I took the scenic drive up to picturesque Washington College in Chestertown for a First District candidate forum sponsored by the Kent County Republican Central Committee, the Kent and Queen Anne’s County Republican Women’s Club, and the Washington College Young Republicans. Lots of sponsors, full participation from the five candidates, and a pretty packed house of about 175 people made for an informative and entertaining afternoon.
(Speaking of pictures, my local blogging cohort Joe Albero will have plenty – he was there too. Here’s just one.)
The format was pretty basic – opening statement; a total of eight questions, some solicited from the audience; and closing statement. The six questions from the moderator dealt with the economy, cost of health care, farms and inheritance tax, immigration, how best to keep the seat in Republican hands, and the surge in Iraq. From the audience came two questions, one about term limits and the other regarding how to help small businesses. I’ll devote a few sentences to each question and put some of the more humorous stuff and my personal impressions at the end. Yes, it’s a long post but these things are important to inform prospective voters. Watch TV if you want a thirty-second soundbite.
Opening statement:
I’d just taken my seat as Robert Banks concluded his opening statement, but I did note that he said, “I don’t like what I see” regarding the tenor of the contest.
Wayne Gilchrest followed with the same Norman Cousins quotes he used at his Salisbury University appearance in November as the basis of his opening remarks.
Andy Harris chose to stress four reasons for his bid – to help rebuild the state and national Republican Party, limit the size of government, win the War on Terror (aka Long War), and refocus on values.
Vowing to reduce government by 20%, Joe Arminio called himslf the only “true Republican” in the race as the rest were “neocons.” He also derided what he termed was a plan for a “permanent presence” in Iraq.
E.J. Pipkin asked “who knew?” that he was a tax and spender. After denying a charge by Harris that he was, Pipkin brought up two other issues that he and Harris differed on – the 2006 Healthy Air Act (SB154) that he supported while Harris opposed it, and the infamous tuition for illegal immigrants bill (HB253 – 2003). Saying that this forum would be an opportunity to “get the truth out” he made a show of tearing up a Harris mailing, vowing to go home and “put it in the garbage where it belongs.”
First question: is the economy going into recession and how do we grow it?
Calling the upcoming refunds “welcome”, Robert Banks then wondered why they would take so long? Like other instances of “found money” he believed it would be spent and help the economy.
Ever a student of history, Wayne Gilchrest talked about really lean times like 1933, the height of the Great Depression, with its 25% unemployment rate and 50% foreclosure rate. In this case, while conditions aren’t as dire as other historical cycles, the announcement of the stimulus program “triggered confidence” in the economy.
Andy Harris pleaded that the government was “out of control” and it needed to be decreased in size. Make the Bush tax cuts permanent, he said, and repeal the alternative minimum tax – in short, “get government out of the way.”
Our government has an “addiction to debt,” Joe Arminio said, and its ups and downs could be blamed on the fluctuations in the money supply. Another factor was lagging industrial production, which he blamed again on the “neocons” running the government.
E.J. Pipkin said he wouldn’t do an appendectomy, so he “wouldn’t hire a doctor to fix the checkbook.” After that swipe at Andy Harris, he spoke on how he’s geared his life to fiscal matters and noted he wouldn’t need “on-the-job training” with the government’s financial dealings.
Question two was on the rising cost of health care and insurance.
Wayne Gilchrest talked about various ways to fix a “fractured” system, stressing that the SCHIP program “meets a need”, but also noting we need a blend of the private and public sectors to address the problem.
Using that infamous figure of 47 million uninsured at some point during a particular year, Andy Harris opined that government shouldn’t be the insurer of all people; rather, it was time to make insurance personal with incentives to employers to help fund their employees’ plans. Even the plan the federal government uses should be made open to everyone, he added.
Joe Arminio chose to address the issue through a call to double wages by adopting the economic plans addressed in his book rather than government give out the “scraps” of health insurance assistance.
The answer that Harris gave, claimed E.J. Pipkin, was his own idea of an “insurance exchange”, and while he’d worked to help do away with some of the more onerous state programs like certificates of need, Harris was “part of the system” that benefitted from those rent-seeking restrictions.
