If you've listened to the news over the past few weeks, you've heard an ear-full about Maryland's Attorney General Doug Gansler. His actions speak louder than words. And his words are blithering non-sense. And this is not a guy you want as your governor. But don't worry. He will never be governor if Martin O'Malley has anything to say about it.
I'm sure Mr. Gansler wants to be referenced in your typical political parlance. He probably wants to be called the honorable General Gansler. However, he is anything but honorable. The former State's Attorney from Montgomery County gained notoriety from the prosecution of the Beltway Snipers, Lee Boyd Malvo and John Muhammad. He insisted that the snipers be tried in Maryland where there is no death penalty. Fortunately, there are better heads in the Federal government and they were tried in Virginia where they rightly believe in capital punishment.
Gansler then succeeded Martin O'Malley's father-in-law Joseph Curran as Attorney General of Maryland.
Mr. Gansler has not been one to shy away from controversy. He recently commented on Lieutenant Governor Tony Brown's campaign for governor saying Mr. Brown's campaign slogan should be, "Vote for me, I want to be the first African-American governor of Maryland." How would Gansler like it if we said, "Gansler's campaign slogan should be 'Vote for me, I want to be the first Jewish Governor of Maryland since Marvin Mandel"? If a Republican would have said what Gansler said, he's be in jail right now.
Then the story broke about how Gansler has absolutely no respect for the law. Apparently he thinks the law does not apply to him. The Attorney General gets a State Police escort. However, Gansler has at times insisted on driving the police escort SUV and many times driven with the police lights on. This is a violation of policy and certainly a violation of privilege.
Then, WBAL broke a story that Mr. Gansler received a speeding ticket from a speed camera in Washington, D.C. He then refused to pay it. That was until WBAL's Jane Miller got on the case. Then he paid it - 16 months late.
Gansler wasn't out of the spotlight for a week when someone "mysteriously" leaked photos of him partying it up with seemingly under-aged kids, with some of them bumped and grinding.
Two weeks ago it was revealed that a tracker is following Doug Gansler and recording his every word and action. This seems like something Martin O'Malley would do. Pester the crap out of someone just waiting for a gaffe. But it's not O'Malley that's using this dirty political tactic. It's his protégé, Tony Brown. It's a dastardly tactic, but Tony Brown is following on the heels of the master dastard.
It's sad that politics comes to this. Politicians, like Tony Brown, have no respect for fair campaigns, nor privacy. They have no interest in a campaign where the candidates discuss the issues and the people decide the winner. They are out to destroy their competition at all costs. Tony Brown is a political thug just like O'Malley and if Maryland votes for Brown, then God help us.
Friday, November 29, 2013
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6 comments:
After reading this I'm not sure who you think is the best candidate... They both seam terrible to me. Like the famous South Park episode stated, "You can either vote for a turd sandwich or a giant douche."
GTRYDER97, I think you've hit the nail on the head.
First Doug Gansler did not say "Vote for me, I want to be the first Jewish governor of Maryland." The first Jewish governor of Maryland was Marvin Mandel. Second,
Gansler's remarks had to do with the degree of executive experience solving real public policy problems (not saluting the flag, next highest ranking officer, or even implementing high level orders, which is what a Colonel does). Gansler's choice of language could have been more diplomatic but his point is in fact very well taken. Third, this meeting was a PRIVATE and CONFIDENTIAL meeting for senior-level Gansler campaign staff. At the start of the session, everyone was asked whether anyone was recording and instructed to please discontinue doing so or leave - it is the right of any planning group to hold session in private and with reasonable expectation of privacy. Whoever did not comply with this request and taped this meeting knowing full well that it was a confidential meeting really ought to be beaten with a wet noodle if nothing else for sheer stupidity - and or staked out in the hot desert sun to bake for loathsome treachery. Has it gotten to the point in our democracy that a candidate is going to have to get his signed, witnessed, and notarized confidentiality agreements from all his inner circle of campaign advisers before he can have a simple face-to-face brainstorming meeting and speak sometimes less than articulately off the record? Aren't our leaders ever allowed to be human beings? It isn't as if Gansler used the very popular among Black (but absolutely forbidden among
Whites) "N" word.
The simple fact of the matter is Gansler does have much more experience - actual executive, on the record problem-solving experience analyzing conflicts, analyzing existing laws which are often in conflict, finding common ground, studying precedents, and innovating new applications of precedents sometimes ones which would not immediately occur to just anyone so that you come up with a win-win situation for all.
A very good example of this was his approach to the question of marriage equality. An early law granting LGBT people marriage equality was struck down on constitutional grounds and then an amendment failed at the polls. Gansler researched Constitutional decisions in misogyny cases where interracial couples had moved from states recognizing interracial marriage to those that did not, wherein the Supreme Court ultimately found that because of due process, equal protection under the law, and the Fair Faith and Credit Act, a marriage recognized in one state had to be recognized by all other states. He made the analogy to likely decisions to come for LGBT marriages; the very same argument that was adopted and is being used by Attorney General Holder right now with respect to the President's
Executve Order, recpognizing Michigan GLBT marriages, and so on. This is a very strong humanitarian, human rights, and civil rights decision. It demonstrates great initiative and courage. Ganser also said that no church would be required to marry anyone it did not wish to marry. (Why anyone would want to be married in a church that did not want to marry them is beyond me?) So it was a win-win for all and passed the Legislature and then the referendum by more than a plus five percent margin.
