Brownback Picks On High School Girl, Looks Mean, Petty.

[kentonio]

The governor responded to an attack on twitter that he couldn't possibly have identified as a teenage girl's. When you make statements in a public forum, it's fair game for the people you are discussing to respond.

You mean apart from the fact they knew which organization it was from (Youth in Government) because they complained to that organization and the teenagers name was Emma. Real Sherlock Holmes stuff required there to work out it was a teenage girl..

[Donegeal]

Not a public issue? It's twitter for crying out loud! How much more public do you need to get for it to be a public issue?!

[loinburger]

When you make statements in a public forum, it's fair game for the people you are discussing to respond.

If Brownback had tweeted back "stop being mean to me " or something along those lines, then that would have constituted a valid "response." Forcing the girl to issue an apology by way of her principal does not constitute a valid "response" - this is akin to having a campaign-contributing manager discipline an employee for tweeting rude things about the governor during off-work hours.

[Elok]

I believe the governor simply overreacted due to a basically reasonable fear of what adolescents could do with a name like "Brownback."

[loinburger]

He doesn't want to go the way of Rick Santorum

[Fake Boris]

I'm more concerned by the principal's reaction than the governor's.

This.

[MikeH]

It just shows how stupid some organisations are about criticism via social media.

If they hadn't responded at all, none of us would have heard of this comment. Now I have heard of Brownback, and think poorly of him.

[The Mad Monk]

Just for reference, four years ago he was a senator and one of the minor contenders in the Republican primaries.

[Elok]

Which means he'll probably be picked for GOP frontrunner status in a few weeks, once they've exhausted their current set of notRomneys.

[Hauldren Collider]

If Brownback had tweeted back "stop being mean to me " or something along those lines, then that would have constituted a valid "response." Forcing the girl to issue an apology by way of her principal does not constitute a valid "response" - this is akin to having a campaign-contributing manager discipline an employee for tweeting rude things about the governor during off-work hours.

Perhaps I'm not totally familiar with what happened? It sounds like a) the governor didn't really do anything, it was his communications director, b) the principal took the initiative here in punishing the student, not at the behest of the communications director. It sounds like what should happen is the communications director should be fired, the principal is a dick, and the student didn't do anything wrong, and the governor ought to be more careful. Regardless, this is really not a big deal.

[MikeH]

I agree with all that

Except that I think the communications director is the voice of the candidate.

If there is a note of Brownback suggesting that his communications director was wrong, and went too far, then all very well. No-one's posted that yet.

Communications director should potentially be fired for giving any opponent of Brownback a story to attack him with.

[loinburger]

Perhaps I'm not totally familiar with what happened? It sounds like a) the governor didn't really do anything, it was his communications director, b) the principal took the initiative here in punishing the student, not at the behest of the communications director. It sounds like what should happen is the communications director should be fired, the principal is a dick, and the student didn't do anything wrong, and the governor ought to be more careful. Regardless, this is really not a big deal.

So when you said "When you make statements in a public forum, it's fair game for the people you are discussing to respond" you were speaking in generalities that had nothing to do with this thread?

[MikeH]

Oh and I think the worst behaviour here was from the Principal, so if anyone should be fired it's him.

[Hauldren Collider]

Except that I think the communications director is the voice of the candidate.

If there is a note of Brownback suggesting that his communications director was wrong, and went too far, then all very well. No-one's posted that yet.

Yes, I agree with this.

[Hauldren Collider]

So when you said "When you make statements in a public forum, it's fair game for the people you are discussing to respond" you were speaking in generalities that had nothing to do with this thread?

I was confused, I thought that Brownback had responded over twitter and was being criticized for it.