Franken gets testy over statistics (The Clown Re-Emerges)

Minneapolis Star Tribune ^ | 10/08/09 | Eric Roper

[MissesBush]

Al Franken used to write books slamming his foes for allegedly manipulating statistics. And as one witness before the Judiciary Committee learned on Wednesday, old habits die hard.

Franken's target was Mark de Bernardo, executive director of the Council for Employment Law Equity, who clashed with the senator on his top issue this week: arbitration. It is a technique to keep legal disputes out of court and the topic of Franken's recent amendment, which passed the Senate on Tuesday night. His bill bars funding from defense contractors who prevent employees from suing over sexual assault and other charges.

Despite the major legislative victory, an unusually terse and irritated Franken emerged on Wednesday as he questioned de Bernardo, who was singing the praises of arbitration before the committee.

The senator spent the bulk of his time attempting to debunk the witness, particularly a statistic in his testimony that employees have a 63 percent chance of "prevailing" in arbitration compared to 43 percent in litigation.

During the argument Franken repeatedly cited the inspiration for his bill, Jamie Leigh Jones, who was raped while working for a defense contractor in Iraq and allegedly imprisoned temporarily and prevented from legal retaliation because of an arbitration clause in her contract. Jones was also a witness at the hearing.

[MissesBush]

Once again showing he is unfit to serve on a school board, Franken thinks over-talking and not allowing an expert to speak makes him right. What was he afraid of that he wouldn't let this man finish his point? If a Republican were this disrespectful, we'd get never ending stories in the media about the lack of civility in politics.

And no one thinks a plantiff getting $50 in arbitration would represent them "prevailing." That in no way represents the idea of prevailing in arbitration, esp. non-binding arbitration where both sides would agree to the settlement. God what an idiot. What the hell is wrong with Minnesota?

[tx_eggman]

Come in, there are rules around here:

[freekitty]

Franken is a POS. He will never be anything but a POS.

[kenavi]

I believe that the way arbitration works, each party sets forth a number, and the arbitrator picks one.

This usually causes each party to moderate his position.

One downside of arbitration, for a plaintiff, is it pretty much rules out getting punitive-judgement size awards.

[The Great RJ]

Thank ACORN for putting this clown into the US Senate. I pity the people of Minnesota who have this idiot representing them in Congress.