Red herring from a Red Marylander

Earlier today I was one of many local and regional bloggers who received encouraging polling results from Andy Harris’s campaign. I’ll come back to this in a little bit, but first I need to talk about one reaction to this news.

Bud the Blogger is likely the one contributor to the Red Maryland website who is firmly in the Kratovil camp. (However, to his credit he doesn’t crosspost items that have to do with his opinion the First District race to the RM blog.) With receipt of this news, Bud opted instead to note that Harris’s pollster, Arthur Finkelstein, is openly gay:

Of course, I bet Harris would be horrified if his conservative base knew a little about the man to whom he paid $12,000 back on May 15th. In fact, I would love to know what Harris himself thinks about Arthur Finkelstein. After all, back in December 2004, Finkelstein acknowledged that he “married” his long time gay partner…Gee, I wonder how duped Dr. James Dotson (sic) feels now.

Clearly, Harris is not the man he portrays to voters. He talks as if he’s the poster child for modern day conservatism, but a closer look reveals something totally different. Whether it’s gay rights, or his votes for amendments to give illegals in-state tuition, Harris talks one way and votes another. And, let’s not forget, he remains Progressive Maryland’s highest rated republican state senator.

I suppose that if you can’t refute the message, you take your pot shots at the messenger. I already did a tag-team slice and dice of the last claim with another local blogger, Nick Loffer. So let’s look at the Finkelstein angle.

It’s obvious that Finkelstein is good at what he does, or at least has a reputation such that Harris has hired his firm to do polling, as have a number of Republican politicians over the last couple decades. Thus, one would be led to believe that the fact Finkelstein has “married” another man is overshadowed in the eyes of those who hire him by the effective results his company provides. In short, Harris and other Republicans who purchase the polling services Finkelstein provides may hate the sin but don’t dislike the sinner. Meanwhile, one would have to gather that Arthur has to be aware that many of those he works for wouldn’t favor the issues he advocates relating to LGBT rights but the money talks louder than his principles in these cases. At least he agrees to disagree with them on that point.

Frankly (pun not intended), I think that this issue is a non-issue because here’s evidence to me that Harris looks beyond items like race, gender, sexual preference, and the like; I don’t see this as an effort to fill some sort of “quota” of homosexuals working to get him elected. It’s likely not going to change the pro-family voting record that has allowed Harris to earn the endorsement of the Eagle Forum, a devout pro-family group.

Unfortunately, in his effort to paint Harris supporters as those who would cheer as Matthew Shepard lay dying, Bud resorts to the tactic of building that straw man argument about a pollster used by many GOP politicians from all over the big tent. Being against granting rights for particular behavior or believing that marriage is truly between one man and one woman does not make one a gay-basher, and honestly Bud I thought you were better than that; instead you’re resorting to the politics of division.

Bud closes:

The only question remains is how much longer can Harris hold onto his 40% republican primary base? Without them, he doesn’t stand a chancve (sic) in November.

With that, let’s take a gander at the poll numbers. Based on a total sample of 300 voters and with a margin of error of 5.6%, the raw numbers were like this:

  • Andy Harris had 120 solid supporters (40.0%) and 13 leaners (4.3%) for a total of 133 (44.3%).
  • Frank Kratovil had 77 solid supporters (25.7%) and 8 leaners (2.7%) for a total of 85 (28.3%).
  • There were 82 undecided voters, or 27.3 percent. In our mythical election, Kratovil would have to convince 80.5% of them (66 of 82) to vote for him in order to win with 151 votes.  That’s a tall order.

Even if we were to assume the worst-case margin of error, subtracting 7 from the Harris column and adding 5 to Kratovil’s, that still leaves Kratovil needing 61 out of 84 voters to win, or 72.6 percent of undecideds.

As far as favorability goes:

  • While the plurality (114 voters, or 38%) have no opinion either way of Andy Harris, 112 view him favorably (37.3%) while only 35 (11.7%) regard him unfavorably. That actually loses to the 39 who claim to have never heard of him (13%).
  • Frank Kratovil, on the other hand, is only regarded favorably by 41 voters (13.7%) but 2 more voters (43, or 14.3%) see him unfavorably. Meanwhile, nearly half (144, or 48%) have no opinion on Frank while 72 (24%) have never heard of him.

What strikes me is that, with only 1/3 of the favorability rating that Andy Harris has, Frank Kratovil still has a higher unfavorable rating.

I’m certain that some of my readers on the left are screaming at their computer, “of course Harris is leading the poll, he’s the one who paid that gay pollster for it!!” So I asked the question regarding items like whether the sample was selected with proper proportion on items like party affiliation, geography, and race/gender and I was told that it was. Given the idea that when paying for a poll you’re demanding accuracy, I would have to believe that Finkelstein’s company has indeed done its homework.

