Kobluchar accused of humiliating, throwing objects at tearful employees

[Yosemito]

Reported today by Buzzfeed:

But behind the doors of her Washington, DC, office, the Minnesota Democrat ran a workplace controlled by fear, anger, and shame, according to interviews with eight former staffers, one that many employees found intolerably cruel. She demeaned and berated her staff almost daily, subjecting them to bouts of explosive rage and regular humiliation within the office, according to interviews and dozens of emails reviewed by BuzzFeed News.

That anger regularly left employees in tears, four former staffers said. She yelled, threw papers, and sometimes even hurled objects; one aide was accidentally hit with a flying binder, according to someone who saw it happen, though the staffer said the senator did not intend to hit anyone with the binder when she threw it

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mollyhensleyclancy/amy-klobuchar-staff-2020-election?bftw=pol

[HipChick]

1. She needs to resign immediately ...

[dsc]

2. so much for Minnesota nice

[Luciferous]

37. Ha, Minnesota nice is really just passive aggressiveness.

[customerserviceguy]

42. Yep, down south

they say "Bless your heart!" as a form of passive aggressiveness, too.

[snowybirdie]

3. Oh my

Another out of control women, so say the Ruskies. She can't be President!!!!!!

[DemocratSinceBirth]

4. Small potatoes.

[WillowTree]

28. Not if you're the one on the receiving end.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

30. This is very true. Mean bosses suck.

[customerserviceguy]

43. I had religious differences with my last boss

He thought he was God, I disagreed.

[msongs]

5. if its not in the enquirer or rawstory it cant possibly be true nt

[elfin]

6. I HATE this - have always admired her

For her smarts, thoughtfulness and yes, her even demeanor.

Could be the result of the recent George Will Oped that surmised she is the one who can unify us and beat Trump in 2020. This event could cause the opposition to scramble to find ANYTHING that could hurt her to the nomination.

And in the accepted history of men being hard taskmasters -- why can't women??

So I will withhold judgment.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

31. No, these stories have been floating around for years,

since she was the Hennepin County Attorney before she ran for the Senate. They were an issue when she first ran for the Senate in 2006, although the allegations didn't affect her campaign. If these claims are even partly true they need to be addressed and dealt with now, before they become an issue in the primaries. Whatever skeletons any candidate has in their closet - and they all will have at least one or two - get them out early and hope that it's irrelevant old news by next year.

[rainin]

7. That's all they got? hahahahahahahahaha

LAME!!!!!!!!!

[TheCowsCameHome]

8. She sounds like she could knock Trump on his ass.

[Blue Owl]

9. Really... Really???

[winstars]

10. But was she hysterical? Because thats the usual claim!!!

[Yosemito]

15. True. But a female staffee is quoted

as saying it's not sexism.

[democratisphere]

11. Wonder if any Democrats will be left standing for the Democratic Convention in 2020.

Damn.

[customerserviceguy]

44. And this

is just us beating up on them. When they get into the debates, it could get a lot worse.

Our 2020 nominee will have indeed run a gauntlet. I guess that's the preparation for running against Trump.

[Generic Brad]

12. Sounds like a Roger Stone type hit

Kloubachar is known for being nice. This is an attack on her strength. I smell ratfuck journalism.

[2naSalit]

16. +1

[NCjack]

23. How do we know if this story traces back to the WH or Kremlin? Who

are the accusers? I just don't believe it.

[Awsi Dooger]

21. I thought about that also...attacking her strength

I doubt these type of attacks would amount to anything in a general election unless there was evidence of it publicly during the campaign. But it could cause primary voters to steer clear of her. Maybe that is the goal. It is seemingly very easy to sway a primary as opposed to a general election, because everyone in a primary has more or less the same perspective.

Attempting to dictate the nominee -- or disqualify certain candidates -- is the next logical step for the type who used social media to tilt the general election in 2016. I'm not saying for sure that is going on here but I would certainly anticipate that type of thing. The desperate fixes are always aimed at what happened previously and not what is happening now.

[dalton99a]

22. Yep.

[yardwork]

27. I agree. All anonymous? This sounds like a hit piece.

[Demsrule86]

40. It is open season on Democrats it seems.

[mr_lebowski]

53. Any idea when that 'ends', exactly?

Cause I, for one, am certainly looking forward to the day ...

[Demsrule86]

65. As long as we fall for it and reward the GOP for this sort of thing, it will continue.

[bdamomma]

67. They have no other

way just their grotesque lies being thrown around. Repigs are worst than pigs. Hey if they want a fight they will get a fight, don't they dare go after women candidates, who are more superior than repigs. WTF!!!!

