In Republicans on the run: Cummins withholding cash, country editors scold GOP senate caucus lawsuit bills, Bluestem noted that the New Ulm Journal editorial board had declared:
This [Michael Brodkorb's threatened lawsuit after being fired for having an affair with Senator Amy Koch] is an internal employment issue involving the Republican caucus. This has little to do with creating and passing legislation for the public's beneift. Brodkorb was basically a political strategist and spin doctor whose job was to make the Republicans look good and the DFL look bad. The Republican Party should be footing the bill for the caucus' defense.
Of course, the Republicans have had trouble paying the rent on their state headquarters and paying for their recent recount challenges. They probably don't have the money for the legal fees, either.
If they are really concerned with protecting the taxpayers, the Republicans should pay their own legal bills.
The Fairmont Sentinel, a more conservative sister of the Odgen Newspapers Inc. chain that owns the Journal, suggests a different option buried in its regular Saturday "Et Cetera" short editorial:
Settlement in order?
The Minnesota Senate is facing rising legal costs associated with the firing of a communications aide, Michael Brodkorb, who reportedly was having an affair with his boss, former Majority Leader Amy Koch. Brodkorb is alleging unfair termination and is threatening a gender discrimination lawsuit.
Senators are getting riled about the escalating legal bills, and the story is driving the public nuts.
There's a simple solution: The Senate must weigh what it stands to lose in a lawsuit versus the cost of its defense. A settlement would fall somewhere in between.
The accompanying cartoon by Dump Bachmann's Ken Avidor suggests that without a confidentiality clause, Michael Brodkorb might be able to cash in by publishing a tell-all memoir, especially with a cover like this.
Update: Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports in Senate GOP leaders meet privately with Brodkorb:
Republican Senate Majority Leader Dave Senjem and Deputy Senate Majority Leader Julianne Ortman met privately today at a St. Paul coffee shop with former Senate staffer Michael Brodkorb. MPR News learned of the meeting, which was later confirmed by Senjem. Brodkorb has said he plans to sue the Senate for wrongful dismissal after he was fired from his job last December.
Senjem would not say what was discussed at the meeting.
"We had a brief conversation," Senjem said. "I can't go any further than that because it's a private conversation."
Ortman didn't return calls. Brodkorb said in an e-mail that he no comment about the meeting.
Brodkorb's attorney, Phillip Villaume, was surprised to hear of the meeting.
Read the rest at MPR.
Cartoon: The Brodkorb Files by Ken Avidor via Facebook.
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