Brownback issues apology for overreacting to tweet.

[Mabus]

Here is the governor's statement (from linked article):

"My staff over-reacted to this tweet, and for that I apologize. Freedom of speech is among our most treasured freedoms.

"I enjoyed speaking to the more than 100 students who participated in the Youth in Government Program at the Kansas Capitol. They are our future.

"I also want to thank the thousands of Kansas educators who remind us daily of our liberties, as well as the values of civility and decorum.

"Again, I apologize for our over-reaction."

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2011/nov/28/brownback-apologies-over-reacting-students-tweet/

[montanacowboy]

1. BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

got shut up by a high school student

I LOVE it

[lonestarnot]

43. what he said!

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. lol

[daleanime]

3. Where's the apology,,,,

for having his staff going over public comments?:grr:

[sharp_stick]

7. There's really nothing wrong with that

I'd be surprised if every politician wasn't doing it. It's easy to add a sniffer in order to hunt for your name and if you are in a position where you would expect to have people commenting on you in public it's just smart to know what's being said.

The stupidity came in the astounding overreaction to a joke tweet by a kid in high-school.

[DURHAM D]

16. He needs to cut his staff and use the money to (re) fund the Arts. nt

[Mabus]

25. or social services, education, public transportation, health care, mental health services, etc.

There's a bunch of stuff Sammy's been cutting to the detriment of Kansans.

[DURHAM D]

26. I mentioned the Arts because I believe that was Emma's main issue with him.

[Mabus]

32. I understand

I just wanted to name a few of the other areas that Brownback has cut funding from since he took office. And the scary part is that he has said the cuts he has made are just the beginning.

[sharp_stick]

41. That would be nice

but as long as we have these jackoffs more concerned about re-election than anything else it just isn't going to happen.

It's not his staff hunting the web, it's a stupid little sniffer program and every member of Congress is likely running the exact same one.

[proud2BlibKansan]

20. I'm a taxpayer in Kansas and I disagree

Law enforcement is perfectly capable of handling Internet searches for threats. But I don't want my tax dollars paying a staff member to search the Internet to find out who is talking about the governor. It's completely unnecessary.

[DURHAM D]

23. I'm with you.

I don't live in Kansas but pay taxes there so I have a dog in this fight.

[Why Syzygy]

39. When you consider

that the primary objective of ALL politicians is Re-election, it makes sense. It has nothing to do with executing the duties of his office. True. But again, that isn't his focus. He's a politician.

[sharp_stick]

40. It's not like he has staff hunting the internet

it's a simple little sniffer program that continually monitors stuff like facebook, twitter etc. When there's a hit the URL or document goes to the public relations staff and they check it out.

It's not hunting for threats it's hunting for hits. Stuff that they consider "good" goes forward to the re-election campaign and stuff that's "bad" goes to oppo research.

I would be amazed if there was a single TV star, Congresscritter or Senator without the exact same set up.

[proud2BlibKansan]

44. I don't care HOW they do it

I don't want my tax dollars spent on this. Brownback can use his campaign money to pay a CAMPAIGN staffer to do this. But not MY tax dollars.

[Mabus]

8. He's not going to apologize for that

but now we know for sure he's doing it and we Kansans are trying to help him create more jobs by ending most things with "Brownback sucks".

[sharp_stick]

11. Perfect n/t

[Mabus]

4. Now if he would just apologize for sucking so much

:patriot:

[Douglas Carpenter]

6. that's the least he could do

[MADem]

5. Whooop. There it is! nt

[malaise]

9. Best response

Bushloather1 (anonymous) says…

Here's Governor HeBlowsALot
His reputation's kind of shot
Is for free speech? No he's not
He's Governor HeBlowsALot

Emma tweeted to some friends
But that's not where our story ends
She was told to make amends
But fascism does this portend.

We still have free speech (if barely)
Brownback's simply not aware, he
Told Emma "Make nice or we
Will make things very hard for thee".

Exactly how does Brownback blow?
I'm so glad you'd like to know!
He's not that famous yet and so
It's off to Google I will go.

Wikipedia says that he
Is anti-choice for you and me
And Kansas has no arts agency
(The only state like that, you see).

