"'Prince Of Darkness' Ousted" - MD GOP Slanderer Resigns

[Brooklyn Michael]

'Prince Of Darkness' Ousted

WASHININGTON, Feb. 9, 2005
cbsnews.com

CBS) A longtime aide to Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich has resigned after admitting that he spread rumors on the Internet about the marriage of Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley.

Joseph Steffen acknowledged that he was the author of postings on FreeRepublic.com, a conservative Web site, that suggested O'Malley was cheating on his wife.

(snip)

In an interview with the Post, Steffen, 45, acknowledged that he had a reputation for hardball politics.

"They call me the Prince of Darkness," he told the newspaper.


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/02/09/politics/main672599.shtml


:thumbsdown: :nopity: :thumbsdown:

[Richardo]

1. No, we call you 'former aide', loser...

[rodeodance]

18. good one

[saskatoon]

52. Prince?

"Prince of fools" is that from shakespeare?

[Betsy Ross]

2. "Hardball politics" = slander and libel? n/t

[Mr_Spock]

25. "slander and libel" = RW nut job politics

What else is new :eyes:

[napi21]

3. Great! Hope this is only the first of many!

I don't know how wthey got this idiot to resign, but I hope the same thing happens to all those wonderful liers!!!

[Ready4Change]

15. Agreed. Someone hired and paid him.

What did they know, and when?

[LeftCoast]

4. Why is it that so many RW propagandists want to be known as the

Prince of Darkness...Novak, this guy. Sheesh, how many other Republican hacks are trying for that nickname?

[PassingFair]

10. Don't forget that Dick

Perle...

[LeftCoast]

11. Did he go by that nickname as well?

Wouldn't surprise me. :)

[TexasLawyer]

13. Disappointed

"Prince of Darkness" is usually associated w/ Richard Perle, my personal "most-hated" of all the neocons. When I saw the title to this thread I was all excited that the POD had been cast out on his ear, but...

oh well.

[meow2u3]

17. Because they're devil worshippers

eom

[meganmonkey]

5. OMG - Freeper madness!!!

[Nancy Waterman]

6. Interesting that he is proud

of being called the Prince of Darkness. Talk about identifying with evil and loving it!!

[tom_paine]

24. Noyt just Busheviks, Ba'athists, Nazis, and other Bush-like Totalitarians

identify with it, as well.

It is just the way of Totalitarian Scum, always has been, always will be.

[The Stranger]

26. Ba'athists?

Interesting choice to include. Isn't that the group that is the real focus of the neocons currently in power?

[tom_paine]

29. Like the Soviets and Nazis, just two sides of the same coin

In that case, it was Right-Wing Brutal, Murderous Totalitarians

versus

Left-Wing Brutal, Murderous Totalitarians

As it was then, so it is today (the Ba'athists are Areligious Socialists for the most part, are they not?).

[American Tragedy]

34. Authoritarianism exists on both sides of the political spectrum

although The Authoritarian Personality strongly suggests that the thought patterns that predispose one to it are based in rigid conservatism.

As for the Ba'athists, they're indeed secular Socialists, uniquely characterized by their Pan-Arab nationalism. Extremely corrupt, to be sure, though hardly more so than their theocratic counterparts across the border.

[The Stranger]

39. Areligious Socialists?

Well, if that is the case, then they still really don't seem to fit that list. They are really a rather minor player in the grand scheme of things -- Soviets and Nazis really were not minor players.

And, again, the Ba'athists seem to be the real focus of the Neocons. So it is interesting seeing them (among all of the areligious socialist groups in the world) pop up in a list next to Nazis.

[tom_paine]

40. semi-religious at best, then

bottom line: religion is not among their primary motivations, like Busheviks or Nazis

So what if the Ba'thists are the main focus of the Imperials? What deos that have to do with anything?

It's almost as if you regard the Bushevik ineterst in their opposite numbers as exculpatory.

Being a primary interest of Totalitarian Tyrants like the Busheviks is neither mitigating or exculpatory, IMHO.

I was not referring nor noting their relative scheme in world affairs (I agree with your point on that), but merely to poitn out that Nazis, Soviets, Ba'athists, all belong to the same family of Authoritarian Tyrants who's Left/Right affiliation is meaningless and a Lying Cloak for their crimes.

All of them. The Family of Authoritarian Tyrants ecompasses the entire spectrum from Left to Right, religious and areligious.

