Thursday, October 19, 2006

Amy, what are you doing?

It was with trepidation that I approached the headline "Ellison: Woman has blackmail in mind." I thought – awww, shit. Bet this is about Amy.

Sure 'nuff.

The blackmail allegation surfaced Wednesday as part of a motion filed in Hennepin County by a lawyer for Ellison, who is running for Congress. The motion asks the court to dismiss a request for a restraining order filed against Ellison in September by Amy Alexander of St. Louis Park.


I've known Amy for nearly a decade. Our relationship has definitely been one of friendship, at times; it's been non-existent or arms-length at times. And her relationship with Keith Ellison was something that I'd heard about long before Martin Sabo's Congressional seat was a gleam in anyone's eye. There was supposedly some kind of affair, it ended badly. There was a job, then there wasn't.

I don't know what the relationship was like. Amy is smart, attractive, passionate, and dances to the beat of some other drummers. I've known her to have been under some kind of mental health care. I've known her to love crisis.

Right now, I see her being used to smear Ellison. It's sad, and it's sick. She and her daughter don't deserve this. I would say to her: Amy, who's benefiting by this? Is this something you want to do, or something others want you to do? What will these people have for you once this is done? Do they care?

Certainly the kind of crap that comes out of the Rove playbook: find some way for a personal smear. The Strib ain't helping.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Thank you for writing this. I too have known Amy both in politics and as a co-worker and it has been painful to see the effect mental illness has had on this amazing woman.

When I ponder it I approach enraged at the way the Republican's seem to have no regard for her and are just further destabilizing her by using her.

Anonymous said...

Her own lawyer calls her a troubled young woman.