree that we let them dictate the topics & terms

of the fight. I've been shouting it for years, let's quit playing their game by their rules, which they change as they go along.

Good piece.
Welcome here!

[Heartstrings]

118. Well said....

Welcome to du......

[McCamy Taylor]

83. Margaret Carlson said it was "Fun" to call Gore a liar in 2000.

She still has a lot to atone for. This helps.

[Alice11111]

106. Fun for whom??? Very strange.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

86. How convenient - where were Carlson and the rest of the beltway hacks before 11 am yesterday?

Gotta love how they magically figured this out only now.

[spooky3]

104. agree

[rockfordfile]

87. I don't trust Schumer

I was at the gym and people are talking about how they think Franken got bs. I heard that Schumer called Franken all day and I did read that Schumer was with Trump on the Jerusalem capital. Is that true? People said that's what you would call a snake in the grass.

[Awsi Dooger]

90. Our instincts are terrible

Everyone touts our underrated bench. Baloney. Every time one of them have their political instincts tested they fail in spectacular fashion, like Warren and Gillebrand.

I am very positive about 2018 but not 2020. I don't think we have anyone who can defeat an incumbent.

Franken should have reversed course in the middle of that resignation speech and forcefully announced that he wasn't going to do it, that Trump and Moore are being held up by fearful old people but that young people are seeing right through it, so it's time to reject the fear from old timers in his own party like Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi. So forth and so forth. Say he'd love for all his lifetime offenses to be on video and compared to even a fraction of what Trump and Moore have done...say that he's a great senator and won't allow Roger Stone to claim another scalp. Devastatingly define the Republican Party.

A speech like that would have become legendary, with donations off the charts. Pelosi and Schumer would have been stunned.

But no, we have another wimpy reluctant apology. Hillary last year should have said damn right I said deplorables, and that's actually far too kind a description of anyone who belongs to hate groups or believes in their themes.

[Alice11111]

111. Yeah, we are wimps...

Too early to suurrender if we even put up a fight .

Go for the fast track, you, Sen Franken, overboard, stat

[spooky3]

103. Does anyone else think that these 30+ Senators seriously misread the public's (or at least

Dem. voters') views of this situation?

[flamingdem]

135. If they're not discussing it now they're not doing themselves or the party a favor

Major, major miscalculation and overreaction

[tomp]

119. you know chuck schumer is behind this...

...and that man cannot be trusted.

[flamingdem]

127. But it started with Gillibrand

The report is that she'd had enough of the accusations.. but seems she didn't take the time to really look at the accusations.

[tomp]

133. don't believe everything you hear. schumer is behind this. nt

[flamingdem]

134. Why do you think he had it in for Franken???

Interesting..

[tomp]

136. I think he's the distinguished senator from Wall St and Israel.

I think he is calculating and conniving. I think no matter how progressively he talks he represents entrenched power of the center/right Democratic Party leadership. Whatever is going on behind the scenes, he's got a plan.

Always remember, the REAL role of the Democratic party is to LOOK progressive while working for the interests of the rich. That is schumer in a nutshell.

P.S.: I live in NY.

[dlk]

120. This Was Such an Obvious Scam From the Start

All of the Dem Senators who jumped on the "Franken must resign" bandwagon were played in a big way. They now look like they're not very bright.