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HORTMAN’S FORMER MEDIA STAFFER AND CAMPAIGN MANAGER USES MN PUBLIUS TO DEFEND HORTMAN’S 35-W “HEAT” COMMENT
By Michael B. Brodkorb | August 8, 2007
After receiving a tip from a dedicated reader of Minnesota Democrats Exposed, I wrote a post yesterday about an interesting quote from Representative Melissa Hortman about the 35-W bridge collapse. In the post I asked the question if Hortman was making a connection between the 35-W bridge collapse and global warming.
Hortman, who once interned for then-Senator Al Gore, has spent a considerable amount of time during her short legislative career focused on global warming. Hortman has issued numerous press releases on the subject of global warming.
I have since learned that before my post was published, numerous blogs published Hortman's comment and asked questions similar to once I asked.
A blog called Climate Progress published a post called "Did climate change contribute to the Minneapolis bridge collapse?" which included Hortman's quote:
"Melissa Hortman of the Minnesota House of Representatives 'speculated that 90-plus-degree heat Wednesday and the above-normal temperatures of the past two summers may have been a contributing factor,' and said, 'You wonder if this bridge was built to withstand the massive heat we have had this summer.' Or even if it was built to withstand heat, whether its structural deficiencies undermined the design integrity to a point where heat contributed to the collapse." Source: Gristmill, August 7, 2007
This post was also published on the left-leaning Gristmill, which is self-described as a "blogful of leafy green commentary".
According to another reader of Minnesota Democrats Exposed, both Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity discussed Hortman's quote on their radio shows.
Earlier today, Hortman released a rather defensive statement which attempted to clarify her comments about the 35-W bridge collapse. Hortman is now claiming that "[t]he effect of weather, not climate, was [her] concern…".
Zack Stephenson from MN Publius, who worked for Hortman in the legislature and managed one of her campaign's, posted a sloppy, inaccurate, and false characterization of my post with the apparent goal of defending Hortman. Facts have a tendency to cause trouble for MN Publius and while Zach is a good guy, I think his emotions got the best of him.
The reality is that liberals and conservatives read Hortman's comment and asked if she was making a connection between global warming and the 35-W bridge collapse.
Please check back to Minnesota Democrats Exposed for more information on Hortman's 35-W bridge collapse comments.
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40 Responses to “HORTMAN’S FORMER MEDIA STAFFER AND CAMPAIGN MANAGER USES MN PUBLIUS TO DEFEND HORTMAN’S 35-W “HEAT” COMMENT”
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August 8th, 2007 at 9:19 PM
So Michael, what you are saying is you didn’t have enough imagination to come up with this leap of logic on your own.
But when you saw a good a golden opportunity to mislead and spin, you weren’t too proud to copy it. Plagiarism is the highest form of flattery.
I thought you were against politicizing the bridge collapse?
Were you against it before you were for it? Seems like a flip flop to me.
August 8th, 2007 at 9:20 PM
Those girls at MN Publius never let the facts get in the way of their posts.
hairpies.
August 8th, 2007 at 9:49 PM
Tim,
When the DFL makes outlandish claims about the bridge collapse, why shouldn’t we call them out for their words? Last night at a meeting in Southeastern Minnesota, Sen. Ropes, Sen. Lynch and Rep. Tschumper all blamed Pawlenty’s vetoes of the gas tax for the bridge collapsing. Lynch went so far as to say that Pawlenty’s administration was killing people in Northern Minnesota. The point is, we don’t know what caused the bridge to collapse and saying it was high temperatures or a lack of a gas tax is patently ridiculous.
By the way, the New York Times is reporting that there is a design defect in the bridge that possibly was the cause for the collapse.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/08/us/09cnd-bridge.html?ei=5065&en=dfa3aa04d82c27f4&ex=1187236800&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print
August 8th, 2007 at 9:56 PM
I talked to my good friend, John McCain, and he told me global warming is real.
August 8th, 2007 at 9:58 PM
If you are going to call my post inaccuate, the least you can do is spell my name correctly.
Also, what specifically about my post was inaccuate? You don’t ever substantiate that claim.
August 8th, 2007 at 10:11 PM
Chris: She did not make an outlandish claim, Michael and others tried to sensationalize it, and still stand by this stupid claim even though she has gone out of her way to clarify.
