The other shoe has finally dropped. Shortly after noon today, Sen. [score]Al Franken[/score] (D-Minn.) announced he will be stepping down from his seat “in the coming weeks.”
In a prepared statement that he read on the floor of the chamber, the senator accused of sexual misconduct by a growing number of women said — and in so doing confirmed that he remains a would-be comedian:
I am proud that during my time in the Senate I have used my power to be a champion of women and that I have earned a reputation as someone that respects the women I work alongside every day. I know there has been a very different picture of me painted in the last few weeks, but I know who I really am.
I know in my heart that nothing I have done as a senator — nothing — has brought dishonor on this institution. And I am confident that the Ethics Committee would agree.
Nevertheless, today I am announcing that in the coming weeks, I will be resigning as a member of the United States Senate.
Franken made no allusion to what he plans to do with this time now. Prior to coming to the Senate, he was a writer and cast member on “Saturday Night Live.” After leaving the show, he wrote several highly partisan books with fatuous titles, such “Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot.” After that he became a talk show host on the liberal Air America network.
According to NPR, there was scuttlebutt about Franken’s becoming a Democratic presidential candidate in 2020, and there was even a “Draft Al Franken” website. Presumably, that plan has been dashed by the scandal that surrounds the soon-to-be-ex senator.
