This case disturbs me as a blogger. I’ve had sources feed me stories – nearly every blogger has sources. There should be shield law protection. Period.

She also notes:

Right now, bloggers are exposed. If a big corporation, a rich/important individual, the government or someone in power wants to harass a blogger, he simply has to sue them into compliance. Even if the powerful has no case, the lawsuit itself can put an independent journalist out of business.

Melissa also links to an old acquaintance of mine from my days in Toledo, Maggie Thurber. Maggie adds a little bit of context to the discussion regarding this public service that bloggers do:

We have several local examples of people doing their part, including (one woman) who attends Toledo City Council Meetings, takes notes and then shares them with us here on this blog.

It doesn’t take much, since many are already attending meetings across the county – and anyone who share their meeting notes here is welcome to do so.

As we’ve found out, much to our chagrin at times, the mainstream media can’t be everywhere and even when they are present they don’t always cover the event well. For example, I have been at probably fifty Wicomico County Republican Club meetings over the last several years, where public officials utter statements which can be newsworthy. I believe there has been one instance where print media was present, but to be honest I forget who it was for. And while Salisbury City Council and Wicomico County Council have received regular coverage, the press tends to ignore smaller communities, political forums, and the like where news can be made, too.

Unfortunately, I’ve also found that the role of self-appointed journalist doesn’t always suit some people, and perhaps that’s the reason we haven’t earned that First Amendment protection. (There are a few plaintiffs locally who may agree with that initial statement, considering their dealings with another local blogger.)

While we don’t have the rights that “mainstream” journalists have, to be good at what we do and to legitimize what’s still a maturing news resource we still have the responsibility to be accurate and honest in both our reporting and the disclosure of our point of view. There’s no question I come with a conservative slant to what I write, and I don’t deny it. But that doesn’t relieve me of the responsibility to be as accurate as possible when I put on my reporter’s hat.

Certainly, though, there is one part of the statement which Melissa brings up and I allude to a couple paragraphs above. If someone with money or power is “wronged” by a blogger, they certainly have the means to destroy that blogger even if he or she is in the right. It’s sort of the inverse to the scenario where a company settles out of court with a plaintiff to avoid the prospect of losing a much bigger settlement at trial.

The Crystal Cox case is illustrative of what can happen to a blogger. Based on one post out of several regarding the plaintiff, a federal judge ruled against her defense that she was entitled to her state’s media shield law. U.S. District Judge Marco Hernandez wrote:

(T)he record fails to show that she is affiliated with any newspaper, magazine, periodical, book, pamphlet, news service, wire service, news or feature syndicate, broadcast station or network, or cable television system. Thus, she is not entitled to the protections of the law.

In the interest of disclosure, Hernandez was slated to be a Bush appointee, but he was held out by the end of Bush’s term and renominated by President Obama last year.

Now I have written before about the difficulties some bloggers have with financial support, but this is another potential landmine we all face. Not only could we use some financial assistance from those who could find us useful to advance a political agenda, but the possibility of more rulings like Judge Hernandez spewed forth means we need to find a way to legitimize ourselves in the eyes of the public.

Unfortunately, it was one post out of hundreds Cox wrote which did her in, and there’s the possibility that anyone who says something which gravely offends someone in a position of power can be in the same boat. That possibility is one which chills the national discourse, and shield laws should expand to allow those who blog the same rights as any other freelance journalist who toils for the print media. Of course we shouldn’t be able to get away with libel, but those bloggers who can prove themselves to be responsible at their craft despite their independence shouldn’t be penalized, either.

I’m certainly not going to be the first to bring up this point, but who knows? Maybe I can be the last.

For several years, the story has been that those on the far left have had a wealthy benefactor (or group of several) who pays them well to advance a particular narrative within the media – many claim George Soros is one such patron. Whoever it is, this person or group invests their money and those far-left website writers grab enough to make a decent enough living off spewing bilge about Republicans in general, and the pro-liberty and TEA Party movements in particular. On that point, Zilla notes:

Unlike the well funded left, Conservative bloggers get no support from any big organizations, there are no blogger Sugar Daddies for Conservative bloggers, not even from the right.

