A hotel in Clinton that dared erect a McCain sign on its property received boycott threats and touched off a firestorm of outrage, The Washington Post recently chronicled. And now, the home and property of a McCain supporter in Cheltenham has been vandalized.

The Prince George's County Republican Party has distributed photographs of the damage done to the home of Kenneth Rose, with white spray paint on brick siding and windows of a recreational vehicle, and profanity added to a sign.

Rose, the homeowner, told us that he lives on a major coummuter route in a rural area of the county, and there are not a lot of McCain signs around. He said there is a history of vandalism of political signs in the county, but the damage he discovered Monday morning "has gone way past that." A registered Democrat and retiree, Rose told us he's thinking about contacting Fox New's Sean Hannity to draw attention to the episode. He's filed a police report, and was installing a new sign to replace one torn down when we contacted him on Tuesday. Mykel Harris, chair of the county Republican central committee, said he was "shocked" when he heard of the damage, and decided to distribute the photos below.

Tension over the election "does seem to be escalating a bit," Harris said in an interview.

Harris called for calm in an e-mail he sent out with the pictures attached. "Fortunately we have the means to restore peace and good order to our community," he wrote. "We must stand up for our rights and the rights of others to advocate on behalf of their party, candidate or issue."