Wondering if high temperatures could have been a contributing factor is NOT ridiculous. Temperature extremes cracks concrete and can cause steel to expand or contract. This has nothing to do with global warming, it has to do with the properties of matter and how those properties can change when temperature changes. I know nuance isn’t compatible with the binary minds of most MDE readers, but it very well could be that a few hot days could have been a proverbial straw that broke the bridge’s back.
August 8th, 2007 at 10:18 PM
Hank,
Did you read the New York Times?
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/08/us/09cnd-bridge.html?ei=5065&en=dfa3aa04d82c27f4&ex=1187236800&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print
August 8th, 2007 at 10:24 PM
Zack: From my perspective, it’s sloppy, inaccurate and false to claim that I “distorted the truth.”
Specifically, my post didn’t claim Hortman was definitely referring to global warming. It said “35-W Bridge Collapse Evidence of Global Warming?†followed by “It APPEARS that State Representative Melissa Hortman is making this connection.†After the quote, I asked for “Thoughts?â€
I stand by my previous post. It was fair, balanced, and accurate.
August 8th, 2007 at 10:31 PM
Michael,
You never cease to amaze.
Factually correct. You always make sure you leave yourself an “out.”
Intended to trick and mislead.
Your pattern is clear. And consistent.
It’s not about “a truthful discussion.” It’s about playing a game to win. Whatever it takes, as long as you’ve left yourself a way to weasel out.
August 8th, 2007 at 10:33 PM
Well we’re getting a gas tax anyway which just shows what an irresponsible fool pawlenty is anyway. So quick to change his mind in the face or real consequences. You guys really are the party of “responsibility” and “accountability”.
August 8th, 2007 at 10:43 PM
[...] Wesley Clark Contact the Webmaster Link to Article al gore HORTMAN’S FORMER MEDIA STAFFER AND CAMPAIGN MANAGER USES MN PUBLIUS TO DEFEND HORTMAN’S 35-W “HEAT†COMMENT » Posted at Minnesota Democrats Exposed on Wednesday, August 08, 2007 After receiving a tip from a dedicated reader of Minnesota Democrats Exposed, … the 35-W bridge collapse and global warming. Hortman, who once interned for then-Senator Al Gore View Original Article » [...]
August 8th, 2007 at 10:55 PM
Tim,
Is it responsible or irresponsible for an elected official to speculate and attempt to assign blame for the bridge collapse before the bodies are even out of the water and before the official investigation offered answers?|
The truth is, Hortman isn’t even that bad – just dumb. What was terrible was the meeting last night in SE Minnesota where DFL legislators Sharon Ropes, Ann Lynch and Ken Tschumper all blamed the Governor for the collapse.
August 8th, 2007 at 11:02 PM
Zach,
Your claim is that “Michael put up a post claiming that State Rep. Melissa Hortman connected the 35W disaster and global warming.†The reality is that this connection was already national news!
I agree with Michael. If you want to play trial lawyer (like Rep. Hortman), Brodkorb’s posting didn’t say that Hortman was definitely referring to global warming. It said “35-W Bridge Collapse Evidence of Global Warming?†followed by “It APPEARS that State Representative Melissa Hortman is making this connection.†After the quote, he just asked for “Thoughts.â€
You can try to blame Mr. Brodkorb and MinnesotaDemocratsExposed.com all you want for making the connection between Hortman’s quotes and global warming, but the fact is that BEFORE the posting on MDE, the connection was already made on national radio by both Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, by several national conservative bloggers, and most importantly, by some left-leaning environmental groups who were giving kudos to Rep. Hortman.†Just do a quick search and compare the times.
If you want to attack Michael and the “right wingers†for making the connection, you should also attack the environmental groups that were jumping on the same quotes.
It seems that you were wrong in your accusation that “Michael put up a post claiming that State Rep. Melissa Hortman connected the 35W disaster and global warming,†as well as your accusation that he “punched a hole in his already strained credibility.†But I guess that it is easier going after a Minnesota Republican blogger instead of attacking the big dogs like Rush, Hannity, or the liberal global warming machine.
Media darling Hortman is the one who made a fool out of herself. By trying to defend her (and attacking Brodkorb) you made it worse. Despite your past connection with her, you should pull the cord now and set the record straight, or risk losing all of your credibility as a “reasonable†liberal blog.
August 8th, 2007 at 11:20 PM
MDE your full of shit on this one, Zack hit your spin machine right on the head with his piece.
