November 17, 2017

Franken Hypocrisy and Objectification of Women

The Democrat senator was photographed groping a woman. What if we had known before he was elected?

Another day, another accusation of sexual assault. This time, it’s Democrat Comedian Senator Al Franken in the crosshairs — and on camera. Radio talker Leeann Tweeden finally had enough of Franken’s hypocrisy on the subject and told her story. On a 2006 USO Tour to entertain U.S. troops in the Middle East, she says Franken pushed her to kiss him for a skit, and, while rehearsing it, he finally “came at me, put his hand on the back of my head, mashed his lips against mine and aggressively stuck his tongue in my mouth.” She angrily told him to never do it again, but otherwise avoided him and didn’t speak up. On the trip home, she fell asleep and he took the above photograph of himself fondling her breasts (or at least pretending to) through her flak jacket. She didn’t see the picture until arriving back home and still held her tongue. Until now.

Franken responded, “I certainly don’t remember the rehearsal for the skit in the same way, but I send my sincerest apologies to Leeann. As to the photo, it was clearly intended to be funny but wasn’t. I shouldn’t have done it.”

In some jurisdictions, what Franken did was a crime. Will Democrats hold him to account? Both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have called for an ethics investigation.

At best, this wasn’t Franken’s only line-crossing. Back in the 1990s, he proposed a “Saturday Night Live” skit about raping a news anchor: “And, ‘I give the pills to Lesley Stahl. Then, when Lesley’s passed out, I take her to the closet and rape her.’ Or, ‘That’s why you never see Lesley until February.’ Or, ‘When she passes out, I put her in various positions and take pictures of her.’”

And it wasn’t just boorish behavior but hypocritical grandstanding. In March 2017, while defending a resolution on labor laws and government contractors on the floor of the Senate, Franken berated Republicans for supposedly forcing “vulnerable women” who were victims of sexual assault “into the dark.”

“The Al Frankenstien [sic] picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words. Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 while she sleeps?” tweeted the man caught on tape boasting of grabbing women by the genitals. Perhaps that was Donald Trump suffering from an utter lack of self-awareness — or perhaps he was using the irony to highlight Franken’s hypocrisy. Trump added, “And to think that just last week he was lecturing anyone who would listen about sexual harassment and respect for women.” After all, Trump got caught talking about it; Franken was photographed doing it.

Nevertheless, the behavior of both men — and any other man guilty of objectifying, groping, harassing, assaulting or raping a woman — is totally unacceptable and in some cases criminal. In a perfect world, it wouldn’t happen. In a better one, they’d all be justly held to account.

This leaves us pondering something that few seem willing to discuss — the responsibility women bear. Do not misunderstand: This is not victim blaming or offering any exculpatory defense for the men at fault. Men must always exercise self-control. But it’s worth noting that Leeann Tweeden was a former model for FHM, Maxim and Playboy. In choosing to bare all for magazine spreads — or even just dressing scantily or behaving overly flirtatiously — women contribute to their own objectification. Most women simply do not understand just how powerful the visual is for men. Sometimes, men like Franken act out their fantasies.

Finally, food for thought: Franken says he decided to run for Senate on that very USO trip. He won by a mere 312 votes, and, without him, Democrats would not have had the 60th vote to pass ObamaCare.

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.