Yesterday, Zack posted “Brodkorb Slams Olson,” illustrating a situation where Republican operative and consultant Michael Brodkorb decided to take the day off from lying about Democrats to shed light on the nasty situation with the MN GOP where they strongly endorsed a known wife beater. Naturally, I was very suspicious of Brodkorb pointing the gun at his own party. I was the first comment on Brodkorb’s post, speaking about Olson and his primary opponent Allison Krueger:
I was a little bit surprised by Olson’s endorsement myself but to be honest, it was only a little bit of a surprise.
Of course, my gut feeling is that you have some ties that I don’t know about regarding Allison Krueger. I’m going to put that aside and try my hardest to trust that you’re posting about this because it is the right thing to do despite the fact you’ve given me zero reason to trust you with anything else.
If the facts are as balanced as how you present them, I also hope that Allison Krueger runs and that Mark Olson never runs for public office again.
A lot of the blogs and even some media assumed Brodkorb’s post was all in good faith. Hell, I was giving him the benefit of the doubt. Then some strange things happened. Opposing the endorsement the Senate Republican Caucus then decided to support Olson’s rival and said that Olson would “not be welcomed as a member” of the Senate Republican Caucus. It takes Michael Brodkorb to be publicly “outraged” for the Senate Republican Caucus to decide a wife beater wasn’t the best choice and to go against an endorsement?
Then the most bizarro thing happened: Norm Coleman decided to chime in:
I stand firmly with the members of the Senate Republican Caucus who today announced that they will not support Mark Olson for the open Senate seat of Betsy Wergin. His endorsement by the party is a matter that is of great concern to me. In particular, given the circumstances behind Mr. Olson’s decision to not seek re-election to the Minnesota House of Representatives – a decision that I believe was the right decision – I believe the fact that he is our party’s endorsed candidate for Senate District 16 is simply unacceptable and unsupportable.
Norm Coleman felt the need to express his ethical concerns on what happened in Minnesota Senate District 16? Huh?
mnpACT’s Dave Mindeman gives a very compelling explanation:
First, Michael Brodkorb, from MDE posts his “personal” outrage at the endorsement of a candidate with a “record”.
…
So, the Senate GOP leadership concurs. They also “respect” the endorsing process… except when they don’t. Mark Olson will not be welcome…even if elected. Pretty bold statement for a caucus outnumbered about 2 to 1.
…
Senator Coleman must have a strong moral conviction. The “loss of a Senate seat is unfortunate”….. Guess it is a small price to pay for party integrity… or is it?
I find it very hard to believe that in the course of 36 hours, most of the GOP elected leadership all respond in the same manner to the post of a blogger.
This was a staged event. It was all coordinated using MDE as the focus point.
The reason? Damage control for November. The GOP has been using “moral outrage” at Franken as their only — and I mean only — campaign tactic to wage against the DFLer. Thus, Norm Coleman becomes part of the mix to re-enforce his moralistic rhetoric.
When I said in my comment that “my gut feeling is that [Brodkorb has] some ties that I don’t know about regarding Allison Krueger,” I was wrong. I failed look at the big picture (and it was 1:42 in the morning).
Brodkorb was basically the “outsider” catalyst to correct a problem that couldn’t be fixed easily with the endorsement-respecting internals of the MN GOP.
While there isn’t hard evidence to support Mindeman’s claims, I completely stand behind them. Most people forget that Michael Brodkorb isn’t just a “blogger.” He was the former Communications Director and the former Research Director for the MN GOP. He’s now a paid Republican operative and consultant that works with state-wide campaigns. Point being, Michael Brodkorb blogs “independently” about the messaging from campaigns that he had a hand in helping craft.
(Yet people compare his site with blogs such as this as if we’re two sides to the same coin.)
So, is this moral outrage or a cold political calculation? I guess that is for you to decide.
Like I said before, while there is no hard evidence, I certainly believe the latter.
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Aaron: Speaking out against Representative Olson’s endorsement was the right thing to do. You can call me a liar all day long, but I’m proud of my post and of Minnesota Democrats Exposed.
Michael B. Brodkorb, I agree 100%,
The solid journalism at Minnesota Democrats Exposed is something you will be proud of for a long time.You have inspired many, many Minnesotans with your truthful discussion about issues that matter that occur there.
Great Job!!
