Remember when Christine O'Donnell was a tea party favorite and promised she would win a Senate seat from Delaware for the Republicans?  On the strength of her appeal to tea party conservatives, she defeated Mike Castle, a former governor and then-current member of the US House of Representatives, in the 2010 primary. Castle, who has won statewide elective office many times, was a near certainty to win the seat, but O'Donnell's ambition and ability to seize tea party momentum defeated him.

Things did not work out as O'Donnell promised. She ended up losing in a landslide (a 17 point margin), and now Democratic Senator Chris Coons holds the seat, helping elect Harry Reid as Majority Leader now, and God help us, maybe next year, too.

O'Donnell appears to have moved on to a new disgrace, allegedly stealing the idea for a television show from its originator, and joining with Al Gore-affiliated Current TV to develop a show based on someone else's idea.  Unfortunately for Ms. O'Donnell, the man she allegedly tried to rip off is no fool, took steps to protect his intellectual property, and has a lot of friends in the conservative blogosphere. Pamela Geller explains:

Well over a year ago, Gordon Gebert let me in on a secret he had been brainstorming on. His premise was brilliant. He came up with the fantastic programming idea to do a reality show "Occupy vs Tea Party" in a house (a la MTV) with #occupy dregs and tea party patriots living (or dying) together.

Great, right? Gebert has been pitching this idea for months. Whenever I would see him, whether at CPAC or BlogCon or FOA, he was working the project. I tried to put him on to people that might be able to advance, contribute or support the project. He worked that baby like a mad dog.

So imagine my surprise when I heard that the notorious opportunist, former Delaware Tea Party candidate Christine O'Donnell, was trying to lift the idea and sell it as her own. Serious theft. This gave life to all those scam stories about her. So this is not altogether shocking. Back in 2012,  I blogged on O'Donnell's cowardice and lack of character. But this is lower than that.

Christine O'Donnell issued a press release which was picked up by ABC News, Yahoo News, DailyKos, etc., announcing "Christine O'Donnell will behosting an "Occupy vs. Tea Party" debate during her Troublemaker Fest at Channelside Cinemas, a short block away from the Republican National Convention being held that same week.

Adding insult to injury, O'Donnell has reportedly entered into an agreement with Al Gore's Current TV to produce the vehicle. Gore and O'Donnell, two of a piece it seems.

O'Donnell is a thief. And not a smart one (they never are). So many of us have been around Gordon during the planning and organizing of Tea vs. Occupy. She could never pull this off.

Robert Stacy McCain amplifies:

This is either (a) a serious trademark infringement or (b) a generous gesture of free publicity: We told you last month about Gordon Gebert's proposed "Occupy vs. Tea Party" reality-TV show. A few days ago, I learned that Gordon got the funding to make it happen, and will begin with a debate at the Republican National Convention in Tampa.

Well, it seems that Christine O'Donnell - whose Tea Party-backed GOP Senate campaign made national news in 2010 - has planned an event for Tampa that got headlined by ABC News, "Christine O'Donnell to Stage Tea Party vs. Occupy Debate in Tampa," which provoked an outraged reaction from Gebert and his lawyers:

Former Delaware Tea Party candidate and "witch" Christine O'Donnell has issued a press release which has been picked up by ABC News, Yahoo News, DailyKos, et al... announcing Christine O'Donnell to Stage Tea Party vs. Occupy Debate in Tampa at Channelside Cinemas 10 IMAX Theater in Tampa, Florida just one block from the Tampa Bay Times Forum, site of the Republican National Convention. Problem is Christine O'Donnell was told in a conference call Thursday evening she could not use the Tea Party vs Occupy or the Occupy vs Tea Party name because both are trademarked and copy righted by Gordon G.G. Gebert, creator of the reality TV Show of the same name.
During the Thursday conference call O'Donnell was attempting to reach a broadcasting deal with The Young Turks while representing that she was the creator and owner of the trademark. Despite repeatedly being told by the Trademark & Copyright owner she could not use his brand in her Tampa event, O'Donnell decided she wanted to take her chances in litigation and told Gebert, "sue me." According to spokesperson for Mr. Gebert after becoming aware of O'Donnell's press release by email which was picked up by ABC News, Yahoo News, Huffington Post, and others; Attorney's for Mr. Gebert will file the necessary documents to obtain a restraining order prohibiting O'Donnell from proceeding with the unauthorized use of his trademark brand to promote her event.

Matt Vespa of Right Wing News has more details on this developing story.

I first posted about Occupy vs. Tea Party last April when I was able to have an interview with Mr. Gebert and found his project smart and original.  I updated my post when he began his $10,000 fundraising effort.  This theft of intellectual property is beyond outrageous.  It seems Christine O'Donnell is nothing, but a leech.  A leech that appears to have no respect for Mr. Gebert or his work- which has been copyrighted and trademarked since November of 2011.event.

This is a disturbing incident. Ms. O'Donnell has a lot of explaining to do. Conservative voters put their trust in her in large part because of her claims to virtue (claiming she was a virgin who would not engage in premarital sex was one of her principal claims to fame). She is a public figure who owes her former supporters an explanation. I suspect that Mr. Gebert's lawyers will see that she does so under oath.