Well, now I know where Bud the Blogger got some of his (mis)information. I stopped by the Democrats’ table at the Autumn Wine Festival and secured a flyer which claimed Andy Harris wasn’t on our side and cited a number of votes. A few of them I’ve already covered and Andy Harris chimed in with his own defense as well.
There are six votes on the card where it’s claimed Andy Harris is the only State Senator to vote against particular bills. Here’s the dirty half-dozen Kratovil wants us to believe were poor votes:
CLAIM: “Harris was the only State Senator…to vote against extending the child care tax credit to help more middle class Maryland families pay for child care expenses (SB355, 2000).
FACT: I’d love to blow that one out of the water, but in looking up that particular number I find the bill is actually listed as a bill that expanded jury pools to include those who have drivers’ licenses along with registered voters. In fact, Harris did vote against the bill but was joined by Senator Alex Mooney. I happen to think that was a proper vote since that allows non-citizens to become jurors. Perhaps Kratovil’s writers may want to do a bit more fact-checking.
CLAIM: Harris was the only State Senator…to vote against creating the State’s cancer prevention and treatment program (SB896, 2000).
FACT: The programs in question were to be created from money extorted from tobacco companies as part of their settlement in the late 1990’s. Included therein were a number of restrictions on how to use the money, mandated budgeting amounts, and the potential for the state to supplant local health departments in their usage of the money if they so deemed. Revised fiscal note is here and the bill itself here.
Personally, I’ve never thought it made sense to, on the one hand, try to prevent a product’s usage but on the other hand derive millions of tax dollars from it in an effort to make the budget balanced.
CLAIM: Harris was the only State Senator…to vote against reducing class sizes for Maryland first and second graders (SB127, 1999).
FACT: Again, Kratovil’s fact-checkers strike out. That particular bill was not voted on, it was an effort to lower the state’s BAL from .10 to .08 and comply with federal mandates. However, I’ll give them the break on a typo, because the bill in question was actually SB137. And what Harris actually voted against were grants to each school system which were contingent on having a proper number of provisionally certified teachers and could only be received AFTER any federal grants were spent.
One thing these brilliant minds in the General Assembly may not have figured out is the cost to the district of hiring all of these new teachers, building any needed facilities, and their future retirement benefits – especially when the fiscal note states that 2,000 new teachers overall would need to be hired but the state could only provide for 800. I see no problem with voting against the bill and being the fiscal conservative he is, I think Andy was looking out for the long-term interests of each school district.
CLAIM: Andy Harris was the only State Senator…to vote against a program to help clean up toxic land right here in Maryland (SB513, 2000).
FACT: Andy voted FOR the third reading bill that passed the Senate, but when House amendments were added that restricted the usage of the funding and made it possible to change the interest rate of money loaned, that may have changed his opinion of the bill. This is the third reading Andy voted for and the enrolled bill he voted against. Had the House amendments been rejected in the conference committee, Frank wouldn’t have had this to complain about.
CLAIM: Andy Harris was the only State Senator…to vote against allowing women access to qualified OB/GYN providers of their own choosing (SB567, 2000).
FACT: Andy states his case here, although I notice he seems to have reversed the bills in question. No worse than miscitation on literature.
CLAIM: Andy Harris was the only State Senator…to vote against extending the time during which children with special needs are eligible for public education (HB552, 2000).
FACT: The bill was an unfunded mandate to local districts and serving students through age 21 was already a practice in the areas Harris serves, according to the fiscal note. By the way, the extension was for one extra year.
I’m still waiting on the actual citation where senior citizens are referred to as a new “welfare state”. And while the Eagle Forum is against women in combat, they also have a number of core beliefs most agree with as well.
As a whole, I guess Bud’s BS meter failed him in this case, because a lot of what Frank’s talking about here is a pure load of crap.
First of all, let me say that Andy Harris really has some nerve to get uptight about “misleading” ads–he is flooding the airwaves with two ads that contain outright lies. Yes, I am calling them lies, because he chose to carry on with the ads after it was pointed out that without question, the info in there is wrong. Now, let’s turn to your defense. Essentially what you are saying here is that it is true that Harris voted this way, but you support those votes. Ok, fine,that is your right to do so. It is my right to say that I think a guy who stubbornly votes on “principle” in areas where a “no” vote would actually adversely affect my healthcare and would benefit the insurance companies (whose money he is taking) is not the kind of guy I would vote for. It is my right to think that a guy who is ostracized in the State Senate will only do worse in the U.S House, where getting along with members of your party and across the aisle is crucial to getting anything done. Do you see a lot of his colleagues coming out and helping him? He is an arrogant bully, and he will not represent us well.
Just out of curiosity, I looked at the most recent Federal Elections Commission reports on poltical contributions, and I noted that neither your name or Albero’s name is there as a financial supporter of Andy Harris. So what gives? I’m not saying you HAVE to give to support your guy, but I just find it interesting that you haven’t, at least as recently as the last report.
FF, don’t you know by now that Michael is rigidly partisan. As much as he thinks he is being intellectual and objective, somehow his conclusions are ALWAYS in favor of the GOP. Coincidence?
BTW, you won’t find GA Harrison in that FEC list either.
Two Sentz, having a website you claim is “spreading the blue truth” qualifies you as intellectual and objective?
When the Democrats come out for enabling me to have more money in my pocket, fewer restrictions on what I can do in my life, and smaller government, then I’ll start favoring them. Of course, hell has a better chance to freeze over than any of those three occurring.
Sorry, Michael…maybe you should rewatch Kratovils ad…does he say Harris was the only Senator in the first three attacks? All he says is that Harris voted against them.
And you have written that Harris did vote against them…Where’s the lie?
Um…which party restricts “what I can do in my life?” That would be your party, Michael, which thinks they should legislate their brand of morality. Smaller government? Yeah, that’s what the bailout plan is all about. Which party is the party of national deficits? That would be the Republican Party, which, since the days of the hallowed Ronald Reagan have “cut” taxes and spent more money, thus creating massive deficits. Then Clinton comes in, cleans up the deficit, only to have Bush (a swell Republican) come in and crank it up again. You guys all feel good about cutting taxes, but all you are really doing is writing checks we cannot pay. When Republicans have been in the White House, it should have been foreclosed upon. Don’t worry–if the country has any sense we will elect Obama, you guys will blast him, but the national debt will be reduced once again.