And this idiot, who is the AG, actually said he's only responsible for his son.

Renting a beach house for a week long celebration? Nuts.

You don't have to host drunken parties to keep your teen on your side. Never once, and we are social drinkers.

Immaterial, and minor I know. Possible?, maybe...

IMO people are too uptight, as long as people of any age are not driving or a danger/nuisance to others, have at it.
I'd suggest a splif in lieu of the beers too.

people are too uptight.

We'll get more humane governance.

and everything to do with someone being the top law enforcement official in a state sponsoring such activity- and as he not only helped finance this shindig by being one of the parents renting this house, but was present when underage drinking was going on, it's fair to say he helped sponsor it.

It's jaw droppingly stupid for someone in his position to do this.

but simply as a parent to sponsor this type of activity is extremely reckless. If any of those kids got hurt or hurt someone else, he'd be responsible. There was a clip of him giving a statement on the Today show and he claims he had no idea there was any drinking going on and may-be he should've "sniffed out" what was in the glasses. It really is a stretch to believe he had no clue there was any alcohol being served, I mean nobody smelled like alcohol, no open containers anywhere, no alcohol in the fridge?

The fact that they rented a beach house for a week for this shindig tells a lot about their economic status and perhaps they feel laws are for the "little people". Given his money and power he's above the law and so are his kids and friends.

This is not a smart man and he doesn't deserve to be in any position of power.

most particularly in Prince George's County and Baltimore City. And there are a ton of votes there - in the primary it might not be as much of a factor because of low turnout but it could spell trouble for Gansler in the general election because the Democratic candidate has to win big in Baltimore and Prince George's County in order to offset the very Republican parts of the state.

but it is the law and I agree with you that the AG of all people need to take it seriously.

Even if drinking is legal, this kind of behavior really sends the wrong message to teenagers. I would not want him for my governor.

He has no legal authority in DE as he pointed out...all he could have done is call the police, same as any other private citizen.

He is not just anybody, he is a host of the party if he rented the house. I agree that being Maryland AG has nothing to do with it, but being the host and a parent has everything to do with it. So when he says - "I was there as a parent." I say "Exactly!" And if you have no more parental judgment than that, I sure don't want you as Governor of my state.

I don't want him for my governor either, but I also don't know what Anthony Brown thinks about anything because his information-free campaign is devoid of actual policy positions (He likes education and business and opposes domestic violence. That's everybody. How matters and he won't answer how or take a position on actual issues.)

It's the battle of corrupt versus cypher.

At this point, I'd probably vote for Brown...but it'd be nice to know why.

I don't know much about her but I hope she has enough funding to at least mount a reasonable campaign.
I also suspect that if Gansler goes down - and that certainly seems a possibility - some others will get in.

in other states, cities and towns? I thought 911 was the universal emergency number. The AG could have also told the kids to knock it off, but I'm sure there's a rationale for why he couldn't do that either.

Yes, he can call the police.

Some people both here on DU and here in MD seem to be confused over the whole he has no authority as the AG of MD in DE. He's just another private citizen. He can't compel them to show up, arrest people or break up the party. He can only call the police. Most people don't call the police in that situation...and when they do, that weekend in that locale...the police don't respond, you're just considered a crank. It's a party town on a party weekend. Unless someone is assaulted, raped or murdered...the cops don't care.

I'm not excusing Gansler, he's an idiot for 100 other reasons. I'm saying the cops, if called, wouldn't have given a shit, know damned well where the parties are and there is a legal blind-eye towards them and the implicit underaged drinking. The fact he's the AG of MD isn't going to make any difference.

It's basically Spring Break or Mardi Gras for graduating HS seniors. They don't care what oldheads like you or Doug Gansler think. You tell them to knock it off...they'll ignore you too.

There are all kinds of parental issues here where we have a responsibility to our children and what we teach them. Go at it haus, but you would be the parent that I am concerned about oking this behavior as a good choice

And has corrected his statements several times. We don't need. Democrat like him running for public office, let alone Governor. He showed very poor judgement.

I agree. Maryland Democrats can do better than this for Governor.

I'm no fan of Anthony Brown either though. Given what I know about their respective positions, I'd probably hold my nose and vote for Brown...but it's close, even with the fact that Gansler's fairly skeevy.

perplexed to think that anyone thinks it is a big deal. But propriety does require parents who wish to maintain an appearance of middle class respectability to at least pretend they disapprove - especially if they are a state Attorney General who is hoping to be Governor - They certainly shouldn't be acting in front of a camera like they are part of the gang.

My parents never did the disapproval thing about drinking, though. I didn't get blotto more than a handful of times as a teenager- and those were pretty much at home- though I did get so drunk once in boarding school when I was a senior that I puked all over my proper British house mother's shoes. Fortunately, this was at liberal Simon's Rock so I didn't get kicked out.

My parents both spent a good deal of their growing up years in Europe and they served us wine on holidays and special occasions from the time we were preteens. None of us ever had a drinking problem, DUIs, etc. I did the same thing with my son with the same results. Alcohol wasn't some forbidden fruit to us.

All that said, this guy is the AG, wants to run for Governor. Just stupid.

This is about kids getting drunk at a party and putting themselves and others at risk. There really is no comparison and responsible parents know the difference.

Parents who own or rent a house where underage drinking goes on bear responsibility and criminal liability for it - whether they are present or not. And in this case he was present and did squat. It has zero to do with "middle class respectability" and everything to do with how many teenagers die and sometimes take others with them after getting drunk at a party sponsored by "middle class respectable" adults who either were not paying attention or chose to look the other way. And I am sorry but you can't just "pretend to disapprove." You have to stop it, even if it means calling the cops on your own kid.

do because adults do them too. No, I wouldn't suggest anyone knowingly allow teenagers to throw a drinking party - I just wouldn't be shocked if they did. And I sure the hell wouldn't call the police and attempt to criminalize perfectly normal behavior.

