Al Franken Should Resign.

I'm taking a brief break from my Profiles In Politics series to address the Al Franken scandal.

I admired Al Franken, not just because of his background in comedy, but also because of his forceful advocacy of progressive values. In high school, I included him in a drawing that I did of Progressive Senators that I admired: himself, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders. His official Instagram still follows me after I shared the picture on Instagram; which I took great pride in.

So, as terrible as it is to see someone I admire be named as a sexual harasser, what's more important is the fact that these people were harassed and it was wrong. Two so far have spoken out against him. Will there be more?

Al Franken should resign from the Senate. In the Democratic Party, we have to set an example of the changes we want to see in our society. We can't expect things to change in regards to sexual harassment if there is no self accountability or self responsibility. As the real party of morals, the Democrats must be the change that we all seek. We must lead by example.

As Democrats, we haven't always done a good job with that, considering President Bill Clinton's history, but we have come far from that. Consider Anthony Weiner and Harney Weinstein, once important voices in the party. Weiner is in jail and will have to register as a Sex Offender. And Harvey Weinstein looks as though he may face rape charges. I don't see that same accountability occurring for people like Roy Moore or Donald Trump, people who have been accused, by multiple people, of committing far worse than anything Al Franken has done (that we know of).

Al Franken has served the state of Minnesota and  progressive politics in general very well, but that is not enough to justify him staying in the Senate any longer. He needs to resign.

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