November 2008 – Page 3

Off limits again

An AP story yesterday by Stephen Ohlemacher detailed some of the items Barack Obama will quickly adopt once his takes the oath of office in January. Not surprisingly, a number of items which have ping-ponged back and forth between Republican and Democrat administrations over the last two decades will be brought back online once Obama takes office, such as embryonic stem cell research and abortion funding.

The item that brought up my blood pressure slightly (because I’m irked but certainly not surprised) is where Obama will shelve a Bush Administration plan to open 360,000 acres in Utah to oil exploration and drilling. (For sake of comparison, the area would be roughly 24 miles square, or, for Midwest natives like me that’s the approximate area of sixteen townships.) It’s a probable precursor to President-elect Obama reinstating the offshore drilling ban President Bush lifted last summer unless the Democrat-controlled Congress beats him to it by restarting their ban which was allowed to expire in October – this may occur in the lame-duck session Democrats want in order to pass yet another economic stimulus package.

Just because oil has backed far off its historic per-barrel price from this summer is no reason to abandon the “drill here, drill now, pay less” mantra. Obviously the domestic oil producers hadn’t placed any major exploration in motion on areas previously off-limits because of the prospect of the ban being reapplied. Instead, their search for cheaper and more easily accessible product will again lead outside our borders and America will see its share of domestic vs. foreign oil consumption decrease below the approximate 1/3 slice domestic oil holds now. While Obama spoke in August about possibly keeping the prospect of offshore drilling on the table in return for alternative-energy investment and stricter CAFE standards, at least one analyst dismissed that proposal as “total lip service.”

Also noted in that Bloomberg.com story by Daniel Whitten was the looming prospect of a windfall profits tax on oil companies; considering the drilling restrictions and the likelihood of an Obama presidency imposing a tax for simply selling a product Americans desire the next four years probably will be a minefield for an industry which employs over 1.5 million Americans. Triggered by oil prices exceeding $80 a barrel in the Obama plan, any supply shock could push prices back over the windfall profit threshold.

The question then becomes not if but when will the price at the pump edge back upward toward the $4 a gallon we were hammered with over the summer. Regardless of the hype or the market gaming the federal government has tried to achieve at an ever-accelerating pace since Democrats regained control of Congress in the 2006 elections, for the foreseeable future America is going to transport itself via the automobile, and those cars will need gasoline to power them.

Again the question is worth asking: why should we not be able to recover resources which are useful to us, can be extracted in an environmentally sound manner, and allow Americans the freedom to transport themselves and their goods at reasonable convenience and cost? We seem to be trading proven energy producers like coal, oil, and natural gas for the schemes of creating the electricity we need through vast arrays of solar panels, windmills, or other so-called “green” sources. Yes, they do have a place and someday the technology will bring down their price point to make these sources competitive for large-scale use. I’m all for that occurring but not with my tax dollars making up the difference.

Switchgrass isn’t going to fill up my gas tank the next time I stop at the station. While it’s not a right to have gas be inexpensive, the incoming Obama Administration is likely to forsake the interests of the middle-class Americans it purports to cater to in order to appease the radical environmentalists and alternative energy rent-seekers.

Thinking Americans need to make their voices heard. Let’s keep oil drilling unabated and on the table.

The market basket, November 2008

This is the sixth in a continuing series of comparisons between local grocery store prices. Every six months or so since the spring of 2006 I’ve used my regular Sunday shopping trip to do my very non-scientific study of local grocery prices.

I began this to prove a theory I had. Readers may recall that in their 2006 session the Maryland General Assembly overrode Governor Ehrlich’s 2005 veto of the Fair Share Health Care Act, which became better known as the “Wal-Mart bill.” The bill got its name because it was tailored to affect only Wal-Mart; the three other companies in Maryland who qualified based on their number of employees were exempted either for being a non-profit or spending just over the 8% of payroll threshold the state dictated companies should spend on health care benefits for their employees. My theory was that Wal-Mart would eventually lose its extremely competitive position on prices because of the state law, particularly since one of the companies exempted was Giant Foods, obviously a direct competitor for grocery dollars and, unlike Wal-Mart, a unionized grocery chain.

As it turned out, Fair Share was thrown out in court as a violation of federal ERISA statutes but I decided to continue doing this on a semi-annual basis because it’s a nice diversion from political items and also provides a service for local residents. It also serves as a gauge for grocery prices in general. In April I also added one variable, the per-gallon price at the station I drive by on the way to the grocery store. You’ll notice that the price went down 40 percent in six months, in reality it’s about half the mid-summer peak here which was close to $4 per gallon.

Having done this now for 2 1/2 years, it’s interesting to note that Wal-Mart has lost a portion of its onetime large advantage over its local competititors. They still own the lowest prices but have raised their prices somewhat faster than two of their three counterparts.

