Say you?re a little-known Democratic Senate candidate from Montgomery County, short on cash ? about $271,000 on hand. How do you get some visibility in Baltimore?
How about a 48-foot billboard on Interstate 95 at the Fort McHenry Tunnel with pictures of you, professor Allan Lichtman and your good buddy, Hillary Rodham Clinton, the New York senator running for re-election. “2 Winners,” the sign says. “Both endorsed by American Women Presidents.” Under Clinton?s name are the numbers 2008, when the group hopes to see her elected president. (They?ve endorsed Condi Rice on the Republican side.)
No, Lichtman didn?t get permission from Clinton, said campaign spokeswoman Marisa Dobson, but “we didn?t think there would be any ethical or legal problems,” since American Women Presidents has endorsed both people. “Allan is the only man ever to be endorsed by this organization,” Dobson said.
The $10,000 billboard will be up until the Sept. 12 primary ? 45 days from now.
Reno Stumps for Perez
Speaking of little-known from Montgomery County, Council Member Tom Perez got a boost in his race for attorney general last week when former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno came to town, generating limited coverage. The Examiner caught up with her back in Miami. Reno said she worked with Perez on a task force in the Clinton Justice Department, where he was a civil rights attorney, and “I was tremendously impressed with him.”
“I usually don?t get involved in primaries,” Reno said, but “I would speak for him in any way I can.”
Mom the TV star
At a women?s rally Tuesday, Mayor Martin O?Malley introduced his mother, Barbara, as “the star of television.” She has a very limited speaking role at the tail end of a TV spot his campaign is airing. Asked kiddingly what it was like to be a star, Barbara O?Malley said, “I thought I was a prop.” Her daughter, Eileen O?Malley Schempp, joked that the campaign could have used a cutout for her mother, like Doug Duncan did in his TV ads.
Dems say: “Steele lied”
“Steele lied to you,” said the e-mail from a Democratic Party operative early Thursday, trying to keep alive the story of Lt. Gov. Michael Steele and his contention that he was betrayed by a Washington Post columnist in which he was unusually frank in his criticism of the president. Postie Dana Milbank sent the same e-mail to The Examiner Wednesday.
Steele said his quotes were taken out of context, and the Steele campaign said the remarks quoted accurately in the Post were not really new. But most of Steele?s earlier criticism of the Iraq war and other policies were much less harsh than those he made Monday at a lunch with journalists. Hint to Steele: When the tape recorders are on, the interview is not “off the record.”
Razz?s Cash
After weeks of waiting, the campaign finance report for U.S. Senate candidate Dennis Rasmussen has finally been posted. The former Baltimore County executive and state senator has raised $381,000, but $245,000 was a loan from himself. He?s got $278,000 cash on hand.
Len Lazarick is the state house reporter for The Baltimore Examiner. Reach him at [email protected].