The one item I would have loved to get but didn’t was the percentages in two areas: Republicans for Kratovil and Democrats for Harris. Obviously we’ve heard quite a bit about those renegade Republicans (mostly disgruntled supporters of the moderate Rep. Wayne Gilchrest) jumping on board the Kratovil camp, but we don’t hear about the Democrats and independents who have reliably backed the GOP candidate in recent years and how many of them support the conservative Andy Harris.

So instead I tried a different tactic and did a little digging into the Maryland Board of Elections website. What I checked were three things:

  • The top-ticket (President or Governor) race results from 2000 through 2006 for the twelve 1st CD counties;
  • The Congressional race results (2000-2006) of those same areas, and;
  • Voter registration numbers for those twelve counties during the month of October preceding those elections (e.g. October 2000, October 2002, etc.)

What I found is that, with few exceptions, the twelve counties that currently make up the First Congressional district voted Republican in these top-drawer races. The only exceptions were Baltimore County going for Kerry in 2004 and Gore in 2000, along with Gore winning Somerset County in 2000. (Bear in mind that the First District doesn’t cover all of Baltimore County, making those results dubious at best as a predictor of this race.) There was also the anomaly of neither Baltimore County nor Harford County being part of CD-1 in the 2000 election.

However, voter registration is a far different story. With the exception of Talbot County for this entire period and Queen Anne’s County since 2002, these counties have a varying plurality of voters who are registered Democrats. While the Kratovil supporters can claim rightly that this is proof the Democrat can win in majority-GOP areas, the same holds true for the conservative Republican Harris winning in majority-Democrat ones. Overall, however, the trend is for independents and Democrats (to a somewhat lesser extent) to touch the screen next to the Republican hopeful and apparently these poll results are reflecting this trend.

After a promising start to the campaign for Frank Kratovil, he’s begun a slow decline in both fundraising prowess (aside from getting money from the usual special interest suspects) and polling numbers. Perhaps it’s because it’s as recently as last month he was still calling the portion of the Long War still going in Iraq the main issue and talking about using switchgrass to fill the gas tank instead of drilling for more domestic oil. Neither of these two positions is playing out among voters on either side of Chesapeake Bay, particularly the latter.

And when the weapon of choice in this campaign comes down to the sexual preference of a pollster, you have to believe that, even with all the help Frank Kratovil is getting from his liberal D.C. buddies Chris Van Hollen and Steny Hoyer, that sixteen point margin is somewhat comfortable. But we know that the kitchen sink isn’t out of the question when it comes to politics inside the Beltway so this is no time for Harris supporters to rest on their laurels or go wobbly. Tomorrow afternoon’s post describes one opportunity to show support.

She already has the domain name…

It never hurts to be prepared, and a story on Newsmax.com Sunday noted that supporters of Hillary Clinton have already called dibs on the HRC2012.com web address. On June 8th, the day after throwing in the towel and conceding the Democrat nomination to Barack Obama, The Markham Group purchased the HRC2012 domain name.

However, before the conspiracy theorists pontificate on how Hillary will sabotage Obama’s campaign, it’s worth noting that Her Royal Thighness will have a choice of races to pursue four years hence because her Senate term also expires that year. She could opt for a third term there if Barack Obama is elected in 2008 or throw her hat back into the ring as a formidible Presidential candidate in what could be an open race if John McCain opts to be a one-term President.

Obviously there’s a core group of Democrats who truly believe in Hillary because they’re already thinking this far ahead. Of course, Hillary has plenty on her plate in the here and now, in particular erasing a campaign debt of over $20 million. Part of her issue is getting 2008 donors to allow the transfer of their contributions to the next cycle, otherwise she’ll need to refund the money and this would place her even deeper in the hole. (I’d hate to see her campaign’s credit report.)

And you do have to wonder if this was her last, best chance at the nomination. Given that her husband will have been last elected four cycles back once 2012 rolls around and the fact that the last two nominees weren’t part of a prior field (Obama didn’t run in 2004 nor did John Kerry in 2000) the ascension of Barack Obama to the top of the heap may be a signal for Generation X to take the baton of the Democratic Party from the still-grasping fingers of the Baby Boomers. (Of course, like anything else in life, those Boomers just don’t want to let go!)

So I suppose you can take this website domain purchase for what its worth, which at this early, early, predawn moment of the 2012 campaign is simply grist for the mill. Perhaps Hillary is going to be the heir apparent to Ted Kennedy – failed Presidential candidate but beloved Senator by most of his peers.