As I said at the top this is far from a scientific study, and the items I chose were those I regularly consumed at the time. Ironically I’ve stopped eating a fair number of these items because I’ve become much more weight-conscious in that timespan. (In the last three years, I’ve lost 115 pounds.) Still, it gives a snapshot of something that consumers have sensed for quite awhile – prices have gone up pretty quickly in that time. (You may also note that in some cases, the packaging has changed as well. I’m a frequent yogurt eater, so their going to 6 ounce cups really upset me!)

With that said, here are the most recent results I compiled yesterday. As a comparison, I’ll link to the results from last April, one year ago, April 2007, October 2006, and my original survey in April 2006.

The next trend to see is if the drop in gas prices will follow through into food prices next April. It’s not predicted to do so but I’ll be checking to see when the time comes.

Shout out for my buds

I’ll try to keep this short so you can read more bloggy goodness below. Tonight’s “Local Produce” radio show features my friends from Semiblind doing that acoustic thing, so I’ll be tuned in to 93.5 the Beach at 9:00 just for that. But you may like some of the other local and regional music from unsigned artists they’ll put on – you just never know until you tune in.

More serious stuff awaits here if you scroll down.

When the moat gets into the castle

Today’s item piqued my interest for two reasons: one, it’s related to my “real” profession; and two, there’s been a little controversy over the subject locally in the last few years. So it was up to the International Code Council to make a decision on the matter for the upcoming release of the 2009 International Residential Code.

Now that I’ve used my introductory paragraph as a great teaser, the subject at hand is the mandatory installation of residential sprinklers for new home construction. Proponents naturally see this as a life safety issue to prevent additional damage and loss of life in case of fire, while opponents lobbied on the argument of increased cost and maintenance risk. This is from the October 16th AIA Angle internet newsletter:

The actual cost of installing sprinklers varies depending on who you ask. Installation of sprinklers could increase construction costs by as much as $12 per square foot, according to NAHB (the National Association of Home Builders – ed.) In a report published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), which supported the requirement, states the costs are much less, around $1.61 per square foot.

“Architects who focus on the residential side should be aware of this new mandate when they design homes in states that adopt the code. Currently, 46 states use the IRC. This code will greatly affect how architects design a home in those states,” says Paul Mendelsohn, AIA vice president of Government and Community Relations.

Mendelsohn is correct to an extent, as states do have the right to not adopt certain portions of these model building codes. This may be a fight which comes down to the local and state levels as the cost vs. benefit argument is played out on many and varied stages.

With the housing industry already in the tank for the near-term future, this requirement comes at a bad time. Certainly the increased cost will be passed on to the buyer, and depending on whose estimate you trust that translates into anywhere from $3,220 to $24,000 added into home costs for a 2,000 square foot house. Further, I found it intriguing that the insurance industry fought AGAINST the requirement, with the likely contention that possible water damage from leaks would outstrip the costs of the occasional fire.

Being a firm believer in private property rights, I think that the decision should be up to the homeowner and not dictated from on high. Obviously having a sprinkler system can make a difference in the event of a fire; however, the actual preservation of life is already addressed by the codes with a number of other regulations regarding door and window widths, exit access, and the like. Generally a home is of small enough size that escape from it is possible within seconds, so sprinklers tend to be more for the preservation of property.

It also brings up a point about water consumption. Most houses in urban and suburban areas will be tied to a municipal water source, but would that water source be sized to provide enough flow in the case of a fire? Many cities and towns already have difficulties with water pressure and this may worsen that problem. More importantly, is this new code a backhanded way to promote “smart growth”? The question of access to water supplies sufficient to fill a sprinkler system may be a factor in whether to allow homebuilding in certain rural areas like the one I live in, since I indeed have well water.

Naturally this isn’t a regulation which creates headlines, nor is it a governmental entity which is proposing it. This example points out that there are a lot of do-gooders who wish to make decisions for you about what’s best in your life. Building a new dream house shouldn’t necessarily need to include the additional cost and worry about extra water lines. Maybe it can be a selling point and possibly the life it saves could be yours or a loved one’s, but the choice should still be yours. There’s no need for states or local entities to adopt the 2009 IRC in toto; these new regulations can and should merit more discussion at their level.

Taking the power from the people

Nope, this isn’t another post about the recent election. Faithful readers will recall that I had a backlog of environmentally-related posting ideas and this intermission between the election hangover and the holidays (when news really slows down) seems to me a good time to opine on some of these items.

