It appears she has on a Kevlar vest and breast are not accessable nor were her breasts a real Target object of sexual desire...it was a photo where joking about was acceptable, prank style...

"It would feel good, momentarily, to see Franken resign and the Democratic governor of Minnesota, Mark Dayton, appoint a senator who has not (as far as we know) harmed women. If I believed for one second that Franken is the only Democrat in the Senate who has done something like this, with or without photographic evidence, I would see that as the best and most appropriate option. But in the world we actually live in, I’m betting that there will be more. And more after that. And they won’t all come from states with Democratic governors and a deep bench of progressive replacements. Some will, if ousted, have their successors chosen by Republicans."


This is so true. The way things are going, all they'll need is another Supreme Court pick and choice will be on the chopping block. I don't like any of it, but I'm looking at the big picture.

Except I want Franken to run again.

A lot of people here are hell bent on the only two possible realities being either he must resign in shame or the whole thing must be a conspiracy that never happened. And they can’t see all the ground in the middle.

Do I like Tweeden? No. Do I think her timing releasing this is political? At least I’m part, yes. But that doesn’t mean I am ok with anyone using a sleeping person as a prop for their joke that is sexually demeaning. And it doesn’t matter if their act was full of equally or more crass sexual humor, because the bottom line issue is one of consent. And a sleeping person simply can’t give it.

And I see the path many on our side have chosen to go down to attacking her motives to her history to her sexual expressions away from the incident to diving deep into conspiracies about photoshop (even after Senator Franken admitted the photo was real) as the same dangerous one of not believing victims when they speak up, of looking for any excuse and reason why the woman who speaks up should t be believed. And it is just a dangerous continuation of that same attacking and discrediting of victims that has lead women to not speak up in the past and that silence it forces has allowed the problem to go on for way too long.

It is possible to believe Senator Franken is a good Senator who should stay in his seat, that Tweeden is a right wing hack whose motives are st least partly political, and still believe that we should treat her accusations as seriously and respectfully as we should every other victim of sexual assault or harassment. Those can all be true, and if we actually stick to our values as Democrats that’s what we should be doing instead of going to every possible conspiracy looking for ways to attack and discredit a victim, any victim no matter who they are, who speaks up.

Because the way too many of us Democrats reacted to her story sent a clear message to all the other victims out there- you better just shut up because if there is anything in your past they will drag it up, they will make up fake news sources calling you a liar and share them all over, they will parse your story right down to digging into metadata on photos even after the other party admired it was real. So you better just shut up and not tell your story.

And that’s a world we have lived in way too long.

Was Roger Stone's involvement. I think Al was right to take responsibility, but I don't think she was 100 percent truthful. When a photo showed her attending an event honoring him after she said she couldn't stand to be around him and she clenched her fists whenever she saw him. If there aren't any witnesses and the guy denies the charge, it should be investigated and his past behavior should play a factor in making a determination. There will be some women who will take advantage of the #metoo movement, just like there will be some men who will lie about not sexual abusing someone.

Ruth Marcus, The NATIONAL REVIEW (!!!) and the NY Times, all heading off any suggestion of forcing Franken to resign. It was actually a good block, and they even had a go at the Managers who covered for Mark Halperin, when they knew what he was up to.

and Trump gets another Supreme Court Pick. Friday Hannity warned on Twitter that more things were coming. I can't remember how he said it, but the implication was that more sex scandals were going to come out regarding Democrats. This is a coordinated effort..Does it mean that the people accused are innocent ...No! It just means that Republicans are trying to get rid a lot of Democrats and anyone who opposes Trump, be it in the media or in a political party. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't hear something about Flake or Corker.

the liberal SC judges.

I've already suggested that maybe Chaffetz quietly resigned over something like this rather than anything else.

No doubt RWNJs are behind his attack on Franken, but I cannot believe only Reps know who's been up to what, on the Hill.