Then he departed, abruptly, amid allegations of sexual misconduct.

But like many who have been inside the circle in Washington he still likes to be recognized, and so he posted a social media statement on the Supreme Court’s decision in 303 Creative that affirmed a woman’s right not to be forced to state a message chosen by the state of Colorado.

The ruling said leftists there could not force her to violate her faith by demanding she state their message.

Franken immediately took to social media, but while he may have viewed his comment as being critical of the decision, as most Democrats were, it actually appeared to support it.

He said, “A CO woman asked me to write homophobic & anti-Semitic jokes to express her hostility to gay-marriage & Jews in general to promote her non-existent web-design business. Do I have to?”

A commentary at Twitchy was among those who answered him.

“So… we are pretty sure he is dunking on the decision and probably Ms. Smith herself. But there are several problems. First, Ms. Smith has not, to our knowledge, said anything bad about Jews. Second, she had a web design business, she was merely talking about expanding it to create wedding websites, so we don’t know where the ‘non-existent’ comment comes from. But third, and most basically, is he arguing that he the law should force him to ‘write homophobic & anti-Semitic jokes to express her hostility to gay-marriage & Jews in general’? Is that the outcome he prefers?”

Or, the answer offered “a fourth option: He is a moron who thinks in a remarkably shallow manner.”

On social media, many others also responded to Franken, but perhaps not in a way that the Democrat talking points used to advocate for a state-imposed speech ideology after the decision expected.

“Thank you, @alfranken, for pointing out exactly why the SCOTUS ruling was the right ruling,” said one.

Seth Dillon noted, “You have a First Amendment right to decline to express yourself in ways that run contrary to your beliefs and values. Libs wanted to strip that right from everyone, but the Supreme Court didn’t let them.”

Yet another pointedly responded to Franken with, “Who are you?

And another reverted to basics to explain, “No, that was the whole point of the 303 Creative court decision… The state of Colorado can’t force you to write jokes that you don’t want to write. Hope that helps.”

When one contributor accused Franken of having an IQ “Lower than Biden’s approval rating,” Twitchy defended him.

“To be fair, if it was as low as Biden’s approval rating, we’re pretty sure he would lose the capacity to breathe.”

“The baffling thing is that the example he gave was a perfect illustration of why the decision was correct. If you are pro-gay or at least pro-gay-equality, you don’t have to create anti-gay messages. If you don’t hate Jews, you won’t be forced to say antisemitic messages. And yet, he seems to oppose this decision?” it said.