Michael

Cardin: I’ll talk up same-sex marriage

What I can’t decide is whether Senator Ben Cardin is pandering to the small base which really, really cares about the issue (maybe 5% think it’s the most important thing out there) or just ignoring the minority vote because it’s not going to cast ballots as a bloc against the referendum and for same-sex marriage.

But thanks to David Moon and Maryland Juice, here are a couple of instances of Ben Cardin speaking on the subject at the recent Netroots Nation conference.

So “our friend Ben” believes that two guys or two girls should be able to call themselves “married” and will talk about it at every campaign stop – unless he forgets, of course. I’ll wager he forgets a lot when he’s on the Eastern Shore or out in western Maryland, not that we anticipate him making trips too far outside the I-95 corridor anyway.

And if he does care to mention this at a nearby campaign stop, someone should ask Ben when he’s going to sponsor the legislation to take same-sex marriage to a national level – after all, it’s supposedly a civil rights issue on par with other areas of discrimination and he’s fighting DOMA tooth and nail even though Cardin originally voted for it. I know, I know…our friend Ben has evolved (read: pandered to the small but vocal militant gay-rights crowd.)

Then maybe the line of questioning should be taken further: shouldn’t Ben step up and demand polyamory and plural marriages between multiple sets of those of opposite genders be legalized? From both a religious and a policy viewpoint, some contend that’s the direction in which the debate will eventually head. While many voters would support the compromise of having civil union and preserving the concept of marriage as that of being between a man and a woman, that’s not good enough for that radical LGBTQ lobby. For them it’s marriage or nothing, even though civil unions would confer onto same-sex couples all the legal rights married couples have.

No, Cardin and his liberal allies believe the solution lies in distilling the institution of marriage to become meaningless and open to anyone who wants to claim it. Imagine the legal ramifications of fifteen people claiming to be married in one big, happy family until one of the fifteen thinks better of it. I’m not saying this will happen tomorrow, or even in the next decade, but that’s the Rubicon we cross once same-sex marriage becomes accepted via an affirmative vote in some state. Give it a generation or so.

While I noted the gay lobby equates this fight with the racially-based civil rights struggle of a half-century ago, I reject that argument out of hand. People don’t choose their ethnicity, but they do choose their relationship partners. If you happen to choose one of the same sex – even if you’re monogamous for decades – it comes with the understanding that you’re not going to naturally create children nor will you naturally be married.

I’m not one to delve into religion a great deal, but over my lifetime I’m starting to think we as a society are well on a path to reaping a whirlwind. To exploit the same-sex marriage issue for electoral gain may be a decision Ben Cardin makes as a political calculation, but it calls into question whether his 45 long years of public service have given him a sense of entitlement rather than the sense of humility he may try to convey.

Shoring up the rural side

In a release today, Congressman Andy Harris announced he had joined the Congressional Rural Caucus. His reasoning was simple:

Fighting for the rural communities I represent on Maryland’s Eastern Shore is my top priority in Washington. As long as President Obama and Governor O’Malley continue their war on rural Maryland, I will continue to fight to ensure that Delmarva receives the same level of attention and service that urban areas receive. For too long, we have neglected the needs of the communities that make up the agricultural backbone of America.

While I like Andy, it seems like the timing of this smacks of opportunism. One would have thought the CRC would have been one of the first caucuses he joined, although I will grant the possibility that it has only recently been restored. This source notes that the CRC wasn’t among the initial group of caucuses in the 112th Congress. Moreover, with redistricting his district moved away from Anne Arundel County and the eastern suburbs of Baltimore to become one almost exclusively made up of rural areas and small towns, so Andy no longer has to serve two masters.

And he’s correct in stating the rural areas of Maryland are facing a war from the political majority which seems to believe that chicken and other foodstuffs magically appear on the Whole Foods shelf and the Eastern Shore should revert back to a pristine wilderness, save the U.S. 50 corridor which needs to remain so they have rest stops on the way to the beach.

