Howard Fineman plays the 'champion of women's rights' card in defending friend Al Franken

As Twitchy has reported, there’s been a rash of think pieces by liberals published this week urging Democrats to revisit how they treated the sexual assault charges against President Bill Clinton back in the ’90s.

Political analyst Howard Fineman doesn’t seem to have read any of those pieces, or perhaps it’s just that none of them sunk in. Was Bill Clinton allowed to skate on allegations of rape and sexual assault just because he was a so-called champion of women’s rights (i.e., abortion)? How does that work, exactly?

Well, we’re seeing a very similar scenario play out in 2017 now that Democratic Sen. Al Franken has been accused (with photographic evidence, no less). Fineman certainly isn’t the first to use the “champion of women’s rights” defense, but it’ll be interesting to see how many people fall back on that same turn of phrase.

I've watched @alfranken unfairly bracketed w/ accused serial sexual predators. He & I've been family friends for decades. As a comic, he could be crude. He went too far (& apologized). BUT: he's NOT predatory, adores his wife & family & is a lifelong champion of women's rights.

— Howard Fineman (@howardfineman) November 18, 2017

https://twitter.com/im_dangerzone/status/931928254281322497

https://twitter.com/EdWhelanEPPC/status/931929989167157249

Franken adores his wife! And the woman who accused him of forcing his tongue into her mouth? She was photographed smiling while firing a gun at the range one time!

This is a prime example of a media hack. This is why nobody trusts the media. https://t.co/NlAY9xBaT0

— Steve Johnson (@stevo2321) November 18, 2017

What cognitive dissonance, willful blindness & mental gymnastics look like.
Framing: Focus on the photo.
IGNORE: Franken wrote a script calling for kissing, then thrust himself on the actress under the guise of rehearsal. Predatory behavior. https://t.co/4O9b15oS1j

— CelesteHolmes? (@Dallas4Bernie) November 18, 2017

https://twitter.com/PWilliamson2006/status/931921257557385216

Here’s the evidence we’d need to see to believe part of Fineman’s claim:

I have seen zero evidence for the assertion Al Franken was a comic. https://t.co/sY8TCbxEwq

— Gastly Knight (@deknightberight) November 18, 2017

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Related:

'The wagons are being circled': Are we supposed to go EASY on Al Franken now? https://t.co/RMfWn2QIw5

— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) November 17, 2017