Franken, Gillibrand, Democrats and Trump: The long and the short of it.
1. Sen. Al Franken is hit with a series of sexual harassment allegations. The allegations are either extremely weak (a photo in bad taste for which Franken duly apologized) or highly dubious (completely unsubstantiated allegations from anonymous complainants). Additionally, several rather suspicious coincidences swirl around the accusations themselves (for example, that notable trickster Roger Stone apparently had prescient knowledge about the first complaints before they were actually made.)
2. In a well-intentioned but I would argue ultimately misguided effort to put forward a zero-tolerance approach to claims of sexual harassment and assault (intended to maintain a non-partisan level of integrity when also considering claims made against Roy Moore and Donald Trump), Sen. Kristen Gillibrand--as well as several other Democratic senators--ask Senator Franken to resign in light of the claims. Other Democratic Senators quickly jump in, and eventually Sen. Franken gives notice that he will be resigning his seat in the Senate. As part of this same "non-partisan, no-tolerance" mindset, Sen. Gillibrand also chooses to comment on President Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky, arguing that he should have considered resigning even though his relationship with Ms. Lewinsky was consensual.
3. Reaction to the above from Democrats is highly divided. Some highly commend Sen. Gillibrand for taking a hardline approach on the serious issues of sexual harassment and assault. Others blame her for what they saw as railroading Senator Franken out of a seat over allegations that were not substantial or credible in nature, especially compared to other high profile cases featuring far more salacious and verified accusations.
4. From the catbird's seat in the White House, Trump sees all of this and pounces. First, he attacks Sen. Franken on Twitter as "Al Frankenstein." After Sen. Franken resigns and Sen. Gillibrand turns her attention to the accusations against him and says he too should resign, Trump lashes out at Sen. Gillibrand, claiming she came to him for campaign contributions and "would do anything for them", and then attacks her loyalty towards the "crooked" Clintons.
As Democrats, we can go back and forth regarding the substance of the allegations against Sen. Franken or the wisdom of Sen. Gillibrand's "non-partisan, no-tolerance" approach towards all claims of sexual harassment and assault. That's a debate we can have, although it should stay civil and respectful for all involved.
What isn't debatable is who is the one and only villain in all of this: Donald Trump. He's doing the only thing that he's ever been good at doing in his entire life: sewing discord and chaos. He's the master troll (and it should be noted one does not need to be masterful or sophisticated in order to be a master troll) and he's attempting to pit all sides against each other to his own benefit.
That's the long of it.
And what's the short of it? Don't feed the troll.
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