Gas price relief? Not likely

You can tell what the pet issues are at any time by the names of bills placed in the Congressional hopper. Witness the recently introduced H.R. 6495, (it’s a 40 page .pdf file, just so you know) better known as the “Transportation and Housing Choices for Gas Price Relief Act of 2008.” The lead sponsor is Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and 4 of the 5 co-sponsors are Democrats, with the reliably liberal RINO Rep. Chris Shays of Connecticut added to make the measure “bipartisan.” (Blumenauer is a favorite of my cohorts at the AIA because he also sponsors a large portion of the “green” building legislation circulating through the House.)

But the bill is quite the reach if you look at cause and effect, because I’m not quite sure where the impact on gas prices will come given some of the topics the bill covers:

  • Grants to state and local governments and other entities with priority given to, “proposals that will have the biggest impact on reducing single occupancy vehicle trips,” to the tune of $50 million.
  • $850 million of grants and subsidies to mass transit.
  • Making urban density a factor in community transit grants.
  • $10 million in grants over each of the next three years to market “transportation alternatives” to single occupancy vehicles.
  • Tinkering with the tax code yet again to reward behavior like teleworking, commuting by bicycle, an increase in allowable deductions for “transportation fringe benefits”, parking cash-out programs, and vanpooling.
  • Encouraging federal agencies to participate in local transportation management associations.
  • Incorporate transportation costs and transit accessibility into the index which determines low-income housing tax credits and possibly into the Multiple Listing Service which realtors use – that’s another $3 million.
  • “Location-efficient” mortgage goals for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. (That in particular sounds like an invitation to a much larger bailout.) There’s also $2.5 million in grants set aside for each state to construct or acquire “location-efficient” housing, that being defined as within 1/2 mile of a transit stop.
  • Adding high schools to those schools covered under the existing SAFETEA-LU transportation bill, in order to create “safe routes to school”. By the way, that’s another $2.7 billion through 2013.

I’m not seeing any new fuel supply out of these bullet points, are you?

I know those far to my left will argue that many of these provisions will reduce the need for gasoline in the long run, and for the moment I’ll accept the premise for sake of argument. At $4 a gallon, we would need to save 939,500,000 gallons of gasoline to make up the $3.758 billion my public school math figured out that this program would cost. However, that doesn’t count the energy used for all the studies and creating all of the regulations that will go along with enacting some of the bill’s finer points. It’s going to have a pretty large carbon footprint for dubious benefit – just looking at one portion of the bill, transit routes are subject to change based on ridership and a house that’s close to the bus stop one day may be a mile away the next.

In sum, what this bill is attempting to do is not to lower gas prices, for that would defeat the many nebulous purposes this bill would place the federal government out to achieve. Instead, it’s another attempt to regulate behavior by placing more carrots in the tax code and beating with the sticks those who may desire low- to moderate-income housing in areas which may be nice neighborhoods but which don’t happen to be near a bus route or train station.

However, the main point I’m bringing out is that, much like telling Americans that a bill is good because it’s “for the children” – or its corollary, telling Marylanders that a proposal is ideal because it’s “for the Bay” – placing those magic words “gas price relief” in the title belies that same old liberal claptrap which various members of Congress have been trying to enact for years but haven’t been able to get out of committee most of the time.

You can’t make a Corvette out of a Prius and you can’t bring gas price relief through regulating behavior. But Democrats in Congress keep trying, while ignoring the plain truth that the best way to achieve gas price relief is by increasing our domestic oil supply and refining capability. Bills advocating that approach languish in Congress, while this turkey of a bill may just see a vote before the end of this session.

1.3 million down, 298 million to go

You know, this sounds like a lot of signatures, but compared to our whole population or even an average week’s American Idol viewership, this isn’t much more than a drop in the bucket. From American Solutions’ Dave Ryan:

We are pleased to announce that at a press conference on Tuesday at the U.S. Capitol, we presented the House and Senate Republican leadership 1.3 million petition signatures on your behalf.

Accepting the petitions, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Minority Leader John Boehner, and other congressional leaders spoke about the need to produce more American energy as part of a larger American energy plan.

Among the petition signers in attendance were Fred Hughes, a Vietnam veteran and small business owner; Tara Bowman, who owns a cattle company with her husband Daryl; Barbara Windsor, who runs a trucking company that has been in her family for 75 years; and Laura Ramirez Drain, a teacher and proud new American citizen. As representatives of over 1.3 million Democrats, Republicans, and independents, we sincerely appreciate their time and effort.

