ROWLEY DIDN'T GRASP THE IMPACT OF PICTURE OF KLINE IN NAZI-ERA UNIFORM

Rowley's picture of John Kline in a Nazi-ear uniform

Rowley issues apology to Rep. John Kline over his depiction on website
Casting Kline as bumbling Colonel Klink from "Hogan's Heros" on the Democrat's blog a "new low," says GOP.

Rep. John Kline demanded and got an apology Monday from his Democratic rival, Coleen Rowley, for a doctored picture on her campaign website depicting him as Colonel Klink, a bumbling Nazi prison camp commandant in an old TV comedy series.

Kline said in a letter to Rowley that the photo crossed "the line of civility, respect and common decency" and was an offense "to every veteran."

"Your attempts to smear my good name and 25 years of honorable service in the United States Marine Corps by equating me to a Nazi shows a lack of perspective, a lack of seriousness and a lack of good judgment," he wrote to Rowley. "You should be ashamed of yourself."

Minnesota Republican Party Chairman Ron Carey called the photo "a new low in Minnesota politics."

Rowley had the photo removed from her website and took steps to apologize personally. She said an unpaid volunteer prepared the blog, and she approved it without making the Nazi connection.

Rather, she said she focused instead on the message that Kline, a retired Marine Corps colonel, was "incompetent" like Klink, a Nazi colonel easily fooled by his American prisoners in the TV series "Hogan's Heroes."

Rowley called the blog "excellent," and said it is "written by one of our best volunteers."
Rowley, a retired FBI agent, said she would phone Kline to apologize.

"I'm going to say that ... it was in bad taste. ... This was a Nazi uniform and I didn't grasp that impact, and I apologize for any bad feeling that he got from that," she said in a phone interview. "But I would not apologize for thinking that his representation of our [Second] district has been incompetent. I think that many, many things that John Kline has uttered have been incorrect."

The blog showed a photo of Ulysses S. Grant next to the picture of Kline, superimposed in Klink's uniform with a monocle over his left eye. It mocked Kline's effort last year to replace Grant's visage with Ronald Reagan's on the $50 bill. It noted that Minnesota cast presidential electoral votes for Grant in 1868 and 1872, while Minnesota was the only state that Reagan lost in 1980 and 1984.

Rowley said she also apologizes to anyone thinking the photo was meant to denigrate the military, saying she has "the highest respect for our military men and women." Her daughter, her brother and her brother-in-law all have served in the military, she said.

Joe Elcock, Rowley's campaign manager, said young volunteers have been working on the website, but "it looks like we're going to need some professional web help." Source: Star Tribune, January 31, 2006

Tags: Coleen Rowley