These stories go on to compare the huge money being raised for national political campaigns, of which only a small portion will go to the eventual GOP nominees, to the funding which would be necessary for the creation or expansion of a credible conservative news source. (Remember, there are already a number of conservative news outlets, but they tend to be small potatoes compared to the big guys in television and print media.) Just as one example, based on the September 30 FEC numbers for Presidential hopefuls, Tim Pawlenty – who bowed out of the race last August – still raised (and spent) over $4.5 million on his failed bid. Even at that early stage, GOP presidential campaigns had raised over $90 million. Consider that as you read on.

I daresay that $50,000 a year invested in an erstwhile conservative muckraker would do far more good for the conservative movement than having to spread it around as drops in a bucket to a dozen Congressional candidates (because individual donations are limited by law) or even into a PAC or SuperPAC that may decide to support a RINO not of your choosing.

Awhile back, I had to make a choice. While I’d love to do this website on a full-time basis along with the writing work I currently do for other clients, the money is just not there to do it as the situation currently stands. Yes, I have a reasonably decent audience for a website which is only updated once or twice a day – if you look at other websites with comparable Alexa numbers locally you’ll find they’re updated a lot more with content taken to some degree or another from other sources. On the other hand, I do more original writing and that takes a lot more time and (dare I say) thought. I’d stack my work up against pretty much anyone else out there.

But that choice also means I’ve not recently found myself in that same situation the Vails and Zilla found themselves in. I’m blessed to have a roof over my head and food on the table, partially through my outside efforts and with a little bit of help from everyone from my advertisers to those who pay me to write to the people who actually hit my tip jar every so often. To all them I give my thanks on a regular basis.

Still, I would love to have the opportunity to cover Maryland and national politics on a full-time basis and expand my audience by creating more content. In theory, I could probably have several more posts a week, cover more breaking stories on a local and national basis, and perhaps even enlist the services of other professionals when needed. My website has primarily been a DIY operation from day one, but it could be improved with more professionals working in areas where I’m not as strong – for example, it’s not easy to write and take pictures.

There’s no doubt in my mind this situation isn’t unique to me – a fact plain to see by the amount of pixels already devoted to the subject. As I stated a couple months back when I celebrated monoblogue’s sixth anniversary, one of my goals was to have 6 to 10 advertisers on my site. It wouldn’t pay all my bills by any stretch but it would be a help.

I really don’t have a need to ‘bleg’ people to hit my tip jar, but it’s always there if you feel the desire to assist me in my efforts. I’d rather sell the ads, though, because then I feel like I’m providing more of a service that way.

The way I look at it, God gave me talent in certain areas and shorted me in a few others to balance things out. For example, I’d have loved to be a professional baseball player but I couldn’t lay off the high fastball, the curveball in the dirt, or throw strikes on the black to save my life. Thus I was the guy who sat on the end of the bench until my junior year in high school, when I couldn’t play anymore due to other commitments on my time. Marketing myself is another skill which doesn’t really come naturally, but enough people have convinced me I have talent to give me the confidence to secure some nice writing jobs.

My best estimate is that, in America, there are 150 million adults in this country who are conservative in some way, shape, manner or form. It doesn’t matter if they’re men or women, black or white, gay or straight, or how they worship – somewhere they hold an agreement with at least some part of conservatism’s core beliefs. Of that group, maybe 10 percent pay close attention, so we’re down to 15 million. In turn, out of that subset, perhaps 10 percent have something to give to the conservative cause so we’re down to 1.5 million. Finally, only a tiny fraction of that group have the talent, patience, and wherewithal to express themselves well enough to have some sort of audience – I’d say that would be 1 percent of the last subgroup, or maybe 15,000 people. And my guess is that figure is representative of the number of significant conservative bloggers out there. That’s about 300 per state, if you do the math – needless to say, some states have more than others but I think 300 is a fair average.

