The name-calling is ratcheting up in the Republican battle to unseat Rep. Wayne Gilchrest in the 1st Congressional District, with a new TV ad unleashing one of the most lethal of GOP curse words: liberal.
The Club for Growth, which has already endorsed Baltimore County Sen. Andrew Harris, said it is spending $250,000 for the ad that allies Republican Gilchrest with Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, saying he votes more often with Democrats than any other Republican. The TV spot also links E.J. Pipkin, an Eastern Shore senator trying to unseat the nine-term congressman, with Democratic Gov. Martin O?Malley because he voted for the governor?s budget last year.
Harris and Pipkin have both accused the other of distorting the records, and each are claiming the mantle of the real conservative in the race at high volume.
Gilchrest Thursday night sought to burnish his party credentials with an Annapolis fundraiser that featured former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, introduced by former Lt. Gov. and GOP party chair Michael Steele.
“Some people still try o apply a litmus test for the party,” Steele said. “I?m here to tell you to stop that. I don?t know what a real conservative is in the post-Reagan era. I think it?s very hard define.”
Steele, for instance, who lost a bid for U.S. Senate in 2006, is anti-abortion, while Gilchrist favors abortion rights. On the other hand, former Gov. Robert Ehrlich, who is pro-choice, is supporting Harris, a strong social conservative opposed to abortion.
“If only for his leadership on the Chesapeake Bay, [Gilchrist] would be a worthy member of Congress,” said Gingrich, who called Gilchrest an old friend and an erudite, educated and intelligent leader.
In an Examiner interview, Gingrich pointed out that Gilchrest is consistently rated highly by groups that favor reduced taxes and lower spending.
“I?m opposed to the idea that you have to have a hard, right-wing Republican Party,” Gingrich said.
“My sense is that people are not in the mood to hear ugly divisiveness,” Steele said, especially on the Eastern Shore.
Steele said he told Harris and Pipkin that he would be happy to appear at one of their events, if invited.
