Governor Ehrlich's New Sleaze Campaign

In a year when Republican incumbents are endangered everywhere, Maryland's Governor Bob Ehrlich is trailing his challenger in every poll. Ehrlich faces intense criticism in the state for a lackluster four years in office, public squabbles with the Baltimore Sun, partisan hiring and firing practices, a failed slots campaign, and a recent scandal in which he sent dollar bills to potential voters as part of a fund-raising scheme. Under Maryland election law, candidates must use checks for all campaign expenditures, and sending cash to voters may be considered bribery. The state's attorney general's office is making an inquiry.

Perhaps in an effort to distract from inquiries into his own conduct, Ehrlich appears to have invented one against his opponent, Baltimore's Mayor Martin O'Malley. As the Mayor of one of America's biggest cities, O'Malley has a target rich record. There's plenty to talk about in terms of education, crime rates, and development. But Ehrlich's most recent campaign mailer instead accuses O'Malley of being investigated by the FBI.

In a glossy, full-page mailer, the back of which is made to appear as if Mayor O'Malley has been fingerprinted, a banner reads, "The FBI is investigating Martin O'Malley's Leadership of the Police Department." But a Department of Justice official said there is no active investigation into O'Malley's activities. Federal agents were bewildered by the accusation and the police department was furious. Deputy Police Commissioner Marcus Brown stated angrily that the "FBI currently does not have an open investigation in relation to the leadership of the Police Department or Martin O'Malley's leadership of the Police Department."

Brown also added, "for the Police Department to be used in this manner by any political campaign is disgraceful when it comes to the men and women who have died in the line of duty and who go out every night and try to make Baltimore safer."

O'Malley's camp characterized the move as one born of desperation. O'Malley spokesman Rick Abbruzzese said, "Ehrlich's campaign is in total disarray, and now he's mailing sleazy lies into people's homes."

A spokeswoman for the Ehrlich campaign, said,"We're not implying that Martin O'Malley is under investigation."

Yet, the mailer itself is brazen. Constituents receiving it in the mail might easily confuse the manufactured rap-sheet and accompanying fingerprints with Martin O'Malley's name at the top for a reproduction of an official document. It is actually the work of a graphic artist.

In and of itself, the mailer constitutes a sharp change in tone in the campaign. The election now promises to be a sleazy festival of mud-slinging. So, Maryland residents would be well-advised to do their own research, and take shiny campaign mailers with a grain of salt.