From 60+ staffers: Open Letter to the Editors on the recent coverage of Amy Klobuchar

[pnwmom]

https://medium.com/erick.garcia.luna/open-letter-to-the-editors-e65482976de7

Former Staffers on coverage of Amy Klobuchar

We previously worked for Senator Klobuchar and some of us were among the former staffers contacted by the New York Times and other media outlets to share our experiences about working in her office. Unfortunately, the positive anecdotes and stories we experienced have not been fully reported by the Times and other media. We do not believe these reports adequately describe our thoughts on Amy Klobuchar, many of which we shared with the authors.

Amy would be there for us after a loss in the family or help make an important call instrumental to our careers. She’d celebrate our professional accomplishments and be part of our lives, whether it was dancing at our weddings or visiting us after we brought our newborns home. She was there for us in the hard times, too. And at the office, she pushed us to be better professionals and public servants. We remain grateful for our time in Senator Klobuchar’s office and still consider Amy a mentor and friend. Sadly, this was not fully conveyed in the recent news reports.

Signed,

Ben Alsdurf
Lane Ayres
Jonathan Becker
Gabe Bluestone
Paula Breuer
David Brown
Tristan Brown
Deb Calvert
Mark Chapin
Sam Clark
Ross Corson
Sarah Elkins Craighill
Kali Cruz
Aram Desteian
Dave Frederickson
Matt Freeman
Tamara Fucile
Christopher Garcia
Erick Garcia Luna
Becky Groen
David Hough
Andrew Hu
Jim Jacobson
Craig Kalkut
Nick Kimball
Anne Knapke
Megan Lahr
Andy LeFevour
Martin Ludden
Matt Manning
Christi Mayer
Andrea Mokros
Tim Molino
Martin Munic
Erika Nelson
Howard Orenstein
Tom Perron
Charlie Poster
Hannah Quinn
Joe Radosevich
Sean Richardson
Zach Rodvold
Dan Rogan
Kaleb Rumicho
Asal Sayas
Jon Schweitzer
Susan Segal
Kristin Sharp
Megan Scannell Sharp
Lee Sheehy
Jake Spano
Zack Stephenson
Jake Sullivan
Rose Sullivan
Tom Sullivan
Lolita Ulloa
Mychal Vlatkovich
Tommy Walker
Jodie Wierimaa
Emma Youngquist
Paul Zygmunt

[lamp_shade]

1. Thank you pnwmom.

[True Blue American]

2. Why hasn't this been reported in the MSM?

I have begun to despise the rabid attacks of those in the Media while they push others we do not care about.

I actually had to watch Spectrum local news to see Sherrod Brown speaking to the Culinary Union in LV! They gave him standing ovations. But let Trump belch his most recent bile it is played over and over.

[pnwmom]

4. Yeah, and they were pointing out that they didn't think their positive stories

were fully included in the articles that WERE published.

It's almost as if the media set out to write negative stories, centered around the complaints of anonymous former staffers . . .

[irresistable]

5. perhaps "anonymous" staffers who currently work for other candidates?

[pnwmom]

6. Interesting thought!

[True Blue American]

9. Or, maybe

Trump lovers?
I am so glad you published this.. We need to spread it ll over!

Many thanks

[pangaia]

35. Positive ANYTHING doesn't sell.

[betsuni]

3. K&R!

[oasis]

7. That plus a solid endorsement from the voters of Minnesota. nt

[Kurt V.]

8. K&R

[Control-Z]

10. K&R eom

[Dave in VA]

11. Thank you for this!

n/t

[sheshe2]

12. K&R

Thank you!

[crazytown]

13. K&R

[Arkansas Granny]

14. K & R

[Boomer]

15. Not so fast

Please note that these staffers did not deny the negative incidents about Klobuchar's temperament. I'm sure there are many positive qualities about her, BUT the explosive temper is not erased by those feel-good moments. No one is claiming she's some evil ogre, just that she has some issues that make her less than ideal for the presidency.


If anything, this makes me even more wary of Klobuchar. The people who are championing a "fair and balanced" approach by offering "good storites" are thereby verifying the negatives.

[apcalc]

17. She would make a fine president.

This treatment of Klobuchar is sexist claptrap.

