MINNESOTA DEMAGOGUES EXPOSED: BRODKORB KEPT LAWYER IN DARK ABOUT MEETING SENJEM

I have to admit that while I love the parody headlines we've been using when writing about l'affair du Brodkorb et Koch, just having to type the scumbag's name makes me feel like some slime has rubbed off on me.

And this is a great example of why:

Republican Senate Majority Leader Dave Senjem and Deputy Senate Majority Leader Julianne Ortman met privately today at a St. Paul coffee shop with former Senate staffer Michael Brodkorb. MPR News learned of the meeting, which was later confirmed by Senjem. Brodkorb has said he plans to sue the Senate for wrongful dismissal after he was fired from his job last December.

Senjem would not say what was discussed at the meeting.

"We had a brief conversation," Senjem said. "I can't go any further than that because it's a private conversation."

Ortman didn't return calls. Brodkorb said in an e-mail that he no comment about the meeting.

Brodkorb's attorney, Phillip Villaume, was surprised to hear of the meeting.

"It's news to me," Villaume said. He said he had "no clue" when first asked about the focus of the meeting. Later Villaume said it was a 10 minute "by chance meeting." He said there was a discussion about Brodkorb's suit against the Senate. Another person with knowledge of the meeting said Brodkorb, Senjem and Ortman met for roughly 30 minutes.

The topic of their discussion doesn't matter. What matters is that Brodkorb is currently in the process of bringing legal proceedings against an organ of the state government, forcing Minnesota taxpayers to foot the bill for legal services to defend the Senate against his predations. That means that whether he has a case or not, contacting the people on the other side of the case is inappropriate, and doing so without notifying his lawyer makes it look like Brodkorb is in it for either political or monetary gain.

Which sounds like as good an explanation as any, now that one thinks about it.

Like I said, scum. The Republican Party created him, installed him in the highest levels of government power once they got lucky and won a few elections, and now we're all footing the bill.