GOP news and notes

You probably knew this was coming, but in order to be true to its principle of allowing people to keep more of their hard-earned money in their own pockets, the Maryland Republican Party is holding a “No Tax Hike” Rally in Annapolis next Monday evening.

Of course, the unfortunate fact is that it’s pretty much all for show – when your party is in the minority by something like 101-40, even if the Democrats from the wealthier parts of the state object to things like the increased income tax for the high-dollar income earners and the few Eastern Shore Democrats don’t vote for the sales tax hike, all these increases will still pass with between 80 and 90 votes apiece. So Rick Pollitt isn’t going to be losing any sleep fretting over Wicomico County finances because the so-called “doomsday budget” won’t happen. I think he’s more worried about it due to our county’s revenue cap, which he’s never favored anyway.

However, in order to bring about the necessary change in 2010 toward fiscal sanity, the GOP is going to fight back. Here’s a portion of their October 19 press release:

Republicans Take The Offensive Against O’Malley’s Massive Tax Hike At Upcoming Voter Registration Drives

Republicans are bringing the battle to protect working families from Martin O’Malley’s massive tax hike directly to Marylanders through the “Red, White and Blue Voter Registration Campaign.” The voter registration initiative, organized jointly by the Maryland Federation of Republican Women and the Maryland Republican Party, will be held at fairs, community events, and other community events across the state over the next several months.

“The people of Maryland need to know that the Democrat domination we are experiencing is not good for their pocketbooks,” said Marianne Pelura, co-chair of the Red, White and Blue Voter Registration Campaign.  “Working in conjunction with the Maryland Republican Party, the MFRW is leading voter registration initiatives in the state this year.”

“The people of this state need to beware of the bill of goods being sold by Martin O’Malley and the Democrats,” said Dr. James Pelura, Maryland Republican Party Chairman. “His plan to ram this through a special session is designed to avoid the transparency and accountability that Marylanders expect from their government.

Marylanders overwhelmingly oppose a special session to hike up their taxes.  Republicans in the House and Senate have offered alternatives that would slow the growth of government spending without raising taxes.  Democrats have offered new and innovative ways to take money out of the pockets of hard-working Marylanders.”

I can tell you that I had a number of people who either wanted to register to vote or change their party affiliation at the Wine Festival. People are truly fed up with a party who wants to raise taxes both at the state and federal levels – don’t forget, the Democrats also are on record as wanting the 2001/03 Bush tax cuts to expire, bringing in the most massive tax hike in history without a recorded vote in favor of passing the bite out of our wallets.

In the meantime, it’s really not all that far from 2010. I think after the 2008 elections we’ll see the jockeying begin inside the Republican Party as they line up to get a crack at the O’Malley Administration. That should be fun to watch.

Finally, in this week’s edition of the Evans-Novak Political Report, they turn their attention to the First District race:

Maryland-1: Once again, Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R) will face a primary challenge, and this one might be his toughest.

Gilchrest represents Maryland’s Eastern Shore, lying on the East side of the Chesapeake Bay, consisting mostly of farms and beaches. It is the most conservative region of the state aside from the Western panhandle, which stretches across the top of West Virginia. Gilchrest is far to the left of his constituents, voting with Democrats on abortion, gun control, gay marriage, oil drilling and campaign finance, among other issues. Conservatives have tried challenging the nine-term lawmaker in the past, but state Sen. Andy Harris (R) appears to be a serious threat.

Harris outraised Gilchrest nearly four to one in the third quarter, and he now matches Gilchrest’s cash on hand. Harris has the backing of the Club for Growth PAC, and he now has won the endorsement of former Gov. Bob Ehrlich (R). A party leader opposing an incumbent — and his former House colleague — is extraordinary.

Gilchrest, as an incumbent, has the backing of the National Republican Congressional Committee, but they will be hard pressed to spend money protecting an incumbent in a primary considering their poor cash situation.

So it’s confirmed once again that here we have a race to watch. A couple things Novak didn’t comment on though were the possible dilution of the conservative vote because of the other Gilchrest challengers nor did he go into the crossover Democrat support that can’t help Wayne in the primary. But his is a national summary and the Cliffs’ Notes version will suffice for most. If people want to read more on the race I happen to know of a reasonably influential political blog to check out.

Author: Michael

It's me from my laptop computer.