Back in mid-October, an AP article (via the Forbes website) by Marc Levy detailed efforts by the commonwealth of Pennsylvania to not just slow the growth of but cut electricity usage beginning in 2011. By May 31st of that year, utilities will have to roll back electricity usage by one percent, increasing to three percent by May 31, 2013 – that 2013 deadline also compels usage during the 100 highest peak hours during the year to be cut by 4.5 percent. If the utilities fail in this effort, penalties of up to $20 million can be assessed. So not only do the utilities have to plan for their future needs insofar as supply is concerned, they now face the additional headache of a mandated plan to cut customer usage.

With any of these so-called “green” ideas, one has to ponder the unintended consequences. For example, would it be in a utility’s best interests to extend service to a new job-producing entity like a steel recycling mill if doing so means they’ll likely go over the electricity usage threshold? While there are provisions in the new law for exceptions to the rule, could state regulators who decide on whether a utility should be pardoned and not penalized be trusted with this amount of sayso over the economic livelihood of Pennsylvania based on their personal preferences and beliefs?

Nor will this be cheap. The law allows utilities to bill their ratepayers up to 2 percent of their 2006 revenue to achieve this change; what’s unclear is how much this will either impact the corporate bottom line or reflect in each month’s electric bill. Keystone State residents also face a similar dilemma to that faced in Maryland a couple years back as long-term rate caps will soon go away for the vast majority of them. One bright spot for Maryland is that this could drive businesses and residents back over the border; that is provided our rabidly green legislators in Annapolis don’t attempt to do the same here in Maryland. Energy providers here already have enough of a handicap with renewable energy portfolio mandates let alone trying to trim usage too.

In my profession, energy efficiency is an admirable goal and I encourage those who are using energy do so as prudently as possible. However, there is a point where curtailing usage also curtails lifestyle, allowing economic growth to cease. Just look at a normal home, where the old 60 amp breaker box of my youth is woefully inadequate and 200 or more amperes of usage is demanded because of all the devices which have made our lives easier and more enjoyable. It goes back to the old pie-slice analogy, where making the pie smaller gives everyone a smaller piece unless fewer people wish to have a slice.

Once again, a leftist governor (in this case, Governor Ed Rendell) has placed the ideals of radical green ahead of the realities of seeking prosperity. It bears asking what incentive there is for a utility to wish to sell less of its product or face monetary damage; certainly there’s not a whole lot in it for the investors unless they’re allowed to charge more per unit, and we all know how that flies with the public.

Then again, we in Maryland have our own deterrent to utility friendliness called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. An article last month in Science Daily points out the results of a study commissioned by the Maryland Department of the Environment which contends that “Maryland officials can reduce electricity use in the state significantly by investing revenues from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) cap-and-trade auctions in energy efficiency programs, (and) neighboring states might benefit as well.” Seriously, our tax dollars paid for this? Like there would be any other conclusion given the provider of the funds to commission the study – no bias here, huh?

The article goes on to note:

The Maryland Department of Environment commissioned the study, The Role of Energy Efficiency Spending in Maryland’s Implementation of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, to help the state explore the economic and environmental implications of using RGGI revenue in support of energy efficiency programs, as well as to determine the impact on producers, consumers and other stakeholders. The analysis began prior to last month’s auction and the study’s findings are not based on its results.

But the important part to me was this line in the story:

Even though prices may not go down, consumers may see some modest savings because they consume less electricity due to efficiency improvements.

I have news for the eggheads who did this study: prices aren’t going down because the state is also mandating energy providers in the state use more expensive “renewable” resources. And the efficiency improvements could very well come out of the state’s money pot as well through subsidies or using the RGGI auction funds. Perhaps it would be smarter to just tell the utility to hand the money over directly to those consumers who the state helps out but that doesn’t create a job for some pencil-pusher in Annapolis to oversee who “deserves” the funding does it? Nor does it make the recipient more appreciative of the government who gave him the check (and more likely to support his or her local representative therein) if the money instead came from the utility.

Finally, why not make this article about three different states? My blogger friend Bob McCarty writes about a similar carbon credit offer his local utility is trying in Missouri, where he lives. At least there it’s the private sector trying to make a profit from gullability and not the state government.

Cleaning up the election some more

As I write this, AP has called the race between Andy Harris, Frank Kratovil, and Richard James Davis for Kratovil in the First Congressional District, but it may yet qualify for a recount based on its tightness. It bears pointing out that having Davis in the race as a Libertarian alternative may have cost Andy Harris the election – ironic because E.J. Pipkin’s entry into the primary race was thought to create a similar effect to hand Wayne Gilchrest the nomination on the Republican side.

But my ire was raised by something else. Andy Harris lost Wicomico County by about 5,500 votes or so, and barring an extremely big effort by Frank Kratovil on the remaining absentee and provisional ballots (in truth, those may tighten the race to some extent), the final margin will be much less than Kratovil’s margin of victory here – in other words, I could correctly argue that if it weren’t for this county Harris would be a shoo-in.