Unfortunately, the Congressional Rural Caucus doesn’t seem to have a website or any way of knowing just what it stands for. Generally I agree with the needs of farmers, but draw the line at farm subsidies or federal crop insurance. Too often it’s the gentleman farmer who simply owns the business billing itself as a farm who gets unneeded help from the government; meanwhile on the other side we get situations like the raw milk shutdown that targeted an Amish farmer and entrepreneur. It’s spawned a cottage industry wishing for government to get out of the way.

Much can be done to help farmers in Maryland and other areas of the country, but it’s not necessarily up to government to provide the assistance. The key to Andy’s success on the CRC will be how well he understands that axiom.

Update: Now here is a caucus Andy should announce his participation in, particularly if he hasn’t joined it yet.

Odds and ends number 51

Once again, my occasional look at those items I find are worth a paragraph but maybe not a full post.

I’m going to start with some reaction to the recent comments by Maryland Democratic Party Chair Yvette Lewis regarding the ongoing redistricting petition. This comes from Radamese Cabrera of the Fannie Lou Hamer PAC, a group which opposed the current gerrymandering because they felt minorities were underrepresented.

While he discusses the lack of logic in splitting large counties and Baltimore City into multiple Congressional districts, I think the most interesting allegations come here:

The Fannie Lou Hamer PAC firmly believes that the majority Black jurisdictions of Baltimore City and Prince George’s County and the majority-minority county of Montgomery were drawn to protect and elect White Male Democratic representatives. I believe that Congessman Steny Hoyer, Congressman Dutch Ruppersburger and Congressman John Sarbanes are afraid to represent a White voting majority Congressional District. These individuals could only win in a White plurality districts.

In plain simple language, this means they need a District with a Black population with at least 25%. It will be interesting to see if John Delaney (D) can beat Roscoe Bartlett (R) in the 6th Congressional District when the this District is very conservative and has a large White plurality vote.

To quote Governor Howard Dean in the 2004 Presidential Campaign, “Why are White Democrats afraid to campaign and win elections in jurisdictions that are 90% + White?” Ms. Lewis, the question that needs to be raised in 2012 is; Why are White Democratic elected officials at the Federal, State, and County levels afraid of campaigning in majority White Districts?

The question not asked here is the more obvious one: why do minorities consistently vote for Democrats? If you look at economic results since the days of the Great Society one would have to conclude through a preponderance of the evidence that monolithically voting for the Democrats has provided a disservice to the black community. Voting 75-25 in favor of Democrats instead of 90-10 or 95-5 might just get someone at 33 West Street to really pay attention to your needs. After all, white people split their votes so both sides try to earn our trust.

The next item I wanted to talk about probably has no hope in hell of succeeding in Maryland, at least until 2014. But Bob Williams of State Budget Solutions has written a piece on how to deal with government employee unions. It’s timely in the wake of Wisconsin’s success.

Besides unions in states which aren’t ‘right-to-work’ states (Maryland is not one) I can’t think of any other entity where money is taken from a person involuntarily and used for a political purpose the worker may not approve of. If some state official went around and told employees they had to donate to his or her re-election fund or be fired, the official would be run out of town on a rail once that was found out. But unions do this and no one bats an eye – of course, when that power is taken away (and Williams provides examples of this) Big Labor finds itself in big financial trouble.

Unfortunately, Maryland finds itself going in the other direction – for example, child care workers are now forced to either join the union or pay a “service fee” to them. And guess where they go? To the union’s “Committee on Political Education” (read: contributions to toady Democrats.)

Speaking of unions, I wanted to follow up on something I wrote on Examiner about three weeks ago. I noticed a few days later the picketers had gone across the street to picket Walmart, at least for one day. (I suspect Wendy’s may have taken exception to the group of three people drawing attention to their restaurant.) But a friend I spoke with who works at Walmart contended the picket wasn’t about the Salisbury store but rather one being built in Denton, Maryland – presumably by non-union labor. Regardless, I don’t think it’s going to hurt Walmart’s business and people are going to be happy to finally have them in Caroline County rather than drive to Easton, Seaford, or Dover.

And now about the image you see on the left. I’ve spoken about this event a few times in the past, and while we seem to be winding down in our foreign military involvement it’s a sure bet that we won’t be retreating to Fortress America anytime soon.