[Demsrule86]

73. We need to fight...and I think they are already attacking women candidates.

[TexasBushwhacker]

74. Yeah, if you're a "former" staffer

Why not go on the record?

[radius777]

47. Exactly, swiftboating of a strong candidate

she's from the Midwest, a crucial region, and is generally liked by both sides of the aisle.

it may be a RW/Stone hitpiece, but could also be coming from the alt(anti-Dem) left, where many of these hit-pieces seem to be coming from, to destroy the mainstream Dem candidates (like Klobuchar), to pave the way for their favored candidate(s).

[regnaD kciN]

52. This story came from HER OWN STAFFERS...

I’m assuming the theory here was that those eeeeeeeevil Republicans planted their operatives on her staff (and somehow managed to get their previous political track record past her hiring process) over a decade ago just so they could torpedo her presidential candidacy many years later?

[kcr]

66. Really? WOW!

It's simply incredible how someone can hide their assholery in such a way that only the anonymous ones ever see it. That takes skill.

[hlthe2b]

13. Would anything she is accused of doing be a big story about a male candidate?

I would like for everyone to be "nice" to those who work with and for them, but....

[still_one]

54. In fairness, McCain was accussed of having quite a temper

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jun/22/johnmccain.uselections2008

[JI7]

14. but they were ok working on her senate campaign ?

[dalton99a]

24. +1. Like campaign work is a low-stress environment

[TeamPooka]

55. They are identified as Senate staffers not campaign staff

DC pros

[Cha]

17. Crash Course in Anger management, if true?

[MFM008]

18. funny

how they are trying to wreck our party candidates.

[PatSeg]

39. Its nothing new

We've been through it many times before. They'll go after our best and brightest, the ones who are the greatest threat to them. We need to get used to it, as it will be a long two years and the attacks won't let up. Republicans know our Achilles's heel and we need to let it roll off.

[tavernier]

19. All asked not to be named.

Hmm. Where have we heard that before?

[msongs]

26. no attribution is very suspicious yes nt

[USALiberal]

69. Seriously?? They are worried about future jobs. Wow! nt

[Yosemito]

46. They don't want to get fired nt

[MrsCoffee]

51. Former staffers probably wouldn't be too worried about that.

[former9thward]

63. Of course they would.

They are her former staffers. They probably work for someone else now.

[USALiberal]

70. Yes, they would! wow. nt

[dalton99a]

20. Michele Bachmann demands Klobuchar's resignation, says Minnesotans deserve "better senator"

[Hotler]

25. I had a boss a few years back .....

that would throw stuff and slam drawers and even bang his head on his desk. One day he was having a tantrum and threw a pen and barely missed my head. Four other people witnessed it and their eyes got really big when I stood up walked over and grabbed him by the shirt and told him in front of everybody if I caught him again throwing stuff I would beat his ass into the carpet right then and there. I said I would be out of jail before he was out of the hospital. I'm an ex-ironworker and you don't want get on my bad side.

[customerserviceguy]

45. Dayum!

That's way better than "Take This Job and Shove It!"

I used sarcasm with my last boss. He played the audiotape of a customer who was clearly gunning for anyone in customer service with our utility company, who could not have been satisfied by anybody, and I didn't resolve the situation to their satisfaction, to put it mildly. After the tape, and in front of the HR person and the union rep, he asked me, "Is there anything you could have done to make that come out better?"

My reply was, "Get into a time machine, and give that customer a Xanax about half an hour before they called me."

Yes, that part went into my file for the suspension. The union rep said, "Well, they wanted to suspend you for five days, but we got it down to three." My reply was, "What, you couldn't get it up to seven days of them going without the job I do around here?" I took early retirement a month or two later. Take this job and shove it!

[akraven]

29. I had a boss like that once in my early 20's. He threw a stapler at me.

I had asked him if he wanted to place his lunch order or was going out.

I quit on the spot. With a LARGE FU on top of it.

[Lifelong Protester]

32. I don't believe it!

She's not that kind of person.

[LovingA2andMI]

33. If She Was A Male....

There would be no story.

[True Dough]

34. I threw my laptop across the room

upon reading this thread title!

Now I'm typing this on my blasted phone! Maybe I'll learn to keep my temper in check too.

[riverwalker]

38. A bad temper in a man

Is “fiery, fierce, irascible, cantankerous, contrary” and used often to describe effective male politicians.

