Last night, I wrote about how sore loser Adam Wood was launching a bid for Maryland Republican Party Chairman.
Somehow, it gets worse.
Somebody is out there launching a “Draft Gordana” movement for Maryland Republican Party Chairman.
The draft effort focuses on Nicole Harris's tenure as Maryland Republican Party chair, citing Incumbent Protection, Nepotism, and a focus on Andy Harris as the reasons for the movement.
The question, though, is this: why the hell would anybody draft Gordana Schifanelli for anything?
Schifanelli, of course, is no stranger to Duckpin readers, as we have an entire slew of stories about the discredited former candidate for Lt. Governor of Maryland from the 2022 campaign. A nobody from nowhere, Schifenelli became an anchor around an already sinking ship. She provided baffling answers on issues, started a dark news site that trashed other Republicans, spread scientific misinformation, and was generally a terrible, awful, no-good candidate.
Then things got worse.
Schifanelli made a run for Maryland Republican Party Chairman, running against Nicole Harris in 2022. Schifanelli was disqualified from that race because she didn’t turn her paperwork in on time, then proceeded to make a complete ass of herself at the convention when she tried to force the issue anyway.
This despite the fact that the Schifanelli time held meetings well in advance of the November election, organizing an effort to replace Dirk Haire as Republican Party Chairman. Instead of trying to win an election where she herself was on the ballot, Gordana Schifanelli and her team were more concerned with organizing a coup against Maryland Republican Leadership. An effort that failed spectacularly when the bumbling band of boobs couldn’t bother to make sure an email got sent on time.
Schifanelli then proceeded to:
Endorse David Trone for U.S. Senate before switching to Robin Ficker;
Resurfaced earlier this year to endorse Ed Hale for Governor.
Why anybody would think Gordana Schifanelli is going to end the problem of “Enough Losing” when she has never endorsed a winner for anything is the kind of galaxy brain thinking that can only come from people whose understanding of politics only goes as far as their Facebook feed.
I do want to get back to Ed Hale, though. Because not only did Ed Hale tout Schifanelli’s endorsement, he also platformed her on his self-important podcast:
As I said in September, a show that has Ed Hale, who is a black hole of charisma, interviewing Gordana Schifanelli, who has a room-temperature IQ, is not scintillating entertainment. Schifanelli, like Ed Hale, abandoned the GOP when it no longer suited their political needs. The fact that two-ex Republicans are talking about this topic is categorically insane, especially considering Gordana Schifanelli is practically a fascist.
But the show did focus on Schifanelli’s gripes with Republicans, as I noted:
Schifanelli argues that the Maryland GOP is fundamentally broken and severely divided, with factions fighting each other just as viciously as they fight Democrats, e heavily criticizes the state party’s establishment and leadership, claiming it is “infested” with politicians who prioritize their own status over actually developing winning strategies or expanding the voter base, and claims the party establishment intentionally created chaos at the convention and prevented her from even getting on the ballot or taking the microphone to address the delegates without mentioning the fact that she was disqualified from the race.
Schifanelli, without a hint of irony, stressed that Republicans need to stop dividing themselves into “moderate” and “extreme” camps and instead unite around the core conservative principles of minimizing government intervention, lowering taxes, and reducing regulations so families and businesses can thrive.
The irony of course is that Schifanelli and the loyal cadre of jabronis who still cling to her are the people who love breaking people into camps, calling people RINOs, and refusing to unite around the core conservative principles of minimizing government intervention, lowering taxes, and reducing regulations so families and businesses can thrive by instituting purity tests regarding facemasks, book bans, conspiracy theories, and loyalty to Donald Trump. The idea that Schifanelli (or Hale, for that matter, after his lifetime status as a Democrat) would have the audacity to talk about the need for unity in the GOP when she abandoned it and acted like a complete assclown in nearly every political interaction she has ever had is beyond farcical.
Lifelong Democrat Ed Hale chose to accept this endorsement in a Republican primary, then chose to platform this lunatic after he lost the primary in an effort to get revenge on the supermajority of Republicans who did not vote for him.
Which is why I think Ed Hale’s camp is behind the Draft Gordana movement. While I have no evidence of this, follow the breadcrumbs.
Hale accepted Schifanelli’s endorsement;
Hale platformed Schifanelli after his defeat;
Hale has been blasting Nicole Harris and Schifanelli’s estranged former running mate Dan Cox on his Facebook page ever since the primary.
Hale’s criticisms have some merit, but would probably land better if they were not from a lifelong Democrat who couldn’t beat Dan Cox in a primary.
Regardless, Ed Hale has the motive, the resources, and the arrogance to pull a knuckleheaded stunt like this. And while there is no definitive proof, all roads lead back to Ed Hale.
Regardless, electing Gordana Schifanelli as Maryland Republican Chair is the kind of move Republicans would make if they want to ensure the Republican Party wins even fewer races in Maryland next go-around. Schifanelli is such a bad candidate that she makes Adam Wood look credible.
Maryland Republicans need a competent adult willing to serve. Gordana Schifanelli and Adam Wood are both the furthest things from that.