Funny how certain people had this info,or produced it in 2009.

of her accusation -- perfectly timed to allow CNN and MSNBC to devote blanket coverage to her while congress works out the details of gutting our progressive programs.

She's appeared a number of times as a sympathetic talking head on Fox, which in itself is proof that she is not an honest person. Her appearances on Hannity underline that in bold. Just typical partisan Republican attitudes these days? Probably, but being one of 50 million doesn't make it honest or ethical.

And now complicity in classic Republican dirty tricks covering what this congress is doing. Of course, collusion has not been proven, but I'm sure it wouldn't take much investigation to turn up evidence.

Which brings us at least back to date stamps as proof that a motivated, habitually politically dishonest person is lying.

Any chance you mean quiet?

just sayin

I am wary.

.

Franken's being railroaded.

yes INDEED

She is a RW tool.

I believe the women that worked with Franken on SNL. They came out in support of him.

I believe this was made up to distract from No Moore, the pu$$y grabber con, etc........

Steve Bannon's slimy fingerprints all over it. She exhibited the very same behavior with other members of that USO tour, and really groped that guitar player's butt, but she singles out Franken as the "sex offender".

She's lying out of her skanky Republican ass, trying to destroy a wonderful, honest man of integrity. All to please her Republican overlords. She's been promised something in the future (or maybe she already received monetary payment for her "services" ) you can take that to the bank! There's a word for people who do things like that, but in deference to our DU ladies I'll refrain from writing it.

Anyway, he shouldn't have done it, but it is wristslap stuff compared to Trump and the Repubs. The rest of the stuff is BS and has been proven to be.

I've written him, telling him to hold on, and not resign.
I think he needs all of the support he can get now .
Clearly, he was targeted for his excellent cross exam of Repub liars!

I do believe the allegations, they seem internally consistent. But it's pretty obvious that word of what she experienced and how she felt about it fell into the ears of some very shady people. They're using it against Franken but he's not falling into their trap

I'm mostly appalled by the slut-shaming and conspiracy jabbering coming from DUers. That's just embarrassing. We look like a big online Alabama when we do that.

I stand with Al Franken. Especially when he says women who come forward need to be listened to and believed. I don't make exceptions to my convictions just because I politically support a politician who has been accused.

But mostly I stand with him for the professional and humble way he's handled these allegations. We should let the process work, let him take the slap-on-the-wrist that he deserves, and most importantly, start holding all Senators to the same high standards that he is being subjected to.

I guarantee you Democrats will come out better in the long run for that

This incident allegedly occurred in 2006. In 2008, Franken was running for the Senate against the incumbent GOPer, that snake Norm Coleman, who had been elected in 2002 only because Wellstone was killed just before the election (and Wellstone almost certainly would have been elected). So when Coleman had to run again in 2008 the GOP was determined to hang on to that seat. They gave a ton of RNC money and PAC money to Coleman, who also was being advised by Karl Rove. Coleman, who has the scruples of a rabid wolverine, conducted a really dirty campaign, mostly consisting of extremely nasty attack ads citing Franken's history of raunchy jokes, trying to make him out as a degenerate. It was the ugliest state campaign I'd ever seen. The result was so close that there were two recounts; when Franken won the second recount Coleman took it to the state supreme court and lost. But throughout the whole thing, with Coleman, the GOP and Karl Rove turning over every single rock to find dirt, the incident with Tweeden never surfaced - nor did any other similar incidents. All they could come up with was some dirty jokes.

So - Where was Tweeden in 2008, when the GOP would have loved to have had some dirt like that?

Franken was the first out of state candidate to whom I gave money and other support.

Now, that we are practically in a civil war, I just put my efforts where they are most likely to make a difference. Basic arithmetic.

to Hannity sometime after 2008. It may never have occurred to her to use a benign picture as a weapon. It certainly occurred to Hannity though. I'd bet anything Hannity is the dirty bastard that brought this up, most probably to Steve "gin blossom" Bannon, and they were off to the races. Then they tried to say that Franken's joke photo was on the same plane as Moore's child molestation. NO FREAKING WAY!

I hate Republicans. They are - without question - the lowest form of life on our planet.

Scraping the barrel now.

Roger Stone's tweet the night before she made the accusation was what set off my bullshit detectors. But, he not only ran against Coleman in 2008, he ran again in 2014. So, it could have surfaced then, as well. Yet it didn't.

She put on her green sleeves for Bannon (or his ilk) a long time ago.

and we see the roger stone, hannity and other connection.

and pattern starts to show the entire thing is a right wing attack similar to things we have seen before .

another huge thing was how Tweeden's whole attitude and the way she talked about it changed after Al Franken called for an investigation .

Guess that caught the Filthy Repubs off guard.

I'm not as confident that she was as bothered by it as she is saying now.

We'll never know.

i don't believe the anonymous people either.

He clearly did some things he shouldn't have. Not that he's actually admitted it, instead referring to vague incidents. If he did nothing wrong, then he wouldn't have apologized and said he needed to regain people's trust.

