Senator Sam Brownback sexually harassed his colleague, Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, earlier today.
It started off innocently enough as he made small-talk with Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, mentioning, in passing, that senators often take off their ties when negotiating bills behind closed doors. Klobuchar needled him about it.
Klobuchar: “Ties off?… But I don’t wear a tie.”
Brownback: “I could say ‘dresses off’ but I won’t.”
Klobuchar (laughing, blushing): “Not while you’re running for president.”
First, eww. Second, I’m sure the Gannon-Coulter defense, “He didn’t actually say she should take her dress off” will be brought up by Brownback’s supporters who will refuse to see this as anything for which he should be condemned. Lastly, who in their right mind equates men wearing a tie with women wearing a dress? No one. This is sexual harassment folks, plain and simple.
Hat tip to Jonathan Singer.
Technorati Tags: Amy Klobuchar, Sam Brownback
23 Responses to “Brownback Sexually Harassed Colleague”
Let’s get the opinion of an experienced attorney. At my job I’d probably be sanctioned, possibly fired. Accepting this crude and disrespectful behavior from a public servant is baloney. Party of family values indeed!
and then he should have said “after you take off the dress, ill just take this cigar and….” oh wait i forgot, wrong party.
Re: matt
I am proven right! Matt has Clinton on the brain 24/7.
Is there a photo of her? I’d like to see if this is a case of sexual harrasment, or wishful thinking on her behalf.
Thank God Brownback is not a Democrat, because the neocon party would had executed him, like they tried to do to clinton, But Bush lied us into a war and they don’t see anything wrong with that, they outed a CIA agent, but the neocons don’t see anything wrong with that, they only spit out about values when the Dems do something wrong, they look the other way when its a neocon doing it, they praise Reagan even though Reagan lied about Iran contra affairs but he is GOD if you listen to the neocons, I think that they love Reagan more than they love GOD.
Looks as if, in the Gannon/Coulter defence summarised @ the end, the conservatives must have a Basketball Jones, so to speak, for overly-nuanced language.
The which, if anything, may conceal their fondness and propensities for using “weasel words” and other forms of code to conceal their true intent, and in the process mislead or confuse the unwary–usually poor, undereducated and easily-influenced.
(Same likely to be blamed by the forces of hyperconservative Zealotry and True Belief upon public education, sung in a rather idiotic sing-song stylee in the key of “Ring around the collar!” and followed by a chorus of the old “Uber Alles” [as in "Deutschland, Deutschland"] or “Die Stem von Suid-Afrika” when all is said and done….)
Geez. I just come of the “Newty Gingrich Had an Affair” story only to run smack dab right into this gem. The Righty “Christian” crowd really knows how to sling the hypocrisy! Go to your churches and pray. Pray REEEEAL hard folks because your hypocrisy far outstrips your goodness. Leave us secular humanists alone and clean your own “houses” (of worship}.
clinton is your frontrunner, and all the rudy bashing and personal attacks make this site look like the bunch of hypocrites you are. unless everyone here is ready to denounce hillary and everything she stands for, ill just continue to point out the blatant hypocrisy.
Why would we comment on Hillary at all? This is a blog that focuses exclusively on the Republican candidates. (Also, if you are speaking of family issues, as conservatives can only do with the Clintons, what does that have to do with her legislative agenda and “everything she stands for” that you are demanding we denounce?)
Furthermore, these posts on Giuliani — who is not the subject of the post you are presently commenting on — and his messy private life are legitimate because he is running for the nomination of a political party that supposedly champions moral values and uses them as a political tool, yet do not live up to their own standards.
It’s the hypocrisy, stupid.
Brownback Mountain.
Matt – You’ve got a great site but c’mon, don’t be a knucklehead. It’s this kind of trivial nonsense that gives libs a bad name.
ouch, even fellow libs are saying this site is lousey and hypocritical, hurts when reality comes smackin ya in the face huh orteeega.
not only do you give liberals a bad name, you give americans a bad name, showing your willingness to entrust our safety and security with the inexperienced and unproven obama and edwards, and the wildly radical polarizing clinton, when giuliani is by far the best candidate.
and if your going to keep up your silly attacks, then perhaps you would like to explain how new york would have been better off if dinkins was reelected, and invoking more failed liberal policies.
socialist/liberal gov’ts don’t work, snap out of it.
Brownback is obviously a jerk; his attempt at humor was lame, childish, uncool. But, really, no big deal, and frankly, what I would expect of an uptight, right wing Kansan. (I spent some time there.)
That is nothing short of sexual harassment, and Senator Brownback should be ashamed of himself.
A better way to deliver this story would be: “How would the GOP have framed this if a Dem had said it? And yet THIS is our family values candidate?”
You’re right, the issue IS hypocrisy, but what Brownback did was not really criminal. It was boorish, inappropriate, and would certainly qualify as harassment if it were part of a larger pattern with that woman. Otherwise, it was just slimy of him.
Sometimes my side embarrases me. This is one of those times.
How petty and stupid this post is.
I think Brownback is an example of what is worst about the conservative movement, but this is where political correctness goes too far. He was making a silly joke to lighten the mood. He could have called her an evil left wing liberal, and that would be politics as usual. Getting upset over stupid stuff like this is why people are discouraged about our political system.
Something to say?
This is absolutely ridiculous. Political correctness at its worst. Bring in the “Newspeak”.
Left by Alejandro
March 8, 2007 at 7:59pm