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.
An editorial in the Star Tribune makes a good point:
Whatever their reasons, the GOP delegates of District 16 have put their state party -- and particularly the Norm Coleman reelection campaign -- in an awkward spot. How can Republicans fault DFL Senate candidate Al Franken for writing jokes they deem antifemale when they have put their official arms around a candidate convicted of assaulting his wife?
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:
"We are a party of local control, and the Senate District 16 Republicans have endorsed Mark Olson, and we respect that decision," said Minnesota Republican Party communications director Gina Countryman.
So, while Brodkorb would like the people of Minnesota to consider the fictional writings and off color jokes as disqualifiers for a DFL candidate, the party he shills so vehemently for would like the people of Minnesota to look past actual examples of actual abuse for one of their chosen candidates.
