Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler may not know what BuzzFeed is, but he’s evidently very familiar with buzzed teens. And now he’s finding himself in some hot water after footage surfaced of him at a summer party in Delaware, surrounded by underage drinkers:
Md. Atty. Gen. Doug Gansler (white shirt w/phone) was at the party in Delaware to talk to son. Teens were drinking. pic.twitter.com/GloTSbXlht
— Charles T (@ChuckyT3) October 24, 2013
https://twitter.com/lachlan/status/393370398672187392
From The Baltimore Sun:
Gansler, a Democrat who is running for governor, said this week that he stopped by the Delaware beach house to talk briefly with his teenage son and then left. He said he does not remember whether he saw anyone drinking. But even if he had, Gansler said, it was not his responsibility as a parent or a high-ranking law enforcement official to intervene.
“Assume for purposes of discussion that there was widespread drinking at this party,” Gansler said. “How is that relevant to me? … The question is, do I have any moral authority over other people’s children at beach week in another state? I say no.”
Here’s the thing, though: One of Gansler’s pet causes is discouraging underage drinking:
@Cameron_Gray @DougGansler this was at a house he rented for the party. I love his anti drinking PSA's he does
— chad little (@chadalittle) October 24, 2013
“Say no to alcohol”:
Needless to say, Gansler’s “not my kids” excuse doesn’t seem to be going over terribly well:
So let's get this straight: @DougGansler our state's top law enforcement official sees no prob w. underage drinking by H.S. students?! IOW +
— melinda d. anderson (@mdawriter) October 24, 2013
Recommended
In Maryland, according to Attorney General @DougGansler, laws are meant to be broken unless you think they should be enforced? Thks Doug…
— melinda d. anderson (@mdawriter) October 24, 2013
Also, can we just talk about the creep factor?
https://twitter.com/Cameron_Gray/status/393401397527318528
Will someone ask @DougGansler why he was taking pics at the "raucous" party
— Bri Dively (@bridively) October 24, 2013
Ick. Maybe he’ll answer that at his presser this afternoon:
Doug Gansler has scheduled a press conference sometime between 11am and 1pm today to address this story: http://t.co/UhreEvqS3V
— WBAL NewsRadio 1090 and FM 101.5 (@wbalradio) October 24, 2013
***
Update:
The Fix’s Aaron Blake has put together a list of quotes from Gansler’s presser:
The Fix: The best/worst quotes from Doug Gansler’s press conference http://t.co/VOZdCRCenF
— Post Politics (@postpolitics) October 24, 2013
Painful.
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