Maryland’s not to that point…yet

With our state Republican Spring Convention on tap in a couple weeks and furor (some probably created by me since I put it into the public eye a little bit) over delegate slates being chosen in advance, Michelle Malkin found a story yesterday that sends a message to those in the party who want to keep things smooth and not rock the boat – it may not happen as you plan it.

While our situation may not be exactly the same as Nevada’s because of party rules which compel Delegates picked at the convention to vote for the candidate who won our state’s balloting, there’s still the potential for a lot of turmoil based on some of the other positions that are picked, as well as the grassroots’ reaction to Maryland GOP Chair Jim Pelura’s pick of a new Executive Director to replace the departing John Flynn. (It will be Justin Ready, who currently is Chief of Staff for State Senator Janet Greenip.) There was a faction in the party who never cared much for Flynn in the first place and they may be just as vocal if the new Executive Director is cut from the same cloth.

On the other hand, some involved in Maryland politics like BlueRidgeForum blogger Richard Falknor are sorry to see Flynn go and hope his successor will be as conservative.

Truth be told, the bulk of my political experience does not come from Maryland politics. But a lot of my attitude comes from being in places where I felt the grassroots weren’t being listened to and the party brass simply counted on them as a queen bee counts on its drones to provide contributions and volunteer hours regardless of who was annointed by the hierarchy in the state capital. Unfortunately, the one annointed was the one who was deemed to be more centrist and not necessarily one who followed the proven principles of smaller, more Constitutional governance.

With recent election results in Pennsylvania showing that presumptive nominee John McCain still only gathered 71% of the vote, it shows that there’s still a lot of frustration on the conservative end – yet the news in our area talks about onetime supporters of the deposed GOP Congressman Wayne Gilchrest jumping ship to support Democrat Frank Kratovil. This makes the press despite the fact polling has shown State Senator Andy Harris with a consistent lead over the Democrat.

It may be something to discuss with a portion of the grassroots tonight at our Wicomico County Republican Club meeting that gets underway at 7 p.m. at the Chamber of Commerce building in downtown Salisbury. Considering that about half of the club supported Harris in a September 2007 straw poll while zero members favored McCain, I think the grassroots might be a little more conservative than the people who run the Republican Party think they may be. Don’t take us all for granted.

Author: Michael

It's me from my laptop computer.

One thought on “Maryland’s not to that point…yet”

  1. The only poll I have seen shows 37% to 22% for Harris. That leaves 41% undecided if my brain is working properly. The Democrats got very little press in the 1st District primary, so I think it is fair to say that once election day gets closer, Kratovil’s numbers will pick up.

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