"How Amy Klobuchar Treats Her Staff" - New York Times

[bearsfootball516]

Last edited Fri Feb 22, 2019, 05:10 PM - Edit history (1)

"Senator Amy Klobuchar was hungry, forkless and losing patience.

An aide, joining her on a trip to South Carolina in 2008, had procured a salad for his boss while hauling their bags through an airport terminal. But once onboard, he delivered the grim news: He had fumbled the plastic eating utensils before reaching the gate, and the crew did not have any forks on such a short flight.

What happened next was typical: Ms. Klobuchar berated her aide instantly for the slip-up. What happened after that was not: She pulled a comb from her bag and began eating the salad with it, according to four people familiar with the episode.

Then she handed the comb to her staff member with a directive: Clean it."

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/22/us/politics/amy-klobuchar-staff.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

She doesn't have a very big following here (Only 2 percent, according to the Democratic Primaries thread statistics) but I thought this was an interesting enough article to share anyway.

Link to tweet

[Demsrule86]

1. I like her and will ignore all this sexist crap...ever see a guy with stories like this?

I am undecided...not against anyone...I won't vote for Gabbard or Sanders in a primary but am open to all other candidates.

[Eliot Rosewater]

27. Yep, and here is this bullshit at DU...so sick of BASHING democrats around here

[ripcord]

45. It is amazing how things go in primary season

Is it really necessary to eat our own?

[Demsrule86]

49. I am too.

[Demsrule86]

57. She must be a saint if that is all they can find...and given the ferocity of the attacks...someone

Is out to get her...Justice types or GOP-sometimes you can't tell.

[Hortensis]

61. :) to "saint," but absolutely. Rachel Maddow's a big admirer,

and that's worth a lot to me. Rachel knows her personally, knows a great deal about all who may run, and is glad she's one of them.

[TeamPooka]

31. i remember a video of John Edwards combing his hair to "I feel pretty"

[Maru Kitteh]

47. Well in all fairness

He did in fact, feel pretty.

[Demsrule86]

48. I remember that too.

[crazycatlady]

50. I like her too

However, if these allegations about her staff are true, this needs to be said.

This could translate to high turnover for cabinet level officials.

[snowybirdie]

2. Well well

Gotta keep this one going, don't we? Does any reporter report on male candidates being crabby while hungary? Helping Putin folks

[BeyondGeography]

3. At least there's some new material

The comb bit is a keeper.

[hlthe2b]

7. Next you know, it will become her cat's "flea" comb.

[apcalc]

4. This has to stop. Leave her alone. Drop it.

It’s garbage.

[elleng]

10. More just popped up.

I see putin, trump and mcconnell have their eyes on DU (as well as other places, I suspect.)

[apcalc]

21. Russian Propaganda type bull

We need to close ranks and crush this type of stuff. We already know “ they” are trying to cause divisions.

[hlthe2b]

6. sexist claptrap...

If that had been one of many male candidates experiencing a bit of frustration, hypoglycemia, exhaustion, or just being an ass, this would not be a story.

Of course, I'd hope she'd treat her staff well and be polite always, but everyone has their "days"...

[KayF]

8. Bernie would never do this

Last edited Sun Mar 10, 2019, 09:48 PM - Edit history (1)

he doesn't own a comb.

[BeyondGeography]

9. That's funny

[jalan48]

13. ...

[Demsrule86]

18. Really?

[m-lekktor]

26. lol nt

[Eliot Rosewater]

28. Or own one for that matter

[Polybius]

39. LMAO!

He should though.

[MrsCoffee]

40. Lol

Anger Management: Sanders Fights for Employees, Except His Own

https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/anger-management-sanders-fights-for-employees-except-his-own/Content?oid=2834657

"As a supervisor, he was unbelievably abusive," says one former campaign staffer, who claims to have endured frequent verbal assaults. The double standard was clear: "He did things that, if he found out that another supervisor was doing in a workplace, he would go after them. You can't treat employees that way."