They are all the same people and always have been since history began. They just use different bullshit to rationalize their evil.

But they are the same. Do you really believe the Busheviks woul behave any differently than Saddam if they were from there and ruled there?

Would Saddam, if he lived in a society which didn't require him to murder all that often in order to maintain slavish control, and if he had control of the entiretly of the Bush propaganda Apparatus and the Infoganda apparatus of the Corporate TV Pravda...would he be so murderous, or would he be content for the moment with Bushevik methods of control, which only for now encompasses the occasional murder?

I think the Busheviks would act like Ba'athists and vice versa because, as I said, they are from the same archetype of Authoriatarian Scum, no matter WHAT Infoganda they use to lie to their people and rationlize their Tyranny.

Which was my point.

[Roland99]

7. Such honor and integrity amongst the compassionate conservatives

[Pam-Moby]

8. Now we need to go after

all of the other liars and get them out of office such as Chimp, Dumsfeld, Condi Lice, Dough boy Chinney, and last but not least Gonzo the Secretary of torture!!!!!

[Oddly Stevenson]

9. Prince of Dickness

[flamin lib]

12. I have long believed that the nasty email hoaxes about

Democrats are generated at RNC headquarters. This confirms it. At the end of the '04 election I was receiving one email a day with lies about the Democratic ticket. One a DAY!

[TygrBright]

14. Additional Stories on this topic...

Local news coverage includes:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9313-2005Feb8.html

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-te.md.resign09feb09,1,7604723.story?coll=bal-home-headlines&ctrack=1&cset=true

This pathetic freeper merits a Top Ten nomination, I think. He's the archetype of "compassionate conservatism:"

>>Several of Steffen's co-workers said in interviews that he parachuted into agencies, set up an office with a statue of the grim reaper on his desk and began assembling lists of people who should be fired.<<

Isn't that cute? What a guy...

It's interesting to note that there is a very tight, tough Democratic goober primary shaping up in MD. The key players include:

O'Malley, Mayor of Baltimore. He's demonstrated an ability to perform well as a big city mayor, which may be the toughest job in public leadership today. He's a white dude who received an overwhelming share of the black vote, against black candidates, in a majority black city. He has incredible (and I do mean *incredible*--Kennedy-style and beyong) charisma and ability to connect with the voters. He's hip (has his own Irish rock band) without being frivolous (set up major accountability mechanisms for city bureaucrats and continually holds them to the standards.)

Doug Duncan, County Executive of Montgomery County (a huge suburban Washington metrosprawl area.) He's also performed extremely well at a very tough job, and shows a knack for identifying issues that hit the hot buttons with his constituency, and putting them in his column of the ledger. He's a very solid center-left liberal with formidable negotiation skills and an effective political infighter who knows where many bodies are buried. He's amiable, if less charismatic than O'Malley, and can put together a formidable coalition of heavy-clout backers.

Finally, Representative Steny Hoyer (House Minority Whip)has been making noises about jumping into the race. Steny is an old MD Dem pol who is owed a favor by just about every key player in the State. He'd put together a tough campaign and with his centrist background could probably challenge Ehrlich effectively for the wishy-washy middle.

That's a tough, tough slate for Ehrlich to be facing, especially considering his lackluster performance and inability to deliver on a number of the initiatives he showcased in his 2002 campaign. Not to mention several high-profile boo-boos and an ongoing peurile feud with the Baltimore Sun. The only thing that can be said in Ehrlich's favor is that he hasn't been exposed in any major scandals and has most of the voters convinced he's basically an okay guy.

So, which of these three potential (all formidable) opponents scares Ehrlich the most?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. O'Malley is a man to watch. He has a future. Unless the GOP is successful in submarining him or an Act of God destroys him, he WILL be Presidential candidate material sometime in the next 10-12 years, and he WILL have an excellent chance of winning. He's hot stuff, and the GOPpies are running scared.

I'd bet money on it that in addition to slipping the knife in on his own account, Ehrlich is also doing favors for the RNC by putting together early pre-emptive strikes against a very real future threat on the national scale.

Keep your eyes on O'Malley, people.

prophetically,

Bright

[Stinky The Clown]

23. Very, very, very well stated and summarized

And I agree with virtually everything you said. O'Malley is far and away the best of the three Dems. Not to say there's any big negative to Hoyer or Duncan, but O'Malley has it all .... and the charisma can't be underplayed. It really does matter.