Intentionally put his hand on (let alone grab) someone's butt. He was very specific about apologizing if they felt something happened that was unpleasant. I think it's because he was actually huggy, and not being super careful or concious if it bothered anyone. But he didn't admit groping, forcing kisses, or any butt grabs. So no.

Franken apologized for not living up to the standards that he set up for himself and the image that he has wanted to portray to those who believe in him. He apologized for offending or hurting Tweeden, but he did not admit to forcing himself on her nor to groping her. He admitted that what he did (the photo) was in poor taste and that the sexism that was part of his comedy, is not funny.

I may feel that I did not do something egregious, but if someone says that I hurt them, even if my intention was not to hurt them, I will acknowledge the hurt that my actions had caused. You can apologize for the outcome of actions you take even if the intent was not to hurt people.

I caught the distinct aroma of bovine.

She obviously didn't think of it during his senatorial election but since sexual harassment has been front & center, she had a "Yeah, that's the ticket" idea.

...Roger Stone tweeting about things to come is our first clue.

Not at all

this extends the "anonymous" as well.

I stand with Al Franken.

Franken wrote books about right-wing liars, they wanted to make him look like a liar. Same way they made Kerry look unpatriotic, Obama an America-hating foreigner, Hillary a crook.

Lies and the lying liars who tell them, indeed.

Her story seems to get more and more fantastic as time goes on. (Put me down as a no.)

N-O spells no.

More questions if she wasn’t such close friends with Megan McCain. Joy asked her if she believed Trumps accusers and she didn’t answer the question and Megan changed the subject fast.

insinuating Trump's accusers are liars while she's a heroic truth-teller & victim.

I've been watching The View lately but was disappointed that the panel believed Donna Brazile's accusations of the DNC/Hillary at first and believed Tweeden's accusations too. I'm not at all optimistic that people are going to catch on to the fact that they shouldn't mindlessly trust every headline they see. Especially if they host a talk show.

Joy or Whoppi believed her but because of Megan they won’t say anything. I think they were just hearing Donna’s side out.

I have a feeling the truth is somewhere in the middle of Donna’s thoughts. Many things were not handled properly in the DNC and she got caught up in it also.

My point is that they completely bought the initial story, that many people believe the headlines without waiting for more information.

I was pretty shocked that the clear majority of Jezebel members also took Tweeden's accusation that Franken stuck his tongue down her throat as gospel. It wasn't even referred to as alleged or "if it's true." If you questioned it you were accused of having double standards or victim-blaming. I don't see this changing in the future. It's too entrenched in the culture, in my opinion, that anything bad about Democrats is true and anything bad about Republicans is hearsay and nobody should judge too soon, give them the benefit of the doubt. This makes me sad.

I think the women who accuse falsely are ruining it for the ones that need to come out and clean things up and make things the way they should be for women.

That is what she is doing....no absolute way to validate...so, she fills in a story ... timing is obviously convenient...10 years later.

True victims who have suffered sexual harassment should be outraged at her for discrediting their experience.

Never did.
Or Mrs. Butt grab in front of my husband.......

because her own statements and those of others clearly show she's lied

Her story is a typical flawed made-up one !

Just asking, what could have he groped as she was wearing a flak jacket meant to stop a bullet (+/- 1200 ft/s).

If she felt M. Franken groping her, the probable hypothesis are :

- she has a huge mental medical problem : she'd better run to the closest doctor as soon as possible,

- the flak jacket doesn't meet the minimum standards required which would be a bit worrying...

- she lied (seeking for her quarter of fame? ).

Why do I find Moore's accusers credible and Franken's not?

Moore's victims were intimidated into silence at the time, and speak up now, no doubt despite extreme intimidation, because Moore used his position as a prosecutor to silence them as teenagers with no defense. They are taking a risk, as they obviously didn't all know each other, and for years believed themselves alone in their private knowledge, but had the courage to speak up to try and make Alabama aware of who was trying to be their next US Senator.

Tweeden speaks up as a politically motivated performer whose purported "harassment" occurred in public as part of a performance and could have been challenged at any time with no fear of reprisal from a man who, at the time, was just another performing comedian.

If some people see no difference, then we'll just have to face the fact that we don't see eye to eye on this.

En plus, il va falloir qu'on m'explique comment une femme se fait agresser sexuellement à travers un gilet pare-balle....

Parce que dans ce cas, y'a comme un p'tit souci psychologique...

C'est typiquement le genre de montage pas crédible du tout, qui me fout en rogne !

En d'être un sale coup bas, ça nuit aux victimes réelles comme celles de Moore .

Elles ont déjà un mal fou à se faire entendre, elles n'ont certainement pas besoin d'une imbécile opportuniste pour leur rendre les choses encore plus difficile !

He says we should listen to the women who make accusations and we should believe them. I take him at his word.

I do believe the allegations, they seem internally consistent. I also believe her when she says she accepts his apology.

Of course it's pretty obvious that word of what she experienced and how she felt about it fell into the ears of some very shady people, toadies of Bannon & Roger Stone and other creeps in that universe. They're using it against Franken but he's not falling into their trap.

I'm mostly appalled by the slut-shaming and conspiracy jabbering coming from DUers. That's just embarrassing. We look like a big online Alabama when we do that.