Again your blog just dives deeper and deeper into the abyss… times must be getting tough!
August 8th, 2007 at 11:22 PM
Rex: I completely disagree.
August 8th, 2007 at 11:41 PM
Well said Hank! I love it, nobody even attempts to contradict him and his wacky, uberliberal, tree-hugging basic tenets of chemistry and physics. The fact of the matter here is that Hortman, who I’m not at all a fan of, incidentally, brought up a perfectly valid point. She did it poorly, no doubt about that. Go out into the street right now, or to a sidewalk. See cracks anywhere? Now, hold on tight for this one: concrete expands in the heat and then contracts when it cools. Eventually faults develop. The slab loses it’s cohesiveness. Ta-da! Cracks! The effect on steel isn’t as visually obvious, but the basic principle is the same.
Also, there seem to be many posters to whom it is self evident that Hortman was implying that global warming brought the bridge down. And yes, it must obviously be true, because you’re saying it is. You may very well be correct, she may well have held that as an ulterior motive, but that logic belongs on a grade school playground.
August 9th, 2007 at 12:01 AM
Tanuki,
Isn’t there a difference between concrete and steel? It’s pretty clear that we have to replace concrete a lot more than we have to replace steel. The point is that Hortmann was spouting off about something she knew nothing about, while the bodies are still in the water.
Read the damn New York Times article before you start justifying what Hortmann said, or you’ll look like as big of a fool as she is.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/08/us/09cnd-bridge.html?ei=5065&en=dfa3aa04d82c27f4&ex=1187236800&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print
August 9th, 2007 at 12:03 AM
By the way, Tanuki, the cracks appear because the cars and trucks wear out the concrete over time and also because the ground underneath the concrete changes as it thaws and freezes, thus making the concrete more prone to wear. And as water gets into the cracks and freezes and thaws, it makes the cracks bigger. Steel is different than pavement and any junior in high school can tell you that.
August 9th, 2007 at 12:31 AM
Thanks Chris. I never knew so many cars had driven over my patio. Seriously, though, that’s a good point, frost heaving is a factor. However, I’ve lived in the South, where the ground freezes but they don’t have the wide temp swings, and rarely saw the spider webs we get.
I have read the NYT piece, thanks. It references the possibility of a major discovery. Which doesn’t mean that all discussion should grind to a halt.
And yes, thanks yet again, but I knew about steel and concrete being different colors. Or did you mean something else? The point I was making is that cycles of heating and cooling weaken structural integrity, which can manifest itself in myriad ways. No, steel doesn’t crack. It can, however, lose it’s tensile strength and become much easier to bend.
Lastly, I just don’t agree that she shouldn’t have gone spouting off. Everyone and their mother, from Pawlenty on down, has offered some bit of speculation. As I said, she made her point poorly, but I don’t see the harm in making it. Still, thanks for actually posting a relevant response. I dread posting here or on MNPublius; most people’s idea of “discussion” is shrieking about stupid liberals/coservatives.
August 9th, 2007 at 3:37 AM
Anybody defending Hortman’s heat comment has their head up their butt. First, the temperatures the last few years haven’t been excessive. Second, people who design and build bridges are well aware that solid material will expand and contract in respect to the temperature.
August 9th, 2007 at 4:58 AM
Tim from woodbury and Zack,
The Denver Post thought Hortman was connecting Global Warming to the collapse as well.
“Hortman speculated that 90-plus-degree heat Wednesday and the above-normal temperatures of the past two summers may have been a contributing factor.
“Did the heat put extra strain on the steel?” Hortman said. “You wonder if this bridge was built to withstand the massive heat we have had this summer.” ”
MB noted that speculation and put it in his blog.
August 9th, 2007 at 6:03 AM
Do we have any proof that the summers of the past two years were any hotter than any two summers during the previous 40 years that the bridge stood? Haven’t there been other summers with “massive heat”?
This Hortman loose cannon ready to blow.
August 9th, 2007 at 6:15 AM
The truth is, Hortman isn’t even that bad – just dumb.
The truth is, Hortman IS that bad AND is dumb. She IS a media whore, is stupid, is a global warming fanatic and always comes out early and says stupid things. Her press release is an attempt to unring her stupidity bell but people aren’t buying it. She’s hurt what little credibility she had left.
August 9th, 2007 at 7:52 AM
I wouldn’t know this Hortmann person if she walked into my garage right now. She’s entitled to her opinion, just as her critics are.
