The ouster of former Senator Al Franken (D-MN) has ruffled the feathers of major Democrat donor Susie Tompkins Buell. Having long-supported Democrats, particularly women in the Senate, Buell is unhappy with their “unfair” “stampede” against Franken following a string of allegations of his sexual impropriety.
One of the Democratic Party’s biggest donors says she is reconsidering her support for the women in the US Senate who called for Al Franken’s resignation following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct and inappropriate touching.The San Francisco–based donor, Susie Tompkins Buell, 75, has given millions of dollars to Democratic causes since the 1990s. She is best known as a staunch supporter of Hillary Clinton, but has also contributed for decades to Democratic women senators, hosting a regular spring fundraiser for the lawmakers in California called “Women on the Road to the Senate.”Buell said she is weighing whether to continue her financial support after the calls for Franken’s exit last month. The charge for his resignation — led by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and followed almost immediately by a string of statements from other prominent female Democratic senators — came on Dec. 6, before the conclusion of an official Senate Ethics Committee inquiry.. . . . In two interviews this week, Buell described the push for Franken’s departure as “unfair,” “cavalier,” and somewhat politically motivated — “a stampede,” “like a rampage,” she said, speaking in stark terms about senators she has backed for years, naming Gillibrand in particular.”They need to know that some of their biggest supporters are questioning why they did that,” Buell said. “We have to do things conscientiously and fairly. He didn’t have the chance to defend himself.”. . . . Buell declined to elaborate on the extent to which she planned to reduce her financial support. “I’m just taking a look at where I put my energy and money,” she said. “I won’t be doing it to the degree I did before. I’m just too upset and discouraged by the way they did this.”
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