In recent months, I’ve complimented the work of Zack and Sean from MNPublius. Sure they’re a couple of breathless DFL fanboys, but they keep their perspective about things, they usually have their facts straight (by DFL standards), and they are generally more into news than mindless snark – which alone puts them in the top 1% of leftyblogs. That is both a compliment and damnation by faint praise.
But there’s a big asterisk on their record; Aaron Landry.
Landry is, by all accounts, Al Franken’s full-time flak on the MNPublius staff. That’s fine – MNPublius can use its precious credibilty any ol’ way it wants to. But Landry combines a writing style reminiscent of a fourteen year old girl reviewing an Orlando Bloom movie with the reportorial chops of Grace Kelly.
For example, in this piece, about the Mark Olson flap:
The seemingly coordinated campaign by Republican operative Michael Brodkorb, Norm Coleman, the Senate Republican Caucus and others to fight against endorsed wife beater Mark Olson apparently didn’t include the people actually involved with the “grassroots” endorsement, the people in the Senate District 16 GOP and the leadership in the CD6 GOP.
So we have three statements, each of which requires a leap of logic:
First: “Seemingly coordinated?” Really, Aaron? Do tell. Do you know something we don’t? You have emails? Photos of people meeting at Keegans? Anything at all? Correlation does not equal causation. You either show the coordination – or at least why it should “seem” coordinated to us – or rewrite accordingly.
Second: “endorsed wife beater?” Olson was convicted of a misdemeanor charge, ““domestic assault by intending to cause bodily harm or death”. In other words, he made a nasty threat, and got busted. He’s never been convicted beating anyone. Did he do something very, very wrong? Yes. Did he “beat” anyone? Nope.
This is the kind of sloppy reporting that’ll get the “d” word – “defamation” – thrown around, sooner or later.
Third: About Brodkorb – what did Lewis say?
Ken [Weiner] recorded audio of Jason Lewis on KTLK talking with Chris and the MN CD6 GOP Chair Mark Swanson who are quite displeased with the “clear campaign to expel” Olson.
So listen and tell me – where does anyone mention Brodkorb?
I have no real opinion about Mark Olson; I haven’t followed his case or his story. I don’t live in his district; I have enough things to work on in my own city.
But could we at least get our actual facts straight?
MNPublius: How long will you keep squandering your hard-earned credibility on this breathless fanboy?
UPDATE: Jeff Rosenberg brings less fanboy – but I had to react to this:
In polling news, Mark Olson is currently leading Alison Krueger 55% to 45% on the primary election question. Olson supporters appear to be coming out in droves to support the man and his actions.
Supporting his actions?
So if someone is accused of something (and/or convicted of something less serious), then supporting a guy’s politics is the same as supporting his actions?
Is that the story all you pro-perjury Clintonites, dubious-ethics-prone Hatch voters, pr0n-mongering Frankophiles and hostage-tolerant Carter schlubs want to stick with?
What do you expect from the party of scrubs, Mitch?
They are twisting in the wind over this display of conservatives walking the walk when it comes to responsibility and consequences. The actions that Rosenburg and Landry are really chafing about are those that illustrate just how low the party of scrubs has sunk.
When we reject Olson we inherently draw a bright line between ourselves and the “people” who champion the kind of human detritus that writes pornographic fantasies that involve his 12 year old son’s dabbling with bestiality.
Landry, Rosenberg and their fetid ilk comprise Porn-O-Rama’s target audience. They not only appreciate his work, no doubt they make brisk use of it during their weekly
circle jerkstrategy sessions…they, as well as Olson are to be shunned.In fairness to the party of scrubs, I should mention that I do think their outrage is genuine.
Landry, Rosenburg et. al. are reacting from a perspective that has been accumulated through years of associating with a crowd for whom the idea of genuine integrity is wholly unknown.
Naturally, when they witness a group of people reacting to an issue in a way that seems detremental to short term political interests (such as the loss of a legislative seat), the party of scrubs must needs believe that the answer lies somewhere in the sewer they are inhabiting.
It goes way beyond congitive dissonance, we’re talking the sorts of beliefs that form the very air the party of scrubs breath.
I think I caught an earlier, edgier cut of this story on a feed. Was that just my imagination?
Er, yeah, sometimes I write a story a day or two in advance, and think I’m setting it to publish later, and it leaks out. In the intervening time, I often edit the piece.
Sometimes feed readers catch it, somtimes they don’t.
Olson was never convicted of beating his wife. I would’ve left it right there if I were worried about being factual.
Pingback: Two Putt Tommy » And Here’s Another Another Example Of Why You Cannot Trust republiCons