The campaign for a 21st century secure energy plan is about more than the price of filling our gas tanks. It’s about protecting America by cutting off the flow of our dollars to the foreign dictators that control so much of our oil suppy. It’s about coming together to flex our national muscles to make life better for us, our children, and our grandchildren.

Understanding the importance and enormity of this challenge, our effort at American Solutions has only just begun. As the momentum builds, we will present millions more petition signatures to the Democratic and Republican Conventions later this summer to urge both parties to take action.

As Senator John Cornyn said at the event, you are doing “what every citizen of America has a right to do, and that is to petition their government. To petition for change.”

With your help, we can continue to shape this debate, win the argument, and affect real change.

While I’m glad Newt has undergone this effort (and developed one hell of an e-mail list in the process) the problem with many such efforts is keeping the ball rolling. Obviously a number of factors could affect how effectively this process continues; in particular a downward turn in gas prices. On the other hand, an increase in the gas tax like one I alluded to in passing last night would embitter more people toward the federal government regardless of whether those extra lanes are built on the freeway or not. (You don’t have to go very far to make people who think like me mad, but some are more tolerant.)

Much will also depend on who wins the November elections. While Newt and American Solutions have painted this as a “red, white, and blue” issue that’s gathered support from voters of all stripes, my gut feeling is that at least a plurality of signers were Republican, with lesser numbers being independents and still fewer Democrats. The two main parties have staked out their sides on the issue, with Republicans being on the side of more domestic oil and gas exploration done by oil companies operating in a more free market with limited government interference; meanwhile Democrats are dead-set against drilling, believing that economic growth is achievable by conservation and reliance on the government choosing winners among renewable sources that have sprung up in the last few decades (just try operating your car with switchgrass, Frank Kratovil.)

But it’s going to take that 1.3 million some effort to become 13 million, and still more to become the 130 million who would be required to bring about a complete political sea change (after all, between the two major-party Presidential candidates in 2004 they split about 115 million votes.) In the last several election cycles the biggest winner has been apathy, and unfortunately there’s not a lot of promise that 2008 will be different.

I do owe you a video though, so to close I’ll link to the video of a proud American Solutions moment. The embed wasn’t working out for some odd reason. Maybe next time.

Is it really a wiser choice?

One article that I allocated last week when I hosted Carnival of Maryland 37 was from the local blog Lost On The Shore, and it argued for investing more into mass transit as oil prices show no sign of subsiding in the near future. Obviously the investment Tom argued for would be from our already-bloated state government in concert with other East Coast states along the I-95 corridor and would ideally result in a high-speed rail system similar to those found in Europe or Japan.

I’ll give him credit for having enough sense to realize that this would be almost by necessity a system limited in geographic scope because, even at 150 miles per hour, train travel is nowhere near as timely as air travel on a coast-to-coast basis. However, there already is one large obstacle to bringing in a high-speed rail system and it’s not really the cost for infrastructure – the roadblock is called Amtrak. While Tom brings up the fact that Amtrak trains are sold out far in advance, having a heavily subsidized entity already in the rail market all but prohibits the sort of private investment that could make such a enterprise worthwhile. Unlike the freight business, passenger rail became too much of a burden after the advent of the interstate system made auto travel easier and faster so by the early 1970’s no large-scale railroad player remained in the intercity passenger rail business. (Thinking about passenger trains also brings to mind one of my favorite books, Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. But I digress.) In stepped the federal government and Amtrak was created.

Unfortunately, each time Congress has mentioned slashing the huge subsidies for train travel – particularly during the heady days of the Contract With America – Democrats and the rail unions (but I repeat myself) have mustered up the votes and the sympathy to continue Amtrak’s gravy train for another budget year. In the meantime, the condition of the tracks slowly deteriorates and obsolete labor rules are kept in force so that anyone who wanted to compete on a level playing field with our national train service could probably clean their clock in little to no time. But that taxpayer subsidy slants the board in such a way to discourage competition.

(It’s definitely an aside, but over the weekend I had the opportunity to ride on Baltimore’s light rail system. While it was convenient enough, taking my friend and I to the gates of Camden Yards, the quality of service left something to be desired – in particular the dearth of trains at a time schedulers should know will be quite busy.)

I also wanted to talk a little bit about bus service and local transit options. I have no idea what the fare is to ride Shore Transit, only that I see a bus go by my house every so often when I’m home and paying attention. And perhaps with the price of gas what it is right now, a more full bus may mean that the service actually comes closer than ever to breaking even. However, my experience is that transit services of that type (particularly paratransit) operate at a loss. In Ohio, where such items are allowed by state law, every few years there would be placed on the ballot a property tax levy or renewal to support Toledo’s regional transit system and it would always pass despite my objections. Here in Maryland, a portion of the state gasoline tax helps defray costs – of course with fewer people driving that shortfall in gasoline tax collection is eating away anything gained by increased ridership. It’s a typical Catch-22 in government; when the people do what’s asked of them they lose in the long run anyway. As a matter of fact, this AP story yesterday by Jim Abrams warns of a possible gas tax increase due to – you guessed it – people using fewer gallons of gasoline because they’ve cut back on driving.

