Contrary View: Garrison Keillor Says Al Franken Should Not Resign

Here's What He Says an Why He is Wrong

This Forum has said in no uncertain terms that Sen. Al Franken (D, Mn) should resign because of his past conduct. The great Garrison Keillor says no.

And then there is Sen. Al Franken. He did USO tours overseas when he was in the comedy biz. He did it from deep in his heart, out of patriotism, and the show he did was broad comedy of a sort that goes back to the Middle Ages. Shakespeare used those jokes now and then, and so did Bob Hope and Joey Heatherton when they entertained the troops. If you thought that Al stood outdoors at bases in Iraq and Afghanistan and told stories about small-town life in the Midwest, you were wrong. On the flight home, in a spirit of low comedy, Al ogled Miss Tweeden and pretended to grab her and a picture was taken. Eleven years later, a talk show host in LA, she goes public, and there is talk of resignation. This is pure absurdity, and the atrocity it leads to is a code of public deadliness. No kidding.

Keillor's point is that we cannot go back and change history, and cannot judge past acts and actors by today's standards. The example he and everyone uses is the slaveholding Founding Fathers. But Jefferson and Washington were giants, they created America and the past is past, cannot be changed. But Al Franken is the present. If he were to resign, as he should, it would say that when we can recognize what is wrong and if we can do something about it, we should.