[crazytown]

21. Bill Clinton has an explosive temper

So did FDR, Harry S., Ike, LBJ and (for that matter) Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. This is the first attempt to kill a Dem in the race, and for what? Let. It. Go.

[AdamGG]

52. LBJ's tirades and put downs were legendary

[elfin]

34. I don't care if she is a bitch on wheels behind the scenes

As long as she gets good things done and doesn't practice racism or sexism or other divisive "isms."

I would care if she turned into a bloviator or blowhard or nasty yeller in her public demeanor.

I am so exhausted by polarized people yelling at each other.

Right now, she seems to be both pragmatic and progressive. Also brilliant. I think she would be an excellent Supreme Court Justice if she isn't nominated for Pres. or VP.

[Beartracks]

46. Your post subject line: Spot on! n/t

[MH1]

53. I might care if I were thinking of working for her; BUT "toxic manager" is so f*cking common

that there is no way I would make its absence a prerequisite for my support of a political candidate.

I think anyone who would prioritize stuff like this over real issues must be a very privileged person indeed.

So says this veteran of decades of toxic corporate management styles. (not always my direct manager; but can't think of where I've worked that I didn't know of one. I've also had a couple truly excellent direct managers, but those were the exception, not the rule.)

[BlueWI]

61. Agreed.

She's a top 3 candidate for me. Plain spoken, has excellent working relationships with her Senate colleagues, good balance of progressive and pragmatic approaches. I have met her personally and saw her speak in WI a couple of weeks ago. I am highly skeptical of how visible this staff treatment story has been, and it matters than the staff in this OP have gone public with a different opinion.

[brooklynite]

67. Didn't friends of Justice Kavanaugh sign a letter saying that they HADN'T been assaulted?

[pnwmom]

68. Wasn't then-Judge Kavanaugh openly accused by named -- not anonymous -- accusers?

I'm getting a little sick of anonymous rumors being used to smear people.

[3Hotdogs]

16. What was her position on the Al Franken fiasco?

[MrsCoffee]

20. What was Bernie's?

Klobuchar never publicly called for his resignation.

[pazzyanne]

25. Amy remained a good colleague

and confidant who Al went to to discuss what was happening. Here is an article covering her stand on Al's resignation:

https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/08/politics/amy-klobuchar-senate-al-franken-minnesota/index.html

[IluvPitties]

31. That's character. Al Franken did not deserve what he got.

[MBS]

36. I think she handled the situation well, with empathy and humanity

I also remember seeing a brief video clip at the time -was it the day he resigned? - Klobuchar and Franken were standing next to each other, she was standing to his right, and turned toward him to say something. I don't remember hearing any audio with the clip, but it felt to me that she was saying something like (yeah, sure, no data, I don't have the facts), "I'm so sorry."

[MBS]

27. Here is the full list of Democratic senators who asked Franken to resign (Dec 2017)

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/06/full-list-senators-call-for-al-franken-to-resign-282175
Yes, Bernie asked for his resignation.
No, Klobuchar did not publicly ask for his resignation (but other articles mentioned that she "talked with him privately).

[FakeNoose]

18. The meaning I get from this

... is that it doesn't matter that people tell reporters about the 99% good, positive, affirming stories, because the media only focuses on the 1% dirt, negative stories about a candidate. That's certainly true in this case, but it makes me wonder why they never did it to Chump when he was a candidate?

[McKim]

40. Corporate Media Will Make a Choice and Push their Candidate, Putting down others.

The corporate media will make a choice and then start putting down the other candidates. Also scandal and rancor and infighting is exciting news....meanwhile The People lose. With the media doing the chosing, the varied and very important diverse opinions in the Democratic Party and the very important platform ideas will be lost amid the Personality Cult of the chosen one.

[watoos]

19. The only way we lose in 2020 is if we fight among ourselves.

It almost makes me laugh. It's about the narrative. The right wing corporate controlled M$M is going to keep doing this, putting out negativity about all of our candidates. Some of the negativity may even be true, oh I do declare I am going to have to buy a fainting couch, Amy may be a tough boss.

I haven't decided my choice yet but I have decided that whoever I pick needs to have one qualification and one only, he/she needs to be tough as nails to defeat Trump. I don't even give a shit about their policies, If they don't win they won't be making policy.

