I read with interest a recent "Letter to the Editor" in the Frederick News-Post from a Jason Miller. In it, Mr. Miller states he "withdrew from the race against Senator David Brinkley when he knew that a true conservative with more time and fundraising abilities would oppose Senator Brinkley." He then went on to endorse Michael Hough. A casual reading lends the impression that Mr. Miller made his decision after learning Hough was going to run.

While commendable, the timeline belies a different series of events. Mr. Miller withdrew from the race on January 16, a full 30 days before Delegate Hough filed for the State Senate primary.

Why is this timing important?

If Mr. Miller withdrew in January without prior notice of Delegate Hough entering the race, his reasons for withdrawal are misleading and raise serious questions about the veracity of this situation.

On the other hand, if Mr. Miller is being honest, stating he withdrew after hearing that Delegate Hough was going to challenge Senator Brinkley, then it is Hough’s veracity that is of issue.

You see, during that 30-day period, Delegate Hough barnstormed around the County raising funds to promote a second run for House of Delegates, not the Senatorial primary he now desires.

It’s called "Bait and Switch."

One can only wonder how many people who contributed to Hough’s campaign for Delegate have actually contributed, or even sanctioned, his challenge of Senator Brinkley. (See article by Thurmont Town Commissioner Marty Burns.)

Unfortunately, we will likely never know the truth. Either way, neither scenario presents the actions of a Statesman!

These actions will not surprise anyone who has followed Hough’s career. He learned "slash and burn tactics" at the feet of former State Senator Alex Mooney, whose biggest claim to fame was that he hated more people, and more people hated him, than any other State Senator in Maryland’s history.

A far cry from the respect Senator Brinkley has earned on both sides of the aisle for his Statesmanship. Senator Brinkley’s professional approach toward service was so admired that he was elected the Republican leader in the Maryland Senate.

To further elaborate, prior to Delegate Hough announcing his political career move for the Maryland Senate, a Push Poll was undertaken. A Push Poll is when questions are framed in such a manner that the facts are skirted so that the desired answer is elicited instead of the truth. The questions were framed in such a manner that all the ills of the Western World were laid at the feet of Senator Brinkley.

Each false representation in this Push Poll was followed by the question: "Now that you know Senator Brinkley did this, are you more or less willing to vote for him?" Obviously the truth was not the intention, but rather an attempt to broad-brush an opponent with vitriolic fabrications.

When challenged, Hough denied knowledge of the Push Poll. A week later, an e-mail was sent to Republicans announcing his candidacy against Senator Brinkley. Amazingly, this e-mail was filled with many of the same fallacious accusations raised in the Push Poll.

It is clear in this writer’s mind that Hough has no intention of running a campaign of ideas and it does not appear he has any. Instead, Hough has apparently decided to take a page out of the Alex Mooney playbook, one of the blackest times in Maryland politics, and run a campaign based upon nothing more than sowing hate and fear.

It’s bad enough that we have to deal with negative campaigning in national politics, but we should not have to deal with this in county politics. Frederick County deserves better.

Senator Brinkley is a man who embodies the values, hopes, and ideals of Frederick County—as such, he is an ideal candidate to represent us in the Maryland State Senate.

Hough, on the other hand, represents only himself and the politics of hate, fear and deceit.