To me, “Fedzilla” (I told you I liked that term) is presenting far too many obstacles to more efficient, cost-effective transportation. By subsidizing an overhead-heavy railroad with our tax dollars it’s discouraging someone who may want to come in make the investment in infrastructure necessary to build the rail system Tom desires. By not allowing and encouraging oil exploration domestically they’re leaving gasoline prices higher than they could be if they simply got out of the way, and the price of diesel fuel is crippling the trucking industry – especially small independent operators. And by threatening to increase taxes even more on each gallon, they’re perpetuating a scam that sends money to states to build bike paths or further subsidize modes of transport which simply aren’t cost-effective or useful to many workers, some who, like myself, need to have their car available for field work or other job-related items.

Given the choice, I’d prefer to allow the market to decide how best to move people around. Oh yes, it already has, which is why practically every household in America has a driveway with a car on it. With rare exceptions, that car is the most convenient mode of transportation to get from Point A to Point B and it’s only because the price of oil has reached intolerable levels that much discussion of the mass transit issue has ensued. Being the kind of guy who likes free choice, I think our best approach to mass transit is to let it sink or swim on its own merits, and something tells me that the call wouldn’t be made for a bus on every corner if gas prices return to more appropriate levels.

Crossposted on Red Maryland and That’s Elbert With An E.

More principle vs. politics

Last week I posted about the omnibus spending bill being proposed by Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada to counter holds placed on about 100 bills by Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn. Apparently a group called Americans for Limited Government agrees with my assessment:

Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson called upon all Republican Senators to join Senator Tom Coburn’s (R-OK) filibuster against a $25 billion omnibus bill that will combine over 100 pieces of legislation into one and change Senate rules.

“The economy is very sick, and it is sick because of the excessive spending and debt that Congress creates year in and year out,” said Wilson in a statement. “Our overall financial system is teetering on the brink of ruin, the dollar is collapsing, prices are soaring, inflation is on the rise, and the national debt has never been larger.”

“This is no coincidence,” said Wilson. “All roads lead back to Washington on the current economic crisis, because Congress keeps on spending. Their response to every crisis is to spend more. A $25 billion omnibus bill here. A $300 billion bank bailout there. A $150 billion economic ‘stimulus’ package. It never ends.”

Wilson explained, “The problem is that Congress’ spending habits – they spend more than they take in revenue – further increase the money supply and the national debt, directly causing the economy’s downward spiral to continue. They call it ‘stimulus,’ but really it’s cyanide for our economy and our future.”

“Enough is enough,” he added. “This is why it is imperative that all Republicans in the Senate join Senator Tom Coburn’s filibuster of the $25 billion omnibus bill.”

(snip)

“Right now, (Senator Coburn)’s the true conscience of the Senate.”

Coburn did make a counteroffer to Reid in this letter, but the more important point is that only 20 Senators have signed on, out of the 41 who would be required to make a filibuster stand. It’s sort of shameful that more Senators won’t back up Coburn in his fight, but not completely unexpected.

This also brings up another point. A friend of mine lent me the book Upstream: The Ascendance of American Conservatism by Alfred Regnery. One portion of the book deals with the number of conservative organizations which have sprung up over the years, and with the birth and maturity of the internet far more small groups can be created. That appears to be the case with the ALG group I’m quoting from here, quite the small and, before maybe a week ago, unknown to me outfit who’s looking for donations to keep them going (but not in this particular release, which was refreshing.)

I sometimes wonder if the splintering of resources is a good thing for the conservative movement, but then again I’m sort of in their same position where not a lot of people have read what I have to say compared to the whole of conservative media. Unless you’re one of the big boys, chances are that your membership or readership exists only in the hundreds or low thousands. We are all advancing pretty much the same ideas, though – when the Coburn item caught my attention because of my Patriot Post affiliation it also drew my ire and inspired me to post. And thanks to the ALG group I came across the Coburn letter and a little more background information.

(By the way, Patriot Post printed my contribution on Friday, it’s called “Big Three Strains Under Big Labor.” I have more to say about that later this week.)

But I’m glad to help out some of these smaller outfits in getting their word out. After all, the more information that makes it outside the parameters set by the drive-by media the better Americans are informed to make educated decisions – and if they’re educated chances are they see things similarly as I, or at least can present a cogent argument against my point.