Robert Banks told the room that “Hillary shouldn’t be the architect for health care” and stressed a need for affordability and portability. Moreover, he took the stance that 12 million illegals shouldn’t have health care.
Question three dealt with farms and the inheritance tax.
Citing his endorsement by Ehrlich’s Secretary of Agriculture Lewis Riley, Andy Harris addressed this question from the standpoint of making the Bush tax cut package permanent and recoupling the rates trigger amounts that Maryland and the federal government exact on estates – currently, Maryland follows the old federal rate trigger amount that’s higher.
(Per comment number 3, it should be clarified that it’s the trigger amount that varies between Maryland and the federal government – looking at my notes I wrote down “decoupled with feds in state” and assumed later he meant the rate. So I’ve corrected this. The commenter, by the way, is the attorney who filed the FEC complaint on E.J. Pipkin’s behalf, James Braswell.)
After calling for an end to deficit spending and a return to a “Kennedy-size government,” Joe Arminio thought the best method to help farmers would be to enact protective tariffs on foreign goods. He also chided Gilchrest about spending “farm money on farms”, not biodiversity, referring to the Delmarva Conservation Corridor.
E.J. Pipkin talked in general terms about his work against taxes prior to the special session, telling the attendees that there was a difference between working and simply voting.
Since he had served previously as an Orphans’ Court judge, Robert Banks had seen the effects of the death tax. While he also supported making the Bush tax cuts permanent, he talked about the Maryland estate tax rate being a prime reason his parents moved to another state.
Wayne Gilchrest started out his response by adding to his health care answer, bringing up the idea of liability reform there. Then he mentioned a couple good parts of the current farm bill, an emphasis on smaller farmers and closing a foreign investment loophole.
Question four brought us the subject of illegal immigration – what about ending benefits and deportation?
Returning briefly to the prior question, the trade surplus was now gone, even in the agricultural commodities portion of trade, said Joe Arminio. Then he emphasized that not only illegal immigration but legal immigrants as well were part of the problem. He advocated a much-reduced flow of immigrants into the country.
No amnesty or preferential treatment, stated E.J. Pipkin, and securing the border was part of Washington’s responibility. He then took aim at Gilchrest for his support of a “blue card” program for immigrant agricultural laborers and again took the opportunity to hammer Andy Harris about HB253.
Robert Banks made it short and sweet – “no amnesty, no way.” Instead it was time to begin a “phased, humane deportation.”
Defending the “blue card” bill, Wayne Gilchrest countered that the bill would expand opportunities for “legal” workers. He also stated his opposition to granting rights to illegal immigrants along with securing the borders and improving employer verification technology.
For Andy Harris, it was a “personal” issue. He pointed out that he beat HB253 in 2003 after amendments were added in conference that made him object to it, calling on people to read the veto statement. He also spoke of leading a filibuster against pro-illegal bills in the 2007 session.
Next up, a question on how to keep the seat in GOP hands.
E.J. Pipkin stressed a need to differentiate between the two parties on particular issues such as taxes, spending, Chesapeake Bay, and health care. Government in DC and Annapolis shared a “spending problem”, a problem he had spent nine years fighting as opposed to nine months, an aside directed at Harris.
Neither Senator “knows the First District,” claimed Robert Banks, chiding Harris and Pipkin for running negatively against a “good man with bad votes” in Wayne Gilchrest. He implored both to “run on their own record.” It was like Hillary and Barack, he concluded, to the laughter of the gathering.
After it was quipped by someone that the Banks statement must have made Wayne Gilchrest into John Edwards, the Congressman noted that people don’t necessarily care about partisanship, they simply wanted to have certain things done. It wasn’t about ideology so much as it was about dealing with people on both sides of the aisle.
Andy Harris spoke about the “high stakes” for the GOP, which had wandered away from its principles before the last election, thus they were shellacked. The First District, he continued, is conservative and he pointed to his record in the Senate as being one that voters would agree with.
Joe Arminio didn’t like the infighting either. After taking a few moments to counter Gilchrest’s immigration record (NumbersUSA, a group advocating a hard line on immigration, downgraded Gilchrest from a “B” rating to a “C” rating in recent years), Joe expressed a number of his principles that he could get done with the help of Democrats.