Obviously we were going to have an uphill battle here, with the hill being built up even faster by two factors: the local paper being firmly in Kratovil’s camp because of their connection with the deposed Wayne Gilchrest, and Gilchrest’s final Benedict Arnold-like action of endorsing Frank Kratovil. However, neither of these actions truly came as a surprise.

Something that did surprise and anger me was how the local blogosphere went against their own interests and turned their guns on Harris – all because of one man. Yes, it was that support by ONE MAN by those who would normally be on the conservative’s side that Kratovil allies gleefully jumped on, stirring up the blogging world more.

I know that some of these bloggers come by their allegiance honestly – bloggers like ShoreIndie (maybe that should be ShoreLeftie if there’s truth in advertising) or Tom Wilson at Lost on the Shore, or all the Two Sentz guys spewing the blue b.s.- they’re liberal and make no bones about it. But then you had people who I would have thought fell into the moderate to conservative mode who came out publicly for the Obama ally Kratovil, simply because Harris had a particular supporter.

And don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot not to like about the blogger in question, particular in his treatment of the Wells family. Certainly I’ve been the target of his barbs on many occasions. But in being against Harris simply because a particular person was for him strikes me as cutting off the nose to spite the face. So it was distressing that, for the short-term gratification in piling on a blogger who in the grand scheme of things isn’t all that important, a number of other bloggers took their eyes off the ball, forgetting what’s truly best for our district.

In the entirety of the campaign, there were a couple items to be critical of the Harris campaign for, and I called bullshit on those occasions. Probably Andy’s campaign’s two biggest mistakes were the reuse of footage in the “Kratovil is a liberal” ad (which overshadowed the truthful message of it) and the blind alley of hammering Kratovil on particular cases as a State’s Attorney, a move which brought a swift defense from his fellow State’s Attorneys. Instead, I’d have preferred the rote response every time Frank brought up the Club For Growth – “the Club For Growth stands for lower taxes, less red tape, and school choice – does that mean you’re for raising taxes, more business-strangling red tape, and keeping kids in the failing public schools, Frank? And considering that many of the Wall Street types you condemn are or were Democrat politicians, you may be barking up the wrong tree there.” I’m sure that the sentiment can be done better on the fly, but alas, it was not to be.

In my coverage of the race, I gave the Kratovil side of the story too. But I reserved the right to be critical because I could smell his “what people wanna do is say what people wanna hear” style of politics a mile away. Frank’s not “independent”; he was bought and paid for by Martin O’Malley, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Barney Frank, and all the inside-the-Beltway special interests. Unfortunately, that message wasn’t spread effectively and what ultimately failed the Harris side was having to play defense too much.

That’s my assessment of Andy’s campaign. But I sure hope for a rematch in 2010 because then Frank Kratovil will have a record he’s almost certainly going to run away from. See, the problem with pissing me off is that I actually ENJOY researching legislative records. And I can cherrypick votes like you folks did too.

And I better not hear a cross word next time from the local and Maryland bloggers who went against their best interests simply because one guy they didn’t like happened to be a Harris supporter.

That means you, Bill Duvall. You want a carpetbagger? Who moved to the Eastern Shore to spring his political career since he knew he was the wrong race to succeed where he grew up?

That means you, Tim Patterson. You don’t even live in the district, but you rendered all your worthwhile criticism of liberals absolutely meaningless by putting up one post endorsing Frank Kratovil.

That means you, Pro-Maryland Gazette contributors who cower behind anonymous screen names. If you were truly Pro-Maryland you’d have supported Harris, or at least come up with better arguments to support Frank Kratovil aside from ONE supporter of Andy Harris. The same goes for “Cuff-n-Stuff” at Off The Cuff.

In my post about Election Day in pictures and text, I alluded to the fact that someone took my picture while I was working the polls for another blog. He wouldn’t say which blog it was but conceded something along the lines of his blog dying soon after the election. Well, if it’s one of these blogs who set out to destroy Andy Harris because of a particular supporter, perhaps it would be good riddance. I’ve noticed that Duvafiles has apparently bid its goodbye to the local blogosphere, and there’s likely others soon to follow. There always is.

I don’t hide either my name or my thoughts when I write. Maybe it creates more trouble for me than it should, but I’m always taking the long-term view of what’s best for my adopted home. Putting a Democrat in Congress is like the first cockroach in your kitchen; if you don’t exterminate that first one quickly they’re damn near impossible to get rid of. Look at how long Norm Conway has “represented” my House of Delegates district by voting with the far-left in Annapolis rather than for what’s best for the Shore.