Perry gathered folks to pray
Only Brownback showed that day
All other pols just stayed away
What else do I have to say?

Brownback thinks a flat tax is fair
(It hurts the poor, but he don't care)
If you're in Kansas please beware
'Cause Brownback is the gov'nor there.

So, we see Emma was right
And we hope she wins her fight
Casting Brownback in the light.
Will surely bring us much delight

-Plf515

[BlancheSplanchnik]

14. that's a great poem! n/t

[Mabus]

17. Isn't that great?

I'm surprised at most of the comments. For a perpetually blue town/county there are usually a number of GOP chuckleheads that like to jump on anything (truth) that makes Brownback look like a fool and defend him. So far, nada. I guess taking Brownback's side when he's picking on a high school girl is something even his more ardent supporters won't abide.

[malaise]

31. It is great

and so are some of the other comments. :fistbump:

[Proud Liberal Dem]

10. Did HE write an apology letter to the teen?

n/t

[Mabus]

13. He's too busy screwing up the state to that

And even if he had time, you know he wouldn't.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

27. Yeah

you're probably right about that, unfortunately. :puke:

[progressoid]

12. Now the school principal needs to apologize to Emma too.

[eppur_se_muova]

19. And how! nt

[Mabus]

30. I could not agree more

Moreover, I believe Sucking Sammy should apologize directly to Emma. All his apology says is that he apologizes for his staff screwing up, that he liked talking to the students who participated in the event and then he thanks teachers "who remind us daily of our liberties, as well as the values of civility and decorum." That last bit seemed like a bit of a backhanded slap at Emma. But, then again, I hate Brownback because he sucks.

[gratuitous]

15. Democrats, please take note

You stand up for yourself, refuse to back down from your principles, and it's the Republicans who wind up apologizing, if you do it right. How pathetic that it takes a high school girl to show you how it's done. (Note: Barney Frank, he of the "dining room table" comment, is exempt from this notice.)

[eppur_se_muova]

18. O.Z. Staffer strikes again!

When you've screwn the pooch, there's always O.Z. Staffer to blame it on!

[LynneSin]

21. How much KS tax dollars are spent scouring tweets for negative comments about him?

Couldn't that money be better used to improve education instead?

[Mabus]

34. Kansas tax dollars? Oh, you must mean Brownbackistan Bucks

Sammy doesn't want to improve education here because it would work against him. Can't have Kansans being literate or educated because then they would figure out what he's doing.

[warrior1]

22. took him long enough

[warrior1]

24. ha

markos Markos Moulitsas
Brownback cries "uncle!" after getting ass kicked by teen girl. is.gd/F8Zakx

[proud2BlibKansan]

29. Too funny

[brooklynite]

28. Operative phrase here is "my staff"...

I'm sure the Governor was completely oblivious to this unwarranted transgression of the First Amendment, right?

[Mabus]

33. Bingo! He just threw his staff under the bus

because he's not man enough to apologize to a teenager.

[Jack Rabbit]

35. Thank you, Governor Brownback. And now some friendly advice.

As you might guess, Governor, I seldom agree with you, but even if I agreed with you on almost everything I would give you this advice.

Will you please find more useful things for your staff to do than monitor the Net for nasty messages about you? You're a politician and an American. As a politician, you should know that you you can't please all of the people all of the time. Some people will think you suck. Just take that for granted. As am American, you should know that each American has the right to say that the chief executive of his respective state -- or the federal chief executive -- sucks. When that person is talking about you, just grin and bear it. Politics is not a career for people with thin skins. As President Truman said, If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."

/s/
Jack Rabbit

[WinkyDink]

36. Now will any DU'ers, who found fault with the girl?

[brooklynite]

37. Um,did I miss something?

[Posteritatis]

46. Quite a few people thought the student should apologize or otherwise be punished. (nt)

[KurtNYC]

38. "want to thank the thousands of Kansas educators who remind us daily of our liberties"

So he is excluding the girl's principal who demanded that she write an apology letter for saying a politician sucks.

[annabanana]

42. sweet . . . . . . . n/t

[Kablooie]

45. One young girl stands up to a Republican and he backs down immediately.

If only the Democrats would do the same thing they'd get the same result.