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In Minnesota, Outrage and Sorrow Over Al Franken Allegations - The New York Times

posted onNovember 18, 2017
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Article snippet: ST. PAUL — Vile behavior, said one liberal activist. Absolutely wrong, said a lawyer who votes Democratic. More proof that he does not live up to Minnesota values, said a Republican woman who voted against him. As Minnesotans absorbed the news that their own Senator Al Franken, a Democrat, had become the latest public official to be accused of mistreating women, there was widespread condemnation of his behavior in his home state. On Thursday, Mr. Franken apologized for an incident in 2006 in which he was accused of groping and forcibly kissing Leeann Tweeden, a radio newscaster, during a U.S.O. tour in the Middle East before he was elected to the Senate. But many voters in Minnesota were not ready to demand Mr. Franken’s resignation, even after aiming the same call at two state legislators accused of sexual harassment earlier this month. Some said they were trying to make sense of the details of the allegations in the context of Mr. Franken’s record as a liberal leader who had been held up as an advocate for women’s rights. Other questions lingered too: Would there be more claims? And where did the allegation against Mr. Franken fit into the flood of sexual harassment and assault allegations launched against an array of leaders in Hollywood, politics and business? In cafes and on Facebook pages, people here expressed outrage, and sometimes sorrow, that someone they saw as a progressive and a defender of women had behaved so offensively. They praised his record on... Link to the full article to read more

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