STILLWATER TOWNSHIP: Heated political debate in hot tub hits boiling point (with 5 woman)

Pioneer Press ^ | 07/03/03 | AMY BECKER

[bedolido]

Tony Kohout's evening in a hot tub with five women turned political and ended with doctors stitching up his eyelid.

Kohout ran into a group of women at Brine's Restaurant and Bar in Stillwater on May 24. He knew one of the women from high school. They let him join them in a hot tub at a home in Stillwater Township.

For a while it was just the usual story of five high school friends chatting in a hot tub with a guy and some Amstel Light.

"I thought, 'Wow, this is amazing,' " Kohout said. "Then it just kind of turned sour."

Talk turned to politics, and Kohout got in a dispute with Anne M. Robinson, 24, of St. Paul.

Kohout, 25, of Minneapolis, recalls it this way:

Robinson was describing working in a restaurant for about $5.25 an hour and airing concerns about competing with undocumented workers.

He told her, "That's really not that true."

They debated President George W. Bush's tax cut. Kohout declared it was only for the rich, and Robinson countered that people earned the money and it belongs to them, he said.

"We were cutting into each other's sentences," Kohout added. "We both knew we were making each other angry. It got personal."

Then Robinson lost her temper, said Elaine Bransford, who was there.

Robinson clocked Kohout in the face with a blue drinking glass, according to the felony complaint summons filed against Robinson in Washington County District Court.

"I remember seeing the glass fall," Kohout said. "I looked down and the water turned pink. My eye filled with blood and I couldn't see."

Bransford drove Kohout to Lakeview Hospital in Stillwater about 4 a.m. Doctors closed his cuts with about 15 stitches around his left eye, forehead, cheek and eyelid, Kohout said. His vision is fine.

Robinson was out of town, friends said, and she did not respond to repeated attempts to interview her for this story. The criminal complaint said she told a sheriff's deputy, "I know I hit him."

Robinson has been charged with second-degree assault in connection with the incident. A conviction could carry prison time. Her first appearance is scheduled for 9 a.m. Aug. 5 in Washington County District Court.

"The unusual part was the fight. It was really out of character for Anne," Bransford said of Robinson. "It was sure a crazy night," Bransford said. "I'm trying to forget about it."

Kohout is waiting to see how bad the scar around his eye will be, but he has already drawn some conclusions from the evening.

"It certainly wasn't very smart to get into a heated debate with someone you don't know well," he said. "I'll probably be more careful about what I say to people."

Amy Becker covers Washington County. She can be reached at abecker@pioneerpress.com or (651) 228-5465.

[MississippiMan]

LOL, I think he tangled with a conservative of serious conviction.

MM

[Johnny Gage]

LOL.. I wonder if Tony's a freeper.

[EllaMinnow]

Tony's the liberal - I bet it's Anne who's a freeper.

[fuente]

He's an idiot. If I get into a hot tub with 5 ladies that are drinkin', I'm gonna do everything to accomodate them. But that's just me. ;^)

[Hunble]

Next time, use Duct Tape over their mouths.

[CygnusXI]

Is the blue glass gonna be alright?

[Valin]

LOL! I could be in love!

[bedolido]

Yeah... I can understand the need to get bikini clad female's upset when you're the only male. This guys up for the dummy of the year award... maybe he was a DU'r.

[boris]

Next it'll be "Five Women Drown Man in Hot Tub."

We should outlaw hot tubs.

[Little Bill]

You have that right brother, women take everything seriously.

[bedolido]

We should outlaw hot tubs.

Or register them

[Chancellor Palpatine]

What a fag. he's in a hot tub with 5 women and he starts talking politics? It could've been a "Letters to Penthouse" moment - and instead, he screws it up. Talk about your lost opportunities.....

[RJL]

LOL... I think we have found the Minnesota Freeper of the year.

[MHGinTN]

And the Darwin Award winner

[rightwingreligiousfanatic]

5 WOMEN IN A HOT TUB! Are you kidding me? I'd be just as liberal or conservative as they wanted me to be....;^D

[BabsC]

Tony's the liberal - I bet it's Anne who's a freeper.

Too bad she stooped to the level of most liberals. Getting so emotional it overrides her rational mind. The only way a liberal should be able to anger an intelligent individual is if they get physical first or are loud and rude. My rule is if you raise your voice or prevent me from finsihing a sentence then you have obviously lost the rational argument. Irritates the hell out of them when you say this and then turn your back and walk away. (if it's safe to)

[olorin]

"I think he tangled with a conservative of serious conviction."

. . . or one who might end up with a serious conviction. ; )

[spodefly]

It's Saturday night and you are in a hot tub with 5 women that you just picked up at a bar.

So ... let's discuss politics.