For almost every area where things have gone well, the legal groundwork and the real solutions have come from Gansler. Additionally most people have been aware that he pretty much planned to run for Governor since 2008.
(cont, part 2)
WHEREAS the only program ANTHONY BROWN seems to have had direct oversight responsibility for is creating the state's insurance medical exchanges - which even O'Malley acknowledged has been a total disaster With cost overruns in excess of $170M, BROWN stonewalling proving detail or transparency about how this HUGE discrepancy came about, both Gansler and Ivey repeatedly bringing it up since early on in the campaign only to be ignored (does it make any sense that the man who twice chaired the Obama election campaign for the state, DOUG GANSLER, would be opposed to Obamacare; at the same time, he is the state's Attorney General and is the person who is supposed to ask about this sort of discrepancy - and a $170M discrepancy (especially when Erin Cox who has been no real friend to Gansler being fixated on what was in the red cup - I want to know if she is related to the Cambridge teenage drinking Erin Cox (I think not, but very coincidental) reports that a huge percentage of the contributions being made to the BROWN campaign are coming directly from the health insurers, providers, and allied industry? The rooster guarding the hen house.
(cont., part 3)
So now we have seen the Feds launch an audit into the Md exchange, the state launch an audit, and the most recent development - we are now contracting with the Ct. developer who actually did did develop a model system that has worked well and came in at cost. Now if there isn't something that really STINKS in Brown's oversight of the creation of this boonedoggle, why are we switching to Ct.? And let's see, Gansler and Ivey have been explaining this to the good people of the state - regardless of color, locality, party, religion, whatever - now for some what ... well at least close to six months. Only to be ignored. While Erin Cox goes bonkers about what was in the red cup and how fast the Attorney General drives. Hmmm... did she say she wants to purchase a helicopter for the Attorney General to make it from Ocean City to Cumberland in less than 2 hours in? How fast the Governor go, btw? Or the President, for that matter? Air Force One and all those choppers and motorcades with flashing red and blue lights are all travelling at the speed limit, right? Just like the trooper who passes you on on 270 when you know you are going 68 --- and really leaves you in the dust. Now I am not saying it is not the right of the law and the state officials to move - in fact, I think they must be able to ... I do think though that it is also their right to sometimes be human, to be tired, to expect that when they ask for confidentiality that they can let their hair down a little and be less articulate than might be desired (especially when they are tired), and when it is very late at night after a very long day of work and campaigning, they have a right to pick up their son at a party and if the party turns out to be something different than it was billed to be and the chaperone isn't immediately present, and the parent is tired and a parent (and who knows what was in the red cup? it could have been red soda. did anyone do a breathalyzer test on Doug's son? on Dog? on any one at this party? - talk about a crock of innuendo that wouldn't hold up in Judge Judy's courtroom, let alone a real court of law), you as a father do have a right to have a personal, PRIVATE conversation face-to-face conversation with your son without the entire world listening in? For the record, Gansler's position on alcoholic beverages was to take sugary, caffeinated alcohol off the shelves of our convenience marts and supermarkets; he has pushed for tougher enforcement of existing laws against teen drinking. He also took arsenic laced chicken off the shelves interestingly enough. THE FOCUS OF THIS CAMPAIGN SHOULD BE ON THE PUBLIC PERSON AND HIS OR HER PUBLIC RECORD; WHAT HIS SON DOES OR DOES NOT DO, HOW FAST HE MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE DRIVEN, AND WHETHER
ERIN COX IS RELATED TO ERIN
COX ARE ALL COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT. ANTHONY BROWN'S TOTALLY INEPT PERFORMANCE AS WATCHDOG OF THE EXCHANGE CREATIONS IS COSTING BIG BUCKS AND IS RELEVANT - AND IS PUBLIC - SMELLS BAD, AND MAKES YOU WONDER JUST WHAT ELSE IS WRONG AND JUST HOW CORRUPT O'MALLEY-BROWN ARE?
For Someone Who Will Never Be
Governor, Doug Gansler is Gaining
on Anthony Brown Awfully FAST
Doug Gansler is gaining on Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, according to an internal poll released by the Gansler-Ivey campaign.
The poll, conducted for the campaign earlier this month by the Mellman Group, claims Gansler has made up as much as 14 points on Brown in the 2014 Democratic primary contest for governor.
In the internal poll, 31 percent of people who responded said they favored Brown compared to 22 percent for Gansler, with 40 percent still undecided.
Katie Hill, a spokeswoman for the campaign, said the poll shows that the gap narrowed as public awareness of the failures of the state’s health benefit exchange grew.
“It’s clear that the more Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown tries to rewrite history, claiming that he’s been successful in rolling out a failed health exchange, the more voters realize he’s not being honest with them,” Hill said in a statement. “Voters in Maryland expect real leadership, and they are finding a clear contrast between Lt. Governor Brown’s phony claims of success and Attorney General Doug Gansler’s record of rolling up his sleeves and getting things done for the people of Maryland.”
In February, the same pollster found in another internal survey that Gansler trailed Brown by 23 percentage points.
In that same month, a poll conducted for The Washington Post showed Brown had a 19-point lead over Gansler with 43 percent undecided.
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