Maryland's Attorney General Race: A Mess of Our Own Making

I'll state up front that as a Democrat I was really torn in the Maryland primaries over the Attorney General's race. Tom Perez, an hispanic American, spoke inspiringly about progressive values at the Progressive Summit in 2005. But Doug Gansler had a take-no-prisoners style that appealed to me, and Stu Simms seemed like he had a big future in Maryland politics. In the end, we all know what happened.

Tom Perez was disqualified because he was judged, under extremely rigid and unreasonable standards, to have not practiced law in Maryland for the requisite ten years. Though he certainly "practiced" he did not become a member of the Maryland Bar until 2001. Doug Gansler, by contrast, has been a member of the Maryland Bar since 1989, and he went on to become our candidate.

Now, his eligibility is also being challenged in court because his opponent, Scott L. Rolle claims that most of his work was done in D.C.

Gansler claims that this is an act of desperation by a political opponent who is down like 30 points in the polls. I think it's considerably more despicable than that.

You see, in the interests of full disclosure, I joined the Maryland Bar in 1998, and they've been taking dues from me ever since. There are clients trust funds and all manner of "optional but really mandatory opportunities for participation" in the Maryland Bar once you join. And in spite of the fact that I left the profession long ago, I have little doubt that if I ever ended up in court over anything, it'd all be about how I was a Maryland lawyer, etc.

There is really no polite word to describe the idea that a Maryland lawyer who is doing a lot of work in D.C. is not compliant with our requirements, much less unfit to serve as our Attorney General. An unreasonable reading of the law will discouraging good people from seeking office, and make those who have political potential quibble about their professional identity.

The 10 year requirement was a bad idea to begin with. Allowing it to be abused in this manner via technicalities is beyond a joke. It's bad faith and does not serve Maryland's interests.

A pox on Scott Rolle for trying it.