

We have to hand it to Republican Party of Minnesota deputy chair Chris Fields. He hasn't lost any of the well-developed tact he showed when he suggested that congressional opponent Representative Keith Ellison had a daddy problem. Or, in a separate episode, blamed the death of Trayvon Martin on hip-hop.

His response to a heart-felt tweet about Monday's announcement of the death of actor Robin Williams is in the same sensitive vein.

Update: Fields has deleted his tweets, but fortunately, we took screenshots of the tweets. Here are the pictures, followed by the exchanges:

DFL social media director Ellen C. Anderson tweeted from her personal account:

My cat's nickname is Nanu Nanu. The world is lucky Robin Williams was able to share his genius with so many. — Ellen C. Anderson (@ellencanderson) August 11, 2014

Fields replied:

.@ellencanderson how very 80's. Want an economy like we had in 80's under Reagan...Vote @Jeff4Gov tomorrow in the primary. — chris fields (@ChrisFieldsMN) August 11, 2014









The original tweets:

That set off Minnesota's political twitterverse, with Fields digging himself in deeper as it went:

.@DJDanielson @ellencanderson Yes! Bcuz real ppl who dont have millions are crushed by the policies of guilt ridden celebrity above all libs — chris fields (@ChrisFieldsMN) August 12, 2014

@DJDanielson @ellencanderson @ChrisFieldsMN that asinine Repub response is exactly what I expected. And exactly why I'm voting Dem — Jennica Date (@imelda13) August 12, 2014

@ChrisFieldsMN @DJDanielson @ellencanderson The man knows no shame, has no class. Must antagonize to be recognized. 0 original ideas. — Adam Bürnside (@arburnside) August 12, 2014

.@carlymelin Really?? You gripe they don't pay their fair share and then ur somehow adversely affected by their passing? @ellencanderson — chris fields (@ChrisFieldsMN) August 12, 2014

@ChrisFieldsMN That is awful. You should go for a walk and think about why your tweet was so very wrong. — Jon Hoffmann (@JonHoffmannMN) August 12, 2014

.@Salencita I'm more concerned abt kids that don't have a future than abt ur pretend grief for someone u didn't know @ellencanderson #mndfl — chris fields (@ChrisFieldsMN) August 12, 2014

.@ChrisFieldsMN @ellencanderson Yeah, people can't have thoughts or concerns about more than one thing at a time. I always forget that part. — Salena (@Salencita) August 12, 2014

@ChrisFieldsMN I bet @Jeff4Gov is thrilled about this! Good luck tomorrow! Hope your vile attitude serves you well. — Salena (@Salencita) August 12, 2014

.@JonHoffmannMN Bcuz ppl who place celebrity above all don't want their world interrupted by the fact that they actually hurt real ppl? — chris fields (@ChrisFieldsMN) August 12, 2014

.@Salencita I bet you weren't going to vote for him anyway. He's not a liberal @Jeff4Gov is working to help real ppl. He's not out of touch — chris fields (@ChrisFieldsMN) August 12, 2014

.@Salencita Not in #mndfl land. Its always abt a fake moral superiority that leads 2 misery for real ppl U folks need a grip @ellencanderson — chris fields (@ChrisFieldsMN) August 12, 2014

@ChrisFieldsMN @JonHoffmannMN @Jeff4Gov I live in Iowa. I hope this gets you to stop @ing me for the rest of eternity. — Salena (@Salencita) August 12, 2014

Finally, former Republican house communications staffer Kevin Watterson weighed in:

.@kwatt done playing nice with shallow ppl. Real ppl are hurt every day by them. Let's be more concerned abt real ppl, and watch ur mouth. — chris fields (@ChrisFieldsMN) August 12, 2014

.@chrisfieldsmn You are an officer of the state party and making an ass of all of us. Don't tell me to watch my mouth. — Kevin Watterson (@kwatt) August 12, 2014

.@kwatt and ur f-bomb makes us look like? I should buy in to faux shock and outrage. Y not then buy it even more if what their selling. — chris fields (@ChrisFieldsMN) August 12, 2014

Well then. Anderson, who had triggered Fields' taunts, added another personal note before moving on:

I didn't want to make this about me so I didn't talk about how this hits close to home after losing my dad to alcoholism and depression. — Ellen C. Anderson (@ellencanderson) August 12, 2014



Photo: Chris Fields, via Gregory Pratt's revealing 2012 City Pages article, Chris Fields says Keith Ellison isn't doing enough for black people.

If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or use the paypal button below:

Email subscribers can contribute via this link to paypal; use email sally.jo.sorensen at gmail dot com as recipient.