11 Responses to “HELL HAS FROZEN OVER: STAR TRIBUNE’S BLOG HOUSE ADMITS I’M A “NICE GUY””

1. NL Says:
   September 30th, 2006 at 9:34 AM

   A few words of compliments by Tim O’Brien, followed by the usual verbal assault.

   And O’Brien is not a mud-slinger for hire?

   http://www.kennedyvmachine.com/?p=2793

2. Greg Lang Says:
   September 30th, 2006 at 10:11 AM

   Tim O’Brian at the Strib Blog House seems be trying to say that since Micheal B Brodkorb is working as a consultant for the Kennedy campaign he is being paid to blog by the Kennedy campaign.

   This seems to represent specious logic. A lot of people with technical, business and professional skills have blogs. They can be interesting because they are at least they know something about what they are talking about.

   Before there was a blog there people in newsworth situations were hamming it up in front of the media. As an example, let’s say a lawyer is retained as a defense for a client in a case with a high media interest. Generally the lawyer doesn’t bill the client for time spent with the media. The long term benifit would seem to be enhance that lawyers reputaion which helps the lawyer in obtaining better future work. Basically, it’s free advertising for the lawyer.

   It’s a rough analogybut it seems correct. Generally people with specific knowlege and experience in a field do it as a lobor of love.

   bad analogy by Joel Brien of the Strib Blog House basically opining that the ad was lousy. This is lot like the burglar who breaks into a business, finds the safe empty and only steal a slice of pizza from the fridge. I’m sure you heard liberals decry someong getty a long sentence “for stealing a slice of pizza!”.

3. Golden Aggie Says:
   September 30th, 2006 at 10:46 AM

   Michael,

   Why do you even mention some of the other liberal sites? They have never broken a news story like you do frequently. I wouldn’t even know most of them even exist if you wouldn’t link to them. In fact, it seems like they are more obsessed with you than they are the Republicans. Don’t give them the free publicity, as nobody reads them anyway.

   Keep up the good work.

4. Eva Young Says:
   September 30th, 2006 at 10:48 AM

   Michael, that’s misleading – and is totally opposite what the Bloghouse article discussed.

5. chuck Says:
   September 30th, 2006 at 11:48 AM

   i sure enjoy taking you to task for what you write, but let me also go on record: you are a very nice chap, as is your wife.

   the entire hinderaker family is also very nice. mitch, too. and pretty much every right-wing blogger i’ve ever met. although john hinderaker’s eye starts twitching when you get under his skin.

6. doug Says:
   September 30th, 2006 at 1:05 PM

   Greg – “This seems to represent specious logic.” Why don’t you post more often? Logic and intellectual honesty is seriously lacking around here.

   I’d love to see posters actually weighing what they say, rather than busting out the old chestnuts of ‘librul lies’ and the like.

   That said, Mike getting paid by Kennedy could be construed as just as much of a smoking gun as the Ellison/newspaper thread, if you were inclined to believe whatever you read and liked to jump to conclusions.

   Thinking people don’t do that, do they?

7. Rick Mons Says:
   September 30th, 2006 at 9:13 PM

   the complete quote:

   “Brodkorb is a nice guy. But he’s not credible on this issue. He needs to be upfront about what his blog is.”

8. Republicans Exposed Says:
   September 30th, 2006 at 9:13 PM

   And the rest of the column said:

   “Brodkorb is a nice guy. But he’s not credible on this issue. He needs to be upfront about what his blog is.

   “And, in light of these facts, to argue that it is anything but a paid advertisement for the GOP is disingenuous at best, and, at worst, a lie. Caesar’s wife should be above suspicion.”

   “If Brodkorb is going to make a career out of ‘exposing Democrats’ by twisting their words and concocting half-truths, then he’d best have his house in order.”

   “He only disclosed his identity because of a defamation lawsuit. He blogged anonymously from July 2004 to January 2006.”

   I think the 375,000 readers of Saturday’s Strib got the true story, compared to the few ‘insiders’ who read this piece of…

   You’re the worst of the worse, me boy…you believe what you write is making society better. Rather than discuss issues, you wallow in the muck for money. It is sick and it is sad. I hope your children never look back at this site, for if they do they will feel ashamed.

9. Peter S. Says:
   October 2nd, 2006 at 6:36 AM

   Back up (beep, beep, beep).

   Brodkorb is saying that he is not paid to blog. He is a political activist, and does have part-time positions with campaigns and other entities.

   The Strib and others question this because he makes over $4.5k per month from the Kennedy campaign and got $5.5k from the Bachmann campaign for a one-time assignment. The argument goes that this amount is too high to be considered part-time wages. This only makes sense if you believe that no one makes more than $50,000 per year. And it is contradicted by the fact that we know Brodkorb works for more than one campaign/entity.

   The paid-to-blog charge is only supported if the $4,500 per month is well beyond what other consultants are paid for similar work. Brodkorb is very good at what he does. Political types make their money in short bursts in election years. It is silly to project campaign consulting fees into yearly salaries because it all goes away in November. And I have a hunch that Brodkorb will keep posting away after November.

   One of Brodkorb’s biggest topics was the Matt Entenza thing. Is there some consulting relationship that explains those posts?

   Former employment and volunteer party work actually SUPPORT his claim that he is not paid to blog. If the employment ends, but the blogging continues, he must not be paid to blog. And if he does stuff for free (chair of his Senate District), that also suggests that he is not paid to blog.

10. Drew Emmer Says:
    October 2nd, 2006 at 12:09 PM

    If being politically active disqualifies a person from expressing his or her opinion then we are in deep doo-doo as a society regardless of our political stripes.

    There is no shortage of liberal drool to consume. There is a shortage of direction to solid writing, liberal or conservative,and it’s good that Brodkorb publishes links to both extremes.

    Anyone who appoints themselves hall monitor regarding what opinions deserve to be heard or censored needs to look at the constitution.

    We can collectively discern between true and false IF THE MEDIA GIVES US THE WHOLE STORY TO ANALYZE IN THE FIRST PLACE. The problem is too many of the journalisistas want to decide on our behalf.

    I hope the lefties will enumerate the specific un-truths they claim Brodkorb has made here. Let’s see a list. Real details please that can be refuted directly. How about a healthy debate of the issues?

    Brodkorb and his ilk deserve our gratitude and our respect whether we agree with them or not.

    Tim O’Brien really means well. As unfair as he was to me in his BlogHouse bit he did respond to my emails and he was almost cordial once he put down his gun.

11. Jeff Says:
    October 17th, 2006 at 2:57 PM

    Is this the same Mike Brodkorb that went to Hillside elementary (in Cottage Grove and then moved to Forest Lake?

    My buddy Pete and I have a bet riding on this.

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