[USALiberal]

75. At my company they are called "assholes" before they are fired. nt

[smirkymonkey]

41. I am hoping this isn't true, but i will wait until more is revealed.

If it is true, she is toast. It's not looking good for her. I really thought she would make an ideal VP candidate. I never thought she would be the front runner.

[question everything]

48. And if she were a man? A local host of a PBS station asked the guest

This would be different, the guest - a woman professor - admitted.

There are many men bosses who were described as behaving in a similar way. They are considered titans of their industries, tough, getting things done.

[peggysue2]

49. Wow!

I have to say I'm impressed. Kobluchar isn't even officially out of the gate and she's getting whacked. We've got nasties on Harris, Gillibrand, Warren, Gabbard (of course), and now Kobluchar. So glad this is the Year of the Woman! And we're how far out from the primaries?

This is going to be so-o-o exhilarating.

[ananda]

50. Sounds like another hit piece on a good female politician!

Ignore

[betsuni]

56. "I cried. I cried, like, all the time" made me laugh.

Maybe if you don't pay attention to details like grammar mistakes and poor word choices in press releases, pack the wrong clothes, staple things when you know your boss likes paper clips, you might entertain the possibility that you're bad at your job and try harder. Maybe I'm a bad person like Klobuchar! I watch Hell's Kitchen, too.

[leftyladyfrommo]

57. We have enough good people to choose from that we don't

need to choose someone like that.

[NewJeffCT]

58. Now, if a guy was accused of the same

Last edited Sat Feb 9, 2019, 11:03 PM - Edit history (1)

would it even be newsworthy?

He'd just be a driven and motivated boss who has high standards and expects the same of his staff.

[jcgoldie]

59. So basically...

She's not likeable.

[LisaL]

60. Throwing objects at employees would mean boss has high standards?

Somehow I doubt it.

[smirkymonkey]

64. If I had heard this about a male politician, I would be just as turned off.

Someone who can't control their anger and with so little impulse control has no business occupying the highest office in the land, whether they are male or female. How Trump managed to get in is because of Russians, cheating and stupid, hateful voters.

[NewJeffCT]

82. Bill Clinton was known

for having an explosive temper, as was LBJ.

[USALiberal]

71. Yes, he would be called an "asshole", happens a lot. nt

[treestar]

72. +1

And the people working for him would not complain so much and not be so miserable and would admire how tough he is.

[NewJeffCT]

83. a lot of the people that worked for him

would still be miserable, but the people not immediately around him would think he's great.

[Sunsky]

61. The hit pieces keep on coming

I guess I should believe conflicting anonymous sources and unseen evidence . Show us the emails at least.
The election season is in the early stages and Democrats are already under attack. Even here on DU, we have seen the ramping up of negative stories about our likely candidates.
However, Democrats have boxed ourselves in with these unattainable purity standards, which will leave no Democrat standing. Remember, there is no perfect candidate. Also, remember who we are up against.

[radius777]

62. Politics is a pressure cooker

Go watch The War Room or any other great political documentary or drama such as The West Wing, House of Cards, etc.

The game of politics is tough, and can't really be compared to other workplaces.

You have severely overworked people under a microscope 24/7, who may sometimes act in unconventional ways. These "anonymous" sources (who I'm willing to bet have their own political motivations) need a thicker skin... also, how do we know that it wasn't Klobuchar who was the one being bullied, she is sweet and nice to a fault... classic swiftboating.

[USALiberal]

68. Bye Bye, I hate bully's! nt

[USALiberal]

76. Typo in title! nt

[Vinca]

77. I loved Colbert's response to this story. He said finding this out about her was like getting

a car from Oprah and finding a body in the trunk.

[Kurt V.]

78. othet former staffers are saying she runs a tight ship. and praising her for that

[LakeArenal]

79. Quit eating our own.

[Charlotte Little]

80. 2019

Women who run are:
- horrible bosses who FORCE employees to stay.
- Fucking liars about their race no matter what they were told in the past.
- Brittle "kinda" black, angry women who hope to...
- white, overly-ambitious women who...run.

Did I miss anyone?

[LakeArenal]

81. If temperamental is the only slime the right wing can sling...

Then run Amy run.

For pete’s sake, I’ve had perfectionist bosses before. If successful, they are usually as hard on themselves as they are on others.

I’ve had one who was a grammar and punctuation perfectionist.

I’ve had the binder clips, no staples or paper clips.

I’ve had a yeller: One that likes to threat dismissal. One that would believe his minnion over everyone else.

Never wanted to leave any of them for it.

It’s called work.