by Fran Eaton
I'm sure Congressman TIm Johnson (R-Urbana) doesn't think the prank on the RNC website about him attending a certain SOTU party Wednesday night is funny at all. The RNC website mistakenly claimed the Downstate congressman would be attending a post-speech party at a Bloomington bar. The party's festivities were to include "a Jesse Jackson pinata and a dunk tank featuring a Hillary Clinton look-alike," the Pantagraph says.
Wednesday morning the Democratic National Committee came out blasting Johnson.
"By associating himself with a party dominated by over-the-top personal attacks, Congressman Johnson has shown just how out of touch he is with Illinois voters," the DNC reprimanded.
The laugh is on the DNC. If they only knew how mild-mannered and soft-spoken Johnson is, and how he is one of the few politicians who really is in touch with his constitutents . . . which made the accusation believable for just a moment . . .
Anyone in that district knows if three or four Republicans are gathering for any reason at any time, and Johnson hears about it -- he's there. No one works harder and shakes hands more in his home district than Tim Johnson does.
But Johnson wasn't shy in his response to the DNC's critique. He shot back with both barrels: "I'm disappointed in both the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee that they would not see through the obvious absurdity. . . The bottom line is we (he and his staff) had nothing to do with it."
Johnson admitted he disagreed with Jackson and Clinton's politics, and that he felt badly for them because "they were caught in the crossfire."
Kudos, Congressman. Not sure I'd have been so gracious.
Link: Pantagraph.com - News.
