Saturday, November 18, 2017

The Franken Factor

The Funny Warrior
 
 
Franken and Davis
I have been an admirer of Al Franken for going on forty years - first as a comedian, then as a political commentator, and finally, as one of the finest senators to come down the pike in my lifetime. Teddy Kennedy, for all of his well-deserved reputation as "the Lion of the Senate" was somewhat of a late-bloomer, and didn't begin to live up to his potential until he had been in office for almost two decades. It wasn't until he lost the primary challenge to incumbent president Jimmy Carter in 1980 that he began to show some real moxie as a statesman. Up to that point he had been somewhat of a lightweight, resting on the laurels of being a member of America's golden political family. Al Franken, by contrast, was the heavyweight champion of the poor and middleclass at the starting gate.

Like most of the members of my generation, my first exposure to Al was as a part of the original lineup of the cast of Saturday Night Live. He was not only a writer on that program, but a performer as well. The weekly bits he would perform with his partner, the late Tom Davis, were so wonderfully bent, they could only be described as comedic Zen. Although not to everyone's taste, the delightful, low-key lunacy of Franken and Davis was the part of the program I looked forward to the most. To the best of my knowledge, they were the last comedy team.

Over the years I've followed Al Franken's career closely and admiringly. That's why I greeted the photograph of him with his hands on the breasts of a fellow performer during a 2006 USO tour with a sigh of exasperation. My reaction was: What the hell were you thinking, Al? I wouldn't have pulled a stunt that crude in my early twenties - let alone my late forties. According to the person who took the photo, it was a gag shot, and the woman in question (who appears to be asleep) was in on the joke. Her name is Leeann Tweeden. She said that during the rehearsal for a routine they were to do in front of the troops, Al got a tad too physical. Both of these incidents took place in public and, to the best of anyone's knowledge, there was never any private confrontation.

What are we to make of this? Does Al Franken have a history of this kind of boorish behavior? If that is the case, we can expect a tsunami of women coming forward with their own recollections of their own gross encounters of the weird kind with Al down through the years. My suspicion - my prayer - is that this will not be the case. Stressful situations are known to bring on bizarre behavior - and touring a war zone is the most stressful situation people in show business can possibly find themselves in. Bob Hope toured many-a-war zone in his day, and although many view him today as comedy's secular saint, his behavior on-and-off the lines of battle was not always saintly. This is an established fact.

In an effort to distract our attention from the Roy Moore scandal, the right wing SCREAM machine is calling on Al to resign his senate seat.  Moore, you will recall, is running for the senate in Alabama amid accusations of the groping and outright assault of several underage girls back in the swinging seventies. To compare this to the scandal that Senator Franken now finds himself in is akin to comparing running a red light to mass murder. If Al does indeed have a history as a sexual predator, we will know soon enough. My opinion is that, until that time comes, we need to cut the man as much slack as possible. He has publicly apologized for his indiscretion. Leeann Tweeden has publicly forgiven him. And although his actions may have been terribly immature, they do not constitute sexual assault. Harvey Weinstein he ain't. I have made a few unwanted passes at a few women in my time. That doesn't define me as a sexual predator. When I was told "no thank you", I desisted. We need to put things in their proper context, folks.

FUN FACT: Al Franken was never barred from a public mall for lewd behavior toward underaged girls. I just thought I'd throw that one out there.

The troubled water that he now finds himself treading is not quite as hot as some would have us believe. Although he is by no means ideologically perfect for my purposes (Who is?) Al Franken is one of the consistently finest statesmen to come along in my lifetime. I'm standing by him.

Tom Degan 
Goshen, NY 

SUGGESTED VIEWING:

Look back in laughter. Here are Al Franken and Tom Davis in their not-ready-for-prime, October 1980:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0WtC_vm9e8
to
The glory days of SNL

SUGGESETED READING

Giant of the Senate
by Al Franken

Al is always a good read.


#65

17 Comments:

At 12:26 PM, Blogger Joanne Noragon said...

Last comment seems not to have gone through; I will try again.
I am stunned that Al Franken pulled this stupid stunt. I am disgusted the wall of perps are targeting Franken, making him a decoy. I'm not of the ilk of Moore-ites; I was assaulted at age 18, by a doctor, no less. It was 1961; it was the incident that made me #metoo.
We must drain the swamp; the plug in the pipe is the head man. We must begin governing again.
God bless us, every one. Thank you, Tiny Tim.

 
At 12:45 PM, Blogger ArchieBunkerNYC said...

Joanne,

God Bless you for telling your story, I concur that we must drain the swamp.

 
At 9:43 PM, Blogger Mozart1220 said...

