Worst…state comptroller…ever

February 18, 2006

Guest Post by Morbo

I hate to bore readers with what may appear to be provincial stories about politics in my adopted home state of Maryland, but here’s one you might find interesting:

Maryland’s comptroller is a decrepit, embarrassing has-been ex-governor who pretends to be a Democrat named William Donald Schaefer. On Feb. 15, Schaefer was attending a Board of Public Works meeting with Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich, a Republican whom Schaefer seems to adore. A 24-year-old female aide to the governor brought Schaefer a cup of tea, and the evil creep publicly leered at her. As the unnamed woman walked away, Schaefer stared at her backside, then called her back and said, “Walk again.”

Schaefer has been acting increasingly strange over the past few years. He’s 84, but apparently lost his mind way back in 1992 — when Schaefer endorsed George H.W. Bush for president just days before polls showed Bill Clinton headed for a landslide.

Asked about his boorish behavior after the meeting, Schaefer, The Washington Post reported, engaged in one of his favorite tricks: throwing a tantrum and attacking the press.

“That’s so goddamn dumb I can’t believe it,” Schaefer said. “I look at one of the girls as she walked out. Big deal. … I look at the girls every time they walk out.”

Schaefer added that the aide “ought to be damn happy that I observed her going out the door. The day I don’t look at pretty women is the day I die….A little girl walks out, and I make a joke out of it. The one who is offended is me…. I can’t believe you are making a deal out of that.”

That’s right, boob. You’re the victim here. The aide should be glad a crusty old creepazoid ogled her. How clueless can you get?

This was hardly Schaefer’s first outburst. As The Post reported, “In recent years, he has provoked outrage by complaining about a Spanish-speaking McDonald’s clerk and suggesting the creation of a public registry of people with AIDS.”

Amazingly, the dimwit is seeking reelection this year. There is an alternative. A real Democrat, State Del. Peter Franchot, is running against Schaefer in the primary. (See www.franchot.com). Sadly, Franchot may face an uphill battle. For some reason, many Marylanders seem to love the wacky antics of their “Willie Don.”

They shouldn’t. The man is now officially an embarrassment. It’s time to get someone sane in charge of the state’s bond rating.

“…Sadly, Franchot may face an uphill battle. For some reason, many Marylanders seem to love the wacky antics of their “Willie Don.”

It’s less uphill than you think. Conventional wisdom says that the vast majority of voters in the Democratic primaries tend to be more liberal and progressive. Pete Franchot has an excellent chance to unseat Schaefer in the primary. Add to this the FACT that Willie Don is generally loathed by the MD party Dems who will be working against him every step of the way. Schaefer has huge name recognition in this mostly Democratic voting state and up until now hasn’t had a serious primary opponent.

Pete has excellent progressive bona fides. Go to his site, check out his record and drop a few bucks.

  • This is indeed strange behavior for a man who has never shown an interest in women. While he had a female “companion” for many years, but It is unspoken, but widely known that he prefers young males. I have personally spoken with some of these young men. They were teen hustlers when they encountered him.

  • I’m registered in MD, I’d be happy to show up to vote at the primary to kick out this asshole. Does anybody know when it is?

  • Does anybody know when it is?

    Unfortunately, Maryland has one of the later primary dates in the country. The Franchot/Schaefer primary is not until Sept. 12.

  • I don’t think the issue is that he ogled her, and certainly not that he was a “crusty old creepazoid” (lest we be accused of being age-ist and creepist). I think the issue was that he wanted her to come back and “walk again”. As if she was solely there for his amusement. That’s just fucking wrong.

  • While i’m not a proponent of frivolous lawsuits, I’d be pleased as punch if she slapped a sexual harassment suit on his ass. My god I don’t understand how this cratchety old man is still in my state government. Well actually, I do understand, for some odd reason older generation marylanders love him, probably due to rose tinted glasses from his 5 million year reign as mayor/governer. If I talk about his bat shit crazyness with anyone over the age of 50 I’m usually looked at like a blasphemous witch about to get burned at the stake. Its almost at the point where I’ll gladly go vote for peter franchot not for platform but just because he’s not Willie Don.

  • Today’s WaPo has an amusing wrap-up of Schaefer stunts over the years. Some were slightly amusing. For example, he once wore cheap, dime-store x-ray specs to address the state legislature. When elected governor, he pretended he had been shipped to Anapolis in a box and emerged wearing a phony naval uniform — weird stuff to be sure but harmless. But now his jokes have denigrated into sexism and racism. It’s obvious that key parts of his brain have been devoured by what Kurt Vonnegut would call “bad chemicals.” It is time for Willie Don to go.

    I second what the poster above said about voting for anyone who is not Willie Don. If he wins the primary, I’ll even consider supporting the GOP nominee, as long as he or she is somewhat moderate and not totally insane. Of course, that’s a tall order from the Republicans these days, so I may have to write in “Bugs Bunny” or perhaps “Yosemite Sam” (some of the latter’s stunts are uncomfortably like Willie Don’s, however.)

  • As I recall, Gov. Bobby Haircut promised King Willie Don that he would discourage any Republicans from running against him in the general election (as a political favor for him having endorsed most, if not all, of the guv’s policies). So, unfortunately, the only chance that we will have to kick him out of office is the 9/12 primary but not the general election.

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