WCRC meeting – April 2011

We went back to the future last night, as former WCRC president Marc Kilmer was again pressed into service to run the meeting. It was one of the lengthier meetings in memory; not because of Kilmer’s administration but because our featured speaker had a LOT to say. (Plus it took me a little extra time to read the minutes – the Lord’s Prayer and Pledge of Allegiance were done in an average amount of time, as was the treasurer’s report. I can tell faithful attendees that I condensed the minutes for this meeting due to a lack of reports so next month will move more quickly.)

Anyway, this meeting was devoted to our annual Legislative Update, presented by Delegate Mike McDermott. Anyone who’s heard him knows Mike is an animated and quoteworthy sort, and I had plenty of notes from last night.

Flanked by fellow Delegate Charles Otto, who chimed in occasionally, McDermott described a session where, “by the middle of the session, we’re telling people to get out of the state.” He divided his presentation into three parts: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Those things he deemed good were primarily distilled from “killing as much (bad legislation) as we could.” But he also spent time discussing the origin of his “field notes,” originally notes for self-reference that he eventually thought could become a means of communication with his constituents. Deemed too lengthy for use by the Daily Times, Mike turned to the alternative media in order to get the word out. (I’ve used them on occasion as background information, but will really need them later on.) He hoped that we “felt connected” with Annapolis through that unvarnished filter.

(It’s worthy of stating that I also get communications from other Delegates, but Mike’s and fellow freshman Delegate Justin Ready’s seem to be the most in-depth.)

“You do make a difference,” he said. For example, same-sex marriage “was going to happen,” but “the people who were concerned got active” and support among wavering Democrats from moderate-to-conservative districts eventually eroded. Mike recalled how the pro-gay marriage forces celebrated their victory in getting the bill out of committee, figuring the hard work was over. But as time went on, votes in their favor were siphoned off and the measure was recommitted rather than face a negative floor vote that “could have killed it for a couple years.”

The proposed septic ban, which “would have killed the economy on the Shore,” was thwarted for the session as well – McDermott scored that as a victory.

Mike discussed the difference in approach Democrats have to energy bills at some length. For example, the offshore wind “boondoggle” was no problem to General Assembly Democrats despite the cost it would saddle Maryland ratepayers with. On the other hand, drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale formation under western Maryland would be dangerous. While I think Mike was a little hyperbolic in claiming the Marcellus natural gas would “make Maryland akin to Saudi Arabia,” there is a sizable deposit in that formation which would assist Maryland’s quest to not be a net energy importer. (Pennsylvania and New York are more fortunate in that regard, as the formation mainly lies within their borders.)

Annapolis liberals “did not care about the cost” of their pet items, Mike continued, as their “philosophy of government trumps everything else.”

Another aspect of the session McDermott praised (and was echoed by Otto) was the “cohesiveness” of the House GOP. The freshmen “weren’t quite what (the leadership) had in mind” but instead tended to serve as the “spine of the Republican caucus.” It gave the House GOP “solidarity and purpose” – for example, they had never voted en masse against a budget before but 42 of the 43 members said no to Governor O’Malley and the Democrats this time. (The one holdout, Delegate Wendell Beitzel, likely voted yes because of coal subsidies for his far-western district, said Mike.)

Other victories Mike claimed were getting rid of all but the most common-sense gun regulations and enhancing ignition interlock laws.

Leading off the list of the bad was in-state tuition for illegal immigrants. “It’s so illogical it defies the imagination,” said Mike. Part of the reason was that their slots would come out of the more lucrative out-of-state student population, but McDermott lamented the cost of the whole deal to taxpayers – not just in Montgomery County, but affecting Wor-Wic as well.

He also castigated the handling of the “bungled” Wicomico County straw vote to allow voters to determine whether they wanted an elected school board. As amended, the questions became “confusing,” but the good news is that Mike promised to prefile the bill for next year – obviously as a member newly sworn in this year he didn’t have the right to do so before.

That led to another comment from Mike where he said that “they (meaning the Democrats who run the House) take full advantage of the first year of a new term” by browbeating the freshman members of their caucus. They threaten to change committee assignments or not pass their pet bills if they don’t vote the proper way on “leadership votes.” Perhaps we can “take advantage of (those) displaced” in future sessions, opined Mike.