This is a hack job against Franken, who COULD be the favorite for President in 2020. There is no crime here,

Anyone who partied AT ALL in high school and/or college has a "franken photo" out there somewhere, and the fact that Franken is older is irrelevant. HE'S A PROFECSSIONAL COMEDIAN.

The "lady" was in on it, she humped Robin Williams leg on another tour, and she's looking for a gig on Fox Entertainment.

There are REAL assaults going on out there, and REAL predators. One is in the White House, another running for congress in Texas.

Accusations like this one weaken the credibility of REAL victims, and don't you think that's WHY they did this to Franken? Come on...

 
At 10:50 PM, Blogger The New York Crank said...

Umm, has anybody besides me noticed that Tweeden works for Fox News? Does anybody supposed this has any significance? If not, why is a woman who was in on the joke bringing it up and then forgiving him? I think I need to scratch my head.

Yours Crankily,
The New York Crank

 
At 9:57 AM, Blogger Darrell Michaels said...

Amazing. Here is the other side of the story and Ms. Tweeden doesn't seem to be so forgiving and accepting of the bygone incident as you portray, Mr. Degan.

http://www.theblaze.com/news/2017/11/16/news-anchor-accuses-sen-al-franken-of-sexual-assault-has-photos-i-felt-disgusted-and-violated

Our friend Dubya would probably characterize this as "It's okay if you're a Democrat".

After all, we had a sexual predator in the White House and the Democrat's response was "Moveon.org".

Disgusting. I have no place for Clinton (Bill or his enabler Hillary), Moore, Weinstein, or Franken. Having a "D" behind your name certainly should not give someone immunity from being an ass. Moore should be thwarted from joining the Senate and Franken should be recalled when he doesn't have the decency to resign. I think there is a better chance of Trump giving up his Twitter account and Hillary never telling another lie though.

 
At 4:13 PM, Blogger Paul said...

Zero tolerance is the dumbest idea to come along since political correctness.It forced the change of people's behavior and culture change itself. Political correctness has been just as damaging to our society.

Of course context matters and anyone who can't see that. or judges every incident the same, is an idiot.

Is there a difference between a predator and an incident? Of course there is. Is there a difference between a pedophile and an adult offense? Of course there is.

When I was a kid almost every boy carried a pocket knife, even to school. Now they call the cops if a kid is found with a pocket knife in school and the kid is usually kicked out of school, not to mention the criminal charges. That's a dramatic cultural change in a rather short time. Boys have been carrying pocket knives to school for hundreds of years. Maybe the problem is the parents who have not taught their kids how to be careful with pocket knives.

Going back to when I was very young I remember always getting slapped on the ass by adults. Usually in a sports atmosphere, or other competitive situations where I did well and usually by men. It was an acknowledgement of well done. This is also a cultural behavior that goes back 100's of years. Are we now to consider this tradition sexual molestation? I know guys who did not like those slaps on the ass. I know guys who did not like and were traumatized by being forced to swim nude in groups, or take group showers, which was also a tradition when I went to school.

What Franken did (shoving his tongue in her mouth) was gross and a violation, but it was not the same act as a pedophile predator. These kind of false equivalencies are not only unfair, but stupid, not to mention not factual.

Monica was 23 when she had sex with Bill Clinton. It was adultery on his part, but consensual on her part. Who has suffered more from that incident? She has. There is a BIG difference between adult and underage acts of sex and if we cannot acknowledge that when judging these incidents, we are wrong. Moore has a history of predatory pedophile behavior, Franken does not, so lets stop equating the two, or demanding the same punishment for both offenses.

How long will it be before a coach is charged with sexual molestation for slapping a 10 year old boy on the ass during a basketball game?

.

 
At 4:41 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

And one shouldn't forget that it takes two. Leann was cool for having said it was not real and your cease and desist was also cool. I got told once, by a woman, "... hands where they were..." I just wanted to hold hands but I knew that No means NO! We used to say in the orchestra I was in once "... Get ahead by giving head..." That was a joke, but in every jest there is a grain of truth. That's what I meant by it takes two. Women don't complain about career advancement, do they?

 
At 4:44 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

And one shouldn't forget that it takes two. Leann was cool for having said it was not real and your cease and desist was also cool. I got told once, by a woman, "... hands where they were..." I just wanted to hold hands but I knew that No means NO! We used to say in the orchestra I was in once "... Get ahead by giving head..." That was a joke, but in every jest there is a grain of truth. That's what I meant by it takes two. Women don't complain about career advancement, do they?

 
At 7:05 PM, Blogger Majormajor said...

"It's okay if you're a Democrat".

Best explanation yet.

 
At 7:42 PM, Blogger Mozart1220 said...