So with whatever blame should be properly assigned to the Harris campaign for getting bogged down and defensive in the election runup, the local conservative blogosphere also has to look in the mirror and ask themselves whether the immediate gratification they got from seeing one blogger’s chosen candidate fail will be worth the poor representation we’ll suffer from for at least the next two years.

We have enough issues with the manner in which the state and nation will be run for at least the next two years to have this infighting. I’ve said my piece on this issue in order to clear the air – it was difficult enough to run as a Republican this year because of a perfect storm of bad economic news and an uninspiring candidate at the top of the ticket. We didn’t need the crap stirred up by those folks on the center and right to hand a House seat to an I-95 corridor liberal, but we managed to do so anyway.

It’s a mistake we CANNOT repeat in 2010.

Ten Questions follow up: Blue Star Mom Deborah Johns

It was one of my most popular posts ever, so I decided to follow up with Blue Star Mom and “Stop Obama Tour” participant Deborah Johns. In this follow-up interview, I asked her how she thought the tour went and what the future holds for her tour sponsor, among other things.

monoblogue: We know the featured speakers on the “Stop Obama” tour were yourself, singer-songwriter Lloyd Marcus, and Internet talk radio host Mark Williams. But how large of an entourage made the trip with you three? And how did you occupy the travel time between venues?

Johns: We occupied our time by answering thousands of e-mails we would receive and confirming the different locations for the rallies we had with local supporters, sending out press releases. This was more work than anyone knows.

There were 5 other people who came along the trip. The guys were responsible for confirming the rally locations, sending out the press releases, contacting local supporters, set up and tear down of our podium and sound equipment. Everyone worked really great together and enjoyed the company of one another.

monoblogue: In the original interview, you noted it was “anyone’s guess” how much press coverage you’d get. Since you did get some reasonably favorable national press coverage, would you consider that aspect of your trip a success?

Johns: I think our press coverage was great. Every location we were at we had local reporters. However, it still would have been nice to get some national coverge. We did, however, appear on Fox and Friends and that was really good. We had supporters come out at 6:00 a.m. to hold up signs and show their support. We then had about 20 of them come on the bus and had coffee and juice together and that was a lot of fun.

monoblogue: A question regarding strategy. Late in the tour, your strategists decided to abandon the Ohio and Pennsylvania stops (except for Toledo, Ohio) and return to Michigan citing encouraging poll results. Now that we can look back and see how closely McCain lost Ohio (by 4 points) do you believe the focus should have been on Ohio instead?

Johns: I still think we made the right decision to go back to Michigan and abandon Ohio, simply because McCain and Palin were covering that so much. Even though we lost there by 4 points, it was a tight race, and we had the opportunity to tighten things in Michigan. We were pressed for time, and Pennsylvania was just impossible to cover at that point.

monoblogue: One thing you were pleased about initially was having a Blue Star Mom on the ticket in Governor Palin. While her and John McCain’s bid came up short, as one who’s not a political insider per se but one who closely follows the political scene, would you consider Sarah Palin the favorite for the 2012 nomination?

Johns: I certainly would like to see her run in 2012. However, my sense is that she probably will not make that bid, she may make a bid for a Congressional or Senate seat instead. We will just have to wait and see. She energized the base of the Republican party and women as well. But we have about a year and a half to go to see if this is a viable option for her. A lot is going to depend on how the Obama Administration handles things considering his overwhelming lack of experience. He is going to have to surround himself with a lot of knowledgable people who are willing to reach out to the American people and across party lines to maintain their momentum. He is going to be heavily criticized for everything he does, especially by the left if he does not follow through with the things he has said on his campaign trail. They are a vicious group, unforgiving, and will turn on their own in a heartbeat.

monoblogue: As a follow-up to that, if you believe the national media, they claimed that Governor Palin was a drag on the GOP ticket. Did you sense that with the crowds at any of your stops or did you perceive she was actually the root cause of their enthusiasm?

Johns: I never saw Governor Palin as a drag on the ticket, and never once sensed that from anyone we met on the trip. Here is what happens when a ticket loses. In order for the staffers to save face and to now have to go out and get employed, they start playing the blame game so they don’t look like the ones who mismanaged anything. Personally, it does not do anyone any good to do this sort of thing, there is nothing to gain from it, and I do not believe any of the backbiting comments that are being said about her. That type of diva attitude that is being thrown around would have come out and been very obvious in Governor Palin’s speeches. She was always very warmly received by people and everyone said how genuine she is, and I think it is tragic that these staffers are doing this and it is very unprofessional of them.

monoblogue: Final question. In my original interview I asked about your personal plans if Obama won, so now I shift to your employer’s plans. What will the Our Country Deserves Better organization focus on now that Obama has won – will they become a watchdog-style group staying focused on the Obama Administration or will they branch out into legislative politics and advocacy on a Congressional level?

