SHOT: “If Democrats care about the future of Kirsten Gillibrand, they need Franken to shut up and go away.”
I’ve already posted today on the topic of the potential for Franken to “un-resign.” He’d always only said he would resign in the coming weeks, so I presume it would be procedurally easy to decline to follow through on his earlier statement. What I’m putting up this post to discuss is the political future of Kirsten Gillibrand, who I think wants to run for President. She chose to elevate her profile over the Franken scandal and she succeeded dramatically — getting an “avalanche of Democratic senators” to join her in calling for Franken’s resignation, which seemed to force him into abruptly acceding to her imperious demand.
CHASER: Dem Senators: On Second Thought, Maybe Franken Should Stay
Over the weekend, it seems that some Democrats in the upper chamber have had second thoughts about calling for Al Franken’s resignation in the wake of sexual assault allegations made against him. Too little, too late? Or could Franken actually use this as an opportunity to at least “postpone” his departure and give the Ethics Committee another shot at his case as he’d originally intended? That might depend on how influential his colleagues are, now that they’re suggesting there’s a path to redemption which allows him to keep his job.
Yep, the Democrats have had the most fallout of the current sexual harassment fallout – from Democrat elected leaders to the High Ramparts in the media, sports, and entertainment. The Preference Cascade took hold and outed they be and cast out they were. It seems, however, that the Senators (there are 4 thus far, one a Republican, Lankford), that wants to wait for the Senate Ethics Committee to do its deal on Franken. Yeah, black hole which pretty much seems to be a rubber stamp for whomever is pulling the strings at the time.
But the fact that the faux outraged Dems would go “whoa, there, Nelly” over this is probably due to the Power of a Certain Vote (Certain meaning “votes our way all the time”) as well as “hey, we only got to win +2, or +3 and take over the Senate again – why let a simple thing like this get in the way” are dancing like sugarplums in their dreams.
You wait – we’ll all end up resigned to see Franken’s promise to “soon be resigning” being lost somewhere in the Senate Closet Room never to be found again.
