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In the last week, some liberals have been having public second thoughts about their defenses of Bill Clinton. In the wake of the #metoo movement and the avalanche of accusations of sexual harassment and assault being made against prominent figures such as movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, actor Kevin Spacey, and now Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, the memory of the way liberals disbelieved, dismissed, and often heaped abuse on the women who made the same sort of charges about the 42nd president grates on their consciences. Writers including the New York Times’ Michelle Goldberg and Vox’s Matthew Yglesias have admitted they and their allies on the left were wrong to back Clinton.Though both sought to excuse and rationalize the way Democrats and especially liberal feminists dismissed the accounts of women who had been victimized, the upshot was that if they had to do it over again, they wouldn’t allow partisanship to influence their approach to such accusations. (In fairness, Yglesias himself was in high school at the time, though he seems to want to speak for a generation that was prepared to ignore Clinton’s failings.) Moreover, the way Breitbart and many Alabama conservatives tried to discredit Moore’s growing list of accusers should remind liberals of what not to do if the tables turn once again. That ought to mean that if a Democrat is convincingly accused of harassment, his fellow liberals will issue condemnations and demands for resignation just as they have been expecting Republicans to do regarding Moore.Now, thanks to Al Franken, they’ve got their chance.The comedy writer and actor turned Minnesota senator has been a leading critic of President Trump and a darling of the Left. But today it was his turn in the #metoo spotlight as Los Angeles radio host Leann Tweeden told her story of how Franken harassed her during a 2006 USO tour of Afghanistan. She claims he subjected her to abusive behavior, including a forced kiss, and degraded her in a rehearsal. But particularly damning is that he was photographed squeezing her breasts while she slept on a plane. The picture tells a story that Franken can’t deny . . .. . . If predators in the entertainment industry and journalism are being hounded from their jobs, why shouldn’t politicians be as well? If, as Representative Jackie Speier recently claimed, there are two current members of Congress who have engaged in sexual harassment, shouldn’t those names be revealed, and any proven wrongdoers pushed out of their places of honor and responsibility? Perhaps Senate Democrats should treat Franken the way the Senate Republican caucus may treat Moore if he wins the Alabama special election next month and throw him out.It’s time for liberals to treat Franken and any Democrat who is guilty of sexual harassment the way they expect Republicans to treat bad actors on their side of the aisle. If they don’t, then all those second thoughts about Clinton — who should never again be given the rock-star treatment he’s long gotten from Democratic audiences and the mainstream media — are hypocritical lies.
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Topic: Al Franken Gives Liberals Another Chance at Virtue (Read 227 times)