I am not shocked at underage drinking and "normal" does not mean "acceptable." Sorry, but if calling the cops is going to keep some kid from killing themselves and others I am going to do it and I am not criminalizing anything. Reporting a dangerous situation is not "criminalizing behavior" and in the vast majority of cases of this type the teenagers will at most be given a warning or a summary citation for a first offense - unless they drive while intoxicated of course - that is going to be a misdemeanor. But by calling the cops you very well could prevent some teenager from getting a DUI - the cops will likely call the parents of the teenager and tell them they need to come get him, which will certainly be embarrassing for him but it is not making him out to be a criminal. And you may have saved his life. I really am perplexed at this "boys will be boys" attitude when the consequences can be so serious. It is "normal" for a toddler to pick up a gun and pull the trigger out of curiosity also but does that mean we don't try to prevent it? Misuse of alcohol is at least as dangerous for teenagers, in fact I suspect more so.

condone an attitude that suggest that it acceptable to call the police over normal behavior that the vast majority of teenagers always have and always will do. I suppose one could call the police over suspicion of them having sex too .. considering all the problems that could lead to. But I am not going to.

Maybe it would be best to have a mature adult at a party where teenagers are drinking - in order to keep some control on things like wanting to do something dangerous - Maybe, having an understanding that they can have their party as long as nobody drives home and there is a responsible adult - just as we advise teenagers that if they are going have sex - do so in a way that is not going spread diseases or lead to unwanted pregnancies.

Being a normal teenager should not mean death because of alcohol misuse. You act as if calling the police is somehow a crime and that the worst thing that could happen to a teenager is getting a citation for underage drinking. If you have a house full of teenagers and a significant percentage of them are inebriated, one or two mature adults are not going to be able to control the situation - things are already out of control. They need help.

http://www.medicaldaily.com/alcohol-related-top-5-causes-teenage-mortality-245121

http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/YoungDriversAndAlcohol.html#.UmqhR3Cxe1U
Note: This article disputes the notion that nothing can be done - in fact, alcohol related accidents are dropping among teenagers, probably because adults are taking the issue more seriously.

http://www.edgarsnyder.com/car-accident/teen/teen-driving-statistics.html

criminal just system over perfectly normal behavior. Calling the police is not going to stop teenagers from engaging in the kind of perfectly normal teenage behavior that teenagers always have and always will engage in. And all the authoritarians rationalizing in the world is not going to make something perfectly normal into a big deal that it is not. Creating this kind of barrier where teenagers cannot be honest is far more apt to lead to tragic accidents than a finding responsible way to let teenagers be teenagers.

He should have just told the truth from the start. My friends and I did the graduation drink party at a parent's cabin (he was divorced and desperate to get onside with his child), we slept it off and no one got hurt.

States that a parent can let their own child have a drink in their own home. They cannot let other children drink in their home with or without the parents' consent. Whether a minor can drink in a rental property leased by their parents would be another question.

Either way letting his kid attend, let alone helping plan, an underage drinking party when you are an attorney general and have done anti-underage drinking PSAs is very bad optics.

At the least Gansler has been careless - and maybe reckless with his behavior in this case and also in other areas involving state vehicles as a passenger and as a driver. And he has been reluctant, to say the least, to accept responsibility for his actions. We don't need a governor who thinks he is "entitled."

There is a lot of "he said, she said" in the following stories but also some non-denial denials on the part of Gansler and his spokesperson.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/attorney-general-gansler-depicted-as-reckless-passenger-by-md-troopers-who-drove-him/2013/10/12/3115487a-328f-11e3-9c68-1cf643210300_story.html

Here is a sample of a nondenial denial from the above story by Bob Wheelock, Ganslers spokesperson.

Any suggestions made by Gansler about how the troopers should drive, Wheelock said, were no more than that — suggestions that they were free to ignore. State police report to the governor, not Gansler, a separately elected official, with no direct authority over the troopers assigned to him.

Sorry Bob, but you are not helping Doug out here. "Suggestions" for driving to a trooper? Yeah right.

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2013/10/15/md-state-police-criticize-gansler-for-calling-lt-cmdr-a-henchman/

Here is a sample from the above story of a non-denial denial by Gansler.

Tuesday, the attorney general broke his silence.

“Nobody really believes I ordered some troopers to do these kinds of things because it’s silly,” he said,

Sorry Doug. It may be silly but this "nobody" does believe it. And then there is this on the camera speeding ticket from DC controversy:

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-10-23/news/balnews-gansler-pays-speeding-ticket-20131022_1_speeding-ticket-maryland-state-police-vehicle

An account of the District of Columbia ticket -- and the delays in paying it -- was found in documents released by the state police. A trooper claimed in a email that Gansler was driving at the time of the violation, but Gansler said that was unclear.

"I have never received a speeding ticket in my state vehicle from a police officer in Maryland. Apparently, my office did receive a photo-camera ticket for my state vehicle from the District of Columbia. While determining who was driving the vehicle at that time, me or a trooper, the ticket was inadvertently not paid. Without me determining who was driving, I have paid the ticket," Gansler said in a statement reported by WBAL.

No one said anything about Maryland Doug - what about DC?

"Reckless Passenger" allegations and the nondenial denials. Strike 1
Unpaid DC camera speeding ticket and the nondenial denial. Strike 2
Beach house underage drinking and belated apologies. Strike 3 Doug.

This Maryland Democrat will vote for someone else.

Against underage drinking, then rents a beach house for a week for underage ... drinkers.

He clearly doesn't have the judgment God gave a billy goat and has no business being Governor.

You can file him under IDIOT too.