Capitol Retort: Kidnapping plot; res ipsa loquitur; boomer brawl

Question 1: A group of militiamen face life in prison for a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, drag her to Wisconsin and hold some sort of Star Chamber show trial before “killin’ her.” They didn’t like her COVID-19 orders. Our governor, too, has been branded a “tyrant” by some opponents for his pandemic response. How concerned are you that he, too, is vulnerable?

Mike Freiberg, attorney, DFL House Government Operations chair: I mean there is a lot of alarming rhetoric out there. I think he has good people protecting him. I know he’s being cautious and I imagine he’ll be safe. But yeah, there is definitely beyond-alarming rhetoric out there when things like this are happening. I think it’s just really a reflection of some of the outlandish rhetoric coming from Washington right now, frankly. I mean, the president the United States has called for his opponents to be jailed and he has a lot of followers out there. I don’t understand why. But I think it starts at the top in this case.

Amy Koch, former GOP Senate majority leader: I read up on this group and they are absolute whackadoos. They hate her. They hate Donald Trump. Obviously, they hate women. They should have the book thrown at them. I mean, we can argue all day long about executive power—how long this lasts, the appropriate timing, involving the three branches of government in decisions and all of that—without acting like absolute maniacal idiots, as this group did.

Dennis Smith, attorney, former GOP House member: I certainly hope our governor in Minnesota is not vulnerable to that type of ridiculous and horrible attack. We need to find a way in our political system to have honest disagreements, discuss them like rational adults and move on and carry forward together.

Sarah Walker, founder, Second Chance Coalition: What I would say right now is I am concerned about just the state of politics in general that creates an environment in which these extreme views lead to extreme actions and are fueled by the president. I think everyone who works in politics is vulnerable.

Jerry Relph, GOP senator, former St. Charles city attorney: I don’t think he’s particularly vulnerable in this state. This is an outlier that happened. I was kind of shocked when I read it and I said, “Well, I guess there are looney toons on both sides of the question.”

Question 2: Parents who filed suit after their children died in the Parkland mass school shooting face legal demands from the Broward County School District to “to prove they have suffered mental anguish” by turning over their psychiatric records. What do you think about that?

Freiberg: I think that’s pretty appalling. There’s a legal doctrine called res ipsa loquitur, which means “the thing stands for itself.” It’s used in negligence cases. In this case, where you’ve suffered unimaginable loss like that, hopefully the judge will rule that this is beyond a frivolous claim made by the school district. The thing should stand for itself here, when you’ve suffered unimaginable loss like that. You shouldn’t have to prove, through medical records, your loss.

Koch: That feels very heavy-handed and feels very intrusive. There has got to be a better way, or a quiet way, where the judge can make decisions based on what he has seen, without turning over records in that manner. There has just got to be. That actually makes me very concerned. Way too heavy-handed.

Smith: As a practicing member of the bar for over 20 years, I don’t like that request. I think it’s wrong where parents or any person has to give in on privacy to prove mental anguish. This is a good example of how wrong the trial attorneys are in our current judicial system. Significant reform in this area is needed.

Walker: I think it’s outrageous that anyone who lost a child is being asked to demonstrate through psychiatric records their mental anguish. That’s all I have to say about that.

Relph: Well, first of all, if they’re the ones that placed that question before the court—if they opened the door—then I think it’s legitimate for someone to ask for proof. If they didn’t open the door and this is just a shotgun approach at discovery, then I am a little troubled by it.

Question 3: The Doobie Brothers have threatened to sue comedian Bill Murray. Seems Murray used the song “Listen to the Music” in an ad for his gaudy golf clothing line without paying up, and the Doobs are “Taking it to the Streets.” We think it’s a calamitous turn when baby boom icons decide it’s all about the money, man. Your thoughts?

Freiberg: I don’t know. I like Bill Murray as a comedian. I’m not super-familiar with the Doobie Brothers’ musical output. So I’m having a hard time having strong feelings about this really one way or the other.

Koch: It’s very uncool of the Doobs, I would say. Very uncool. I feel like Bill and the boys could just get together, cop a squat, get some pet rocks—or whatever the hell people did in the Seventies—and get this one worked out over a bowl.

Smith: As a fervent golf advocate, I appreciate all clothing lines. If it can be proved that Bill is using this song without paying the proper royalties, he needs to do so. I’m sure the profit margins in his clothing business would allow for that to happen.

Walker: My thoughts are that it is nice to see pettiness materialize outside of politics for a change.

Relph: If Bill Murray used that song without permission, hey! I think it’s right that they did it, brought it to his attention. You know? I mean, fair is fair! You don’t believe for a minute that if they took some of his protected intellectual property, he wouldn’t do something about it. So, you know, turnabout’s fair play!

[Editor’s note: We can’t end the column without noting that the demand letter sent to Murray by the Doobies’ lawyer, Peter T. Paterno, is a classic of the genre. We can’t quote it all, but this sentence gives the flavor. “We’d almost be OK with it,” Paterno writes of the unpaid use of the song, “if the shirts weren’t so damned ugly.” Murray’s lawyers responded by offering each band member a William Murray Golf shirt.]