Nothing's Shocking

Our ethically challenged Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold is at it again :

Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold's campaign reaped an estimated $100,000 at a fundraiser hosted by a wealthy supporter four days before the passage of a county bill that granted the supporter a break on a private 18-hole golf course he is building on property he owns in Harwood.

A Leopold administration official testified in support of the bill just before the County Council's unanimous vote Dec. 3 to waive a requirement that Albert Lord, chairman of student loan magnet Sallie Mae, build a mile-long road to his proposed $15 million clubhouse. The bill's approval saved him hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Mind you, this is once again the candidate who campaign on clean government and not being bought off by special interests due to his extensive inheritance and trust fund.

But it gets better:

Lord attended a fundraiser for Leopold in September at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront, where the county executive raised at least $100,000. Each of the 25 to 30 participants - mostly developers - was asked to contribute $4,000.

Which of course, gives me a chuckle only because Leopold told anybody who would listen last year that he wasn't in the pocket of developers and accused his opponents of being bought off. Of course, we clearly see that he may not be (fundraising is part of the game) but as usual Leopold thinks he is above the game and above the fray when it comes to ethical questions like these. Of course, Leopold's incessant whining and defense of his fundraising vis-a-vis his previous statements regarding fundraising make his self-created predicament even more laughable. He is trying to martyr himself on the issue of campaign finances; the same issue he wanted to nail Phil Bissett, Dave Boschert, and George Johnson to a cross for just last year.

John Leopold's problem is not that he is raising money from developers. It's the fact that he's a liar who was elected on a number of false pretenses. But we Republicans here in Anne Arundel County know that John Leopold drifts in whichever direction most directly benefits John Leopold. Once again, this fundraising fiasco is merely further proof that John Leopold's hypocrisy knows no bounds.