Memo to media reporters, from Howard Kurtz to Paul Farhi: Twitter is becoming a serious political problem for Democrats. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports Wisconsin Democratic Party spokesman Graeme Zielinski compared Gov. Scott Walker to Wisconsin cannibal/serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer on Twitter after prosecutors closed an investigation into Walker aides with no charges filed against the Republican governor.
“@GovWalker had better lawyers than Jeffrey Dahmer in beating the rap. Clear that he committed crimes,” Zielinski wrote in one of his tweets.
Walker posted three tweets drawing comparisons between Walker and Dahmer, including that Walker spent more in his own defense. (The Journal-Sentinel has a screenshot of them.) Zielinski later deleted the tweets and issued a public apology to both Walker and the victims of Dahmer.
You might have to be middle-aged and a Wisconsin native/political junkie to notice Zielinski's avatar is a picture of the late Democrat Congressman Clement Zablocki, who served from 1949 until his death in 1983.
Even Zielinski's boss, Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate, offered an apology. “Graeme's tweet is inappropriate, overzealous and insensitive," Tate said via email. "He should have chosen a different comparison point in pointing out Gov. Walker has had to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to avoid criminal charges. He and I regret his comment.”
North Dakota also witnessed a case of the Inappropriate Democratic Tweet, reports the Bismarck Tribune:
Freshman Rep. Jessica Haak, D-Jamestown, sent a tweet Wednesday afternoon during a recess in the House floor session. She tweeted that she had been told by Rep. Al Carlson, R-Fargo, to not tweet when the chamber was in session. Haak ended her tweet with “Nazi” as a hashtag.
After the House had adjourned for the day, Haak met with Democratic-NPL leadership and later met with Carlson to apologize. After the House convened Thursday, Haak asked to read a statement on the floor.
In her statement, Haak apologized for her conduct although she didn’t specifically reference the tweet or its content.
Carlson said he has accepted Haak’s apology. “That’s not the kind of behavior worthy of this chamber,” Carlson said. “It’s a done deal now. Her apology is accepted and it’s time to move on.”