I do wonder though if the string of 90 degree days we’ve had played a role in the bridge collapse, just as the hot weather has a tendecy to buckle highway pavement.
Who knows…
August 9th, 2007 at 8:52 AM
So burning jet fuel is not enough to bring down the World Trade Center because, as Rosie explained, “Fire has never melted steel”, but now that same steel can’t handle a few days in the 90′s?
Who knew?
August 9th, 2007 at 8:53 AM
Newton,
Here is how you’ll know if Melissa Hortman is in your garage:
Look for a 30-something blonde soccer mom that reminds you of Hillary Clinton. Ask about her about her politics and she will use the terms “moderate†and “bi-partisan†twenty times each, instead of telling you that she is a political science product of Boston College, and a former intern of both John Kerry and Al Gore, and that she is left of Marx.
Ask her about any political issue and she will put on this nice smile and dance around it for five minutes carefully making sure not to say anything that can be used against her.
Ask her what she does for a living, and:
If you are a regular blue collar guy, she will tell you about the “family†auto parts store like her and her husband put everything they had into a corner store, not that it is daddy’s empire, and her and her husband collect big salaries there while working on politics all day.
If you are a heavy union guy or work in the public sector, she will say that she is a state worker.
If you are a professional guy that she is trying to impress, she will tell you that she is an attorney.
Say something that she doesn’t like, and watch the nice pleasant smile turn to anger, rage, name-calling, and threats of a lawsuit.
But most importantly, say that a camera crew is across the street, and watch her dash out of your garage like an Olympic sprinter!!!
August 9th, 2007 at 8:58 AM
I hear people speculating everywhere. To the best of my knowledge Hortman isn’t an engineer and is just flapping her gums like most people around the country. Let’s face it, we are hearing a lot of real stupid theories from a lot of really ignorant people. It’s just unfortunate that a lot of them are elected officials that should at least be smart enough to shut their pie holes. Obviously Hortman isn’t too bright just by the fact that she injected her ignorant theory, irrespective if she meant global warming or not.
The engineers who design and build these bridges don’t know the cause yet but elected officials with liberal arts degrees seem to have it all figured out already. I can’t believe I wasted all that time on calculus and physics when I could have taken art appreciation and creative writing!
Did Hortman blame the bridge collapse on Global Warming? Who gives a rat’s ass? Want to hear what my receptionist thinks?
Conclusion; Horman obviously isn’t too bright. The only argument I see on this thread is; just how dumb is she.
That goes for ANY office holder that is spouting off right now. Anyone in office who has used the funding argument, pointed fingers or has assigned blame up to now should step down immediately for incompetence, abuse of office and using a tragedy for political gain. Every…single…one!
August 9th, 2007 at 9:03 AM
I agree she definitely loves the media, but I think it’s a huge stretch to get global warming out of that quote. She’s not the first person either to mention the heat, which could be a factor. How many 90+ days have we had this year?
Just because Rush and company like to stretch things out of shape does not mean you should feel obligated to follow suit.
August 9th, 2007 at 9:06 AM
Tanuki,
Every skyscraper in Downtown Minneapolis is made out of steel. How many of them are falling because of heat and cooling cycles? Hortmann is spouting off about something she knows nothing about and she got caught. Thanks, MDE, for calling her on the carpet for some pretty stupid comments.
August 9th, 2007 at 9:55 AM
I did the math: Pawlenty was 7 years old when the bridge opened, and Molnau was 18.
I know it will be a stretch, but I’m sure Lori Sturtevant and Nick Coleman will somehow find fault with them for the possible design flaws in the bridge.
August 9th, 2007 at 9:55 AM
Against my better judgement, I’m going to respond to Tanuki’s simple-minded statement with a few facts rather than the laughter that is more appropriate.
“Go out into the street right now, or to a sidewalk. See cracks anywhere? Now, hold on tight for this one: concrete expands in the heat and then contracts when it cools. Eventually faults develop. The slab loses it’s cohesiveness. Ta-da! Cracks! The effect on steel isn’t as visually obvious, but the basic principle is the same.”
Sidewalks and streets crack not because of their own expansion and contraction, but because the ground upon which they are laid has a thermal coefficient of expansion which exceeds that of concrete and steel by a factor of 10 or more.
Actually, steel and concrete have roughly the same coefficient: .00001″\Deg. C.
