My NARN colleague Michael Brodkorb has been beating up the Franken campaign like Mikek Tyson going over an errant waiter.
Now, even the AP is on the story, with this piece by the AP’s Pat Condon (with whom we’ve visited in the past) on Brodkorb and his MO:
From the kitchen table in his tranquil suburban neighborhood, Brodkorb for the last year has used his blog “Minnesota Democrats Exposed” to launch a furious political assault on Franken. He’s labeled the former comedian and liberal commentator a “mean-spirited and un-Minnesotan” candidate who’s running a “desperate and ridiculous” campaign.
That’s routine stuff in the world of political blogging, but in the last two months Brodkorb has scored two direct hits that have the Franken campaign reeling. Brodkorb scooped the traditional media by detailing extensive bookkeeping problems in New York and California that ultimately prompted Franken, this week, to pay about $70,000 in back taxes to 17 states.
The stories have knocked Franken off balance as he prepares to take on Sen. Norm Coleman, in what’s expected to be one of the most expensive and toughest-fought U.S. Senate races this year.
I loved this next bit (emphasis added by me):
Democrats have tried to downplay Brodkorb by portraying him as part of coordinated Republican attacks.
“When people talk about the right wing noise machine, that’s what it is,” said Franken spokesman Andy Barr.
But even some of his harshest critics admit Brodkorb, who has no real counterweight on the left, has been effective.
No counterweight. I love that. And ain’t it the truth.
UPDATE: The DFL is spinning like mad to try to un-poink Franken. And Gary Gross is chopping the spin up like a rhetorical teppanyaki chef. Read the whole thing, and – if you don’t much care for the notion of a Senator Franken – chuckle. It leaves a mark on a lot of people other than the would-be senator.
It’s certainly the truth that the GOP spends it’s money to create a revolving door of rewards for it’s hacks. Brodkorb is an ambush artist, who happens to be a reasonably deft writer – and who also happens to be someone who routinely works for the GOP. That there isn’t a counteweight on the left who matches that MO, isn’t exactly something to crow about, Mitch, it might even be something to be embarrased about.
The reality may just be that the DFL isn’t really willing to engage in this kind of unseemly relationship. Your ‘Sorosnet” Bulls#$% aside, the DFL doesn’t appear to have the same revolving door of private to public to private croneyism in it’s blogosphere/flameosphere.
Peev? In case it hasn’t sunk in.
As a commenter, you’re a has been.
Mitch has seen the light,
On his blog, you’re a blight.
An ignored Peev? That’s chock full of WIN!
“Brodkorb is an ambush artist”
And those lefty jagoffs with cameras that got kicked out of those local GOP conventions were merely upstanding citizen journalists interested in nothing more than doing their civic duty to inform the public about the extremely boring inner workings of grassroots level democracy.
Ha. I just made myself laugh here.
Oh, extremist Peev goes too far
With the Left, he is right on par.
His babbling and trolling,
Keeps his ego a-growing.
With luck, he’ll get feathers and tar.
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Mr. “Peevish”,
If it’s “…certainly the truth that the GOP spends it’s money to create a revolving door of rewards for it’s hacks” then you must certainly have evidence of this certain truth.
Could you favor us with this evidence, and show those of us who could be convinced that Mr. Brodkoarb is a GOP operative? Because while he certainly seems close to the GOP, I seem to recall a lot of people trying very hard to show a financial connection and failing pretty miserably.
Please favor us with the insight.
Peevish,
Could you please show us evidence that he is “certainly” on the payroll of the GOP? Because there have been people trying to show that link for years, and they have shown us nothing.
It would seem that you are telling people facts that are not in evidence.
And when you refer to “‘Sorosnet” Bulls#$%”, the local conservative bloggers have at least got proof. Which you don’t.
Do you?
Peev’s status has been downgraded to “Troll.”
His comments now fall down the “ignore” hole.
He jumped the blog shark
With his “A-Rabs” remark
Go screw yourself, you preening asshole.
Circle gets the square, Yoss!
Right now dozens of lefties in Mpls are on Mapquest, trying to figure out where this place called “Eagan” is. Is it in Texas? Is it full of bitter gun lov’n Jesus freaks? If they go there, can they pick up MPR and stop at a food coop?
So far the biggest reaction is to call Normie a “Bush clone”. But they can’t really pin point an issue that the Senator is wrong on (other then voting to ban oil exporation in northern Alaska).
A definite coup for Michael; he deserves the credit.
For those who haven’t had the pleasure of meeting him, he’s a very nice guy — and that isn’t just with people who agree with him. I took him to task, on his blog, for a post that I thought was just plain wrong. (Not inaccurate, but wrong.) He didn’t back down — he disagreed; them’s the breaks — but the next time we ran into each other (it was at the MOB party), he took me aside and said, “I hope that you’ll keep telling me when you think I’m in the wrong.”
My estimation of Michael has risen thanks your post, joelr. Thank you for it!
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