Johnson Calls Shenanigans!

The Star Tribune's Patricia Lopez covers Dean "Mayday" Johnson today and you gotta love the lede on this one.

Rejecting calls to move on, Senate Republicans allege that Dean Johnson lied about conversations with Supreme Court members about Minnesota marriage laws.

Did I miss something? Is the story really the Republicans unwillingness to just let this one slide?

Even better is Johnson's Farva-like response:

"I expect this is just further political shenanigans."

Frankly, after all the outright lies told by Johnson lately, I could stand some relatively harmless shenanigans. Shenanigans like this:

In the complaint, the senators go farther than any elected official has yet in the controversy, saying flatly that Johnson "has repeatedly lied" and that he has violated a permanent Senate rule that prohibits members from conduct that "betrays the public trust or that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor or disrepute."

If I'm not mistaken, Republicans called shenanigans first. Too bad they couldn't have found a way to get that in the article.

UPDATE: Heaven forbid Mayday's stain on our representative government pass without Brian Melendez, who calls Johnson's act an "unguarded comment," getting a chance to blast the character of a minister.

The minister who secretly taped Senator Johnson’s comments in a private meeting is a petty opportunist. His covert deception exposes the extremists pushing the same-sex amendment as people of weak principles.

Ya, really. The gall. To think that Dean Johnson can't crisscross the state asserting false collusion with the State Supreme Court without some petty extremist having to record it all.

I think we can officially start calling Brian Melendez a two-bit character assassin. Between petty ministers and our un-American lying veterans he's earned it. It's a wonder he can say this with a straight face:

The Republican Party’s actions are morally and politically reprehensible.

If only Brian Melendez could take an honest appraisal of Brian Melendez. He would almost certainly have to fire himself.

At least Mayday has given up on the shenanigans theory, and none too soon.

"The ethics complaint filed against me today is being taken seriously. We have a process in place in the Minnesota Senate which I respect. I intend to let the process work."

I think this just got intereting.