Stefan Mileschin

The US democratic party is getting so desperate to score political points that it is starting a witch hunt into how democratic candidates play the online game World of Warcraft.

A row has broken out in the State of Maine where a Democratic candidate has been told she should not me allowed to stand for office because she plays an Orc assassination rogue.

According to a press release, the Maine GOP attacked Lachowicz for a "bizarre double life." Because in the popular online role-playing game World of Warcraft she's "Santiaga," an "orc assassination rogue" with green skin, fangs, a Mohawk and pointy ears.

She is running against incumbent state Senator Tom Martin in south-central Maine, a heavily Democratic district of about 80,000 people. Martin is the first Republican to hold the seat since the 1960s and the seat is one which could flip back.

Lachowicz has made no secret of her Orcish activities. She has blogged under her own name about her World of Warcraft achievements as well as what the US calls "left-wing politics" which the rest of the world would consider "conservative".

The GOP quoted some of her Orcish lines from her posts including one on tax policy that concludes, "Now if you'll excuse me, I may have to go and hunt down Grover Norquist and drown him in my bathtub".

Martin claims it is nothing to do with him. He said he was unaware of the state Republican Party's press release or Lachowicz's hobby. He said that he deplores "mudslinging politics" and had nothing against people with pointy ears or Orcs in general.

Maine GOP, which is behind the whole thing, is unrepentant of its witch hunt. They do not think it is nice that people make comments about drowning Grover Norquist and stabbing things. Orcs are those sorts of things that roll across the border and steal American jobs. They are probably not Christians and favour eating babies.

They claim playing any game other that golf shows a shocking level of immaturity and poor judgement that voters should know about, Maine GOP party spokesman David Sorenson told Politico the fact she spends so much time on a video game says something about her work ethic and, again, her immaturity.

Not sure about that one. According to her website she also seems to spend her time running the school-based programmes for a statewide mental health centre. She's the former Democratic Party chairwoman for her town and has served as vice chairwoman of the county party.

The move might actually backfire on the GOP which is starting to look petty, mean and out-of-touch. Already the local democrats are rallying WoW players in the state to back her as a "a gamer who's under attack."

They are playing it as a similar situation to Clinton versus George Bush Sr where the elderly politician's views on the evils of rock music made him a laughing stock amongst young people.

The party's chairman, Ben Grant, got into the swing of things calling the attacks "a new low this year".

http://news.techeye.net/internet/us-...illy-about-wow