By Chris Reed

The hypocrisy of the power-mad left of California’s Democratic Party has never been more on display than in the attempt to destroy the 2012 mayoral candidacy of San Diego gay libertarian Republican Carl DeMaio. The power play involved people from both parties, but the ultimate beneficiary was Democrat Bob Filner, who narrowly defeated DeMaio in November. This U-T San Diego report should sicken people on the left who really care about gay rights, as opposed to those who pretend to care when political advantage results:

“Some of the city’s biggest movers and shakers waged a clandestine campaign last year during the San Diego mayor’s race to gather and disseminate damaging information on candidate Carl DeMaio and his longtime partner, an effort that resides in the legal gray area of campaign disclosure.

“The group — financially backed by businessman Fred Maas — spent more than $33,000 to hire a true crime author to dig up dirt on DeMaio, which resulted in a 200-plus page dossier of court records and other documents that was distributed to nearly every local media outlet in early 2012 on the condition of anonymity.

“Those working on the project behind the scenes included a top aide to then-Mayor Jerry Sanders and at least three other people with ties to the mayoral campaign of Nathan Fletcher although Fletcher denies any involvement.

“The information dredged up went largely unreported because many in the media considered it old, irrelevant and an untoward attempt to draw attention to DeMaio’s homosexuality during the race. The records focused mainly on legal problems involving his partner — San Diego Gay & Lesbian News Publisher Johnathan Hale.

“Opposition research on high-profile candidates is commonplace in politics, but Maas and his cohorts may have run afoul of state and local campaign laws when they raised money for the project and failed to disclose its financial backers or spending activity. The group continued to resist subpoena attempts by local and state investigators for information throughout the mayor’s race as those involved tried to keep their roles in the project from being made public by saying it was a journalistic endeavor.”

Will gay Democrats complain about this?

Will John Perez, Christine Kehoe, Toni Atkins, Mark Leno, etc., say this reeks?

Don’t hold your breath.