Johns: We do plan to be a watchdog for what happens in the Obama Administration, especially when it comes to matters concerning our military and national defense. We are also going to look at Congressional and Senate issues and hold them accountable as well.

**********

Again, I appreciate her taking the time to answer my questions. Deborah told me she had a backlog of 1200 e-mails upon her return, which isn’t surprising given the number of people she spoke to along the way.

In my political life, I’ve met a number of candidates for office and it goes without saying the vast majority of them work hard to secure their election. The same goes for thousands of volunteers and paid staff who devote months to making their choice the most popular one on the ballot.

But you have to hand it to someone who’s not officially affiliated with a campaign or some other elected official stumping on another candidate’s behalf to take two weeks out of their life and travel cross-country on a bus, never really knowing the type of reception they’ll get when they arrive at the next stop or what will come up in the meantime. It’s why I enjoyed the opportunity to twice get a glimpse into that sort of devotion, and hopefully the next time she feels the need to travel across the country from California she’ll stop and say hello to this end of the country.

There is one item to add from the small talk we had after completing this interview, basically talking about where we each would go from here.

I agree with you. I truly wanted fromer Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich to run. I think he would have been a much better choice for the Republican Party.

We all need to focus on some bigger issues, like doing away with early voting, and making sure that everyone who is registered to vote is a US citizen so there is no more voter fraud, they are not registered in multiple states. We have the technology to do this, and for the benefit of the country, this should be done.

I am sure you will see a lot of “watch dog” groups being formed for just these reasons. (Emphasis mine.)

I had to let her know that we just adopted early voting in Maryland, so that makes the task that much more difficult.

One new fact of life with the internet, a facet of the 2008 campaign I found fascinating, is the sheer number of new organizations which popped up armed with a pitch and a good e-mail list. A lot of them will likely fade away now that the election is done, but many others will take root and aim for real change in 2010 and beyond. It sounds like hers will attempt to do the same.

Election Day 2008 in pictures and text

As promised this evening, a few of the pictures I took yesterday. I haven’t looked around yet (didn’t peruse the local sites today) but I believe some other blog has a picture of me on their site too.

Anyway, this was my home for the day yesterday:

There weren’t a whole lot of signs out for the candidates, either.

Since you see part of the church sign, you can guess the rest:

My favorite sticker for the day. It was on one of the few cars actually parked close to where I stood.

One thing which really disappointed me was having no one else work the poll. Maybe it’s because I’m a veteran of a different area and things are different here, but even in 2006 I had plenty of company – not this year. It’s nothing for me to work a 13 hour shift like this, I did it for a number of years in Ohio. (And yes, I’ve worked some miserably rainy Election Days before, but even colder.)

Speaking of disappointment, that’s what would soon be on a lot of these faces over at the Fountains later that evening:

It wasn’t the fault of the woman to the right of this picture. Along with my Central Committee cohort Bob Laun, Bonnie helped put this together and also served as the McCain co-chair with Laun here in Wicomico County.

But hope springs eternal, as the Young Republicans got their start in 2008 and hopefully will be a force to be reckoned with come 2010. Here’s their President, Mark Biehl.

I want to personally thank the two folks in my last picture for their hard work to get Andy Harris elected – in fact, the work’s not done yet since absentees have to be counted and there could very well need to be a recount after that. We’re down but not out!

Finally, it’s not a picture but text from Andy Harris:

My parents immigrated to the United States to flee Communism with the hope of a better life for themselves and their children. Their experience taught me early on to believe in and trust the democratic process in America, where we have a fair and just system of laws in place to make sure every vote cast is counted fairly.

I will work with the County Boards of Elections and Mr. Kratovil’s campaign to make sure that we come to a conclusion quickly, so that we can get back to work for the people of the First District. I have complete confidence in our election system and the men and women responsible for making sure that the process of counting each vote is fair and straightforward.

Similarly, Frank Kratovil concluded his official release by noting:

The most important thing right now is to make sure all remaining votes are counted; representatives from my campaign will work with the Board of Elections in each county to make sure this process goes smoothly.

We’ll see how it goes tomorrow.

Not pleased is an understatement.

But that’s the way the ball bounces I suppose. I’ll be interested to see how the precincts break out.

Of course, when McCain only wins 52.5% of the vote in a county that Bush and Ehrlich both carried with 60-plus percent that’s not a good sign.

And 56 percent for Kratovil? All I have to say is be careful what you wish for. Needless to say, plan on me keeping a REALLY sharp eye on how he votes, assuming he hangs on to his overall margin. You all got your precious Eastern Shore representation, but like the actual geography of Frank’s home location yards from the Bay Bridge, I suspect you’ll find his moderatism and independence are of the same ilk – just enough to say they are there, but not enough to really be meaningful. In fact, I think neither will be found by the end of the first half of the 111th Congress.