So this year Move America Forward selected Thursday, July 12 as its date. It seems like this is a little later on the calendar than it has been in the past, so maybe they’re looking to take advantage of the patriotic fervor that comes in the wake of Independence Day. (Or, more likely, it works better with the calendar of proposed guests and hosts – a list which will surely be announced on the Troopathon website once it’s restarted over the next few weeks.)

The Move America Forward group also promises a revamped theme:

For Troopathon 2012, we’re taking the gloves off and giving Troopathon a much more raw, gritty theme than you have seen in the past. No more fancy stuff, just raw in-your-face and fervent support for our troops in Afghanistan! (Emphasis in original.)

Perhaps that’s a necessary change because, after raising $1.3 million in the first rendition back in 2008, their results have petered out to around $500,000 last year – a nice total, but short of their $700,000 goal. And while that may not matter so much simply because there are far fewer soldiers afield than there were in 2008, the lack of support also sends a subliminal message to both our troops and our jihadist enemies.

The final note will be a programming note: as I let my monoblogue Facebook fans know on Friday, I will have an interview with U.S. Senate hopeful Dan Bongino up at 8:00 tonight. If you want some of the inside scoop on this site, become a Facebook fan of mine!

It’s official: Same-sex marriage to be on Maryland ballot

As expected, opponents of the same-sex marriage bill passed last February in close votes by the Maryland General Assembly gathered enough signatures to place a referendum on November’s ballot. With 55,736 valid names required, the Maryland Board of Elections announced yesterday 70,039 names have been validated so far, with thousands remaining to be checked.

Obviously the coalition which has pushed for Maryland to accept same-sex marriage isn’t taking the contest lying down. Since they’ve expected the referendum to become a reality, they have opened campaign offices and hired staff for their efforts.

Yet while they complain about the National Organization for Marriage bankrolling the petition drive to place the referendum on the ballot, they are more reticent to discuss their financial backing, perhaps because union dues may be heavily involved.

(continued at Examiner.com…)

Shorebird of the Week – June 7, 2012

When Connor Narron climbed aboard the bus to travel with the Shorebirds to Hagerstown and West Virginia last week, it came at the end of a brutal month which had seen his batting average fall from .261 to .189 – a 9-for-74 stretch will do that to a guy. Yes, Connor only hit .117 in the month of May, which included an 0-for-3 “performance” in Hagerstown to close out the month.

Like so many other Shorebirds, the teamwide funk which seemed to grip them in May might have loosened for Connor in June’s first week. In a drastic turnaround of fortune, Narron is 11-for-20 this month in six games. He’s hit safely in all six, with at least one RBI in five straight and three home runs in that stretch. It’s almost too bad they had an off-day today as they return to Delmarva because Narron is back to hitting .229 – and that looks a lot better than .189 does.

With that power surge, the 20-year-old North Carolina native jumped into the team home run lead with 6 to go along with his 24 RBI. A fifth-round pick in 2010, Narron skipped a chance to play at the University of North Carolina to sign with the Orioles, and unlike his father Jerry – who was a major league catcher for eight seasons with the Yankees, Mariners, and Angels – Connor has primarily played the corners in both the infield and outfield through his pro career.

Until this recent hot streak, it looked more and more like Narron could be a high-round draft bust for the Orioles, since he’s only hit .164/0/4/.429 OPS and .211/0/16/.614 OPS in his two previous seasons. Having decided to go the professional route, however, it can be argued that Narron is perhaps at the same level as a 2012 college draftee would be, so the Orioles will likely show some patience with Connor. And if he can get back to that .260 level he was hitting after April by season’s end, the organization would likely deem it a successful season for Narron and plan for 2013 accordingly.

A struggling author’s tale – and no, it’s not mine

There are days I look at all I wrote and wonder how it’s possible to put in the time and effort to write hundreds of pages and get it to market. Certainly in this space alone I’ve written a million words based on the fact I’ve put up nearly 3,000 posts over 6 1/2 years because I can guarantee you that the large majority of my posts are more than 300 words, even if you consider blockquotes of others’ work.

