Admittedly, my first response was to take sides, assuming the Democrat from Minnesota couldn’t be as awful as the Republican candidate from Alabama or the Groper-in-Chief. It’s an accusation that conservatives will make, so I’ll own up to it now. Defend your own.
That said, what Franken is accused of doing hardly rises to the same level as some of the other scandals out there. According to Tweeden, then-comedian Franken was guilty of over-aggresively kissing his sketch partner during a rehearsal. Unwanted? Sure. Telegraphed? Absolutely.
Look, this isn’t to say that Tweeden wanted to kiss Franken, even in the context of a comedy show. Nor is it to excuse Franken’s behavior, which according to Tweeden, went much further than she wanted. For his part, Franken says he remembers the kissing differently, but apologized for his behavior.
But the incident that will grab the biggest headlines — “He Groped Me While I Slept!” — is completely overblown. Since Ms. Tweeden was asleep and didn’t realize she’d been assaulted, the only evidence is the photo. In it, a leering Franken smiles towards the camera as he appears to grab Tweeden through her flak jacket. But that’s all it is — it appears. In the picture, Franken is miming grabbing her breasts. Yes, it was an absolutely juvenile and offensive stunt. As Tweeden says, it was humiliating. But if Franken never actually makes contact, he’s not groping her. Splitting hairs? I don’t think so. There is a big difference between making a tasteless joke and actually committing assault.
It’s early yet, and the blogosphere has yet to kick into overdrive. This story may morph during the news cycle, and cooler heads may not necessarily prevail. Do I think this offense merits Franken’s resignation from the Senate? Lord no, liberal bias not withstanding. If we are going to litigate every instance of bad behavior by a member of our government, there won’t be many politicians left.
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