Yesterday I wrote a piece about the Your Turn article in the St. Cloud Times by DFL candidate for House District 14A, Rob Jacobs. As is typical with many of the things I write critical of local Republicans, my friend Gary Gross stopped by to offer his perspective. While he and I have our disagreements at least he offers up substantive arguments rather than baseless attacks.
In contrast, today I found an anonymous commenter had left a message attacking myself and Rob Jacobs.
In contrast, today I found an anonymous commenter had left a message attacking myself and Rob Jacobs.
Bring your boy against Rep. Severson in a debate. I can't wait for that impending disaster from your man crush.
Now I will go shame myself for commenting on your blog and giving you the impression that anybody cares what you write.
While it comes as no surprise that a supporter of Representative Severson would choose to attack by using accusations of homosexuality, what does come as a surprise is that this anonymous commenter arrived onto this site through a Minnesota House of Representatives email address.
So, who is it from a House of Representatives email address (IP Address 209.98.145.174) using attacks such as this? Could it be Representative Severson himself or perhaps a legislative assistant who has decided to take it upon themselves to attack on behalf of Mr. Severson? If it is Mr. Severson, could he think of nothing more with which to defend himself than empty attacks?There will definitely be more to come as this story develops...
I sent an email to Representative Severson requesting comment:
Dear Representative Severson,
I am a blogger in the St. Cloud area and I recently received this comment on my blog regarding a post I wrote about your opponent, Rob Jacobs.
"Bring your boy against Rep. Severson in a debate. I can't wait for that impending disaster from your man crush.
Now I will go shame myself for commenting on your blog and giving you the impression that anybody cares what you write."
This message originated from a http://webmail.house.mn email address (IP Address 209.98.145.174). I am wondering if you could comment on why someone using a Minnesota House of Representatives email address would feel the need to accuse someone of being gay as if that is something to be ashamed of rather than argue the substance of the issue at hand. It is rather disheartening to believe that people are using government resources to go after citizens of this state. I await your response.
Thank You
Political Muse
Cross Posted on St. Cloud Times
2 responses to "When Legislators OR Legislative Assistants Attack!"
Hello,
While I certainly do not condone random accusations of homosexuality and find the anonymous commenter's message complete void of any intellectual argument, I do have to point out a flaw in your identification of him.
First off, although the referrer did come from house webmail, it could have been any DFL, GOP, non-partisan staffer/representative there. Second, and most importantly, the IP address 209.98.145.174 is not in any block owned/maintained by the state, meaning that this person was clearly at home and not under the direction of any house staff/policy.
Basically what I'm saying is, although I agree that the comment was silly, you really have no ground to accuse who it came from as well.
You bring up a good point and thank you for commenting in a respectful manner.
The IP Address comes, the best I can tell, from a Minneapolis location. So, it appears as though it did not come from the legislature itself. However, I did not accuse anyone of breaking the law. My contention is that someone using a House email address felt the need to leave such a weak comment on this blog. It seems a fine line to walk between using House mail on legislature property and using House mail at home.
Also, it certainly could be someone other than a Republican or Republican staffer but it doesn't seem very likely.
Again, I have not accused anyone of outright illegality. What I have done is wonder why someone obviously from the Minnesota House of Representatives would feel the need to attack a citizen of this state with something other than a lucid argument.
But hey, thanks for dropping by and I encourage you to come back with more from your perspective.