But there’s no narrative in this work per se, aside from a desire to instill the benefits of conservatism to my readers leavened with other features I enjoy writing about. So I have to admire those who take the time to write a long-form work on a particular subject, and my blogging friend Bob McCarty is one. Last fall he put out Three Days In August: A U.S. Army Special Forces Soldier’s Fight for Military Justice. It’s actually sold rather well for a self-published book, but in his heart Bob certainly believes he can do better.

So I received this note the other day:

Since launching my first nonfiction book, “Three Days In August: A U.S. Army Special Forces Soldier’s Fight For Military Justice,” eight months ago, I’ve been working on my second book, “The CLAPPER MEMO” — and it’s almost finished!

Now, to help me push this project across the finish line, I’m launching a crowd-funded publishing effort via Kickstarter.com.

My goal is to raise $10,000 in 30 days, beginning (last) Monday! More details here and in the book trailer.

Please help me spread the word and get this important story out there. Thanks in advance!

Kickstarter is a relatively good vehicle for raising money, but Bob is off to a slow start so I thought I’d make a pitch for him. I’ve never met the man but we in the blogging community like to support each other as we can and he’s been at it for about as long as I have – we first communicated in the wake of my Rushalanche back in 2007 but according to his bio he’s been a freelancer since 2006. Lord knows I’ve used enough of his stuff over the years!

It seems to me at times that the literary world is upside down – those who churn out formulaic, derivative works of tepid fiction can last for years on reputation alone but those who write on weightier and important subjects aren’t always given their due. On a similar front, those who lack the talent to string two coherent sentences together are still considered newsworthy. Conversely, an actual trained journalist who served in the military for over two decades – long enough to know that of which he speaks – has to go hat in hand for money to publish something he deems worthy of his subject. I suppose that’s the fate of 99% of us, though.

But you have the power to help out guys like Bob. Check out the story behind his new book and if you think it’s one worth telling right, slide a few dollars his way. Every so often I’m pleasantly surprised by someone rattling my tip jar, so imagine how he’ll feel when he sees a significant jump in his Kickstarter account tomorrow or the next day.

Finally, it’s worth pointing out that Kickstarter only deducts the money if the goal is met. If Bob comes up short next month, you are out nothing – but we may all be shorted of a story worth telling.

Walker the Wisconsin winner

After spending millions of dollars in coerced dues and other funds, Big Labor got a slap in the face today as both Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and his Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch handily won their recall elections. And even if they flip Wisconsin Senate seats off the 16-16 tie that currently exists (a seventeenth Republican resigned her seat rather than face recall) the Wisconsin legislature will not meet before the November elections.

As I write this, it appears that Walker will beat his 52-47 margin over Democrat Tom Barrett – the lead seems to be fluctuating between 15 and 17 points this time around, with over half the vote in.

It’s interesting to note that Barack Obama didn’t stop and attempt to save Barrett in the waning days of the campaign despite being in both Minnesota and Chicago in recent days. Once the DNC pulled the plug it seemed like the tale was told. It’s also amazing how the polls were so far off – the RCP average had Walker up, but only by 6.7 points. Individual polls had it from 3 to 12 points, so obviously someone was asking the wrong people.

There’s no question the White House and media (but I repeat myself) will spin this as a local result, not indicative of the national mood. They can afford to throw Big Labor under the bus because what are unions going to do – suddenly do an about-face and vote for Romney? No, like an abused spouse the unions will return to the Democrats.

But this also reverses the victory Big Labor got last November after spending millions in Ohio to defeat Senate Bill 5, a sweeping reform package passed by Ohio Republicans and backed by Governor John Kasich. After mobilizing thousands in Ohio and Wisconsin to protest – and forcing a number of recall elections in Wisconsin – it looked like Big Labor was ready to flex its muscles. Sorry, not gonna happen.

Of course, there’s also another person to blame this on. You may not recall this, but in the first leg of his national tour Martin O’Malley campaigned for Tom Barrett in Wisconsin last Tuesday. Perhaps Badger State voters took stock of the guitar-playing guv whose state has endured 24 different tax increases in 5 years and was the leading job loser in the country for April and said “whoever this guy is supporting, we’re against!”