A gonzo energy plan

Growing up in the Midwest in the late seventies and being a fan of loud, heavy, guitar-driven rock, naturally I took a liking to the music of one Ted Nugent – thus, there’s about a half-dozen of his CD’s and cassettes in my collection. While Ted wasn’t ever an overwhelming commercial success, he had a loyal fan base that was mostly based in the midsection of the country and you’ll find that “Cat Scratch Fever” and “Stranglehold” are staples at virtually any classic rock station.

But as the “Motor City Madman” approaches the big six-oh this year, his focus in life has changed. Certainly he still does some touring and the occasional new release (the last studio CD being 2007’s “Love Grenade”) but he may well be better known now as reality show host and outdoors spokesman with his own line of bowhunting equipment which he’s developed as a business over the better part of the last two decades.

And now he’s entered the world of writing – well, to a larger and longer form than, say, “Wango Tango.” While putting words to paper isn’t necessarily new for him, the Human Events website recently added Nugent to its roster of commentators, with his latest effort called “Let The Energy Buffalo Run Free.”

For the most part, Ted has another hit on his hands with the piece, calling for more oil drilling, a renewed emphasis on nuclear power, and less interference from the federal government. He’s even come up with a new word I’ll have to allocate for my lexicon in describing those inside the Beltway, that word being “fedzilla.” It’s quite apt, if you ask me (and even if you don’t.) Another William F. Buckley he’s not, but Ted gets the point across well enough. Most interesting to me was his turnaround on nuclear power – I seem to recall reading an interview years ago where he spoke out against building more plants. Being pro-nuclear power is a stance that may seem somewhat contrary to Nugent’s reputation as a conservationist but apparently the issue of what to do with the spent fuel roads has been solved to Ted’s satisfaction enough to place him on the side of nuclear energy. He brings up France as an example and the French do have a pretty good track record of safety in their plants, as opposed to the Russians.

In many respects, Nugent’s branching out into the world of political commentary reminds me of another celebrity who parlayed his fame into fortune and political activism, Chuck Norris. I discussed Chuck’s political dealings about a month ago, and wondered if this signaled a future political run. Similarly, there was some talk in Michigan political circles about adding Nugent to the 2006 GOP ticket as lieutenant governor and I don’t think Nugent has ever ruled out the idea of political office entirely. It would certainly bring a dose of Hollywood to a staid group of politicians.

Meanwhile, Ted can deliver more red meat to conservative followers, assuming that his commentary continues to hit the target. Something tells me the “whackmaster” has pretty good aim.

The missing links

They aren’t really missing. I’ve done what I promised to do last weekend and consolidated my political links into one Election 2008 category on the left-hand side.

I realized that another advantage of this was fixing an problem which occurs on some computers with lesser resolution (like my PC). As it stands now my 640 pixel wide pictures I use crowd out the links on the right-hand side. This will no longer be an issue as I’ve moved all of the Maryland and Delaware races (plus others of interest, a list that will grow as time goes on) to the left column. This will also allow me to more easily manipulate the listings, particularly after the Delaware primary on September 9th.

As I bid to appeal to a larger audience, this effort will continue. I’m not content to be a big frog in a small pond anymore.

By the way, I’ll be upgrading my website to WordPress 2.6 later this evening. It shouldn’t be an issue, but in case I have one you’ll know why.

Tawes Crab and Clam Bake 2008 in pictures and text (part 2)

Well, you had the main attraction of politicos Wednesday evening, so today I’ll ease you into the weekend by revisiting some of the lighter moments. I’ll start with something that goes without saying.

While I suppose that we have seafood worth marketing, was it really necessary to market seafood to this crowd?

Not to be too serious, but does it make sense that our state is marketing our seafood (in this case crabs) yet not allowing the watermen to catch as many as they’d like due to a perceived shortage of crabs in Chesapeake Bay? Something doesn’t add up here.

As much as the Tawes event is about politics, there are two other items one notices during the event. To start with, a number of companies use the event as both marketing and an excuse to reward their employees by renting a tent for the occasion. Some really go all out, like the outfit who paid these guys to play:

Steel drum group 'Plenty Problems' provided the entertainment for one of the businesses who rented a tent, and music was in the air all over the place.

Other groups and businesses market themselves in different ways. This nice young lady was an attractive advertisement for local watermelon farmers.

They had plenty of watermelon to go around, but the Mar-Del Watermelon Queen was making sure that we didn't forget that fact.

Even one of the other local bloggers got into the act and made it a family affair.

