Republican paid writer turns vandalism into partisan issue

Recently, Republican-paid blogger Michael Brodkorb has been posting about vandalism to Republican candidate lawn signs in the Eagan/Apple Valley area. He's correct that this sort of vandalism shouldn't be tolerated, but he's also hypocritical in his stance.

Brodkorb is the chair of the Republican Party in Senate District 38 (Eagan/Burnsville area). Inside Minnesota Politics has learned that earlier this year he was approached by his counterpart in the DFL about promoting a bipartisan neighborhood watch to prevent lawn sign theft and vandalism. Brodkorb repeatedly did not return emails or phone calls.

The bipartisan effort could have PREVENTED the vandalism by asking people to report vandals and thefts. Instead Brodkorb decided to spend his time writing personal attacks on candidates and passively ignoring the lawn sign vandalism/theft problem until it was convenient to complain about it (when Republican signs were damaged).

Theft and vandalism is not a partisan issue. Both parties endure it. But instead of being pro-active and looking for a solution, Brodkorb abdicates responsibility and then looks for opportunities to use the resulting mess for partisan purposes.

This method of operation may sound familiar. The Republican party has been practicing this at the national level for about six years now.