Posted on 02/09/2005 1:39:25 AM PST by conservative in nyc
A longtime campaign operative of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. resigned his state job yesterday after admitting he had been spreading rumors on the Internet about the personal life of Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley.
Joseph Steffen, 45, said he gave the governor his resignation after questions about his postings on www.FreeRepublic.com, a well-known conservative Web site. The postings discussed O'Malley's marriage.
"The governor had no idea," Steffen said. "I don't even think he knows where the Web site is. If anyone is guilty, it is me. There was no outside influence. It was all me."
---Snip---
Steffen said his resignation was prompted by a visit yesterday from a Washington Post reporter armed with the Web site postings. He used the handle "ncpac" while writing on the Web site.
"I could see where the reporter was trying to go with the story, and I was not going to allow that to happen," he said. "I have regrets for doing something that I obviously shouldn't have done. And I have regrets that the governor may take a hit because of it."
The Internet name "ncpac" is a reference to the National Conservative Political Action Committee, which was active in the early 1980s and, according to the Associated Press, spent "hundreds of thousands of dollars on tough 'negative advertising' in a bid to make a supposedly liberal Democratic politician more vulnerable at the polls."
Steffen was a spokesman for the committee in the 1980s, and by 1984 he was working on a Republican congressional campaign in Virginia.
(Excerpt) Read more at baltimoresun.com ...
Ping
Ehrlich Aide Ousted Over O'Malley Rumors
| Posted by Keith in Iowa to TheOtherOne On News/Activism 02/09/2005 1:11:23 AM CST · 2 of 13 O'Malley Blames GOP Plot For Rumors (MD GOVERNOR'S AID FIRED FOR FREE REPUBLIC POSTS) |
I would very much like to know how he found out myself. If it's good for the goose, it's good for the gander. I'll bet some IT Rat knifed him in the back because he used a government computer to connect to FR. FOI ought to work for a good number of liberals' computers in Maryland, too, and their postings to NAMBLA and DU boards should get their asses canned, too.
I don't know what NCPAC posted, and I don't care. I think that anyone who thinks online posts are worth firing someone over is probably a closet Rat anyway.
Some of us won't go to the Washington Compost or LA Slimes sites if you paid us. Glad to see an article that makes avoiding them possible.
So let me get this straight. The Washington Post sued Free Republic, started the whole "you must excerpt or we sue some more" nonsense, and yet their read and gather research from Free Republic, and then print out hard copies of Free Republic threads for use in research and stories for the newspaper?
Typical Liberals: "Do as I say, not as I do!"
If Erlich was spreading rumors, where's the thread? If it was through Freepmail, did someone gave Erlich false confidence?
I know, I am curius, too
This could be a nasty set-up.
I believe the man admitted he posted lies. I dont come to Free Republic to get lies. If he was posting lies here then I am glad he is gone. I dont believe Mr. Ehrlich asked hiom to believe because he was posting , but because of the untruthfulness of those Posts. I applaud the Governor for his swift action.
Should read , I dont believe Mr. Ehrlich asked him to leave. not believe , Thank You.
I don't believe the man admitted any such thing, and in fact, from the posts here, it seems that he was only DISCUSSING the rumors--not putting them forth.
"I hear Hillary's a dyke." That's putting forth a rumor.
"Well, you never can tell. Could be." That's discussing one.
I don't know which he did, but I don't care, either. Rumors are just that. Firing someone over anonymously spreading one or discussing one is like to give rise to some very fun lawsuits. I think this is a great can of worms to open for the Rats, but the end result will be a loss for free speech, as usual, which is pretty much the goal of the left anyway.
There is only one other post from VelmaCruther who initiated a thread on some jazz saxophonist coming out of the closet.
Hmmmm. Who is VelmaCruther? (Tin Foil Hat On)
A longtime campaign operative of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. resigned his state job yesterday after admitting he had been spreading rumors on the Internet about the personal life of Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley.
Joseph Steffen, 45, said he gave the governor his resignation after questions about his postings on www.FreeRepublic.com, a well-known conservative Web site. The postings discussed O'Malley's marriage.
"The governor had no idea," Steffen said. "I don't even think he knows where the Web site is. If anyone is guilty, it is me. There was no outside influence. It was all me."
He didn't get fired. He resigned, at least according to the report in the sun.
This article was written by who, about who? Oh, by the MSM, about a REPUBLICAN. I can see where you'd get that impression from the article's slant. But that's not what the man did at all. He said:
"If anyone is guilty, it is me."
That is a conditional statement. He might have said "If anyone is Spiderman, it is me." Would that make him Spiderman? The man's denied it here, and stated that he did not post any rumor but discussed them. The impression I get is that he's jumping on a grenade, not tossing one and THEN jumping on it.
Granted--but the press basically hounded him and would have hounded the governor to do so to the point where it would have distracted from the governor's mission. Which is typical MSM. Find something irrelevant and make it an issue, so Republicans have to deal with that distraction and Rats cluck negatively, instead of making Democrats deal with their inability to express their side of issues to the American public and get elected.
I don't know the whole story, but it sounds to me like MSM mountains-made-outta-molehills again.
He admitted no such thing. Sounds like the guy thought he was "talking amongst friends". He didn't seem like he had malicious intent. Anyway, the rumors are probably very true that's why all the crying from the media and O'Malley.
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