This is also a good way to change the subject away from Ethics Violations. Trouble is, the Coleman Ethics Violations have now hit the AP, CNN, Daily Kos (I know- but much bigger blogosphere) and KSTP News here at home. There must be something to the story or it would not have left the blogs for mainstream reporting.
Coleman might not like wife beaters, but he has no problem living in less than honest conditions in Washington.
While it is commendable that the republicans are policing one of their own, it will not overtake the Ethics Complaints against Coleman that will certainly be coming in September.
10 or 12 Republican House members were ready to pull the trigger on a press conference endorsing the Democrat nominee. The Senate GOP had no choice.
Michael -
Straw man alert. Aaron never called you a liar. He may have called you a willing accomplice and pliant tool in a performance on the stage of political kabuki, but he never called you a liar.
Joe:
I’ll help you out. This is what Landry wrote:
“Michael Brodkorb decided to take the day off from lying about Democrats…”
Let me know if you need any additional help reading Aaron’s post.
What puzzles me is that it took so long for the Republican Senate Caucus to officially ostracize Olson. Why didn’t they have a solid press release stating their displeasure with him the day he filed? I believe such a release would have greatly impacted the delegates at a convention that they thought would be a cake walk (how does he manage to get steam-rolled for a seat he held for 16 years- granted Kiffmeyer was his opponent- then turn around a couple of months later and cake walk over Krueger?).
It is great to see all the people piling on the “Gang of 97” AFTER the endorsement and not saying a peep before it (again, thinking they would win with little resistance).
Why did they wait a week after Olson’s convincing victory over Krueger to come out with their official condemnation when they had numerous occasions beforehand to do it? Now they are in a mess because the Republican activists in Senate District 16 and Olson’s others supporters will not go down without a knock-down, dragpout fight.
So Michael Brodkorb, don’t you think this could have been taken care of better by the Republican Leadership? Thanks for your reply.
Of course Brodkorb had to throw Olson under the bus as well as get his party to do the same. It totally screws up his framing of the DFL. I wrote about it yesterday:
“Michael Brodkorb took some time out of his busy anti-Franken day to excoriate fellow Republican, Mark Olson and the Senate District 16 voters who endorsed him. While it is laudable for him to throw Olson under the bus because he is a poor example of what a public servant should be, it also is a strategic need given the story line he is trying to create for Al Franken.”
“While Brodkorb can now claim that he does not support Olson and that he has done the right thing in distancing himself from Olson, the Republicans in Senate District 16 have sent a clear message that assaulting ones wife does not exclude you from being on their ticket and the Republican Party of Minnesota has all but confirmed their support for the decision by not denouncing it:”
And should Olson be elected will the GOP promise now to not allow him to caucus with them? How firm are they on denying him GOP support? If one cent of GOP money goes to him, one GOP politician supports him or they allow him anything but scorn… well it is proof positive that from top to bottom the GOP is a sexist, hypocritical organization. Olson has to be dealt with by that Party or they should be laughed off any stage they take… family values my ass.
You guys are giving MBB and MDE way too much credit. And if I am wrong and it is credit that he honestly deserves, WOW are the MNGOP are a bunch of F-ing idiots. If Brodkorb is their leader then the MNGOP is in deep shit!
I love you Michael!
Anyone who supports Frickin’ Franken-stein doesn’t have a leg to stand on when talking about anyone else’s “ethics”, morals or corruption. Chairman Carey and his group of neo-cons are hypocrites? True, but the moral, social and fiscal values of the MN GOP are head and shoulders above the liberal DFL slime.
social and fiscal values of the MN GOP
That’s the most hilarious post I’ve seen in many months. Social values like Vitter’s and Craig’s? Fiscal values like more the tripling the national debt and quadrupling the amount of foreign held debt? Like forging documents and ignoring intelligence to launch an illegal war? Like increasing the divide between rich and poor to the greatest in recent history?
GOP family values… in another thread you have a Republican vehemently supporting the postive effects of the rape of a 15 yar old servant girl/child by Strom Thurmond in the mid-20th century like it was Romeo and Juliet in the Deep South. This Republican has gone so far as to compare this white/black poor/rich sexual tragedy as comparable to his own grandparents marriage.
The Perverts Party has gotten so far from morality and family values they no longer recognize common decency in any form. This wife-beating candidate is just another example of the Republican Party as an organized criminal enterprise. Their Presidential candidate is a serial adulterer with a history of consorting with prostitutes, what do you expect?
How many millions of people have died in Central American and the Middle East as a result of Reagan/Bush I/Bush II family values?