Tawes Crab and Clam Bake 2008 in pictures and text (part 1)
As editor of this site and conscious about how long a multi-photo post can be, I’ve decided to split this into two posts. Tonight I’ll look at the political side of the affair and on Friday I’ll post the lighter stuff I found more humorous. Having taken nearly 40 pictures I chose a total of 16 for publication, nine tonight and seven Friday.
For those of you who aren’t from Maryland reading this, a little background is in order. In 32 years, this event honoring Crisfield native and onetime Governor of Maryland J. Millard Tawes has grown into THE political event of the summer in Maryland. It began with all the crabs and clams you could eat and beer you could drink for one reasonable price and as the people gathered naturally those politicians who are always angling for votes came. In turn, this drew more people and in short order we had a midsummer event that’s fairly unique. Since it’s always held on a weekday, the tourists aren’t nearly as much of a factor which pretty much assures a predominance of Maryland residents there.
In fact, you don’t even have to get into Crisfield for the political influencing to start. This sign was about 3 miles outside town limits:
I had to laugh because on my way into town I spotted a car with Kratovil and other Democrat bumper stickers parked on the side of the road and a lady was poking around looking at this sign, probably looking for a disclaimer from the Andy Harris campaign.
So let’s meet the two main protagonists of this story. In the red corner, we have State Senator Andy Harris, who knocked off the champion - better known as incumbent 1st District Congressman Wayne Gilchrest.
And in the blue corner, it’s a Democrat challenger from the field of law and Queen Anne’s County by way of Prince George’s County, Frank Kratovil.
You may notice that there’s quite a bit of press coverage at this event. Naturally after the people begat the politicians the politicians begat the press. It’s a little like all that seafood becoming all that garbage and attracting lots of flies. (This is not to pick on the clean-up crew, who did a nice job.)
What also happens when political figures show up is that they bring their campaign help. In fact, like last year’s event, Andy Harris had his own tent staffed by volunteers.
There were also a number of folks who turned out to show their support of Democratic candidates. Here’s an example of at least one confident in victory this year. Sorry, Jim, don’t think so.
I’m happy to say that at least Andy Harris did get to enjoy some crabs as the day wound down, hopefully Frank Kratovil did the same. But those two were by no stretch of the imagination the only elected officials there, and they came from all over Maryland.
One politician who I didn’t get a picture of but did get to meet was the state’s Comptroller, Peter Franchot. Yes, he did manage to make it despite the obstacles placed in his way.
It goes without saying that I wear two hats at the event, one as a blogger and the other as an elected official. So I also have to mention that both the main political parties had a tent, but I’m going to be biased and show just my party’s effort. We share space with Worcester and Somerset County Republicans, and Somerset’s table is the one whose picture came out best, so they win the prize of internet fame.
To wrap up tonight’s effort, I’m going to lead into some of the oddities and humor one finds at an event like this. I think the picture below is quite ironic myself.
Yes, I’ve had enough! But what these people obviously aren’t quite getting is that, paraphrasing the definition of insanity, voting for the party who’s creating the problem in the first place probably won’t bring about a lot of change or a solution.
On Friday I look at the more humorous side of the 2008 J. Millard Tawes Crab and Clam Bake.
More whining about fund sources on tap…
This came to me from the Andy Harris campaign. Shill first and comment to follow:
The Kratovil campaign continued to show their lackluster fundraising ability with the announcement that for the 4th consecutive quarter the Harris campaign has outraised them. The Harris fundraising juggernaut has continued to post strong numbers from quarter to quarter.
Harris has continued to surpass all stated fundraising goal. Months ago, the Harris stated he wanted to be halfway to a $1.2million dollar budget. The campaign has brought in over $746,000 well above the $600,000 goal. “Andy’s message of lower taxes and less wasteful spending is generating the support allowing us to surpass every fundraising goal we have set,” said Campaign Manager Chris Meekins. “The Harris campaign clearly has the momentum, and the Kratovil campaign has once again come up short.”
Despite the influx of liberal special interest money from DC, Kratovil still cannot match the Harris fundraising juggernaut. “This is a clear sign Kratovil’s liberal message of higher taxes and more wasteful government spending is not resonating with donors.” Said Harris Campaign Manager Chris Meekins.
To help weed through the political spin typical of campaign seasons, here are some facts about the fundraising totals:
- Harris out-raised Kratovil for a 4th consecutive quarter.
- Harris well surpassed all stated fundraising goals.
- Harris has $150,000 more cash on hand than the Kratovil campaign.
Yes, yes, the cacophony of whining will begin shortly about Harris getting huge wads of money from favorite left-wing whipping boy the Club For Growth. In the meantime, Kratovil puts his own spin on things:
Campaign fundraising reports filed today with the Federal Election Committee showed a huge shift of momentum in the 1st District Congressional race, as Democratic nominee Frank Kratovil erased most of his opponent‟s previous fundraising advantage and finished the quarter just $60,000 back from Sen. Andy Harris in funds raised. Harris, struggling to meet the public fundraising goal he had announced earlier in the quarter, was forced to loan himself $100,000 on the final day of the quarter to inflate his sagging totals. Kratovil raised $375,985 between April 1 and June 30 and closed the period with $454,027 cash on hand. Andy Harris raised $431,550 for the quarter. Earlier in June, Harris had publicly stated that he was already “about halfway there” to banking the $1.2 million he thought he would need for the race.
In truth, he was still a good deal short of $600,000 cash on hand at the time he made that claim. Lagging far short of this public goal, Harris was forced to loan himself an additional $100,000 on June 30 to hit the $600,000 mark. “Momentum is shifting,” said Kratovil spokesman Tim McCann in response to the filings. “Frank raised more in the last quarter than he had raised in the previous 3 quarters combined. Meanwhile, Andy Harris was caught lying about his fundraising strength and needed a last-minute loan to bail himself out. He‟s starting to panic. When the so-called “favorite” in a top-tier race starts missing his fundraising goals, he‟s in real trouble.” McCann also pointed out that Kratovil wasn‟t even added to the DCCC‟s “Red to Blue” program until the final two weeks of the quarter. Being added to this list of top-tier competitive races will further aid Kratovil’s fundraising efforts moving forward.
That, then, is the spin from both sides. However, it is worthy of noting that, loan to himself or not, Harris still had more cash on hand than Kratovil. If Andy Harris believes in his chances enough to put his own money on the line I have no issue with that.
There is one other stealth factor at work here that could come into play. From PolitickerMD‘s “Wally Edge“:
On June 30, the last day of the second financial quarter, Victory Now/Kratovil Joint Fundraising Committee incorporated itself with the Federal Elections Commission.
Victory Now is the leadership PAC of Eighth District Democrat Chris Van Hollen. He and First district challenger Frank Kratovil opened the account to process donations and expenditures made from a joint event last month. (Emphasis in original.)
This clears the way for more joint Washington D.C. fundraisers with the DCCC head; or, put another way, another opportunity for special interests to contribute to Frank Kratovil without necessarily getting their hands dirty or as easily made public.
Overall, it’s a given that millions will be raised and spent on this Congressional seat. The question is whether you believe the rhetoric spewed forth by Frank Kratovil’s campaign or the record that Andy Harris has put together in the State Senate?
If the creek hasn’t risen by the time you read this, I’ll be on my way to see both candidates down in Crisfield along with a host of other politicians. I’m planning on providing pictures and text upon my return.
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