Like several others quoted in this column, the campaign worker would speak only on the condition of anonymity, saying that to do otherwise would constitute "career suicide" in a small state such as Vermont. But others echoed the former employee's story, saying the senator is prone to fits of anger.

"Bernie was an asshole," says a Democratic insider who worked with Sanders on the campaign trail. "Just unnecessarily an asshole."

"He yelled in meetings all the time," says one of Sanders' former Senate staffers. "He'd yell, 'I don't want to hear excuses! I want to get it done!'"

"At his best, Sanders is a skilled reader and manipulator of people and events," Rosenfeld wrote. "At his worst, he falls prey to his own emotions, is unable to practice what he preaches (though he would believe otherwise) and exudes a contempt for those he derides, including his staff."

[flotsam]

11. Fuck the NYT

Trump is a Russian traitor selling nukes to Saudi Arabia who rapes underage children and a deli salad dispute is the news?

[Demsrule86]

19. Link...and I don't believe it.

[Eliot Rosewater]

29. That is a very tough accusation to make without some source, dont you think?

Talk about take TWO Democrats down in one swoop!

[jodymarie aimee]

14. THE NEW YORK TIMES

is an excellent publication...you shouldn't yell fake news because you don't like the info in the article...you know who does that...NOT DEMS...the other guys...

[Demsrule86]

20. Right...we are not the purity police so we should defend our candidates especially when attacked in

meaningless and sexist ways. By the way, It seems to me that other campaigns have had more serious issues such as sexual harrasment.

[jodymarie aimee]

22. I don't even understand what you just said...sorry

it is a prestigious publication is what I am saying...and please don't get the impression that I am not opening a dialogue with you....I don't know you and will never meet you and this infighting is nuts...

[Voltaire2]

32. The NYT has a history of truly disturbing

editorial decisions despite being an excellent journalism institution. See for example it’s boosting of the Iraq War propaganda.

[MineralMan]

15. Such stories smack of people who are trying to find anything at all

they can use against a person who has no real flaws they can report.

What was this staff member or aide's name, pray tell? We could ask him about the incident, perhaps. That does not appear to have been revealed, though. Anonymous stories. Feh!

[SaschaHM]

16. I like Klobuchar.

However, the paid parental leave policy for her office is a complete travesty and I expect her to explain the reasoning behind it during the primary.

[LovingA2andMI]

17. Who Cares????

Seriously.......

[Lazy Daisy]

23. OMG

Tell me it isn't so. Amy Klobuchar gets hangry? What will we do?

Where does she sit on $15 min wage? How about universal healthcare? Economic equality? Taxes? etc

Gotta give it to her though, I'd have never thought of using a comb as an eating utensil. I'd have gone full caveman and used my hands.

[rampartc]

53. i have used my fingers on salad before

so it is probably closer to "medieval " than "full cave man"

[crazycatlady]

62. It is the reverse Little Mermaid

Ariel uses a fork (dinglehopper) to comb her hair.

[Orangepeel]

24. She used a comb for a missing fork? Sounds resourceful

I’m not sure what the problem here is. That she didn’t say “please clean it?”

[mcar]

25. The media has learned nothing from 2016

Sexist, double standards, petty. Watch them normalize Dotard more and more as they clutch their pearls over the latest Dem "scandal!!11"

We must call them out. Every time.

[apcalc]

30. NYT???? But what about HER EMAILS??????

That paper kneecaps ppl. Eff the Times.

[Blue_Tires]

33. Note to self: Either eat salad with hands

or find a pair of chopsticks, since every office has at least one hidden away somewhere

[rusty fender]

35. She was on a plane,

not in her office. She used what she had. Gross, but what can you do on a plane

[HopeAgain]

34. Just noise to me

Dont plan to vote for her for her politics, nothing else.

[Politicub]

36. I like Klobuchar

And would gladly cast my vote for her.

The tough boss tropes do stink of sexism.

[USALiberal]

38. I have worked for male and female assholes......

all of them fired at some point.

I hate bullies.

If she says she has never thrown objects at a staff member I'll believe her. If not I believe the staff.