Comparing a sidewalk to a bridge is, um, not too bright.
Engineers, now hold on tight for this one Tanuki, know and understand the effects of thermal cycling on construction materials!
In fact, you might have heard a thumpa, thumpa noise as your ’68 Volvo drives across a bridge on the way to a flag burning at the capitol..that noise is caused by “expansion joints” that engineers have designed to allow the roadbed to expand and contract.
In fact, the entire structure is designed to grow and shrink, little buddy!
It’s not hard to guess what is floating through the vacuum of a moonbat’s empty skull..their naive statements bely the program that is running at any given time.
Hortman was obviously running the Algore global warming tape and saw this catastrophe to slip in another distortion meant to further propagate the crack in reason’s cohesiveness that he’s got started.
The lefties are just pissed because they look like boobs..a-gain.
August 9th, 2007 at 9:59 AM
But Rhino, that could be a description of any Democrat.
So am I supposed to believe that never before have we had a hot summer? Uhh…sorry. Not buyin’ it.
btw, it says enough about Molasses Hortman that she didn’t get a committee chair when her bosses were handing them out like parade candy. She is either to dense to get in line or they don’t trust her.
August 9th, 2007 at 10:05 AM
“The lefties are just pissed because they look like boobs..a-gain.”
Um… the DFL isn’t the party with a Governor who vetoed the last transportation bill, called it “dumb” and then suddenly did an about face.
August 9th, 2007 at 10:57 AM
Correct. The DFL is the party that loaded it up with nothing but transit transit transit while forgetting that the overwhelming majority of Minnesotans will never use transit in their lifetime. Oh wait, they forget Minnesota even exists outside thier urban liberal enclave and their suburban ATM.
August 9th, 2007 at 11:06 AM
Swiftee, Chris already slapped me with frost heaving. And avoided knocking my poor Volvo. I don’t hear the thumpa you describe, the ash from all the burned flags dampens road noise. Way to launch into baseless insults to reinforce your point.
As for blaming Pawlenty for the bridge collapse b/c he vetoed the trans bill, that just doesn’t fly, unfortunately. I’m perfectly willing to take him to task, along with Moe, Johnson and Sviggum. And pretty much every other elected official in this state. Every election the GOP and DFL throw fire at each other on infrastructure, then, it seems to me, drop the issue as rapidly as possible. It’s great to campaign on, but pricey enough that no one actually wants to touch it.
The flipside, and Swiftee even I can see this from my nonexistent Volvo, is that our disaster management was as flawless as anyone could hope. Pawlenty, legslative leaders and yeah even Ventura (Who put the original system in place; who knew the wrestler actually did something right?) deserve praise. Remember the insane communications problems in NYC on 9-11? We’d had working, thoroughly tested common bands in place for almost 2 years at that point. Since then, the state has orchestrated any number of large and small scale drills.
August 9th, 2007 at 12:47 PM
Look at this graph, . It proves that the last few summers have only been the 5 and 6th hottest on record not THE hottest on record like she said. Well, she didn’t say that but you know Micheal can read her mind and she meant to say that!!!! She ignores the facts in this graph which clearly show that the past 8 summers have BARELY been in the top 20 hottest ever. And only 10 years ago we had one summer that was 1 degree cooler than average!!
August 9th, 2007 at 1:01 PM
“…that the past 8 summers have BARELY been in the top 20 hottest ever”
“Ever” in this case, being defined as the last 186 years.
August 9th, 2007 at 1:43 PM
ryanT,
She isn’t the smartest person, but I believe that it is more that they don’t trust her. She is too political, too aggressive, and remarkably thin-skinned for a politician. Being criticized in this forum has to be excruciating enough for her, I can only imagine her reaction to becoming the laughing stock of national talk radio! And even “play it safe†WCCO made fun of her last night. The DFL tolerates her because she stole a coveted swing district, and because she became an instant media darling. Now she is finding out that all of that media exposure sometimes comes at a price. Perhaps she won’t run to the camera or microphone so fast next time!
August 9th, 2007 at 3:38 PM
“…that the past 8 summers have BARELY been in the top 20 hottest everâ€
“Ever†in this case, being defined as the last 186 years.
Yes but by looking at those same years Al Gore knows for a FACT we are to blame for global warming.
August 9th, 2007 at 6:35 PM
It was 92 degrees today, did we lose any bridges?