This, That, and The Other

No one can say that the behaviors of either Senator Al Franken or Republican Senatorial candidate Roy Moore are saintly.

Both men have been accused of sexually inappropriate behavior toward women (or in the case of Moore, teenage girls). But that is where the similarities end.

Franken has admitted that he was inappropriate with the women who have come forward, he is contrite, and he is willing to submit to a congressional ethics committee investigation.

Moore has vehemently denied having done anything wrong, claiming that all of those who have accused him of sexual misconduct are lying.

I’m not condoning what Al Franken has done, but at least he’s manning up and taking responsibility. Roy Moore, on the other hand, is following the Trumpian path of deny, deny, deny, despite credible evidence to support the accusations against him.

But what I find truly remarkable is the difference between the way the Democrats and Republicans are handling these accusations.

Al Franken’s Democratic peers in the Senate are calling for him to resign his Senate seat, which he is likely to announce at a scheduled press conference tomorrow.

Republicans, however, are going all in for the accused pedophile Roy Moore. Trump has endorsed him. McConnell, who previously called for Moore to step aside, now says it’s up to the voters in Alabama to decide. The RNC has reinstated funding for Moore’s campaign. And if elected, it’s unlikely the GOP will not let Moore serve, since they need the votes for their draconian tax plan.

In a clear “party over country” message, the GOP would rather have a Republican pedophile in the Senate than risk having another Democrat in the Senate.

So here’s the double standard: Democrats are to be held accountable for bad behavior while Republicans are supported, no matter what abhorrent acts they’ve been accused of.

This is the height of hypocrisy. But this apparently is the way things are in the age of Trump.

Written for today’s one-word prompt, “saintly.”