Say what you will about Michael Steele - turns out the GOP might have dodged a bullet when they picked him to head the RNC. They might've had Blake Hall leading the party instead. Marc Ambinder, October 2007:
[P]arty activists are talking about two other names as well. One is Florida's chairman, James Greer, a former Oviedo, FL city council member. The other is current party general counsel Blake Hall, an RNC national committeeman from Idaho who has held almost every major party office.
Only now, Hall is going off to jail for stalking his ex-girlfriend, who recently married another man.
Evidently, littering your obsession's front lawn with condoms you have lovingly filled with your own seed is not considered appropriate behavior.
Not even for a Republican.
Not even for a Republican in Idaho.
Hall, who as second-most-senior member of the RNC served as its general counsel from 2007 until January of this year,
is so well known in GOP circles that he's simply "Blake," no surname needed.
On November 6, Hall pled guilty to misdemeanor stalking and was sentenced to a net of 15 days in jail, one year's probation and a $1,000 fine.
The incident began earlier this year when a former girlfriend, 37, and recently married to another man, filed a restraining order against Hall. The Idaho Falls police report notes that witnesses said Hall disposed of 19 used condoms on the lawn of the woman's house on 10 different dates. The report notes that Hall was not truthful about the condoms at first, but later he and his lawyer acknowledged the condoms belonged to him
The victim testified Friday that Hall once followed her to a Walmart and took her car keys and would not return them until she agreed to "hear him out" concerning her marriage. "I was so tired of being victimized," the woman said. "It is unimaginable that a 56-year-old would be so deviant."
The police report shows that Hall made unwanted contact with the victim at movie theater and a restaurant, where he cried when she would not speak with him,walked unannounced into her home, followed her with his vehicles, and sent her harassing text messages.
Sixth District Judge Don Harding, who sentenced Hall, said,
"I've never seen (a stalking case) this extensive where it lasted so long and (was) such an invasion of privacy."
Back in September, when a judge issued a restraining order prohibiting Hall from coming within 900 feet of his ex-girlfriend or contacting her in any way, warning that Hall "represents an immediate and present danger of domestic violence" to the woman, the Bonneville County Republican Central Committee urged Hall to step down from his position. But at least one local Republican didn't get swept up in the frenzy, recognizing Hall's true worth:
Central Committee chairman Damond Watkins argued against the resolution on Thursday, saying Hall should be judged by his work on the RNC's budget committee. Hall has helped raise millions of dollars for Republican candidates in statewide races and is desperately needed again in the next election cycle, Watkins said.
"In my opinion, Blake should be evaluated on his performance on the committee, not on his personal life," Watkins said, the Post Register reported.
And even now that he has admitted guilt, Hall still has at least one staunch defender: his boss, Fremont County Prosecutor Joette Lookabaugh:
"Mr. Hall explained the circumstances of this personal legal issue to the county commissioners and myself a while ago . . .
Umm, all of the circumstances? Really??
“This personal legal problem notwithstanding -
- because, let's face it, that's all this is, a legal problem -
- Blake Hall is the highest caliber of attorney dealing with county civil issues, perhaps in the State of Idaho."
Whoa. Sounds like Fremont County might want to look for some new civil attorneys.
And in case we mere members of the general public are somehow unclear on just what it is that is disturbing about a 57-year-old man stalking a woman 20 years his junior and depositing 19 of his used condoms on her lawn on 10 different occasions and lying about it to police, Lookabaugh does us the favor of explaining:
“What is disturbing is the fact that often people who have devoted their lives to public service are not given the same benefits, or are treated more harshly, than the public at large. There seems to be a certain amount of political glee in striking down the well known for any real or perceived foible.”
"Perceived foible" - new term for scattering used condoms on another's front lawn. Teepeeing a house is so junior high school.
Hall and his ex-wife, Laurel, were a GOP power couple in Idaho. Until 2007, that is. Between them, the couple filed for divorce no fewer than five times, beginning in 1993:
After one filing in August 1994, Laurel Hall told sheriff's deputies her husband struck her while she was at work in the office of then-Rep. Mike Crapo. She recanted three days later, according to a sheriff's report. No charges were filed.
After the divorce, Hall was said to have begun "dialing back" his political activity - to become more like Jesus.
"I've tried to become kinder, more gentle and more Christ-like in my approach throughout life, and maybe it's starting to catch."
More Christ-like, indeed. Which Reservoir Tip Would Jesus Use?