Then again, none of that may matter now since there’s going to be some fingers on the scale, so to speak, now that Question 1 has passed. It doesn’t surprise me that it did, but still it’s disappointing.

I almost feel more sorry for my friends in Delaware though because they’ve REALLY screwed the pooch in that state. To go from a 22-19 GOP majority in their House to a 26-15 Democrat one and to elect a Governor who reminds me of Martin O’Malley – I guess that is some good news for Maryland since Delaware will definitely lose a lot of its attractiveness.

Anyway, I suppose I have to rethink my educational approach a little bit because obviously the class didn’t learn its lessons as well as I thought they did. (I also have a few choice words for a number of my blogging cohorts, but that comes under separate cover.)

I didn’t get many pictures from the day, either. Definitely I was disappointed with the weather and for obvious reasons there wasn’t much to celebrate. But I’ll carry on nonetheless later today and probably spend most of the remainder of the week cleaning up the tangled wreckage of Election 2008 before moving on to other subjects I’ve neglected over the last few weeks.

Folks, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a mixture of disappointed and angered over how this turned out. The votes were against us, but neither my cause nor my determination has been defeated. I just have to work twice as hard, that’s all, because in the end I still know I’m right.

If you want help from above…

This obviously is a locally based item but readers can do this in the privacy of their own home too. Thanks to Bonnie Luna for sending this along.

In Psalm 121: 1-2 it says, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills—from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

We do not have to look very far to see that our nation needs help. The evidence of this is everywhere. No human alone has the power or ability to help us or change the course of this nation. Our only source of help and hope is the Lord.

As you are aware, we are quickly approaching one of the most important, influential elections in History. It is high time that we, as Christians, unite across lines and pray . . . pray for the state of this nation, pray for the upcoming elections, and pray for a spiritual awakening in America. We need to come together in one accord…for such a time as this!! It is only the mercy of our Almighty God that can save us. The time is critical!

You are invited to take time on Tuesday, November 4th, hopefully before you cast your ballot, to enter into a time of prayer for our Nation.

A prayer room has been set aside at the Republican Headquarters on South Salisbury Boulevard for believers to join together to intercede for our Nation.

God’s word says in Matthew 18:20: “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”

Please don’t miss this opportunity for corporate prayer with the Body of Christ. “Our only source of help and hope is the Lord.”

Headquarters and the prayer room will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Come pray!

Late edit: Perhaps it’s not the most appropriate time to bring up Delaware, but I neglected to mention to my friends up north that they should brave the rain and make sure to vote for Bill Lee, Charlie Copeland, Christine O’Donnell, and Mike Castle (note to Delaware GOP: in 2010 you need a conservative primary challenger for him). The commercial for Joe Biden talks about the lights in the houses he rides by on the train and their worries – maybe if their tax and red tape burden you helped create weren’t so great they’d have fewer worries.

See you at the polls!

Tomorrow we meet at dawn…

Back on July 10, 2007 I introduced the two “Campaign 2008” folders that I have for tomorrow’s election. However, I’m certain I begin discussing the election earlier than that because the speculation was rampant about Andy Harris making his Congressional run two months before that.

So we’ve been at this election thing for about 18 months now, and it’s been almost 9 months since the primary back on February 12th. The finish line is in sight for all those volunteers, paid staff, and candidates who have worked so hard to get this far – it’s unfortunate in a way that half or more of those people will find themselves disappointed after the votes are counted.

Being a Republican in two places that are primarily Democrat-controlled, I’ve had more than my share of bitter defeats. But I have a pretty good feeling about this election, particularly on a local level. I think more than a few people will be surprised when it’s all said and done.

One thing that I should stress even though it’s a bit of inside baseball – your votes will count more than you know, especially for John McCain. The more votes we get for McCain in Wicomico County, the better our voting strength at future conventions if a measure passes at our upcoming Fall State Convention. It’s a proposal to base voting strength on actual votes for statewide office rather than on the number of registered Republicans. With this area being fairly conservative and a significant percentage of registered Democrats voting GOP in the privacy of the ballot box, we could do a lot to help the Eastern Shore advance in the state party hierarchy.

There may or may not be a posting tomorrow because I’m going to hit the hay once this is done; maybe I’ll check comments quickly during breakfast but my plan is to vote and then do my assigned duties at my polling place. I will have my camera so my plan is to have plenty of pictures of Election Day and Night 2008.

If you happen to vote at the polling place on East Gordy Road, I will see you there. But tomorrow is a day the conservatives within the view of my website can begin the slow process of taking back this country from the liberal Democrats who threaten it and the RINO’s who have done serious damage to our party. Let’s get the ball rolling now so we can finish the job locally in 2010. (And yes, I already have a Campaign 2010 category so I’m getting earlier and earlier!)

