# Al Franken: 'It would be tempting' to run for office again **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 11, 2022, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-franken-it-would-be-tempting-to-run-for-office-again/959256 "2022-02-11T00:08:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-franken-it-would-be-tempting-to-run-for-office-again/959256/1 "2022-02-11T00:08:33Z")
I, for one, would love to see Franken back in the senate. I think the reasons he was forced out were overblown. YMMV > **[Al Franken: ‘It would be tempting’ to run for office again](https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/593595-al-franken-it-would-be-tempting-to-run-for-office-again/amp/)** > > Former Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) on Wednesday said “it would be tempting” to run for office again, more than four years after he resigned from the upper chamber amid accusations of sexual misconduc… ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-franken-it-would-be-tempting-to-run-for-office-again/959256/2 "2022-02-11T00:24:01Z")
I agree with both your statements, but I’m not sure that his running is a good idea. The obvious questions is, what’s changed in the last 4 years that makes him an acceptable candidate now when he wasn’t an acceptable senator back then. Until he has a really good answer to that he needs to stay out. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-franken-it-would-be-tempting-to-run-for-office-again/959256/3 "2022-02-11T00:26:50Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > The obvious questions is, what’s changed in the last 4 years that makes him an acceptable candidate now when he wasn’t an acceptable senator back then. Until he has a really good answer to that he needs to stay out. I would say that he has done his time. He accepted responsibility and took his lumps. He’s paid his debt (for those who thought he had to pay one). Now he wants to come back (maybe). Despite what he was accused of few liberals thought he was a bad senator. Most thought he was a good one. He can be a good one again and, these days, we need as many good ones as we can get. Just my $0.02 ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-franken-it-would-be-tempting-to-run-for-office-again/959256/4 "2022-02-11T00:30:28Z")
Is Minnesota facing a shortage of quality Democratic candidates? If not, I’m not sure what value Franken adds that couldn’t be met by someone else. In any case, it’s up to Minnesota to decide. He can make his case; not my business at all. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-franken-it-would-be-tempting-to-run-for-office-again/959256/5 "2022-02-11T00:33:26Z")
I like Franken. I’m certainly prepared to believe he hit on Leanne Tweeden too aggressively. His party should have given him more support unless there is more to it than that. Was he Trumpian? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-franken-it-would-be-tempting-to-run-for-office-again/959256/6 "2022-02-11T00:39:01Z")
Franken’s brain is awesome, and he would make an amazing consultant to a Democratic candidate looking for guidance and advice. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-franken-it-would-be-tempting-to-run-for-office-again/959256/7 "2022-02-11T00:41:57Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > His party should have given him more support unless there is more to it than that. Aside from Tweeden, he was accused by seven other women of groping and kissing them without consent. Franken maintains that he did nothing wrong, and that he regrets resigning the way he did. I liked Franken a whole lot as a senator, and as an entertainer before that. It’s a damn shame he turned out to be a creep, but I don’t think I could support him for office again. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-franken-it-would-be-tempting-to-run-for-office-again/959256/8 "2022-02-11T00:43:56Z")
Exactly how I feel. Franken was my favorite senator before the multiple, consistent accusations against him came to light. And he’s shown that he still doesn’t get what he did wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-franken-it-would-be-tempting-to-run-for-office-again/959256/9 "2022-02-11T00:47:36Z")
Yeah, I felt he was treated badly and the allegations against him were in the “let the voters decide” category rather than the “force him to resign in disgrace” category, but a comeback seems like a terrible idea. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-franken-it-would-be-tempting-to-run-for-office-again/959256/10 "2022-02-11T00:52:02Z")
To be honest I don’t remember most of the details. There may be something to them. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-franken-it-would-be-tempting-to-run-for-office-again/959256/11 "2022-02-11T00:52:47Z")
I wonder if he’s going through some kind of post-Trump rationalization to justify why he could return to office. With electoral districting, I think it’s perfectly ethical to say that if the Republican Party won’t countenance thorough reform, then Democrats should aggressively pursue gerrymandering wherever they can. But no, Al, the fact that the last Republican president was a sex offender certainly guilty of far worse behavior than you does _not_ mean we should be lowering the quality of character we expect from Democrat leaders. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-franken-it-would-be-tempting-to-run-for-office-again/959256/12 "2022-02-11T00:57:37Z")
