People widely misinterpret the 11th commandment. It actually meant that no elected Republican will take sides in a primary. It has nothing to do with maligning each other. In fact, in an election where you are going for the same kind of voters, you will have to distance yourself sufficiently from the other guy in order to win the support of the people you are vying for. I am not sure in this case Omalley is smearing Jim Ryan, he is simply pointing out some undeniable truths.
This is incorrect. Reagan's Eleventh Commandment was "Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican".
His goal was to keep deadly infighting to a minimum in primaries to allow Republicans to pull together to capture political offices in the general elections.
On the surface, it appears to be an idealistic goal. But it was a canny one. Reagan himself was a master infighter and great strategist in political campaigns. But his commandment was not just a statement off the top of his head. He knew what he was saying. He was cautioning against EXCESSIVE PUBLIC smears among rival Republican candidates in primaries. It only weakens and discredits the party and makes it more difficult for primary victors to take on the Democrat candidates.
His words are just as true today as they were at the time he uttered them.
Leni