With all the General Assembly did, though, they failed to address the pension problem. Yet Democrats moved forward on adopting provisions of Obamacare – even though it could be overturned by the courts – to the tune of “tens of millions.” They’ve “written checks with inpunity” against not just us, but our children and grandchildren too.

Much of the ugly centered around two issues: the budget, and the process used to enact the 50% jump in the alcohol sales tax. That was a last-minute measure rushed through without proper debate and despite numerous heroic attempts by Republicans to amend the bill.

Mike’s biggest lament on the budget was that we were borrowing to fund projects which used to be paid in cash, meanwhile drawing down a number of trust funds to dangerous levels. The tax regimen was installed in order to replenish the trust funds.

But he saved his ire for the passage of the alcohol surtax, which Mike claimed would have a trickledown effect on local businesses once jobs in the bar and restaurant industry are lost. “Democrats like to use sin taxes (because it) divides the population,” Mike said, using the example of an appliance salesman he spoke to who didn’t mind the tax because he didn’t drink. Mike pointed out that it would still affect his bottom line if those laid off didn’t buy a new washer or two.

“If there’s anything that enraged me about Annapolis, it was the process…is it frustrating to be up there?” asked Mike. “Damn straight it is.”

Mike also was chagrined at his fellow Delegate, Norm Conway, regarding the state’s budget. While Conway claimed the budget was “morally responsible and fiscally prudent,” McDermott thought otherwise. It was “morally reprehensible” that we saddle ourselves with more debt like bond bills. Mike also chided Conway for the number of bills he chose not to vote on, likely fearing a backlash from either his district or Democratic leadership. (I’ve noted this trend for some time.)

In answering a question about “how do we make them pay for their votes?” Mike felt that, once redistricting was complete, we could get the word out about how vulnerable Democrats were really voting. As an example, Mike pointed out that there were three amendments presented to the bond bill.

Democrats wouldn’t vote for a 5 percent across-the-board cut.

Nor would they vote for a 3 percent cut.

They wouldn’t even go for a measly ONE PERCENT cut, which was at best symbolic. “Is that really unreasonable?” And when pressed about how that would affect his district, Mike had a ready answer: “apparently there’s not a lot of mayors in this place.” He would be thrilled to take a portion of the money and increase the local match because he understands the state’s financial shape.

McDermott also thought it interesting that he received a lot of attention from the Baltimore media as opposed to local news. Yet he got kudos, even from the opposition, for standing up for his district when we were being slighted. (Guess where that alcohol tax millions is going? We get $156,000 while other counties get millions.)

With all that said, the other reports were brief.

Speaking for the Central Committee, Dave Parker thanked the Delegates for their work and invited those at the WCRC meeting to come back in a week for the Central Committee meeting as well as the party’s Spring Convention in Ocean City on May 6-7. Dave also spoke about the national debt ceiling – rather than a crisis, it would simply force President Obama to live within his means for the first time.

I gave a quick update on the postcard situation, while Ann Suthowski filled us in on the topic of a future meeting. Joe Ollinger chimed in with a few words on the “zero homestead exemption” and why we should oppose it, and Gail Bartkovich alerted us to a county budget hearing at 6:30 p.m. next Tuesday at the Civic Center.

Clocking in at nearly 1 3/4 hours, it was a long but informative meeting. We reconvene next month on May 23 – a rare fourth Monday in May which wouldn’t conflict with Memorial Day. It’s the last May meeting until 2016, so let’s enjoy it.

 

The hidden tax

My latest for PJM:

We all know what last Monday was. As many of us paid Uncle Sam’s toll – mine was almost a wash, which worked out about how I wanted it – one had either a sour mood in knowing that Fedzilla took more of our hard-earned salary or, conversely, that giddy feeling of having absconded with free money because a refund was due. (In many cases, though, that was just the money loaned to Beltway bureaucrats – interest free! Try finding a bank who will give you those terms!)

Yet we forget there’s a hidden tax which gnaws at our pocketbooks and the economy at large every day. It was pointed out by the Competitive Enterprise Institute in a report timed for release last Monday called ‘Ten Thousand Commandments.’

(Continued at Pajamas Media…)