I have to laugh, there is an uproar when negativity comes out against Amy but crickets when negativity comes out against Bernie or Tulsi.

People are much to gullible to propaganda. When you pick a candidate go gung ho for him/her but go ahead and bash the rest of our field at our own peril.

Let the negativity toward Bernie and Tulsi begin.

[crazytown]

23. This is the first M$M attempt to kill a Dem in the race.

No Democrat should have anything to do with.

I have an issue with Tulsi that goes beyond the primary contest. She met with tЯunp at Trump Tower to discuss Syria, and was in frequent contact with Steve Bannon prior the Inauguration . Appalling.

[Honeycombe8]

24. There's a difference.

The negativity about Gabbard (and I didn't see any staff statements about her, actually) is about her extreme prior positions and statements about homosexuality.

Bernie has been alleged to have allowed sex discrimination or something along those lines in his 2016 campaign, which is recent and relevant to leadership abiities. He's also not a Democrat.

The statements about Klobuchar were by one or two former staffers, about some minor "bad boss" things. Clearly personal vendetta, IMO. And I have no problem wih Klobuchar telling her staffer to wash her comb, when that staffer failed to bring utensils. Any staffer charged with the duty of bringing food and utensils would of course be asked to wash the utensils (her comb, in this case). That's not a big deal. If you don't want to do those duties, get another job.

[True Blue American]

28. Right on.

I had not seen Tulsi until this week. I really enjoyed the way she answered every question

[LibDemAlways]

49. I have to respectfully disagree about the comb incident.

Who eats with a comb in the first place? I can't imagine any circumstances under which a person, much less a U.S. Senator, would be so famished on a short flight that he or she would take out a comb and use it in public as a utensil. That's gross. And then to order a staffer to wash it? Just, no. If the story is true, the staffer made an honest mistake in forgetting utensils. I'm sure that person felt bad enough without suffering the indignity of being ordered to wash a comb that had been in both hair and a mouth. Yuck.

[renate]

64. Could it have been with the pointy end of a comb with a handle?

I had been assuming it was with the teeth of a comb until I remembered that combs come in different form factors.

So in this case it’d be like eating with a single chopstick... with iceberg lettuce it’d be possible to sort of stab the leaves.

Not that I’m expecting you personally to know But this just occurred to me.

[True Blue American]

26. Fear!

Scare of running out, fear of the unknown. Fear! Fear! Fear!

Ever take a look at the stores after 2 inch snow is forcast?

We had a water main break on the far side of town. The City actually passed out bottles of water. Boil your water! This will give you stomach problems, if you know what I mean

The stores emptied. I had call after call telling me my water was out because they heard it on the TV!

Since I had already drank a glass of water and taken a shower I went right on. The water Deparment just announced there had never been a problem. Break fixed, but a week of non stop fear!

[pnwmom]

48. Tulsi has taken overt positions that are wrong. The criticism for Tulsi hasn't been coming

from anonymous sources.

She is on record opposing LGBT rights till 2014 and abortion. She said as recently as a 2015 interview that she has only changed her political view, not her personal.

She is on record till a couple weeks ago disputing the fact that Assad gassed his own people.

She is on record as having gone to the Trump Tower right after the election.

[Honeycombe8]

22. Good. nt

[pazzyanne]

29. Thank you for posting this, pnwmom.

Knowing Amy's work for Minnesota and the people she represents, I feel this is a hit job against someone who would make a great POTUS. I appreciate your sharing the information that you found.

[IluvPitties]

30. BOOM! That's what I needed to read.

My concerns are gone- I made the right choice with Amy!

[Freethinker65]

32. Typical media demonization of strong Candidates.

Interesting that a weak GOP candidate that had former employees sign NDAs is now POTUS.

[Guilded Lilly]

33. K & R +

[lark]

37. Pisses me off that NYT didn't carry this letter.

I really don't like that rag, they do way too many hit pieces on Dems, especially the Clintons, and now they slant a story to make a Dem woman leader look bad and ignore all the good that was said.

[LakeArenal]

42. Tho, don't you think we all knew it?

This is the type of stuff that can be divisive here in DU.