Local blogger Joe Albero and his wife Jennifer were among those enjoying the day. His camera is in his hand - do you think he goes anywhere without it?

The other item for which Tawes is known is the copious amount of beer consumed during the event. Obviously when you walk into the event and see tables filled like the photo below you get the idea a lot of beer will be available.

I have no idea how many thousands of these were created, but chances are most of them were filled with beer at some point during the day.

Of course, there were many people who were drinking out of those mugs, but others were a little more creative with their drinking.

It doesn't matter how many you score, everyone's a winner in Beer Pong.

But hands down the best combination of both beer and marketing were the ones wearing shirts like these two were. It’s what I’ll finish with to bring things back to the political.

With his approval rating hovering in the low 30's, this means well over 60 percent of Marylanders are potential customers.

So there you have the political and the not-so-political of the 2008 J. Millard Tawes Crab and Clam Bake.

Shorebird of the Week – July 17, 2008

While he doesn't normally need a bat, it made a good prop in this discussion with fellow Shorebird hurler Sean Gleason.Cliff Flagello comes to set during a recent appearance against Greenville.

While he’s the lowest draft choice among Shorebird hurlers, righthander Cliff Flagello has carved out a useful niche on the Shorebirds staff as a dependable middle reliever. With most pitchers at this level limited to 5-7 innings per start, a guy like Cliff who can come in a couple times a week and give a team 2 or 3 innings to set up the closer gets plenty of chances to impress.

Obviously Cliff has done as asked because he’s settled into the long relief role nicely. In 27 appearances for the Shorebirds this season he’s pitched 59 1/3 innings but only allowed 42 hits, holding the opposition to a .195 batting average. While he’s a little bit susceptible to giving up the base on balls (32 thus far, or about 5 per 9 innings) Cliff has managed to pitch around them and amass an ERA of 2.88. It makes for a WHIP of 1.25, a number right at the staff’s overall average. (That composite WHIP places the Delmarva pitchers fourth out of the sixteen teams in the SAL.)

As I noted, Cliff was the lowest draft pick among the current Shorebird pitchers, picked in the 25th round last season. In part this may have been from toiling at the heretofore unknown to me Shorter College, an NAIA institution in Rome, Georgia (home of another SAL franchise, the Rome Braves.) After being assigned to Bluefield last season he did well enough to move up the ladder to Delmarva, where’s he actually improved on most of his Bluefield numbers except for walks.

The 23 year old hurler certainly is taking advantage of his shot at moving up through the Orioles’ chain and may become a fixture in the same task up in Frederick next season. For now, Cliff will hopefully continue to take care of the middle innings for Delmarva manager Ramon Sambo.

Ballpark etiquette

The other day I had a response to a post, one which really got me a little perturbed. The comment went like this:

“By the way, speaking of ballgames I do have to say that there was a very nice young girl in front of me at last night’s game whose parents should be commended. This girl looked to be about 4-5 years old but I never heard her whine or complain like most kids that age do. The one thing I noticed the parents did was that once the game got to a certain point she was told that if they went up the steps they would leave, so she stayed right there. It’s a lesson to other parents who take their kids to Shorebirds games.”

Spoken like a true parent, (NOT) with his very own biological child. It’s nice to know you’re one of those people who don’t like kids to be kids. They’re at a Ball Game Michael, NOT a Library!

In truth, the post in question wasn’t really on that subject, I just added the line as an observation since I wasn’t planning on making a full post about the young lady but the incident was still fresh in my mind. However, it got me to thinking about the subject and since I tend to place my Shorebirds-related posts on Thursdays I decided to use this space this afternoon to revise and extend my remarks.

The commentor is correct that I have no biological children; however, I did help raise my daughter by a different father from the time she was four (she’ll be 25 in October – where did the time go?) so I have just a little experience with child-rearing. In truth, I don’t think I took her to more than one or two Mud Hen games but usually during the summer I would be coaching or helping out with her tee ball or softball team.

That aside, I’m not completely unaware that kids will be kids and chances are they only go to one or two Shorebirds games a season – thus, it’s a pretty exciting event for them. I also know that their attention span is not one that can sit and watch inning after inning of baseball like I can. Unlike the few times in my youth that I went to Mud Hen games at the old Lucas County Recreation Center, Perdue Stadium has a lot of non-baseball activities which the kids can partake in like the arcade and all the rides and games out in the left field picnic area, plus they can enjoy Sherman’s antics.