The first of two audience questions dealt with term limits.
This was a question that flustered Robert Banks. After tiptoeing around the issue and saying it had good and bad points, he deferred to needing to study the concept further.
Wayne Gilchrest asserted that term limits weren’t necessary, since there had been 365 new members of Congress elected since he started in 1991. Initially, he’d considered signing a term limit pledge since it was a hot issue at the time, but decided not to.
On the other hand, Andy Harris supported a Constitutional amendment to enact legislative term limits, suggesting 12 years’ service in each body of Congress was sufficient. While there had been turnover in Congress, he argued, the incumbent retention rate was 99.5 percent.
Joe Arminio pleaded with those present that he would need 10 years to do what he needed to do, such as bring back the dollar’s value and boost industry. He vowed to “raise the roof” in Congress. Also, he charged that Gilchrest was in support of term limits originally.
E.J. Pipkin turned thumbs-down on term limits, as they “empower bureaucrats” who do not have a term limit themselves. He also stated his case that many of the GOP losses in 2006 stemmed from “right-of-center Democrats defeating extremists.”
Seventh question: was the surge worth the price in Iraq?
Troops and their command in Iraq were “stunningly competent” with an original “flawed policy”, said Wayne Gilchrest. The change that has occurred did so once the burden was off the shoulders of the military and a dialogue with involved parties begun.
Andy Harris took Gilchrest to task for his “timetable” vote, mentioning he supported the surge and leadership of General Petraeus early on.
Taking a much darker view, Joe Arminio told us the surge was leading toward a world war and an “empire in perpetuity.” He castigated Gilchrest for not “cross-examining Bush in 2002” before the Iraqi conflict started, and claimed the whole war was a “distraction,” because what was truly important was countering the replacement of the dollar by the euro as the world’s standard currency – noting that Saddam Hussein started that process prior to our invasion.
After what I thought was a bit of pandering about thanking the people in the area who had served, E.J. Pipkin did state his support for the troops without any sort of timetable for withdrawal.
“We’re there, we need to deal with it,” said Robert Banks. He also wasn’t in favor of any timetable.
The final question came from the audience and asked what the candidates would do to help small business.
Andy Harris led off by blaming “overregulation” for small business ills, claiming that it created more overhead. He also brought back the idea of streamlining health insurance, saying that all of the mandates on what has to be covered makes insurance less affordable.
Calling small business the “last stop” of the economy, Joe Arminio instead stated “industry and farms are (the) lifeblood of the economy,” and spoke about helping those entities through the principles he’d advocated earlier.
There would be no need for appendectomies in Washington, charged E.J. Pipkin. He disagreed with Harris on focus, saying that taxes were “the number one issue” for small businesses. Again stressing his leadership in fighting the tax increases in Annapolis, Pipkin pledged to take on the same fight in Congress.
Robert Banks promised, “I will vote against any tax increase.” He also expressed support for the stimulus plan again, and added he’d work on the issues facing small business like health care, overregulations, and tort reform. Opposed to Arminio, Robert called small business the “backbone of America.”
After Wayne Gilchrest talked briefly about small business providing jobs and stability, he went back to revisit the surge question and explain his vote on a timetable. In it, he pointed out that the vote was simply the “sense of the Congress” and only “recommended” a withdrawal date. His idea was to push the Iraqi government into action by telling them we wouldn’t stay forever.
Closing arguments:
E.J. Pipkin was “proud of his record.” As in his opener, he took umbrage at a Harris mailing which called him a “hero to Democrats” and showed a photo of him with Martin O’Malley, the governor giving a thumbs-up. Angrily explaining that the photo-op came at the launching of a broadband initiative, he told the group it was five years of his hard work that led to the point where the picture was snapped. It was another one for the garbage, he nearly shouted as he tore the mailing to bits.
Not one to miss out on theatrics, Joe Arminio brought out a long board that he claimed was part of the remnants of one of his 4 x 8 campaign signs. He asserted that it had been trampled on just like the Constitution had been, with a “secret treaty” signed that would keep us in Iraq permanently and the neocon policies that led to a huge “debt bubble” as two examples.
