“The High Road.” Really?

If you listened to the Red Maryland Network this week you heard us talk about the ever worsening efforts of certain supporters of gubernatorial candidate Charles Lollar to personally attack those bloggers, including our own Brian Griffiths, who have had the temerity to criticize Mr. Lollar or point out flaws in his campaign.

There is no question that the actions of those who seek to “slime the messenger” have already gone way over the line and, it appears sadly, will only double down on their gutter politics.  While some of Mr. Lollar’s supporters may feel that Mr. Griffiths or Jeff Quinton have “picked on their guy” or been needlessly thorough or pointed in their criticisms, few, if any, have actually tried to rebut the claims presented head on or take the opportunities to explain their bald assertion that Mr. Lollar is the “Only Republican who can win in November.”

In an effort to take us from the absurd to the ridiculous, eastern shore blogger and closeted Lollar supporter Mike Swartz has endeavored to end the “slime war”.  With herculean grandiosity he declares:

I don’t know which wheel squeaked first – although as you’ll see below I have a guess – but I hope my wheel is the one that squeaks last. 

And with that, Mr. Swartz attempts his ham-handed attempt to resolve the dispute.  Of course, he chooses not to fairly present the dispute, insisting that there is a moral equivalency between bloggers criticizing a candidate for statewide office and individuals blackmailing bloggers, posting anonymous blogs filled with crackpot conspiracy theories about bloggers on the take and the most egregious ad hominen personal slurs against people daring to give credence to criticism of Mr. Lollar.  Rather, Mr. Swartz, in one of the most nonsensically myopic pieces of tripe produced on the internet, simply states that:

My gosh, if we as conservatives have enough pride to not fall for the redistribution trap, let’s not get bogged down in this crap. 

Now Mr. Swartz has made pains in the past to vindicate the right of bloggers to vet candidates, like yours truly running for state party chair, but regards the works for Mr. Griffiths and Mr. Quinton as “crap” and moreover “crap” equal to the outrageous conduct of certain Lollar supporters.

Why such blatant hypocrisy? Why equate blackmail and conspiracy theory with factually based criticism of candidates? Well, Mr. Swartz answers that question for us:

Now you can trust me when I tell you this “erstwhile contributor” to Red Maryland has had many differences with them over the years. But I have to say that they are an important piece of Republican politics in this state, for better or worse. 

One can only imagine the pain level reached by Mr. Swartz’s admission of Red Maryland’s importance, which even his passive aggressive caveat could not lessen.  Mr. Swartz portrays, in complete contradiction of reality, the dispute as Red Maryland versus the supporters of Charles Lollar.

Mr. Swartz, through no accident I can assure you, lumps the writings of Jeff Quinton and Jackie Wellfonder under the umberella of Red Maryland.  Of course, neither has ever written a word on these pages and each have their own blogs which, despite Mr. Swartz’s obsession with our OZ-like powers, Red Maryland does not control. 

In fact, the one name you won’t find in Mr. Swartz’s fever dream is Brian Griffiths, the one and only Red Maryland contributor who actually penned any substantive criticism of Mr. Lollar’s campaigns past and present.

And as if Mr. Swartz’s piece wasn’t revealing enough, he doubles down on his disingenuity by detailing that “guess” about “which wheel squeaked first”.  He states that:

I think it was a main protagonist of Red Maryland, Greg Kline, who got this whole ball rolling with his June assessment that Lollar “does not seem ready to be a serious contender for the Office of Governor of Maryland.” 

From this, and no doubt from my nefarious hand, all other criticism of Mr. Lollar of the last few months has flowed.  The problem with this, of course, is that it is complete fiction.  While citing to my piece, detailing my sit down with Mr. Lollar discussing the “Draft Lollar” campaign, Mr. Swartz ignores, even in the sentence he quotes, the very positive things I  have said about Mr. Lollar and his supporters.  

Others, occasionally to my chagrin, have quoted that line as prescient  I have never said that however, nor have I written a single negative word about Mr. Lollar’s campaign. In fact, during the Tawes event this summer, I spoke with Mr. Lollar in person.  We discussed the piece and he stated that he appreciated what I had to say even the criticism of what was then not even an official campaign.  That discussion occurred not twenty feet from Mr. Swartz himself.

So Mr. Swartz’s insistence that the Lollar camp became “hypersensitive” after this piece is complete garbage. To make me the kingpin in this new media criticism of Charles Lollar is nonsense.  So, knowing this, why would someone who claims to be a legitimate blogger and would have you believe he is a serious commentator try so hard to fixate on the wrong person? 

Again, Mr. Swartz gives us that answer also:

And honestly, I’m not even sure I have a vendetta against Greg. 

Go to Mr. Swartz’s blog and click the “Greg Kline” tag, a tag assigned to his “High Road” piece.  Count the number of shots taken at me or taken by others and passed on.  Reading that thread, you will read how I am a shyster DUI attorney whose lack of political acumen and ego prevented any real change from occurring in the MDGOP.  

You may say you are not sure, Mike?  

Your own words betray your true bearing and it is not the “High Road” but one paved with prevarication, petty jealousy and self-delusion.