Yesterday I tweeted that Yamiche Alcindor, a reporter at the NY Times, should get her own show. Here's why I said that. #
At the moment I wrote that tweet she was a guest on MTP Daily on MSNBC. They were talking about Al Franken. There were three reporters on a panel moderated by Chuck Todd, the host. #
She was the only one who said what actually happened. Franken did not admit guilt, did not apologize, and there was a rush to get him out of the Senate, no process was used. So we don't know anything more than Franken was accused of something that he denies. #
I had heard her earlier on Friday as a guest on the Daily podcast, where she said the same thing, in more detail without interruption, so I knew what she was trying to say on MTP.#
With one exception, Masha Gessen writing in the New Yorker, every other report seems to have missed this very basic point. Franken could have, guilty or innocent, helped establish a process for a #metoo case, at least for politicians. The process is going to be different in private corporations. But the senators that forced Franken out had no authority to do so. He isn't anyone's employee. He represents the people of Minnesota, and as was pointed out in the New Yorker piece, they were not consulted. #
I have written about this twice. I expressed the same ideas Alcindor was expressing. I added that I didn't see what the rush was. A thorough and deliberative process would say that we're trying to be fair. A rush to judgment is exactly the kind of thing the Democratic Party was against, as far as I know. It's against the basic values of our country. If we want to maintain the rule of law (we do!) how does it help to circumvent it? I think it's great that a reporter thinks the facts are more important than an insider's view of optics, which is what the other panelists focused on. #