The Runback: The Joker and The Thief

Why are people still (allegedly) stealing signs in the Year of Our Lord 2022?

Welcome to another week of The Runback. Have you been enjoying The Duckpin? Do you have comments or suggestions? Do you want to write for us? Let me know at theduckpin@gmail.com. And please be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Thanks in advance.

2022 Candidate Information

We have launched a one-stop-shop for candidate information for the 2022 Election. Bookmark this page, as it will be updated through the 2022 Election. This includes our first round of candidate surveys, which include Alexandra Rak for Charles County Commissioner, Mekkah Mohammed for Baltimore City Republican Central Committee, and more.

News and Politics

• Gas Tax Fiasco A Reminder About Democratic Raids: In 2013, Democrats screwed Taxpayers. The pain continues

• Anne Arundel County Scrambles Early Voting Centers: IBEW Union Hall included among new Early Voting Centers

• Larry Hogan Did That: Maryland is among the top states in an important COVID Metric

• Hogan Lobs Gas Tax Hike Hot Potato At Peter Franchot: Without the Comptroller’s Action, Maryland’s Gas Tax Rises on July 1st

• Cutting Off Our Noses to Spite Our Face? Qui son nes coupe, sa face desenoure

• Cox Already Playing Blame Game: How Dan Cox admits he's losing the primary

Sports

• Buster Olney is Still a Jerk: ESPN writer's long-time beef with the Orioles takes center stage

• ERL Wins Battle By the Bay: Undefeated tournament run ends Juggernauts domination

The Monday Tuesday Thought

Hard to imagine that in the Year of Our Lord 2022 that people are still doing this. But……people are still doing this.

Maryland State Police confirmed Tuesday they received a report from a Washington County commissioner candidate that at least four of his campaign signs had been stolen.

Candidate Derek Harvey told Herald-Mail Media on Tuesday that eight campaign signs were stolen from at least four spots along Downsville Pike or Sharpsburg Pike in recent days. The large signs were attached to frames, two signs to a frame.

It’s not just allegations of signs. There are photographs of some people also allegedly stealing signs. Here are some photos of Pat McDonough allegedly staling Darren Badillo signs.

Badillo and McDonough are both running for Baltimore County Executive. Of course, we all know that Pat McDonough is a doofus with interesting campaign finances and gaming in-kind contributions. So playing these games shouldn’t be a surprise.

Sign-stealing has long been one of the games people play when it comes to campaigns. Everybody knows of “that one” campaign that steals signs with impunity. It happens overnight. It happens in the middle of the day. I saw it happen with my own eyes at a polling place on Election Day in front of a dozen other people.

But it’s hard to imagine that with the ubiquity of cell phones, Ring cameras, security systems, and surveillance cameras that anybody would engage in this sort of ridiculous behavior. That the candidate himself is doing it is beyond ridiculous and speaks more to the low-class way that McDonough and others who engage in this sort of behavior carry themselves.

Don Murphy’s campaign rules lay this out pretty clearly:

Campaign Rule #6: Never, ever, touch, or deface, your opponent’s campaign sign… For any reason… Ever.

It’s not rocket science.