Party bosses trade accusations over flier
The state's DFL and Republican party leaders are trading barbs today over a campaign flier circulating in the northern Minnesota House district where a special election is scheduled next week.
The flier from GOP candidate Paul Jacobson shows a hunter aiming a gun under the message "take your best shot." The piece criticizes DFL candidate Carly Melen as "full of holes" on gun issues. But in the aftermath of the Tucson shootings, DFL state Party Chairman Ken Martin called on Republicans to tone down the rhetoric.
"It's not necessarily the fact that they used this issue," Martin said. "I think there's more important issues that they should be focusing on. It's the way that they decided to portray this in this literature piece which is really despicable."
State GOP Chairman Tony Sutton defended the brochure. Sutton said the message was about 2nd amendment issues and nothing else.
"Rather than talk about the issue, they try and have this diversionary attack," Sutton said. "It is unconscionable that they would for political purposes try and exploit the tragedy in Arizona, when it's obviously when you look at the piece, it's obviously a hunter."
Jacobson and Melin are running for the seat formerly held by DFLer Tony Sertich of Chisholm. Cynthia Kafut-Hagen is the Independence Party candidate.
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