It is up to us to realize that when a great candidate announces, expect negative reports in the media because that crap sells and “Amy Klobuchar regular nice person came to my mother’s funeral” doesn’t sell or divide us.

[jcgoldie]

38. Oh look and these people signed their names to it

Why do I suspect this won't get much media attention? It's much more fun to bash female bosses I suppose.

[mcar]

39. NYT should be ashamed of itself

Total hit job on Klobuchar.

[oldsoftie]

41. I loved her being totally honest with the college students about "free college". Refreshing.

[MFGsunny]

43. K & R ... + 1,000,000 for exposure ... K and R and K and R .... rinse repeat

[El Shaman]

44. Seems to me

the Putinbots are at it again. They are good at mind control - especially with 'Goobers' USA.

[George II]

45. A strong dose of reality, not selective reporting. Thanks...

...unfortunately in the next year or more we'll be seeing incomplete reporting, doctored videos, and yes sadly "fake news".

[NastyRiffraff]

47. Many ex-presidents had explosive tempers

There have also been many reports that Bernie Sanders (gasp!!) yells at his staff; easy to believe because he is a yeller. Yet all of a sudden a woman running for president is villified for expecting quite a lot from her professional staff.

The hard truth is, male bosses are expected to explode occasionally or regularly. A women is expected to be kind and understanding at all times, no matter what. And smile a lot. But not too much. And dress "appropriately." And, and, and....

[Hekate]

50. Good find, pnwmom. Many thanks.

Things that make you go hmmmmm.

[DontBooVote]

51. I am proud to be Rec #150! I knew it! I knew it was a hit job from the jump! Amy is awesome!

[MineralMan]

54. What is amazing to me is that anyone sees Amy Klobuchar

as a threat to their own candidacy or to the candidacy of someone they support.

I never doubted for a minute that she has current and former staffers who hold her in high regard. I'm glad they're speaking out, but I wonder who is spreading the dirt and why. That's what I want to know, because I will be sure not to give them the time of day during the primary races.

[pnwmom]

55. I think someone saw her as a threat, and decided to kneecap her right at the start

by going after one of her strong points -- the "Minnesota nice" factor.

[Awsi Dooger]

63. Yes

That is the only sensible explanation.

This site is not always representative. The notion that nobody saw her as a threat is laughable. In recent months I saw several threads on balanced sites where right wingers said they were more worried about Amy than anyone else. Then they rejoiced when this story broke.

Amy would always have a much tougher time getting our nomination than defeating Donald Trump. For some of our other candidates, it is reversed.

[Enoki33]

56. This l am happy to read. Thanks. The fact that seemingly negative

reports were so quick to surface was questionable. The same applies to Kamala Harris. Interesting that Malcolm Nance has predicted that the Russians are sure to sow havoc among the many qualified candidates and their supporters.

[Hortensis]

57. Thanks, PNWMom. I'm glad to see this.

[PatSeg]

58. This is only the beginning

Thanks goodness Senator Klobuchar's staff wrote this letter, but the media needs to start doing its job and quit latching onto any BS story that is floating around. We go through this every election. You would think that journalists and television hosts would know the republican playbook by now.

You'd also think that we as Democrats would know better than to judge our candidates on such stories. I'm determined to take every story with a grain of salt and wait until there is further verification. We have enough very real scandals in the White House and among republicans in congress to focus on.

[MarcA]

59. Don't these Employees have a Union? If not, why not? n/t

[Gothmog]

60. K&R

[MustLoveBeagles]

65. K&R

[Lazy Daisy]

66. Oh look at that

signatures actual real people putting their names to their statements.

How many have come out as the abused staffers? Surely the list is longer than the one above, right?

[PatrickforO]

69. Nice post.

I very much felt this was a smear against Klobuchar due to the whole double standard thing we have about dynamic, forceful, no-nonsense women being looked at much differently than dynamic, forceful, no-nonsense men.

The important thing is where she stands on issue, how and where she's willing to compromise to move the nation forward, and what she is not willing to compromise. A leader sets the vision.

Here is Amy Klobuchar's: As president, she would "heal the heart of our democracy and renew our commitment to the common good."

That's a pretty darned good vision.

[Journeyman]

70. K&R . . .