Men are pigs volume 79,965by digby
So, Al Franken is accused of forcibly kissing a woman named Leeann Tweeden. There’s a picture of him making a juvenile gesture of squeezing her breasts (it’s unclear whether he actually touched her) while she slept on an airplane. It’s damning and it’s probably not the only thing that will come out about Franken. He was a comedian during the 70s and 80s and I can only imagine the gross behavior he probably participated in and I would be shocked if nothing more turns up. The stories from SNL during that period are legion although I have no knowledge of anything he did personally. I always thought that past would be a deal breaker for higher office.
Tweeden is a well known radio personality here in LA and has been a guest many times on Sean Hannity’s show. She’s a strong supporter of the military and has done tours and charities for the troops for many years. It would be easy to dismiss her because of her political affiliations but that picture tells the story and Franken admitted to doing it. It will, however, be intresting to see how Hannity handles the story since he’s vociferously defended Roy Moore …. and Donald Trump who was accused by 20 women of doing what Franken is accused of doing. He’s even on tape saying that he carries tic-tacs just in case he gets the opportunity to forcibly kiss a woman he likes the looks of.
I suspect Franken will end up resigning from the Senate. The Governor of Minnesota is a Democrat who will appoint his replacement and I would hope that whoever that person is will be thoroughly investigated for any such behavior before he decides who it should be.
By the way, his behavior in this incident took place on a USO tour which have always been exploitative sex shows. (Here’s a video of the one with Franken and Tweeden)It’s long past time to retire that particular format too.
What a mess.
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