Another branch or the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy?

[Stinky The Clown]

By way of background, we're all more or less aware of the recent flap over the infidelity rumors spread about Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley. The salient points of that were:

For 18 months or so, rumors abounded that the Mayor was unfaithful to his wife (with many over-the-top related rumors of even worse).

The mayor kept silent, initially thinking they would fade. They didn't.

It recently came to light that a top aid to Maryland's Republican governor, one Herr Bobby Ehrlich - one of the members of Newt Gingrich's now infamous "Freshman Class" - was responsible for spreading the rumors - if not starting them - through, among other things, his wild postings on FreeRepublic. He posted under the name NCPAC (National Conservative Political Action Committee).

Gov Bobby Boy fired him when this came to light. The aid sent O'Malley the shittiest "apology" ever given by one human to another. Bobby refuses to apologize, saying he wasn't involved in this specific act and therefor has nothing for which he needs to apologize (the arrogant fuck!).

O'Malley is a rising star in the party, nationally. While it is surely a long way off, it would not be outside the realm of the possible to see the name O'Malley on a national ticket long about 2016 or 2020 (he's 42 years old right now). Currently he plans to run for Governor.

Now, with that background, my question is this. Could this be part of a larger effort to knock off our future candidates while they're still young? Are such smears and hit jobs happening at the local level elsewhere ..... but with a national connection? Is the effort coordinated?

The aide who did this to O'Malley would appear to be a second tier political thug. He's been involved in conservative causes of one stripe or another for a while. He was hired by GuvBobby with no real job description. He is not a native Marylander (as far as I know). His tactics seem more than a bit Rovian/Gingrichian.

Am I misusing tinfoil or could this be/is this possible? And more importantly, is it happening anywhere else? Is anyone aware of some future leader who is now, at a young age and early in a career, being targeted? Is The VRWC alive and well and grooming a team of young assassins?

[DenverDem]

1. publicans are dirty liars

That's how they play.

Look at busholini. he's one of the biggest liars in history. et al ad nauseum.

[starroute]

2. Here's an article with more on the case

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12311-2005Feb9.html

Fired Staffer Called Ehrlich's 'Hatchet Man'

When the man who described himself as "the Prince of Darkness" arrived at the Maryland Department of Human Resources two years ago and placed a Grim Reaper figurine on his desk, longtime employees were baffled. Though Joseph Steffen had no apparent role in the agency, he would attend meetings, conduct interviews with employees and make extensive notes on a legal pad.

Then they started getting fired. "We realized he pretty much was targeting people," said Tom Burgess, a former personnel official in the agency. "He apparently was there to root people out who weren't loyal to the governor."

<snip>

Gerry Brewster, 47, a Baltimore County lawyer who was Ehrlich's Democratic opponent in the 1994 race, said Steffen was at the candidate's side throughout much of the campaign. And his role was widely known. "He was Bob Ehrlich's dirty tricks operative," Brewster said. "He was the hatchet man." Two years later, during Ehrlich's 1996 reelection campaign, Democrat Connie DeJulius blamed Steffen for a leaflet that described her as a home wrecker. "Steffen was Ehrlich's Lee Atwater," she said.

In fact, Steffen considers himself a disciple of Atwater, the guru of Republican attack politics, and once worked for a political action committee with which Atwater was affiliated. Steffen boasted of his own reputation, writing that he is known in campaign circles as "Dr. Death." "Part of my unwritten job description is to hurt people," he wrote.

In short, he's one more member of the dirty tricks wing of the Republican Party. Since all these guys seem to know each other, and since he's yet another Freeper, I'd be extremely interested in whether he's got any ties with Jimmy Guckert.

On edit: See also http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15385-2005Feb10.html for more on Steffen's postings at Free Republic and the role of a mysterious figure posting as MD4BUSH in drawing him out and then informing the Washington Post.

[izzie]

3. This whole movement to get control of the Gov. started----

when Goldwater lost. First the local and schools and it has gained since then. They are much better at this than Dem, who work with reason. Faith that you are always right does better than reason I guess. It is a group that seem also to be in fear of anything new. They seem to be happy with , if I must say, fairy tails from a Bible written over a 800 years span and only parts that added to what the leaders of the church wished them to believe were kept. The non-believer or one who does not believe like them, has always been scary to them. They must be put aside any way they can. The church in power has always done this. I frankly do not care what people believe but I do not want then to make be believe as they do. Am I far to blunt? My trouble is I just do not wish to be run by a church. My family's history came out of the Puritans so it has all come down through 100's of years until we ended up as more or less in deism.