Legislative staffer fired after Twitter tangle

Republican Minnesota Senate employee Bob Koss was fired Friday after he took to social media Thursday night to hurl invectives at outgoing GOP state Rep. John Kriesel.

Koss is no longer a Senate employee, Senate spokesman Steve Sviggum said Friday.

Here are excerpts from the exchanges, as they unfolded (the acronyms and typos are as posted):

Bob Koss: Just saw the @johnkriesel gay marriage ad. Really glad the RINO [Republican in name only] will be leaving the legislature. #mnleg & good riddance. [Kriesel opposes the marriage amendment, which would define marriage as one man, one woman and constitutionally ban same-sex marriage.]

John Kriesel: Thanks douchebag. [Kriesel later removed this tweet.]

BobKoss: @johnkriesel Wow, so the piece of [expletive] representative confirmed by long standing belief. #mnleg

John Kriesel: @BobKoss you can dish it out but you can't take it. Hahaha!

John Kriesel: @BobKoss who's office are you borrowing in that picture? Why are you pretending to be important? [The photo on Koss' Twitter page showed a man seated behind a large Senate desk.]

Bob Koss: @johnkriesel Answer me first toy publicity loving SOB. And your supporters are as disgusting as you.

John Kriesel: I retweet idiots for fun, but they don't bother me. I've been through way too much in my life to let a couple people ruin my day.

[Republican Jake Loesch, who works for the campaign to defeat the marriage amendment, then weighed in.]

Jake Loesch: Wow, @BobKoss. Really disappointed to see this sort of behavior from you. Completely uncalled for, and shameful.

[Reaction was swift.]

Lars Leafblad: Sad to see state of MN GOP ... exchange here btwn current #mnleg GOP Senate staffer @BobKoss & MN GOP Rep @JohnKriesel

[House executive director Chas Anderson weighed in ... ]

Chas Anderson: @larsleafblad ... This is a Senate staffer NOT a House staffer. This would not be tolerated in the House.

[... as did many others.]

Jeff Anderson: Regardless of political beliefs, everyone should read @bobkoss timeline for a glimpse at how NOT to act as a public official. Embarrassing.

Jason Herlitz: @BobKoss just wondering, have u ever served this country? If not, thats ok, but perhaps think before u insult a man like @johnkriesel.

Bob Koss: @johnkriesel I want to say I'm sorry for how this evolved. It's very personal to me but I approached it in the wrong way. God bless. #mnleg [Koss has since deleted his Twitter account.]

John Kriesel: I definitely wasn't blameless tonight. I can be a bit of a jerk at times. The Randy Marsh ["South Park" character] in me comes out on occasion.