And the voters get the shaft again . . .

And the voters get the shaft again . . .

Ehrlich corrupt to the very end. His IWIF Board keeps Tommy Bromwell on board.

My assumption is that there was probably nothing illegal about what they did, unethical yes, definitely. I think that had they not put on the fliers who paid for them they would have violated campaign laws, but since they did correctly report where the money came from they were probably acting within the law.

Overall though you have to count this as a major mistake. If Ehrlich and Steele ever had a chance of being elected to any statewide office ever again, it ended with those fliers. The only chance these guys have would be in congressional elections in highly republican districts. Steele might have hoped that if his Senate bid didn't work he could run against Chris Van Hollen as a fall back, after all Connie Morella was a Republican for years in that district, however I don't even think Steele could win there. He is going to have to move to Frederick County to even have a shot at that.

Schumer's aides illegally obtaining Michael Steele's Social Security number and credit information was quickly swept under the rug though wasn't it? But Schumer wants to make an issue out of this?

People that live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones by referring to "dirty tricks". It seems Mr. Schumer knows a few of his own.

Connie Morella was a Republican in name only. She and her predecesor were cut of same cloth. Mr Gude also paid attention to the details that the Democratic county felt were important.

Mac Mathias was another who served the state well in his many years of service.

I live in Van Hollen's district (the 8th), and Steele does not. And it voted 70% or more for Cardin over Steele, so moving there to run would probably be a political suicide mission; even if the seat were open it's too Democratic for a Republican to win by now. The same is true for Al Wynn's 4th District, where I believe Steele lives.

In any event, I don't think the false fliers deserve a Justice Department investigation. I can't think of how they deprived anyone of their civil rights or some such claim, and in any event they didn't turn the election results (in fact, they may have deservedly cost the GOP some votes.)

In terms of things like this social security number issue, I haven't heard about this anywhere except for republicans on this blog. If Mr. Steele can prove damages he should sue Schumer or the DNC or whoever benefitted from this information, but getting your hand on someones personal information is not a crime in and of itself unless you use it for your own gain. My guess is that since no lawsuits have been filed that there are no damages.

Also as Lt. Governor, Steele's tax returns are probably publically available, my guess is that like all public servants his personal finances are pretty much of an open book.

I thought Steele does live in the 8th congressional district, out in Potomac somewhere? That was the only reason I used it as an example.

Also, there was a Washington Times article on Sunday saying he might run for Governor in 2010. Thats great news for Maryland Democrats, Steele is going to be an easy easy victory for the Dems. Hell, maybe if we are lucky Mr. Steele will also run against Mikulski too, that way the Democrats won't have to even spend any money holding onto anything in Maryland!

Steele lives in Largo or thereabouts, in Prince George's County.

If he wants to run again, his best bet may be for governor in 2010, assuming Ehrlich doesn't seek a rematch. He might run better there since he won't have the burden of being a potential vote for an unpopular national Republican party and administration, which hurt him in his Senate race.

But he's probably already had his best shot. A reasonably competent O'Malley administration will be hard to beat, and in a nationally blue state another Senate race is probably even less winnable.

DC Dave

"...getting your hand on someones personal information is not a crime in and of itself unless you use it for your own gain. "

Fraudulently obtaining a person's credit report by impersonating said individual is punishable by a maximum of 2 years in prison, according to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act.

You haven't heard much about it because Shumer and the liberal media have, as I said, swept it under the rug.

The election is over, Schumer should Move On (no pun intended)- but that's what partisans do. The "moderate" guise that most Democrats wore during election season is quickly vanishing. This will benefit the GOP at the end of the day.

The researcher who accessed Steele's credit report was charged with a federal crime, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and was required to do 150 hours of community, according to our report.

http://arktype/read.php?id=21203&yr=2006&pass=read&xsl=read.xsl&bdysrch=steele!credit!report!u.s.!attorney

I stand corrected, :)

In all honesty I think the judge let that staffer off way to easy, she should have spent at least a month in jail as an example for people who might be tempted by doing something similar. The passion of a hard fought campaign doesn't excuse throwing out all sense of decency and the law. We already live in a society so morally bankrupt that people don't self regulate in any terms other than 'If I do x, I might get in trouble'. People like that need to have an example readily identifiable in their memory banks to dissuade them.