Bob CollinsLate-night comedy has turned on Sen. Al Franken.
He’s lost Trevor Noah of “The Daily Show.” On Thursday night’s broadcast, Noah inspected Franken’s assertions that if he grabbed women during the many photographs he’s taken with them over the years, it was accidental contact.
Noah took it a step further. If that’s true, there should be reports of Franken grabbing men, too, he said.
Meanwhile, calls within his own party for Franken to resign are growing.
In a letter to the Star Tribune, former three-term state legislator Betty Folliard of Northfield said he should go.
He’s not the only Minnesota progressive who will champion women’s rights or who can speak out about net neutrality. Several progressive, qualified women are ready for Gov. Mark Dayton to appoint to fill out his term.
Another long, protracted congressional investigation would be hard on the senator, his family and our state. Besides, Congress has no due process for sexual assault or harassment complaints. While taxpayers have been underwriting secret payments to victims of sexual abuse by congressmen for years, the victims are required to undergo counseling, mediation and a 30-day cooling-off period before their complaint is filed. And absent an Equal Rights Amendment in our Constitution, existing laws against sexual harassment and assault have no teeth.
That leaves resignation the only viable option, allowing Franken to listen, learn and help combat this terrible norm in our society from the outside.