Our opportunity awaits – let’s take advantage of it. We CAN win if we turn out every Republican! Let that other party be the lazy one.

The letter and the aftermath

A couple days ago a letter came out, signed by 20 of the 24 State’s Attorneys in Maryland, that defended Frank Kratovil from the charges Andy Harris leveled about his conduct as Queen Anne’s County State’s Attorney. Among the signatories of the letter from the Maryland State’s Attorneys’ Association was Wicomico County’s Davis Ruark, who took the additional step of endorsing Frank Kratovil – Ruark’s first endorsement for political office in his career. (The letter itself was only to defend Frank and was not intended as an endorsement.)

While I know Davis to some extent and would consider him a friend, I think he’s in the wrong here. To me he’s allowing professional courtesy to stand in the way of an question which does need to be resolved. I’ve not seen this as a question of being “soft on crime” as the MSAA letter suggests, but more of a question of judgment.

When Frank Kratovil went into this race, he had to assume that his record as a prosecutor would be fair game, just as his side has pored through every vote Andy Harris has made in the State Senate to find ones which could be shown to be politically unpopular. Obviously some cases Kratovil’s office pursued were going to stick out as ones which weren’t resolved in a manner that served the public as well as they could have. However, the appearance of impropriety comes when contributors to Frank’s campaign have cases plea-bargained down to greatly reduced punishments for the perpetrator.

My question is whether it would not been more proper for Frank to refuse or return the contributions from those who practice on the other side of the courtroom in Queen Anne’s County, simply to avoid any of the smell or accusation? It’s a very small percentage of the contributions he’s received, so the coffers wouldn’t be drained all that much. Instead, he’s kept every penny insofar as I know and certain cases which involved those defense attorneys have been pled down. Perhaps it was to get a bigger fish, but once again the trouble could have been saved had Frank Kratovil placed his campaign coffers off-limits to those he could reasonably ascertain would be opposing him in court. This would be a non-issue.

Having said that, though, I’d like to bring up another point I touched on last night.

One of the major controversies in this months-long slog of a campaign has been whether Frank Kratovil said “solve” or “solved” during an appearance at Salisbury University back in October, referring to whether the bailout fixed our economic problems. At first, the Daily Times wrote it as “solved,” only retracting after Harris came out with a commercial quoting the original Daily Times article. (There is dispute whether the Daily Times either corrected or retracted the original article, part of the confusion may be from a follow-up story. So I’ll rescind the original statement as shown; however the point remains that the “solve” controversy has obscured what my next paragraph leads to.)

What’s being missed though are all the other things that Frank is on record saying from his own website, radio interviews, and other sources, but then later changing his tune to suit the audience. We’ve seen him shift on a number of issues like offshore drilling and health care, drop the endorsement of him by Governor O’Malley like Martin was a bad habit, and tone down his left-wing rhetoric from the primary – such as his call for fighting global warming with the “same effort as going to the moon” or reconciling his current energy plan with his thought that Americans “waste a lot” from that same forum cited previously.

While Frank attempted to paint Andy Harris as a “finger in the wind” politician, the game plan for Frank is and has been that “what people wanna do is say what people want to hear.”

Let’s put aside the claims and counterclaims. I can tell you that I’ve met both candidates, at least briefly, and neither is the ogre the other makes them out to be. Frank Kratovil seems like a decent enough guy, but I believe he’s completely and utterly wrong on the majority of the issues. I can also tell you that there’s something wrong with our system of government when even a campaign that involves being one of 435 members in a body (which means one vote’s not going to make much of a difference 98% of the time) makes me cringe at the depth it’s descended to on both sides. I guess absolute power, or even the quest for the little bit involved here, does corrupt absolutely.

Despite all that, the decision needs to be made on what the First District thinks will be the voting pattern of each candidate. From the beginning, I’ve seen this as a race between a person who will vote in a conservative, prudent manner and has been proven to do so for ten years in the Maryland State Senate (even against a Governor of his own party at times) against a person who may or may not do so depending on how much intestinal fortitude he has to stay “independent” when his party has bankrolled his campaign to the tune of nearly $2 million and other special interests have chipped in six figures as well. Frank Kratovil could begin in the middle like Wayne Gilchrest finished, but the trend among all but the most conservative members of Congress is to drift leftward as the years in Washington go by. Do we want to take a chance on an entrenched Ted Kennedy-type representing us in 10 or 12 years? And if Barack Obama wins the White House, do we want someone to embrace his change toward socialism or fight it tooth and nail?

These are the questions voters who haven’t already cast their ballot need to ask themselves.