Al Franken 's totally unapologetic resignation
Al Franken
1.  He  was resigning  his  seat by the end of the year.
2.  He  didn't believe  he  had done anything for which  he  should have been forced to resign.
 Franken 's speech was defined primarily by  his  lack of any real apology and the clear bitterness  he  carries for being pushed out amid allegations that  he  had groped several women and forcibly tried to kiss others.
Here's the key bit from  Franken  (bolding is mine):
That's a remarkable statement.  Franken  is simultaneously saying that  he  believes the women who have accused  him  have a right to be heard while also making very clear that  he  is not admitting  he  had done the things they alleged.
 He  went on to note that "I know in my heart that nothing I have done as a senator  nothing has brought dishonor on this institution " adding: "I am confident that the ethics committee would agree."
And  just in case there was any question that  Franken  believed  he  was being unfairly railroaded  the senator's turn to Donald Trump and Roy Moore cleared all that up.
Said  Franken :
"I am leaving while a man who has bragged on tape about  his  history of sexual assault sits in the Oval Office and a man who repeatedly preyed on young girls campaigns for the Senate with the full support of his party. But this decision is not about me. It's about the people of Minnesota."
 Franken  got support in that view from an unlikely source on Thursday: Former Bush White House press secretary Ari Fleischer. " Franken  should not have resigned.  His  fate should have been left 2 the people of MN. Moore  who had sexual contact w a 14-yr old  should drop out. Conyers  who hit on his employees  should have resigned.  Franken  is a creep who acted inappropriatly  but  his  facts are different " tweeted Fleischer shortly after  Franken 's resignation announcement.
The second part of  Franken 's conclusion will have a lot of Democratic heads nodding. Why is  Franken  resigning for allegations of groping and unwanted kissing while Trump is in office after more than a dozen women accused him during the campaign of sexual harassment? Why is  Franken  resigning when Roy Moore  who faces multiple allegations of pursuing relationships with teenagers as young as 14 when  he  was in  his  30s  is looking more and more like a winner in next Tuesday's special election?
Those are fair questions. The simple reason is because  Franken  gave in to the pressure to step aside while Trump and Moore just kept saying they didn't do anything wrong and had no plans to leave their respective races. And the political willpower didn't exist in Alabama or the country to get rid of them.
But the first part of  Franken 's contention -- that  he  did not do anything wrong and these women were either mistaken or misremembering -- will sit less well even with  his  most ardent supporters.
If  Franken  truly believes -- as  he  said -- that  he  did nothing wrong here  then why is  he  resigning?  His  explanation was that  he  couldn't simultaneously deal with an ethics investigation and represent the state effectively. But  he  was the one who called for an ethics investigation when  he  announced last week that  he  was planning to stay on the job and work to win back the trust of  his  colleagues and  his  constituents!
The answer is that almost three dozen of  Franken 's colleagues called for  him  to step down over the last 24 hours -- including a united front of Democratic female senators . There was just no way that  Franken  could realistically stay on amid that depth of condemnation. (Although  per Trump and Moore  maybe he could have.)
 Franken  bowed to what he believed to be the inevitable political reality facing him. But in so doing   he  wanted to make sure everyone -- in the chamber and outside of it -- didn't see  his  resignation as an admission of guilt. Because  Franken  just doesn't think  he 's guilty.
1.  He  was resigning  his  seat by the end of the year.
2.  He  didn't believe  he  had done anything for which  he  should have been forced to resign.
  [TGT]  's speech was defined primarily by  his  lack of any real apology and the clear bitterness   [TGT]   carries for being pushed out amid allegations that   [TGT]   had groped several women and forcibly tried to kiss others.
Here's the key bit from  Franken  (bolding is mine):
That's a remarkable statement.  Franken  is simultaneously saying that  he  believes the women who have accused  him  have a right to be heard while also making very clear that  he  is not admitting  he  had done the things they alleged.
 He  went on to note that "I know in my heart that nothing I have done as a senator  nothing has brought dishonor on this institution " adding: "I am confident that the ethics committee would agree."
And  just in case there was any question that  Franken  believed  he  was being unfairly railroaded  the senator's turn to Donald Trump and Roy Moore cleared all that up.
Said  Franken :
"I am leaving while a man who has bragged on tape about  his  history of sexual assault sits in the Oval Office and a man who repeatedly preyed on young girls campaigns for the Senate with the full support of his party. But this decision is not about me. It's about the people of Minnesota."
 Franken  got support in that view from an unlikely source on Thursday: Former Bush White House press secretary Ari Fleischer. " Franken  should not have resigned.  His  fate should have been left 2 the people of MN. Moore  who had sexual contact w a 14-yr old  should drop out. Conyers  who hit on his employees  should have resigned.  Franken  is a creep who acted inappropriatly  but  his  facts are different " tweeted Fleischer shortly after  Franken 's resignation announcement.
The second part of  Franken 's conclusion will have a lot of Democratic heads nodding. Why is  Franken  resigning for allegations of groping and unwanted kissing while Trump is in office after more than a dozen women accused him during the campaign of sexual harassment? Why is  Franken  resigning when Roy Moore  who faces multiple allegations of pursuing relationships with teenagers as young as 14 when  he  was in  his  30s  is looking more and more like a winner in next Tuesday's special election?
Those are fair questions. The simple reason is because  Franken  gave in to the pressure to step aside while Trump and Moore just kept saying they didn't do anything wrong and had no plans to leave their respective races. And the political willpower didn't exist in Alabama or the country to get rid of them.
But the first part of  Franken 's contention -- that  he  did not do anything wrong and these women were either mistaken or misremembering -- will sit less well even with  his  most ardent supporters.
If  Franken  truly believes -- as  he  said -- that  he  did nothing wrong here  then why is  he  resigning?  His  explanation was that  he  couldn't simultaneously deal with an ethics investigation and represent the state effectively. But  he  was the one who called for an ethics investigation when  he  announced last week that  he  was planning to stay on the job and work to win back the trust of  his  colleagues and  his  constituents!
The answer is that almost three dozen of  Franken 's colleagues called for  him  to step down over the last 24 hours -- including a united front of Democratic female senators . There was just no way that  Franken  could realistically stay on amid that depth of condemnation. (Although  per Trump and Moore  maybe he could have.)
 Franken  bowed to what he believed to be the inevitable political reality facing him. But in so doing   he  wanted to make sure everyone -- in the chamber and outside of it -- didn't see  his  resignation as an admission of guilt. Because  Franken  just doesn't think  he 's guilty.