If this is a scam, where are the staff abuse stories about Harris or Warren???

[IluvPitties]

41. Reasonable position to take.

I want Amy to clarify the allegations. I don't support assholes or abusive people, male or female.

[bernie59]

37. Don't care about plastic forks, or combs.

[Awsi Dooger]

42. It is remarkable how much traction this has received

Obviously I support Klobuchar but I'm very confident if this variable attached to a different candidate I wouldn't particularly care about it, and similarly not understand how it could linger.

Again, if we had 100 check boxes a month ago toward an ideal nominee and "Treatment of Staff" was on the list, I wonder how high it would have slotted?

Now apparently it is supposed to be near the top.

As Nate Silver wrote a couple of weeks ago, this is not something that voters are likely to care about. If it surfaced smack during a fall presidential campaign I doubt it would be more than a blip, because by that point the nation would already have been introduced to Amy Klobuchar and made up their own mind about her.

It is more damaging now, as primary voters are like-minded and can be swayed by anything, with so many good choices in play. I can guarantee Amy would be above 2% here if this never surfaced.

When Donald Trump throws out a preposterous accusation during September 2020 we need someone who can react properly, or not react at all. Each circumstance is a mine field with varied choices required, depending on the charge. I would trust Amy to do fantastic in that situation. Likewise Beto and Sherrod Brown. A few others, IMO, would stumble repeatedly.

[marylandblue]

43. I'm very interested in how she will respond to this

Every Democrat is going to be subject to smears, insults and stupid scandals. She needs fight back and turn it around. She'll never make it if she can't do that.

[betsuni]

44. But was there arugula in that salad? Lettuce know the most important details, New York Times.

Is arugula still elitist or is it centrist now?

[SidDithers]

46. More on her behaviour...

Link to tweet

Unbelievable.



Sid

[dlk]

51. I Hope the Misogyny From the 2026 Election Isn't Forgotten

Here we go again... This isn’t even news.

[samnsara]

52. im concerned when i see this posted and shared..this is like the..

..crap about Di Fi and the little kids. We need to stop this. We shouldnt give this stuff a second thought. We are going to be bought and paid for like the gop if we dont stop this stuff now.

[Recursion]

54. Oh come on. If every male Senator who berated his staff got an article like this

the NYT wouldn't have room to print anything else.

[USALiberal]

55. LOL, nice try.....

And why only her for these stories, no other candidates??

Staff turnover rate was really high.

And this BS reply from Reid about telling her to treat her staff better.....

“A spokesman for Reid said the retired senator prefers not to discuss private conversations he had with other senators. In this case, Reid also does not remember whether or not he had this discussion with Klobuchar, the spokesman said.“

LOL, the old "do not recall" BS.

All she has to say is "I have NEVER thrown an object at my staff". Problem solved!

[JDC]

56. This has an "Elliot Spitzer wears black socks" feel to it.

A visual element that is.

If this story said Trump ate a salad w a comb, we would first say No way Trump are a salad; we would then immediate say he is losing his mind.

These stories are supposedly "coming from inside the house." It makes me wonder if they are staffers looking to win points and get onto another Dem candidate's team <or> straight from another candidate's early recon to eliminate competition.

There is yet another story on HuffPo that states she personally prevented her staffers from advancing their careers. (I won't link that source).

Seems like a giant pile on by somebody. I don't discount our own being responsible.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

58. Are we recycling 2016's complaints about how HRC treated staff?

Same old bots, same old complaints, different targets.

Yes, sometimes bosses snap at employees.

Wait, she used a comb as a fork, and THEN asked her aide to wash it? Ewww.

[Vinca]

59. Even though it's the NYT, I'm suspect of articles like this one. Call it the Russian influence

I guess. It seems no one wants to put their names on the charges against Klobuchar. She may be the world's worst boss, but it might be Ivan in Moscow who's pushing the story. The NYT would do well to cite some sources if they want to come off as anything but a tool for promoting disruption amongst Democrats.

[Beringia]

60. This is so petty