Hasta La Vista Entenza

Matt Entenza, caught red-handed digging for dirt on fellow DFLers, to say nothing of GOPers, on top of a variety of other ethical lapses, bows out of the Attorney General hunt.

Who does he blame?

"But with so little time and so many attacks, from anonymous faxes to attacks on my family, it is impossible to fight these attacks and win this race without it taking a serious toll on the people and the party we care about the most," he said.

That's right - it's those darned critics' fault.

In fact, you can scan the Strib story in vain for any sign of Entenza copping to any of the blame for his fall:

"over the last few days my opponents have tried to land a few hits, but it is nothing compared to the hits the people of Minnesota have taken every day under this Republican administration."..."Entenza's campaign counterattacked with a statement accusing Mattson of "viciously attacking Matt's wife," who is being "dragged through the mud simply because of where she works."

Um no, Matt - it's because of how she allegedly made her money, and how you were using that money to skirt the campaign finance regulations that the party you help lead has imposed on the rest of us.

I'll await Kate Perry's story blaming "partisan bloggers" for Entenza's problems next.

Jeff Johnson has had Entenza dialled in from the beginning:

State Rep. Jeff Johnson, R-Plymouth, the Republican candidate for attorney general, bluntly accused Entenza not only of changing his story as details emerged, but of outright lying. "I think he lied probably several times this last week," Johnson said Monday.

Johnson said Entenza initially didn't tell the truth when he told reporters more than a year ago that there was no truth to rumors that he was doing opposition research on Hatch.

Johnson also said Entenza has tried to deceive the public on the motive for his research, the extent of the digging and the cost.

DFLers are queueing up to run for the AG gig:

Meanwhile, a St. Paul attorney with a familiar surname in DFL Party history became the first to file a primary challenge. She is Jennifer Mattson, granddaughter of former Attorney General Robert Mattson Sr. and daughter of former State Auditor and state Treasurer Robert Mattson Jr.

Mattson said she saw an "irreconcilable conflict" in Entenza's pursuit of the attorney general's office, which under Hatch is investigating $30 million in stock options granted to UnitedHealth Group, where Entenza's wife, Lois Quam, is a top executive.

In a letter to Entenza, Mattson said his handling of the Hatch inquest and the conflict of interest posed by his wife's income "are now the dominant issues."

"Not only is your own election highly questionable, but you are endangering the entire DFL ticket," she wrote.

More - much more - on Mattson coming up soon.

Posted by Mitch at July 18, 2006 12:32 PM | TrackBack