Today is November 4th, just 4 more days until the mid-terms. While reading the morning feed of political nonsense and rah-rah, drinking my morning coffee, the following headline caught my eye: “Former Montgomery elections board chair accuses Peroutka of seeking to cause havoc.”
For those who may be wondering exactly who the headline is addressing, the former Montgomery County Election Board Chair is Jim Shalleck, a Republican, and his comments were directed at the Campaign of Michael Peroutka, the GOP’s nominee for attorney general.
Now, in the interest of full transparency, I have never met the GOP nominee Michael Peroutka. I have read some of the issues surrounding him and his campaign and I must say that I do not agree with everything he professes. But it is 2022, politics is a “hard ball” kind of activity, and the Republican voters of Maryland selected Peroutka as their Attorney General candidate. On the other hand, I have met Jim Shalleck, face to face, and I have shaken hands with him a number of times … though I suspect that he will not have a recollection of our meeting since it was far more important to me than to him --- I suspect. Point being, I think Jim is a very nice man and a person to be recognized for his overall contributions to the Republican Party and the citizens of Montgomery County. But, why the attack and why now?
Let’s review … The Republicans held a primary back in July and they voted for the people who could best represent them. As I have already noted, that primary was won by Michael Peroutka for attorney general. Jim Shalleck lost that race. It’s hard to tell why he lost, but perhaps in the midst of all the political turmoil, receiving an endorsement by the Washington Post did not sit will with Republican voters … Just sayin’.
So, what is the kerfuffle all about? At a campaign rally last week, one of the staffers for the Peroutka campaign suggested the following as reported in Maryland Matters: “Vote on November 8th as late in the day as possible,” said Stafford. “If everyone could stand in long, long lines at 6 o’clock, that would actually help us.” The article goes on to note: The video was obtained by WBAL-TV (Channel 11). In the brief snippet the station aired, it couldn’t be determined why Stafford believed that long lines on Election Day would benefit Peroutka. I do not disagree with WBAL-TV. I have watched the clip myself and fail to see how this is supposed to help any candidate … let alone Michael Peroutka!
If it is intended to create long lines … well, good luck with that since it seems that mail-in voting has taken over a large segment of the voting public in Maryland.
While reports on in-person early voting across Maryland indicate fewer voters have voted in early voting than previous elections, the observation is that mail-in voting is running strong. -No reason to expect a sudden surge at the polls on November 8th.
So, just 4 days away from the election, given all we know at this time about the voting situation in Maryland, and Jim decides to launch an attack against his political opponent – the guy to whom he lost in the primary. Center Maryland reports that: Shalleck called it a clear attempt to “disrupt” and “cause havoc.” He said long lines could cut turnout because some voters would be disinclined to cast a ballot if they anticipated a long wait. “The last thing we need is these right-wing firebrands rallying people to screw up our process,” Shalleck said. “To me, it’s voter suppression and voter intimidation.”
And there it is … the crux of the problem for Republicans. In a year when the Republican ticket across the board is not that strong … in a state where electing a Republican happens more by chance than by political choice … we have a Republican providing fodder for the One-Party Democrat Machine to make hay with! Even if Shalleck is right in his righteous quest for fair elections, we all know that there are plenty of Democrats to offer this kind of criticism – Why does it have to come from a Republican?!
I get it … Jim makes the point that he did not vote for his opponent. Nobody running for political office with the expectation of winning ever does --- point taken. But, feeding the Democrat Machine with the notion that 4 days before the election … “The last thing we need is these right-wing firebrands rallying people to screw up our process,” --- well … that is simply indicative of why REPUBLICANS ARE THEIR OWN WORST ENEMY!