Iowa Family Receives 3 a.m. Visit From Drunk Pawlenty Campaign Worker

Former Minnesota Gov. and current GOP presidential-hopeful Tim Pawlenty's Iowa operation is up and running. And apparently testing voter attitudes by "trespassing" in people's homes and "vomiting" in public after getting "wasted." Everyone who said that Pawlenty wasn't going to run an edgy campaign had better apologize now.

Reports KCCI in Des Moines:

A 15-year-old girl found a campaign worker from Alabama banging on her Ankeny family's back door early Wednesday morning.

Chloe Steward told KCCI she heard her dog barking around 3 a.m. and went to investigate. She said she found a man trying to get into the back door.

'His arm was in my back door, trying to get in and I screamed and went upstairs to my parents room and I continued screaming,' said Chloe Steward.

The family then called police.

Police discovered Benjamin Foster, an employee of the Pawlenty Exploratory Committee, and subsequently arrested him on charges of public drunkenness and trespassing. KCCI reports that Foster was "trying to get home to a friend's house," when he went all Robert Downey, Jr. on young Chloe Steward.

Here is a video interview with the recently traumatized teen, which is sadly neither embeddable nor rendered in Taiwanese animation-style. (The requisite fake Twitter account is already active.)

UPDATE: Per Ben Smith: The Pawlenty campaign has suspended Foster. Everyone has statements!

"Governor Pawlenty is extremely disappointed in Ben's actions and his behavior does not meet the standards he expects of his employees," said Eric Woolson, speaking for the exploratory committee in a statement. "Therefore, the committee is placing Ben on a two-week unpaid suspension and expects him to bear the legal consequences for his action. "

Foster, in his own statement, said he made a "very serious mistake." "I want to apologize to all affected by my poor judgment. I especially apologize to the people who were disturbed during the incident and the arresting officers. I give my word that it will never happen again."

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Comments

[Sweetbay]

09:46 PM on 04/17/2011

I'm going to give this Ben credit for making a real apology.."I especially apologize to the people who were disturbed during the incident and the arresting officers. I give my word that it will never happen again."

It's so rare to hear a genuine apology.

[Patrick Shaw]

07:30 AM on 04/16/2011

But that pretty much sums up the T-Paw campaign doesn't it ?

Stumbling & trying to get in through the back door.

[VanessaFas]

10:38 AM on 04/12/2011

Beyond disgusting. Glad to see hm suspended, usually these politicos stick together and defend the insane actions of each other. I hope the family sues the man civilly, as I'm sure the poor teen girl will have nightmares for years to come.

[Amalek]

12:22 AM on 04/10/2011

A two week suspension? Doesn't that seem a bit harsh?

[ShinjiIkari]

02:44 AM on 04/10/2011

For drunkenness and attempted home invasion? I think he should be suspended for two election cycles. But then, given the behavior of Marc Sanford, John Ensign, Tom DeLay, and dozens of other ethically challenged Tighty Righties, the only GOP whose vocabulary includes the words "You're fired" is Trump.

[D-V-H]

06:17 PM on 04/10/2011

I would have suspended him until the legal case's resolution.
Then decided on whether to fire him or not.

[Michael Valentine]

11:29 PM on 04/09/2011

Republican frat boys.

[Rheinbear]

09:29 PM on 04/09/2011

Has anyone noticed how often tea party defenses begin with "well, at one time some Democrat did something worse"? I guess that is their version of The Race To the Bottom.

[Dr Confuso]

09:01 AM on 04/08/2011

'Vote for Tim and get a free nightcap'!!

[iMissMollyIvins]

12:13 AM on 04/08/2011

I gotta admit, if I were working in Ankeny Iowa for Tim Pawlenty's Exploratory Committee, I'd get stumbling drunk too. Of course, I'd be smart & responsible enough to get a cab to take me home.

[Amalek]

12:22 AM on 04/10/2011

There are no cabs in Ankeny, Iowa.

[peterhenry]

08:51 PM on 04/10/2011

There are no roads in Ankeny, Iowa

[Edward Standley]

11:25 PM on 04/07/2011

He's lucky ol' dad didn't resort to his god-given "Second Amendment Solution". :)

[SuperRyan]

11:16 PM on 04/07/2011

And it's marijuana that is illegal.

[InYourWorld]

11:00 PM on 04/07/2011

I am sure no Democrat campaign worker has never been blackout drunk?

Article like this just stoke the partisan flames, I'm more concerned about the already ELECTED officials from both parties that are screwing us.

[Will737]

03:08 AM on 04/08/2011

No, InYourWorld, the Democrats are not the ones pushing this story, we just needed someone stupid to laugh at--and Republicans kindly supplied one. It's like George W. Bush who was an inveterate drunk well into his mid 30's or Glenn Beck right up until he decided to become a Mormon.

It's the right wing news organizations who are "eating their own" presumably because Pawlenty is just not far enough of a right wing nut. For example, look at the time both "on air" and off that the Fox News station in Houston is devoting to this story. Look at the detail they got even though this Foster kid has been completely erased from the internet (ie., facebook, twitter, link'd, etc.) Houston vs. Iowa [that's some local interest]. http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpps/news/politics/pawlenty-worker-ben-foster-drunk-iowa-apr-6-2011_12652592 Hell they even got a picture of the Republican Iowa State Representative who this Ben Foster is staying with, you know, Erik Hellan, also a Pawlety supporter, who was charged with drunken driving just last year. So who do you think was driving the car, Ben or Erik?

[Cthulhu On Call]

10:44 PM on 04/07/2011

I assumed that one would have to be drunk in order to be a Pawlenty supporter.

[liberalbug]

11:04 PM on 04/07/2011

I assumed one would have to drunk in order to spend any length of time in Iowa.

[Cthulhu On Call]

07:14 PM on 04/09/2011

Good point.

[logicanada]

10:22 PM on 04/07/2011

Good to know Pawlenty will be able to handle those annoying 3:15 am phone calls. . . . this is the Russian Embassy . . . your diplomat is drunk and breaking in. . .

[AmericanMiller]

09:28 PM on 04/07/2011

Good to know after the 2 weeks is up, anyone who donates money to Tim Pawlenty's campaign will be giving money towards paying a man who gets drunk and enters people's homes in the middle of the night.