So now we will slog on to November, with the conventions providing a little bit of interest in the interim. That’s assuming, though, that we don’t have a rebirth of the Occupy movement, Europe’s economic collapse happens in slow enough motion to not become a crisis, and the world keeps their usual noise to a dull roar. If anything, we’ll go into a holding pattern now that there’s less than six months left to the election because shrewd businesses are already making their 2013 plans with contingencies for both a Romney win (wild expansion) and an Obama win (closing up shop) and local governments are finalizing their budgets as well.

Unfortunately, the spectacle of Walker’s recall has established enough of a distraction for worried governors that time is now against reform. With just scant months before election, no one is going to try anything radical through the legislative process and show leadership like Scott Walker did. If nothing else, Big Labor can go and say they may have lost the battle but they won the war.

As I wrap this up, the margin is now down to about 10-11 points with roughly 80% in. So it’s now coming close to the outlier poll and may end up inside 10 points when all is said and done. Still, a win is a win. And now I won’t get a dozen or more e-mails a day constantly updating the scene and badgering me for money!

Now we here can concentrate on local races and see what further damage we can do the the Democratic machine here in Maryland. They’re already pissed off about our petitions, so let’s give them more reasons to be upset.

Election watchdog taking hard look at voter registration

Americans too often take for granted that our elections are conducted freely and fairly. But are they?

Undoubtedly opinions on that subject differ, depending on which side of the political fence one sits on. Those who would like to require a photo identification to be presented in order to vote are shouted down as wishing to suppress minority turnout, even when the cards are available for free. The same group who paints Diebold, a manufacturer of voting equipment, as part of some dark conspiracy to steal elections may also believe Project Vote and similar voter registration mills are doing yeoman’s work.

(continued at Examiner.com…)

What Bongino doesn’t do – and what he does

I thought this was worth some comment on, but decided it didn’t belong on my Examiner page at this time – I may refer back to it in the future.

Earlier today U.S. Senate candidate Dan Bongino had this as his Facebook status:

I do not wear suits because I want to look like a Senator, I wear them out of respect for the audience I am speaking to.

I do not wear jeans because I want to look like the “everyday man”, I wear them because I am one.

I do not speak about common sense economic policies because I dislike the opposing political party, I do it because I love our Country and want my daughters to enjoy a prosperous future.

I do not stand in front of Camden Yards, Metro stops and at intersections sign waving for media attention. I do it for voter’s attention. You deserve to know your options.

Finally, I am not running for Senate for the title, the power, or the privilege. I am running to shake up a power structure which has become insulated and insensitive to the needs of genuine, working class Americans just looking for a small corner of the world to call their own.

At the risk of pandering to an audience, a few things came to mind when I read that. One was that both Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush rarely ventured into the Oval Office sans suit and tie, such was their respect for the office. Certainly Dan feels it’s appropriate to live by that rule when representing himself in certain situations, and that’s fine. Bongino certainly doesn’t present himself as the aloof type, even in suit and tie.

It’s certainly interesting when you compare this to Ben Cardin’s efforts to portray himself as a “friend,” grandfatherly with the kids and hard-working with the oystermen. He has to do that because it keeps people from realizing that, for the majority of Marylanders, Ben Cardin has been in public office longer than they have been alive because the state’s median age is 38 and he’s been in office 45 years. Yes, millions of Marylanders have never seen Ben Cardin with a “real” job, whether it’s working with oysters or not.

Meanwhile, Bongino has worked in law enforcement and never sought public office until his Senate run. While I don’t know this for a fact, I suspect that if I asked him he would probably turn up his nose at serving more than two terms in the U.S. Senate. Seems to me the idea of a citizen legislature was one where people would return to being citizens after a few years, not leave their offices feet-first in a box.

Nor do I dislike Democrats personally. Admittedly I don’t have a lot of Democratic friends, but they know where I stand politically and they deal with it. They’re still good people.

