After Al Franken, What?

Al Franken announced his resignation as Minnesota's U.S. Senator on December 7, having noted he was leaving because of charges of sexual harassment while a man from Alabama accused of molesting girls might be elected senator, and that President Donald Trump is still in office despite claims of sexual misconduct.  Franken did not say when his resignation would take effect, nor did he apologize to any of the women he had supposedly wronged.  He now follows congressmen John Conyers of Michigan and Trent Franks of Arizona out of the Capitol doors, all busted for their behavior towards the women they worked with.

The climate is changing in Washington, and it isn't just the weather.  A number of Democratic women in Congress banded together to demand Franken's resignation.  Time magazine made its Person of the Year "The Silence Breakers", women who chose to call out their male bosses' sexual power plays.  And some women who claimed to have been taken advantage of by Trump have been calling for (A) his resignation and/or (B) a Congressional investigation.  The President and the White House have called them all liars.

In Minnesota, Franken's departure has made the 2018 midterm elections more interesting than it already was.  Democratic (known as the Democratic Farmer-Labor party in Minnesota) Governor Mark Dayton is not running again, so his seat is up for grabs.  DFL Senator Amy Klobuchar is up for re-election, but at this point is favored to win no matter who Republicans put up against her.  And now there's going to be a special election to fill out the remainder of Franken's term, with plenty of big names from both parties who are mulling runs.

What matters right now is who Dayton will name as Franken's fill-in until the election, someone who not only would carry on the Senator's policies, but also may or may not want to run in November.  Most pundits say it should be Tina Smith, who is currently the state's Lieutenant Governor.  A logical choice, until you consider how committed to the job she might be.  Not only is Smith as low profile a politician as you can get, but she has already ruled out a run for Dayton's job.  What makes you think she'd want a high-profile position in Washington, much less for the long haul?

There have been some calls for Franken to reconsider his resignation, given his previously stellar reputation in the Senate and as a Trump critic, and let the Senate Ethics Committee decide whether or not he should be punished.  They have even alleged that original accuser Leeann Tweeden was being influenced by right-wing elements, who wanted to neutralize Democrats' portrayals of the GOP as the party of overgrown frat boys and pedophiles.

But the picture of Franken fondling Tweeden's breasts while she was sleeping, taken long before he entered politics, is kind of hard to ignore.  So are the number of women who say they were either groped or deep-kissed by Franken, even after he became Senator.  All of this evidence has rendered his efforts as an advocate for women's rights moot, hasn't it?

It's time to turn the page on Al Franken, and all the others who found themselves cold-shouldered by changing times and the political reawakening of women.  Will the next chapter bring a new beginning, or just the same old story?

UPDATE (12/13/17):  Governor Dayton has indeed chosen Tina Smith to be interim U.S. Senator, and will be sworn in as soon as outgoing Senator Al Franken decides to leave the stage.  Smith says she's running in November for the rest of Franken's term.  Minnesota now joins California and a few other states to have two women as senators.

UPDATE (12/24/17):  Franken's official resignation is set for January 2.  Smith will be sworn in the following day.