Enough is enough...

I have been a vocal supporter of Senator Al Franken since the first allegations were made. I posted a pretty strongly worded piece criticizing the excesses of the #MeToo movement/cause. I warned that by conflating the accusations against Senator Franken with those surrounding Weinstein, O'Reilly, Moore, and Spacey, etc. risked losing the audience. I still believe that this issue of unwanted sexual advances and conduct manifests on a spectrum and I still maintain that Senator Franken's alleged conduct is on the less severe side. But I also argued that with an understanding that there were just the two incidents. That number has grown to six and a pattern of conduct is emerging, and when the alleged conduct is a pattern of conduct I have to throw my hat in with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand: "enough is enough."

It pains me to see Senator Franken resign. But looking at the social and political landscape, it is clear that if we Democrats do not stand on principle and provide a moral and ethical framework for the country nobody will. The Republicans have abdicated every moral and ethical value they once held. They appear to value one thing and that is their lust for power. They are trolling so deep in the gutter we smell them before we see them. They have dropped all pretense and revealed that they truly are the party of Trump. That is sad.

But the social fabric of the country needs at least one of the two parties to be a bulwark against a tide of moral relativism and to say "no" to behavior and conduct that should not be countenanced. As with the movement towards the LGBT community, the greater inclusion and protection of our minority races and religions, and our dedication to social and economic injustice, Democrates are now the standard bearer and our legitimacy is founded in our willingness to put the country before the party. I think Al Franken is a big enough man to see that. It would be nice to see similar fortitude somewhere on the right.