I only have two fears ......

1 - That the Dem primary will be nasty. I **really** hope we don't eat our own.

2 - The really scary thing to me, however, is that Ehrlich and his thugs now have O'Malley on record with a clear statement. That's how these things start. If he's ever even patted a female, other than his wife, on her arm or back, they'll bite onto that like rabid dogs and never let go. They could just as easily have accused him of pig boinking and then, if he ever ate a barbecue sandwich, they'd say that proves it.

In my dreams, there would be no primary fight and O'Malley would be anointed. Let's hope it doesn't get too nasty on our side. We'll have enough nastiness from the Ehrlich Nazis.

By the way ..... about your prophecy? ........ how about www.O'Malley16.com? I agree with you solidly on that. He **is** presidential material.

:hi:

[GOPFighter]

33. Let me add to this....

O'Malley likened Bush's '06 budget cuts as a disaster comparable to to 9/11! This is make or break language. I'm pumped that a Democrat has the balls to speak out so STRONGLY about what the President is trying to do to our cities. But he's taking a calculated risk here because his Democratic opponents are distancing themselves from his language.

Also, there's a possibility that Kweisi Mfume may also be thinking of adding his name to the list of Erlich's possible challengers. He spoke at our Black History kickoff (in Maryland) last week and obliquely admitted that he is planing to run for public office again soon. Governor is the only logical office I an think of (everyone else was thinking the same thing).

[TygrBright]

41. Entirely possible...

...that Mfume might throw his hat in the goober ring, but my guess is that he's working on becoming Sarbanes' successor at this point.

I have terrible mixed feelings about that. I want Sarbanes to live forever, dammit, and stay in the Senate just about that long, too. He's on my top ten list of good guys, and is SOLID on banking/financial industry reform and regulation. (Unlike some bought-and-paid-for Democratic puppets of Big Finance.)

On the other hand, we have GOT to get more solid, thoughtful, impressive black Senators elected, and this would be one opening to do that.

I wish it was Mikulski who was making noises about retiring. She's adequate, but has really let us down on bankruptcy "reform" and a few other things. I'd chip in for her gold watch cheerfully, so long as I was sure she would be replaced by Mfume or another solid candidate.

And yes, O'Malley went out on a limb about the budget cuts. But I think he's honest-to-god teflon, that's not going to do the slightest damage in the long run. Especially as it becomes increasingly clear how right he is.

We're seeing a sea change in the Democratic Party right now. The pressure is on, big time, for Democrats to develop endoskeletons. Most of those who can demonstrate they have done so will prosper, even if a few inept ones flame out through overdoing it or leaving themselves vulnerable to GOPpie submarining via scandals & ethics issues.

(Although something tells me that the GOP is going to wake up a couple of months down the road and realize that the Night of the Long Gavels may have saved DeLay's sorry ass for awhile, but it will also pack a hell of a backlash the next time they try to bring down a Dem.)

As for whether the GOPpies will now be able to skewer O'Malley on any evidence that he's ever smiled at a woman other than his wife, I only hope I'm there when they try. He'll come out swinging, HARD... and take no prisoners. My money is on his side of the ledger in that confrontation.

I moved here to Maryland some years ago after growing up in Minnesota, where the DFL has a venerable tradition of eating their young ("Would you like ketchup with that?") I've seen exactly what it can do to a State party when that happens, and I'd like to hope it won't happen here, but I won't take that bet. The days of the kingmakers in MD Dem politics are clearly waning, and that's exactly what started the MN DFL's self-destruct sequence.

However, there are some differences. Maryland has never had the degree of hands-on involvement at the precinct level that Minnesota has. There are a lot of strengths to Minnesota's system, but the big weakness is that it absolutely requires a tough, autocratic leadership coalition to hold things together and keep them moving in roughly the same direction. When they lost that, it was like having every Clydesdale in the Budweiser team pulling in a different direction.

Maryland has less empowerment at the local level to add to the confusion and sap resources when they start pursuing their separate local agendas, so it may manage to cobble together something more effectively and keep the level of blood in the gutters to a minimum. I sure as hell hope so.

I think we've got a winner in O'Malley if we can manage to keep from shooting ourselves in the foot.

cautiously,
Bright

[hector459]

43. The MSM wants to attack O'Malley's attack on Bush budget and not deal

with the REAL story here. O'Malley should not back down. We are in the pig sty with a bunch of pigs and we had better learn how to duck and throw some mud!