T. Paine, you do yourself no favors using the "Blaze" as a source. It's one of the top ten actual "fake news" sites.

Bill Clinton had a LEGAL affair with a CONSENTING ADULT. Franken did NOTHING wrong.

Hillary is something conservatives cannot understand. A LOYAL WIFE.

Moore and Trump rape children. Subtle difference.

 
At 10:22 PM, Blogger Majormajor said...

Michigan Rep. John Conyers, a Democrat and the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives, settled a wrongful dismissal complaint in 2015 with a former employee who alleged she was fired because she would not “succumb to [his] sexual advances.”

Documents from the complaint obtained by BuzzFeed News include four signed affidavits, three of which are notarized, from former staff members who allege that Conyers, the ranking Democrat on the powerful House Judiciary Committee, repeatedly made sexual advances to female staff that included requests for sexual favors, contacting and transporting other women with whom they believed Conyers was having affairs, caressing their hands sexually, and rubbing their legs and backs in public. Four people involved with the case verified the documents are authentic.

 
At 12:09 AM, Blogger Majormajor said...

Musty be an inside job, right Mozart?

 
At 12:35 AM, Blogger Dave Dubya said...

I'm flattered Mr. Paine would include his assessment of my not-yet-given characterization. This is getting to be a pattern.

I am a gentleman who condemns all criminal sexual conduct. (I've learned from conservatives if I don't state in writing my condemnation, they will assume I approve.)

If you think I'm exaggerating, this is what I actually had to say: Mr. Paine and Co. are wondering when I disavowed violence. So, for those with failing memories or short attention spans: I, Dave Dubya, hereby disavow all unprovoked violence upon innocent humans, whether perpetrated by those on the left, or the right, or anywhere in between.

I hope this is settled.

I must point to the varying degrees regarding relative severity of the offense, such as an unwelcome kiss vs. "grab 'em by the pussy". This may be too much nuance for conservatives, perhaps.

we "had" a sexual predator in the White House...?? Why am I not surprised Mr. Paine omitted the current elephant in the room, known as the Oval Office?

Mr. Paine is silent on the more severely violated, and substantially greater number, of victims of the predator president. Yet for some reason he seems more angry, offended, and punitive on behalf of Ms. Tweenden. More so than the victim.

According to TIME:

She(Tweedon) says she has no reason not to accept his apology. She says people make mistakes.

She isn’t calling for an ethics investigation or for the Minnesota senator to step down, but says she came forward hoping to inspire others to tell their stories.


Is Mr. Paine as upset with Bush Sr. for his ass-grabbing, as he is with Franken's? Did Bush Sr. have the decency to resign, or didn't his ass-grabbing count?

It seems Mr. Paine is far more angry at the less severe offender, who has apologized and welcomed an investigation, than at the ones telling the lies and blaming women, the press and liberals. (There they go again, amirite?)

And not a word from Mr. Paine about the governor of Alabama who believes Moore's accusers, but will vote for him anyway.

I have to wonder, what exactly is OK for whom?

I ask, you decide.

Or you can read my post on "Moral Relativism, Moral Rot, And The Real Takers".

Care to guess who that is about?


 
At 9:12 AM, Blogger Majormajor said...

"We're going to need a bigger boat."

Recent additions to the list.

al franken (additional women have made accusations)

charlie rose

glenn thrush

lena dunham's employee

andrew cuomo's employee

russell simmons

john conyers

oliver stone

Who's next on your sleaze bingo card?

 
At 12:35 PM, Blogger Bill said...

T. Paine: It appears that George H.W. did some grab ass of his own and told jokes about it at the same time. Did you conveniently forget this since you seem preoccupied with dredging up old history? Now, 36 women who worked with Franken on SNL, have said he treated them with "respect and regard," as did a group of former and current staffers.

 
At 12:26 AM, Blogger Mozart1220 said...

Well, Clucky chimed in. That was predictable.

 
At 2:13 PM, Blogger Darrell Michaels said...

Bill, Dave, Mozart, Tom, etc. I don't care if the person that is guilty of making unwanted advances, fondling, kissing, raping etc. is a Democrat of Republican. I don't care if it is George H.W. Bush, Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, or John Conyers. I don't care if it was done "as a joke" ala slime boy Franken. All should be held legally accountable, since morally we are still making exceptions depending on whether the perpetrator is on "our side".

Oh, and by the way, many of Bill Clinton's transgressions were not "consensual". Ask Kathleen Willey, Paula Jones, and Juanita Brodrick.

And by the way, Mr. Dubya, I wasn't necessarily being accusatory of you, sir. I was simply borrowing your phrase to show the double standard that exists evidently on both sides of the aisle.

 

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