Andy Harris was much more low-key, talking about his endorsements by Governor Ehrlich, the Gun Owners of America, and the Eagle Forum among others. He stressed a need to return to “true fiscal conservatism” and mentioned that he’d not violated a pledge he gave to the Americans for Tax Reform group not to raise taxes, nor had he voted for any state budget presented by a Democrat. Also, he wanted victory in what he termed a “generational” effort in the Long War.
Wayne Gilchrest talked about having a nice Sunday afternoon at the forum rather than being in a canoe on a river, but brought up his two big endorsements by Newt Gingrich and President Bush. He saw it as a reflection of the mutual respect and dignity he’d served in Congress with. In one final note on his military service, he pointed out that several Presidents had talked with our enemies in the Soviet Union and China, but what if they’d talked to Ho Chi Minh before the Vietnam War?
“Enough is enough,” concluded Robert Banks. He claimed this was the “worst campaigning he’s seen in his lifetime” but also took Andy Harris to task for being a “friend” of earmarks, not necessarily ones in the First District. He also countered Harris from an earlier forum that he was already a pro-life candidate.
What I thought (in ballot order):
Joe Arminio drew the funniest remark of the forum from Robert Banks, who asked (Doctor) Andy Harris if he could prescribe some Xanax for the exceedingly animated candidate. Banks also drew another laugh when he asked Arminio if he would be signing any books. Joe wanted to make sure Wayne Gilchrest got one.
But it all got in the way of his points, which certainly set him apart from the other four. One observation I had was that it would be one tough drinking game if you had to take a slug every time Arminio said “neocon” at the event. And by claiming to be on the Ron Paul ticket, he may be limiting his appeal. Local Republicans do have an opportunity to see him for themselves tomorrow night as he’s our Wicomico County Republican Club speaker this month.
I admire Robert Banks standing up for an end to the negative campaigning that has plagued this race. Banks also added a much-needed quick wit to the proceedings, coming up with good observations. Another gem I didn’t previously mention was after the animated Arminio finished an answer, Banks chimed in, “well, this won’t be a boring forum will it?” Or looking at Pipkin and Harris after answering a question, quipping that the two were even dressed identically, too.
He does need to bone up on some of the issues though, as drawing a whiff on term limits makes him look unprepared. It will be interesting to see how his political career unfolds after this race, since he does have an engaging personality. A lead foot, too.
Wayne Gilchrest maintained his low-key style, which fits him like a glove. He doesn’t need to score a lot of points in these forums because he can watch his two primary opponents hammer on each other while he calmly goes on. One thing that was mentioned in the audience chatter was that it was good Wayne explained his Iraqi timetable vote, since it looked really bad otherwise. Having that as less of an issue as events have unfolded plays to his advantage.
I’m not sure if it was intended or the need anticipated, but Andy Harris did a reasonably good job of not rising to the bait of the attacks E.J. Pipkin levelled at him. He stuck to his ideas of what he wants to do if elected, and was the only candidate to attempt equating what he believed in with Reaganesque principles of smaller government. It’s a refreshing change from the bulldog stance Harris uses in his media buys (although not all are within his control.)
Perhaps he felt a need to angrily defend himself on his home turf, but E.J. Pipkin, in trying to look like an aggrieved party, came across as somewhat of a hothead. There were many snide remarks about his “Baltimore County” opponent, including the appendectomy remarks I wrote about before. Nor am I sure the theatrics helped his cause. I’ve noticed a change in his advertising as well as he’s adopted a very negative tone lately – his last mailing stating in large letters, “Andy Harris should be ashamed” – referring to charges one of Pipkin’s operatives leveled in an FEC complaint.
What you have is the product of 2 plus hours of sitting and observing, along with 5 1/2 pages of notes. I invite those of you connected with the campaigns to comment if you feel I said something in error; after all, I don’t have a transcript in front of me.
And while I commend the Kent and Queen Anne’s County groups that put this on, next time please be a little more clear on the location! I planned it to be 15 minutes early but got lost and arrived moments late. Otherwise, it was a good show and hopefully area voters are more informed.
