Koch resigned on Thursday, rather ubruptly, citing the need to spend more time with her family. On Friday, it was revealed that she resigned shortly after a meeting with top Republicans who questioned her about an “inappropriate relationship” with a Senate staffer.
Also on Friday, her chief of communications, Michael Brodkorb, resigned his job and also resigned a volunteer position with Mike Parry’s congressional campaign in Minnesota’s First Congressional District.
Thus far, no one in the press has been able to get a confirmation or denial that the resignations are related.
The allegations of an extra-marital affair by Koch have led to charges of hypocrisy.
Koch has not been the most outspoken against marriage equality for same-sex couples, but she set the agenda for the Senate Republicans. And while she said early on that the anti-gay marriage amendment would not be a priority, the Senate passed it in May even though it had not settled on a budget and the state went into shutdown.
http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2011/12/16/33912/latest_amy_koch_developments_complicate_gop_plans_across_the_board
But proponents of opening marriage to gays and lesbians often have argued that the man-woman marriage has hardly been treated as sacred by millions of heterosexual couples.
If allegations surrounding Koch, who is married, are true, she would become in the eyes of many a prime example of the double standard surrounding the heated marriage amendment battle.
“I am a social conservative, but we’ve had a conversation with the caucus,” she told Minnpost in November of 2010. “They ran on the budget, the economy and jobs. We talked about how this is not the time to be messing around [with social issues]. Were going to be unified on that.”
She also told the Washington Post in November 2010 that the amendment wouldn’t be a priority:
But GOP lawmakers who find themselves newly in control of their state legislatures say they will proceed cautiously, focusing first on job creation and budget-cutting.
“We ran on a strict fiscal message,” said state Sen. Amy Koch (R), the majority leader in the Minnesota state Senate. “I’m pro life. Those issues are so important, but when people are worried about getting food on the table or not being able to sell their home, that’s what really consumes their thoughts and we need to deal with that first.”
Even so, though same-sex marriage advocates had until recently thought Minnesota would become one of the next states to allow such unions, Koch said the legislature is now unlikely to take up the issue.
“I can’t imagine we would look at that,” she said. “I just think most people are focused on jobs, economy, the budget and that’s what we will focus on.”
Still, he has voted against equal rights for LGBT people every chance she had. The Minnesota Family Council, a group that until recently had content on its website alleging that LGBT have sex with children and animals, gave Koch a 100 percent positive voting record in 2010.
Koch’s alleged relationship outside her marriage — all while shepherding through a constitutional amendment ensuring some Minnesotans cannot marry — has made some question her integrity.
Doug Grow at MinnPost noted on Friday:
It’s GOP legislators who last session pushed putting a constitutional amendment on the 2012 ballot that would restrict marriage to a man and a woman. The amendment is touted as “protecting the sanctity of marriage” in the eyes of socially conservative Republican legislators.
But proponents of opening marriage to gays and lesbians often have argued that the man-woman marriage has hardly been treated as sacred by millions of heterosexual couples.
If allegations surrounding Koch, who is married, are true, she would become in the eyes of many a prime example of the double standard surrounding the heated marriage amendment battle.
And many have already made that conclusion.
Kevin Winge, writing for the Your Voices section of the Star Tribune, said:
Koch, the proponent of all things Republican – like a constitutional amendment to ensure gays and lesbians can’t marry – turns out to not be the best spokesperson for the sanctity of marriage. Unless, of course, you don’t find it hypocritical that a married woman, with a child, can have an “inappropriate relationship” while denying others the right to marry.
With events like the Koch scandal, it is becoming increasingly clear that net year’s constitutional amendment is not about preserving marriage. If it were about preserving heterosexual marriage, let’s take a vote on outlawing behavior like “inappropriate relationships.” If it is about the sanctity of heterosexual marriage, let’s have a constitutional amendment outlawing divorce.
Let’s be clear, the constitutional amendment next year is about denying rights to a group of people based on sexual orientation while allowing heterosexual hypocrites to enjoy all of the privileges that come with marriage including, apparently, the occasional “inappropriate relationship” on the side. Aren’t you tired of the hypocrisy, Minnesota?
I am.
From 365 Reasons, a blog counting down the reasons to oppose the marriage amendment:
As author Jonathan Rauch points out, a marriage license isn’t just a contract between two people—it’s a contract between two people and their community.
Rauch offered an eloquent explanation of why civil ceremonies and domestic partner benefits aren’t enough for gays—the same way they’re not enough for straight people.
“In every marriage,” Rauch writes, “social expectations are an invisible third partner. Friends, neighbors, parents, and in-laws heap blessings and congratulations on newlyweds, but their joy conveys an implicit injunction: ‘Be a good husband or wife. We’re counting on you.’
“For most ordinary mortals . . . love and altruism aren’t always enough. Community begins where love leaves off.”
People are going to look at your husband and daughter and feel bad for them, Senator. They were happy for you when you got married, and they’re sad for you, hypocrite or not, and your family.
The Big E at Minnesota Progressive Project took a sarcastic crack at Koch’s troubles:
Koch may have hypocritically pushed for the Sanctity of Marriage amendment while having an affair outside of holy wedlock. Apparently, gay marriage may have endangered yet another hetero’s marriage. Obviously, only time can tell if all those gay people wanting to get married caused Koch to have this affair.