General Discussion

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent who caucuses with the Democratic Party:

“Sen. Franken has said that he will be making an announcement about his political future tomorrow. The right thing is for him to resign........."
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No, the wrong thing was for Al to resign, as Al, himself, realized a few weeks too late.

Sanders (along with a few dozen others, many of whom are still sitting Senators) could also learn from those few of his colleagues that apologized to Al for trashing him too hastily before learning if there was any justification for doing so, or if the whole "scandal" wasn't produced and coordinated (and even announced!!) by Roger Stone. Anyone can make a mistake. If that mistake causes the Democrats to oust a good Senator or nominate one that wasn't the best choice, it takes a mensch (Yiddish meaning, not the German meaning) to admit it.

As for Platner, himself, he knows better than anyone whether there is a lot of solid substance to the allegations against him. If they are groundless, I wouldn't blame him for trying to ride out the storm. If they are accurate, I'm frankly astounded at his inability to realize that ANY skeleton taking up THAT much space in his closet was going to come out dancing sooner or later. I hope that what he knows to be the truth will be his guide to whether he quits the race or not--and VERY quickly, too. Let's not let the Republicans obtain a last free ride for Susan Collins due to media obsession with Platner's personal drama. The next Senator from Maine will be voting on budgets, possibly a Supreme Court nominee or two. The State of Maine, as well as the rest of the country, does not deserve for that vote to be the result of an amateurly staged campaign drama. If the allegations are false, face them and move on. If they are true, face them and move out.