Puke & Snot: Pawlenty Iowa Campaign Worker Arrested

The news wire services were abuzz earlier this month with reports of another in the long list of disturbing cases of hypocrisy on behalf of those paragons of family values and law and order types, the Republican Party. Reading like a page out of failed Minnesota Gubernatorial candidate and multiple DWI offender, Tom Emmer's past, the first staffer hired by the Pawlenty for President Committee in Iowa, 24 year-old Alabaman Benjamin Limbaugh Foster, was arrested in the early morning hours of April 6, 2011 attempting to break into the downstairs of a home in Ankeny, Iowa.

Much to the horror of the owners 15 year-old daughter, the besotted Foster, in a move that is sure to endear his candidate, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, in the hearts of all Iowejuns, was attempting to force his way into the home thinking it was the residence he had been temporarily staying at, that is before becoming a resident of the local county jail. Only problem was, that the residence the T-Paw worker had been using as a temporary base of operations was over 10 miles away. Woops!

When Ankeny police arrived shortly after 3 A.M. they found the father of the 15 year old holding the now puking Pawlenty campaign worker at gunpoint on the front lawn. Complicating matters is the fact that despite their locating a car with Bama plates parked just down the street and Foster initially admitting to them that he had been out drinking and driving, the local constables only charged the inimical threat to public safety with public intoxication and trespassing. You don't think the fact that this Des Moines suburb is a Republican stronghold could have anything to do with the gross undercharging in the criminal case now do you?

Well at least we could count on the "take responsibility for ones own actions" crowd to mete out the appropriate punishment for this heinous offense right? You be the judge. The press release from the Pawlenty campaign read:

"Governor Pawlenty is extremely disappointed in Ben's actions and his behavior does not meet the standards he expects of his employees. Therefore the committee is placing Ben on a two-week unpaid suspension and expects him to bear the legal consequences for his actions."

Besides, my former law school classmate and Presidential candidate must have thought to himself, maybe the kid was suffering from a case of swine flu? Yeah Governor, that would be swine of the Republican variety.

http://www.myfoxaustin.com/dpps/news/politics/pawlenty-worker-ben-foster-drunk-iowa-apr-6-2011_12652592