Senator Al Franken Was the Real Loser of the Alabama Special Election

roy moore al franken election — Roy Moore, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate from Alabama, speaks during a campaign rally in Midland City, Alabama, U.S., on Monday, Dec. 11, 2017. Republican Senator Richard Shelby, Alabama's senior member of Congress, strongly condemned Moore on Sunday as the contentious campaign for the state's open senate seat nears its end. Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Last night’s election results in Alabama came as a stunner to the Washington press corps. Democrat Doug Jones defeated former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, becoming the first Democrat to win a Senate race in the deep-red state in over two decades.

The polls were neck-in-neck right up until Election Day. With accusations of sexual assault and pedophilia, Moore was in danger of forfeiting the guaranteed seat, which he did end up losing in the end.

Journalists are hailing this as a victory for Democrats, who, at a time when the media is beating up on President Trump like never before, are more fired up and motivated than in 2016.

But that’s far from the entire story. Yes, a Democrat won an improbable victory in a deep-red state. And yes, Democrats have done a good job translating extreme liberal hatred of Trump into electoral victories.

But there’s more. First, had Moore squeaked out a victory, you’d be seeing a ton of anti-Alabama stories in the media right now. Plenty of ‘verified’ Twitter users would be chiding Alabamans for being crypto-pedophiles who sent an accused pederast to the Senate. They would be affirming historian C. Vann Woodward’s insight that the only minority that’s still respectable to make fun of in America are rednecks.

Second, Roy Moore lost, but he was far from the biggest loser of the night. Certainly Steve Bannon, President Trump’s former chief strategist, took a hit to his reputation. Bannon endorsed Moore after his primary victory, and stood by him through the storm of sexual assault allegations. Moore’s loss in what was an give-me seat shows that Bannon’s tactical strategy needs some work.

By far the biggest loser of the night, however, was Al Franken. The Minnesota senator announced his resignation from the Senate after multiple women accused him of inappropriate groping and kissing. But – and it’s a big ‘but’ – Franken said he wouldn’t be resigning immediately, but rather in a few weeks.

Yesterday, we speculated that Franken has no intention of resigning. Since his speech, many liberals have come out to defend the embattled senator, saying that if a man like Moore makes it to the Senate, then it’s not fair for Franken to step down.

What’s good for the perverted goose is also good for the extra perverted gander, I suppose.

If that was Franken’s master plan all along – maintain moral superiority by stepping down after allegations of sexual misconduct, but renege once a Republican accused of similar behavior was elected – it failed. Spectacularly.

Franken has no choice but to follow through on his resignation now.