Taylor started the campaign as the very definition of an entrenched incumbent. But believing that issues count, we approached the situation with the conceptually simple goal of educating voters why they should care about the gun issue, then activating those who do. This obviously worked, and we were greatly aided by people who, apart from guns, were appalled by how Taylor couldn't get his facts straight. He made it a referendum on his integrity.

Cas claimed he opposed gun control, and would not support the Gun Safety Act of 2000 until gun control was out in favor of minor safety measures. He was contradicted by his having sponsored the original legislation in the first place, with all the text he said he opposed. Worse were his own words on the subject: "There is nothing necessary or sacred about a requirement of society to include handguns," he told a local paper in 1999, speaking favorably about Joe Curran's proposed ban on private ownership of handguns. "I can envision some day getting there."

Cas claimed concern for problems gun owners experienced buying handguns under his ballistic fingerprinting law. But his 'fix' of the problem (having troopers fire guns to collect evidence) was temporary, lasting just long enough to deflate pro-gunners' legislative repair. He killed the pro-gun effort. Later, his claim that the upcoming gun lock ban won't pose a problem fell flat before the documents from state police verifying that they know of no handguns which will satisfy the new law for sale starting January 1 of the coming year.

When his internal polling showed this issue gaining traction, he sought cover from groups that might portray him as a gun owner's best friend. In December 2001 Taylor had brokered a meeting between the Maryland Sportsmen Association (MSA) and Kathleen Kennedy, intending to bolster a Democratic front group for KKT in return for a better shot at being picked as her running mate. This fall he called in that marker for himself too, using MSA text in his own campaign ads, along with the support of other groups whose only value was their name.

This backfired too. Our statewide outreach had already ensured everyone in the firearm and hunting communities knew the truth of Kathleen Kennedy's role in enacting extremist gun control, so MSA's support for Kennedy only neutralized that group as a political entity. When Cas hitched his wagon to the MSA endorsement, he undermined the rest of his credibility and only validated the message we needed to get out.

Cas published supporting comments from the Maryland Legislative Sportsmen's Caucus - which everyone in our community had already been shown was a front to other gun control efforts. (Sorry, Cas, if you read the Tripwires we sent you, you'd know that the MLSC publicly endorsed new gun control in March of this year.) The MLSC advertises such legislators as Delegate Peter Franchot as a member on the letterhead, so pundits marveled that Cas would validate his credentials to gun owners by reminding us he rubs elbows with people who seek a total ban on private ownership of firearms. That factored prominently in MPFO media buys.

Of course, most important was having the right candidate at the right time, and our congratulations go to Leroy Myers on his victory. The folks at Marylanders for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership are delighted to have played a role - via direct mail, leafleting, radio advertising and billboards - in getting all the facts before voters.

After the November 5th win (initially by 71 votes!) Taylor went on to further validate much of what we said about him. He publicly referred to some of his constituents as "nitwits" and "poor dumb bastards." He demanded a full recount of his race - this after having publicly spoken against Al Gore's recount efforts two years ago. He railed against "outsiders" meddling in his race, in spite of having just spent months campaigning and fund raising for his slate of anti-gun candidates statewide. Sauce for the goose never seems to be sauce for the gander in Maryland.

His Democratic party strategists, eager not to let our issue get credit, now tell any who will listen that Cas was a victim of Bob Ehrlich's coat tails. But this obviously doesn't wash: Delegate Kevin Kelly, a pro-gun Democrat in the next subdistrict, handily won re-election over his well-funded Republican challenger. The issue was guns.

This is a victory for our system of government, which took the first healing steps after being badly bruised. Taylor held the state budget past Constitutional deadlines two years ago in order to vote the gun bill first. That way each legislator would know his district's pork depended on a vote for gun control. Before that Senate President Miller abandoned rules to by-pass our opposition and advance the bill, belittling opponents from his dais and at one point explaining how someday others would be in charge, but until then, Miller would make up his own rules. (He did.) Those champions of oppressive government broke our system's spirit of fair play - if not also rule of law - in order to impose extremist laws. It's fitting that Taylor is ejected by gunowners under the very system he abused.