[robbedvoter]

16. Drat! I thought this was about Rove, Novak et al....

[progressivebydesign]

19. He'll be working for a high ranking republican soon.. count on it. n/t

[centristo]

22. no doubt

Jeff Gannon will be in the cubicle next to him...

Also, for some high comedy check out Freeperland. They are so apologetic and supportive of this guy. I only saw a few voices of reason that were happy a gossip monger was leaving FR. Those guys were def in the minority though...

[stanwyck]

20. Swiftboat liars, Jeff Gannon, now this guy

I'm really amazed at how easy it is to reel in freepers. I guess when you're under-educated and don't read, you're easy to fool. Scam artists should get the user database at Free Republic; they'd clean up on these schmucks.
I guess these are the folks who keep all those astrology hotlines and 900 numbers in business. Yes, you really are talking to a hot, young teenage girl...not a 60-yr. old man with a vivid imagination.

[The_Casual_Observer]

47. Look at this way, if they believe that bush is a good guy

they would believe ANYTHING.

[candle_bright]

21. I wonder how they found out

his identity?

[d.l.Green]

28. He probably proudly bragged about it to one too many people /nt

[0007]

27. Beautiful fucking beautiful!

[Vidar]

30. Damn--thought you were talking about Richard Perle.

[American Tragedy]

35. I know, I was damn near ready to throw a party

[Vidar]

53. Too good to be true.

[FlyByNight]

31. "They call me the Prince of Darkness?"

We'll just call you scumbag.

[yellowcanine]

38. Wishful thinking on Steffen's part. The only PODs that I am aware of

are Perle and Nofacts. This guy sounds like a loose cannon Freeper who was in way over his head and his phoniness has just been unmasked. Of course the big question is - what was this guy doing on the public tit and who knew what he was doing?

[pacalo]

32. The Repugs' politics are the lowest of the low.

I don't think it's possible to stoop any lower. This has to stop.

[Blue_Tires]

36. my only surprise is that it took this long

for one of Ehrlich's minions to go down...i used to live in MD (PG county), and you wouldn't believe HALF of the shit his entire administration is capable of, or has already gotten away with (btw, his GOTV campaign when he was first running was FAR from on the level)

[enki23]

37. people like that have guaranteed golden parachutes these days

he'll have another job in the gop establishment before you can blink.

i'm sure he already does. if nothing else, fox likes to hire right-wing thugs and criminals. i hear they pay well.

[Bombero1956]

42. he had it all wrong

he's the Prints of Darkness. Dickweed!!!

[Hobarticus]

44. Now you're the Prince of Unemployed...

Talon News is looking for help, though.

[Bombero1956]

45. some clarification

My use of the term dickweed was aimed at Joseph Steffen, not a fellow DUer.

[Hobarticus]

48. No blood, no foul...eom

[The_Casual_Observer]

46. Hey Joseph Steffen, if you are sitting at home reading this

How about doing the world a favor and wrapping your lips around your exhaust pipe, mr prince.

[Disturbed]

49. FreeRepublic.com, a conservative Web site

Freeperville-Conservative site? Not! It's a Neo Fascist scum page.

[roguevalley]

50. on another thread they said the authorities have confiscated his

computer. God only knows what all is on it. :-D

[SheepyMcSheepster]

51. lol "prince of darkness" ..........Lame!

that is just too corny.

[struggle4progress]

54. Sue him, O'Malley!

[Kimber Scott]

55. Prince of Darkness? How about GOP shill? Or, liar? That's good.

[Judi Lynn]

56. So he turns and fires on Freepers....

In an e-mail to O'Malley, Steffen said he was "truly sorry, ashamed and remorseful and I ask that you and your family please find it in your hearts to forgive me.

"I have no excuse for joining web (or other) conversations that are reckless, mean-spirited and personally damaging in nature," said the e-mail, which Steffen provided to The Associated Press on Thursday.
(snip/...)

http://cnnstudentnews.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/02/11/baltimore.mayor.ap/




(Scum on the right.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So the good-hearted, misunderstood, gullible little "Prince of Darkness" (as his parents call him) got snared in one of those hateful old Freepfests, and swallowed his moral compass. Poor, poor thing.