Given that, it’s worthy to note that the overall arbiter of the child’s activities need to be the parents or guardians responsible for their care, and sometimes they don’t pay as much mind to the kids as they need to or put their foot down when a child gets out of line. What I liked about the parents of this particular young lady was that apparently they set rules in advance and stuck with them, and the child seemed to know her boundaries. She was a kid, but not a whiny one or one who constantly went up and down the aisle trying to secure a ball. I’m sure Mom and Dad took her on the rides and bought her enough food and drink to keep her satisfied but when it was near the end they set down the rules and the young lady obeyed them. She wasn’t disruptive to my enjoyment and it seemed like the whole family enjoyed the experience as well.

That’s my little piece about the comment. I also figured I’d add a few suggestions and ideas that may help parents out – just my two cents’ worth as a fan and season ticket holder.

Let’s start with getting a ball. While a lot of balls are fouled off out of play and thus belong to whoever secured them, if a ball stays in the park and the batboy picks it up it is their job to save the baseball for use at another time (such as batting practice or warming up between innings.) Just because you are in the park does not mean you’re entitled to a ball that a player or batboy picked up so don’t run down to the dugout and beg and whine for one, at least during a game. And if you do get one, you really don’t need to have two. Hand it to another kid and make his or her evening. Having said that, some players are pretty generous with the game-used balls – A-Mart comes to mind. (That’s first baseman and former Shorebird of the Week Anthony Martinez. When he’s playing first he’ll usually flip a ball or two into the stands as he returns to the dugout between innings.)

Not all players are quite that generous, and it brings me to the subject of autographs. Like most groups of 25 to 30 people, some players are very personable and good about signing stuff and some aren’t. In general, it’s best to get autographs about 20 to 40 minutes before the game because players can’t sign during the game and, truth be told, if they went 0-for-5 and made an error that cost the Shorebirds a win or if they gave up the home run that blew their save and caused us to lose, they may not be in much of a mood to sign. I’ve noticed that position players are available earlier in that period because they need to go stretch and warm up prior to game time while the pitchers are usually easier to get autographs from up until about 10-15 minutes before the game begins. As well, “please”, “thank you” and wishing them luck helps.

With that, we’ve covered a good deal of the disruptive behavior. But I have one more message for any kids reading this:

PARENTS ARE NOT MADE OF MONEY!

In most cases, kids are there because their parent paid for the ticket, and even if it was a freebie you still came to the game courtesy of your parent or guardian. Much as you might like them to, they don’t have the cash for you to get all the souvenirs you might want, all the ice cream, pop, and candy at the concession stands, or money to spend at the arcade. You should be thankful they’re taking the time to bring you to the game when they may have a number of other things on their mind. (I will say that a number of parents are good baseball fans though and wish to share their love of the sport, those parents should be commended and the kids truly thankful to be blessed with parents who have such good taste.)

It’s sort of unfortunate that this day and age has brought us the shortening of the attention span to a point where kids have to be constantly addled by new stimuli instead of just sitting and taking everything in. Admittedly, I’m a little on the hyper side myself and do have trouble sitting still, but something about a baseball game can make me focus on it like few other things can. Most likely this is because I played the game into my high school years and appreciate both the skill and strategy behind it. So perhaps I’m a little overly sensitive about some sorts of behavior, but the negative attributes of whining and not listening to parents or other voices of authority do not carry one too far in real life, either.

A child doesn’t have to behave like they should in a library at a Shorebirds game, nor would I expect them to. But they need not be disruptive, and it’s the small portion of kids who are that make the rest look bad.

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:

This was one of two anti-Frank Kratovil signs along Route 413, the other read 'If you like O'Malley you'll love Kratovil.'

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.

State Senator Andy Harris (right) is interviewed by a reporter from local television station WMDT-TV.

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.

Frank Kratovil also attracted press coverage, this time from the Gazette.

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.

These fine young ladies and Lower Shore coordinator Dustin Mills (he's the center person in the hat) were among a group of volunteers who took turns manning the table and eating during the Tawes Crab Bake.

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 guessing this is a victory 'V' since the peace sign went out about 30 years ago. But then maybe peace is making a comeback.

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.

Two State Senators chatting with some of their friends. On the left is Crisfield's State Senator Lowell Stoltzfus and State Senator Andy Harris is on the right. Stoltzfus represents portions of three Lower Shore counties, including Somerset County where Crisfield is situated.

On the other hand, Delegate John Olszewski (center, in black) came down from Baltimore County to enjoy the day. He was one of many Western Shore pols who were present.

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.

Don't let the picture fool you, most of the Somerset County Republicans were indeed under the big tent in the background. It was just more convenient to hand out Harris and McCain items under the smaller tent.

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.

Given that the Governor is a Democrat and both houses of the General Assembly are firmly in their control, I think the sticker might not quite have the desired effect.

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.