But they need to look in the mirror and ask themselves: if we have had policies in effect for most of the last half-century and they’re not succeeding, isn’t it possible we were wrong all along? No one’s really tried limiting government, although you would think when Republicans talk about cuts that we were going to no government at all. I have news for you: limited does not equal none.

Finally, it’s worth noting that Bongino is running that retail campaign, getting out and meeting voters in person, in part due to necessity. Ben Cardin has millions of special interest dollars in the bank and I suspect his campaign will consist of carpetbombing us 30 seconds at a time with the message that he would be doing all these wonderful things for Maryland if it weren’t for conservatives like his neophyte opponent who want to take your Social Security check and clean air and water away (or some such variation of that theme.) What else does Ben have to run on?

Sad thing is that Cardin may win without so much as a debate or tough questioning from the mainstream media in this state! Do you recall a Wargotz vs. Mikulski debate? Neither do I, and I doubt Ben Cardin has the guts to debate Bongino either. Come on, if Ben’s so smart one would think he’d mop up the stage with Dan, but we know it’s not going to happen because professional incumbent politicians never take that sort of risk unless they absolutely have to. And no one is going to make him do it.

If the power structure is going to be shaken, it’s going to be a determined and small minority taking on the Democratic and media machine in this state. Personally I don’t give a rat’s ass if Maryland Democrat Party Chair Yvette Lewis doesn’t like the idea of petitions because I’m sure she’s all in favor of the petition which put Scott Walker on the recall ballot in Wisconsin. Hypocrite. But that’s the way the Maryland Democrat Party works.

So let’s get out there and shock the world.

Gary Johnson endorses two Maryland Libertarians

After being shut out of most GOP presidential debates and barely registering in Republican polls, former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson decided last December to bolt the GOP and seek the Libertarian Party nomination, which he received last month. In an effort to build the national party, Johnson took the step to personally endorse a number of Congressional candidates last week and included in those were two from Maryland.

Running in the First Congressional District, Muir Boda has a long family history on the Eastern Shore. Johnson stated Boda’s “consistent stand for civil liberties, less government regulation, and minimum taxes will create a safer America where all can prosper.” Meanwhile, Boda replied that only Johnson stands for a federal government “small enough to fit inside the U.S. Constitution.”

(continued at Examiner.com…)

President Obama slates fundraisers in Maryland

On June 12 well-heeled donors will have the opportunity to see President Obama raising funds at Baltimore’s downtown Hyatt Regency hotel. Those who can spare $250 in this era of rising unemployment will be entitled to admission, while those who pony up $1,000 get a “premium” seat along the rope line. Event co-chairs are also being sought, according to Maryland state Democratic Party Chair Yvette Lewis.

Reportedly this is one of two fundraisers being scheduled for the President that day in Maryland; a June 12 date which was perhaps coincidentally chosen for a Maryland Romney fundraiser featuring Ann Romney and hosted by former Governor Bob Ehrlich at the BWI Marriott.

(continued at Examiner.com…)

Hitting the reset button

If you were paying attention to my sidebar poll, you may have noticed the results regressed to a much smaller number this afternoon. It was intentional, and I’ll tell you why.

While I like to think the poll is rather accurate in the sense that passionate people are reflective of the general population, I also want two things out of a poll.

One is to get a sense of how people are thinking, even if it’s not the most scientifically accurate manner of doing so. More importantly, though, is that I want people to actually come to my page and check the poll out. If someone is way out ahead, it sort of discourages people who happen to support the bottom-feeders from participating and I absolutely HATE that. Fewer people coming = fewer readers = less opportunity for them to partake in my Amazon affiliation, and = fewer people seeing the ads from my sponsors.

So I decided that every day or two I will reset the number so everyone gets a fair shot. In the end the numbers should reflect the overall mood of the electorate, or at least who has the most passionate backers. It also gives me a chance to boost my site’s Facebook page because I just might decide to post the interim numbers there as an exclusive for those who ‘like’ the page (neat trick, huh? I can do this marketing stuff a little bit, too.)

In the words of former TV cop Sledge Hammer, “Trust me. I know what I’m doing.” Well, sort of, but we’ll see. It’s all fun anyway. But now you know the scoop.