Hugs Not Thugs

A number of very reliable sources have opined that one of the "thug bloggers" referenced in the letter sent by Joe Repya on behalf of the Coalition For Reform of the Minnesota Republican Party Leadership was none other than my NARN colleague Michael Brodkorb from Minnesota Democrats Exposed. This confirmed my initial suspicion that Michael was indeed at least one of those accused of thuggery.

A couple of points on this:

Firstly, although I have had differences with Michael in the past, to describe him as a "thug" is silly. He's a party man through and through and will fight for what he sees as the best interests of the MN GOP. This means that he's going to take positions at times that other Republicans will disagree with and he's going to criticize those Republicans whom he feels are acting against what's best for the party. And at times he may do so in an aggressive and abrasive manner. But this is party politics and if you can't take a little heat--even from someone on the same side of the aisle--it's probably better for you to stay out of the political kitchen.

Secondly, if this group is really interested in reform and bringing the party together, going out of their way to label one of the most well-known and effective local GOP bloggers as a "thug" is not a good place to begin. 99% of the material at MDE lives up to the blog's title and is directed at Democrats. There's some deep irony in calling for Republicans not to publicly attack each other in one breathe and doing just that in the next.