I stand with Al Franken. Especially when he says women who come forward need to be listened to and believed. I don't make exceptions to my convictions just because I politically support a politician who has been accused.

But mostly I stand with him for the professional and humble way he's handled these allegations. I believe him when he says he's embarrassed and determined to change the way he comports himself in public. That's commendable, and he was right to refer the whole matter to the Ethics Committee.

We should let the process work, let him take the slap-on-the-wrist that he deserves, and most importantly, start holding all Senators to the same high standards that he is being subjected to.

I guarantee you Democrats will come out better in the long run for that

...I believed she was offended - when it first was revealed. Republican women are victims, too... but now I think she was not. She probably laughed at the "scandalous" photo and might have taken one of Al sleeping, too - which we won't see. That was the atmosphere for the tours and she was there to play up sex jokes, which she did.

Bless his pointy li'l nazi pervert head.

But I think my perspective and ability to be able to disassociate her claims from her past or her ideology is stronger than most people here.

The kiss story? There is no way to say for sure. Would that account hold up in a criminal court? Doubt it. Would it hold up in civil court? Maybe, maybe not.

The picture? Well, it’s real. It looks like it was done when she was sleeping, and that mkes sense.

If I were in her shoes, and I have been asleep in body armor in a C-17 side seat before, and I later saw that picture I know how I would feel so it’s easy to see her upset by it. Would I be mad? I damm sure would. Would I feel violated? Yes. Would I assume that I had actually been groped or an attempt was made? I would have some severe questions about how far it went and would probably end up feeling like I had been or that gnawing uncertainty not knowing if I had- even if it was through armor.

The picture is wrong, period, doesn’t matter who it is or what their background is. You don’t make a joke about pretending to sexually assault someone in their sleep. Period. No matter who it is or what you were doing a few hours earlier. Making a joke about pretending to sexually assault a sleeping women is wrong. Way too many people are giving a pass to that action based on who he is and and who she is, and that is sad to see here.

Now, does that mean her entire play she is making now is all true? No. Does it mean there isn’t some sort of political agenda at play? Of course it doesn’t.

There is some amount of truth to it we know- the picture is real and he admits it’s real and was wrong. Can’t say that isn’t true (although some folks have done to truther-level stupid here trying to claim photoshop and everything else). Everything else is up in the air as a he said-she said and with lots of varied opinions on it.

Do I think Al should resign? Nope.

The truth is usually somewhere in the middle. Do I think everything happened like she said? No. Do I think Senator Franken acted inappropriately at least to some degree? Well, yeah, there is a picture showing it and he admits it. Somewhere between those two levels is the truth.

It smells of hit job setup

I initially categorized Tweeden as rat-fuckery, but that picture made it impossible for Franken to do anything other than what he did: apologize and call for an ethics investigation. The subsequent allegations make it difficult to avoid the obvious: Franken has a problem with women. We risk looking like utter hypocrites if we turn a blind eye to our own misbehavior.

I believe her story that she did not want to rehearse the kiss for their skit; I believe that he talked her into it. The bottom line is that she agreed to the practice kiss--under pressure, but she could have continued to refuse--so it was *not* a kiss "against her will." Her description of the kiss is irrelevant; it's only a complaint about bad kissing and has nothing to do with whether she was kissed against her will or not.

What I don't believe is the media continuing to describe this as a kiss against her will.

I do think she didn't want to kiss Franken on the lips. However when Franken did the skit previously with another performer, the kiss was on the lips (there is a tape of it in 2003). So presumably Franken would have wanted to practice the skit the way the skit was intended. It was Tweeden's idea to turn her head, but I don't think she told Franken that's what she wanted to do before practice. Then she didn't manage to turn her head in time. But clearly Franken didn't write the skit just for her so he could kiss her.

It's obvious that Franken is not touching her, and copping a feel through a flak jacket is patently ridiculous. It was a staged joke, and though it was in bad taste there is also photographic evidence of Tweeden's raunchy behavior.

Bringing forward the Franken photo as something incriminating (which it is not) was dishonest. This stinks of a fabricated rightwing hit job.

that said yes, I have beach front property in PA to sell at a great price.
Do I believe any of them, hell no.

Yes, I believe that.

However, the rest of it? Nope.

saw an opportunity and ran to Roger Stone with it.

I think it was a joke that she was in on. I don't believe she was sleeping sitting up.

Al did the gentlemanly thing with his apologies.

suggest that she make crap up, simply by how things would appear.

Take a cue from what Franken himself has said on this subject.

It is truly appalling.

Are stance should be no accusations should be dismissed.
Instead it is all accusations must be true

I don't think she was that offended. She accepted Franken's apology and said she didn't want him to give up his Senate seat.

Not every woman reacts to similar circumstances the same way. What one person thinks is outrageous behavior, may be acceptable to another. And there are all other reactions in between.

I don't especially believe the woman in the photo with a grin on her face who now claims Al was grabbing her butt. If someone was grabbing my butt and I didn't want them to I'd tell them to get their fucking mitts off it. There would be no smiling photos.

If Franken resigns it is yet another victory for Putin.