Hardly a day goes by when Terry Lierman does not issue a statement criticizing Gov. Robert Ehrlich and his administration, or Lt. Gov. Michael Steele and his campaign for U.S. Senate. Often the highly critical news releases to reporters from Lierman are within hours of a major announcement by Ehrlich or Steele.
“I?m very proud of the rapid response we?ve developed,” said Lierman, chairman of the state Democratic Party for the last 17 months. “I don?t think of myself as an attack dog. I think of myself as a presenter of thefacts. ? You can?t let what they?re doing go unresponded to.”
For instance, Lierman ripped Ehrlich and his connection to David Hamilton, his personal attorney, who is accused of failing to register as a lobbyist. “When is Ehrlich going to speak honestly and openly about his lawyer?s access to the halls of power and the influence he?s been able to exert on behalf of his clients?” Lierman said. He then provides 11 media references to Hamilton failing to respond to reporters? phone calls or e-mails.
Lierman and his media aides have kept an unrelenting drumbeat of criticism against Steele. “What is he going to do with the stem cell bill?” Lierman asked in an Examiner interview, knowing Steele?s opposition to the research on moral grounds. “It?s like you?re poking smoke. He doesn?t take stands.”
“I think it?s so important that the chairman of the party point out erroneous and misleading information,” Lierman said, what he calls WMD, “words of mass distortion.”
It?s the Republicans who see distortion going on.
“Terry clearly believes that facts are irrelevant when you have an agenda to promote,” said Republican Party Chairman John Kane. “His tendency is to offer up divisive partisanship and flame-throw rather than promote good, sound policy for all of Marylanders. As chair of a political party, you expect that to an extent, but it is a constant with the Maryland Democratic Party. ”
One of the flames tossed at Steele clearly got the lieutenant governor hot. On July 5, Lierman sent out pictures of a yellow Hummer with a Steele campaign sign that followed Steele in Fourth of July parades, saying that like President Bush, Steele didn?t mean what he said by advocating higher fuel efficiency standards. Noting that the Hummer belonged to a friend and supporter, Steele called the attack “idiotic childishness.” “It?s the kind of political nonsense that people are fed up with,” Steele said. “They will judge me on my own merits.”