Power must be one hell of a drug, to have someone jonesing for more after being kicked to the curb. I think Franken should stay out of public office. I love that my party has gotten accused sex abusers out of office, in strong and stark contrast to the GOP which keeps electing them, and even putting them in leadership roles. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-franken-it-would-be-tempting-to-run-for-office-again/959256/13 "2022-02-11T01:11:03Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > His party should have given him more support unless there is more to it than that. I’d rather not have the Democratic party go down the path of “party first” that the Republicans did. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-franken-it-would-be-tempting-to-run-for-office-again/959256/14 "2022-02-11T01:15:52Z")
> [@Typo\_Knig](#): > > I love that my party has gotten accused sex abusers out of office… Define “sex abusers.” Are they all created equal? Is there a spectrum? Are they all deserving of the same punishment? Are they to be forever tainted, careers forever over while never having a hearing or any consideration of where on the spectrum they fall? No consideration of what they have done to make amends? Just if they did something then burn forever? It is ideologues who get us here. > Franken’s fall was stunningly swift: he resigned only three weeks after Leeann Tweeden, a conservative talk-radio host, [accused him](http://www.kabc.com/2017/11/16/leeann-tweeden-on-senator-al-franken/) of having forced an unwanted kiss on her during a 2006 U.S.O. tour. Seven more women followed with accusations against Franken; all of them [centered](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/new-al-franken-accuser-says-he-grabbed-her-rear-2010-n822456) [on](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/al-franken-two-more-women-groping_n_5a15a455e4b09650540ec295) [inappropriate](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/11/30/sen-al-franken-accused-of-groping-again-this-time-by-an-army-veteran/?utm_term=.6b688fc3ef41) [touches](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/12/i-believe-frankens-accusers-because-he-groped-me-too/547691/) [or](https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/06/al-franken-accusation-sexual-harassment-2006-281049) [kisses](https://theslot.jezebel.com/new-england-elected-official-says-al-franken-tried-to-g-1820849687). Half the accusers’ names have still not become public. Although both Franken and Tweeden called for an independent investigation into her charges, none took place. [SOURCE](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/07/29/the-case-of-al-franken) ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-franken-it-would-be-tempting-to-run-for-office-again/959256/15 "2022-02-11T01:23:09Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > > [@Typo\_Knig](#): > > > > I love that my party has gotten accused sex abusers out of office… > > Define “sex abusers.” Are they all created equal? Is there a spectrum? Are they all deserving of the same punishment? Are they to be forever tainted, careers forever over while never having a hearing or any consideration of where on the spectrum they fall? No consideration of what they have done to make amends? > > Just if they did something then burn forever? Holding elected office is a privilege, not an entitlement. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-franken-it-would-be-tempting-to-run-for-office-again/959256/16 "2022-02-11T01:23:36Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > Holding elected office is a privilege, not an entitlement. Is any job an entitlement? ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-franken-it-would-be-tempting-to-run-for-office-again/959256/17 "2022-02-11T01:25:52Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Is any job an entitlement? Holding an elected office is not a job. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-franken-it-would-be-tempting-to-run-for-office-again/959256/18 "2022-02-11T01:26:33Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > Holding an elected office is not a job. It is a job. They get paid to do it. Indeed, if the people of his state voted him out for this I’d be 100% fine. But that’s not what happened. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-franken-it-would-be-tempting-to-run-for-office-again/959256/19 "2022-02-11T01:27:26Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Define “sex abusers.” Are they all created equal? Is there a spectrum? Are they all deserving of the same punishment? Are they to be forever tainted, careers forever over while never having a hearing or any consideration of where on the spectrum they fall? No consideration of what they have done to make amends? The poor sex offenders among us! None of which actually makes amends, ever, even a little. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-franken-it-would-be-tempting-to-run-for-office-again/959256/20 "2022-02-11T01:28:45Z")
Seems to me Franken fell on his sword and voluntarily left the senate despite no hearings…no anything except a media frenzy. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-franken-it-would-be-tempting-to-run-for-office-again/959256.md?page=2)