Could Al Franken Have Been President?
The Biggest Victim of Cancel Culture
The biggest victim of cancel culture is Al Franken. Unless you count us as victims of Al Franken’s undoing by cancel culture. The timing, as he surely must know, was perfect.
It was the height of the #MeToo movement and the left was being upright and the right was being sadistically manipulative.
The photograph of Al Franken holding his hands above a sleeping companion as if to squeeze her breasts was taken in 2006 on a flight for a USO tour. The woman, Leeann Tweeden, participated in comedy sketches with Al Franken on that tour. She alleged he had forced a kiss on her during rehearsal. That allegation and the picture were released on November 16, 2017.
It was sophomoric humor. Which, if you remember Franken’s Saturday Night Live sketches, is consistent.
Leeann Tweeden had also been a regular on the Fox channels, and the blog post came out a week after Republican Roy Moore faced accusations of abuse of several women when they were under the age of consent. Harvey Weinstein’s abuse, Matt Lauer’s termination, and many other allegations were circulating. In December 2017, Time Magazine would name The Silence Breakers as Person of the Year.
Like many Me Too allegations, Al Franken’s alleged behavior was in the past. It was not a yardstick for measuring senatorial performance. Heck, if we were to eliminate sophomoric behavior in politics, we’d have a herd of lemmings headed for the door, which might not be bad. In fairness, I should note a number of women said Franken groped them when standing next to him in photo opportunities.
The accusations against people which are “mild” accusations need to be balanced against accusations of rape and other egregious behavior. All of this becomes part of the discussion, then and now, of what is fair, what is not, and what is balanced. Maybe milder looks milder because the person is someone we support. It isn’t easy.
At the time, Al Franken’s name was realistically bandied about as a potential presidential candidate.
I am an unabashed fan of Senator Al Franken and appreciated how seriously he did his homework and research, and how eloquently he spoke about issues.
While it was the right-wing tricksters who brought the kindling, it was the left-wing posturers who lit the match, Kirsten Gillibrand among them. They took the opportunity to snuff out a perceived rival in the presidential sweepstakes. Many Democratic politicos now regret the rush to judgment. Al Franken himself has said he should not have resigned.
President Zelinsky in Ukraine is also a former comedian and sketch artist, and now a formidable leader on the world stage. He has terrible challenges, which he is meeting with grace and aplomb.
President Franken might have been trading telephone calls with him about the abominable situation with Russia in Ukraine. I am not suggesting that would be better, but it is interesting to consider. Perhaps our humanity is best entrusted to those who understand its light and dark sides, and have found humor in the human condition. The ones who can stand in the spotlight and tell the truth.
I do wonder how as a presidential candidate Franken might have handled Donald Trump in the debates. Although many tried and failed, there is something about Franken’s wit and lack of pomposity that might have been the right needle in Donald Trump’s balloon. Ah, well, I seldom wallow in woulda, coulda, shoulda because we have to manage what is.
It may be humor that saves us. I understand Al Franken is back on tour, and Jon Stewart is assessing his political options.