So let’s say a number of wealthy patrons decided to undertake such a project. I assure you that if we in the conservative new media would have the funding necessary to add that missing link to the movement and enable people like Robert Stacy McCain, the Vails, Zilla, and the rest of us who have the talent to uncover the excesses of the statists, bring them to the attention of the general public, and provide cogent comment on real, pro-liberty solutions with the guidance on how best to achieve them, our team would quickly smash the dominance of the what Rush Limbaugh has called the “drive-by media.” After all, most Americans really don’t want to hear how bad our country sucks and that its best days are past, otherwise Air America would still be a thriving enterprise.

Would there still be bloggers who need to rely on the goodness of others to get through their personal financial setbacks? Of course there would, for any endeavor is fraught with risk. But there are those out there who can prove that a rising tide indeed lifts all boats. It’s time for people to step up to the plate and think about the political movement rather than the movement politician.

Update: I’m happy to report that Robert Stacy McCain found his way home and then to Florida to cover last night’s debate in person. And Marianne (Zilla) managed to do well enough with her appeal to not only stave off the electric company but pay a few other bills. “(W)hile it will still be a struggle, at least we are no longer hanging off the edge of a cliff by our fingertips,” she wrote.

And I had an interesting conversation with a friend about this as well, so it was a win-win all around. So how about a proactive strike at my tip jar, or even better: consider advertising on this site.

That fundraising: $10 million. What that means: carpet-bombing the media with images of poor, purportedly law-abiding and successful immigrant families being denied a chance at the American Dream due to racist TEA Partiers who hate all those who look different than they do. Don’t believe me? Just watch.

And this nicely leads me into my main points of this post, which will be the first of a multipart series on what I’m calling the Maryland Model. You see, part of my reading over the holidays was this RedState article on what is called the Colorado Model, which led me to read the original post on this strategy from the Weekly Standard back in 2008. Read those articles (I’ll wait for you) then take a look at how the CASA de Maryland folks are fighting the will of the people here in the Free State.

While they have seven pieces to the puzzle in the RedState article, I’ve consolidated these to what I can call the 4 M’s: money, message, media, and mobilization.

First of all, let’s talk money. The other side already has a plethora of wealthy donors and foundations in place to provide this seed money. I have no doubt in my mind that this group will raise the $10 million; I’ve already conceded the side favoring the illegals will far outraise our side interested in upholding the rule of law. If you look at any race in the state of Maryland – even a lot of local races in so-called Republican areas – you’ll find the Democrats take in more than the Republicans a staggering percentage of the time. Money helped immensely in giving those of us in District 38 a somewhat liberal Democratic State Senator (Jim Mathias) in a district which should be electing Republicans all day and twice on Sundays. And let me tell you it wasn’t just a homegrown effort.

Yet the result of that influx of out-of-town money and expertise was nearly a dozen mailings I personally received (as a registered XXX Republican, one who votes in every election) touting Mathias as practically the second coming of Ronald Reagan. They certainly didn’t point out some of his votes to raise taxes, support Big Labor or prop up Radical Green. I look for the same sort of effort coming from those who support the illegals, but on a larger, statewide level. The commercials should be instant classics, so dripping with maudlin sympathy for the ‘victims’ as they will be.

And that will be the message, which is the second M. Liberals in Maryland have certainly succeeded in crafting a message which sounds good to voters. Take as an example that “a fee is a tax.” Once that phrase got out there, the underpinning fiscally conservative message Bob Ehrlich was trying to build on in his 2010 bid was blown out from under him since few people openly desire to have their taxes raised. That simple phrase pinned on Ehrlich negated the much larger tax raises Martin O’Malley rammed through the General Assembly in the 2007 Special Session in the same manner a 5-yard penalty on the defense wipes out a 15-yard infraction on the offense in football. In 2012 we replay the down.

The message CASA de Maryland will be putting out is sure to be simple and stark: you’re either a racist or you’re not. Being in favor of upholding the law and coming to our country through the proper channels will be countered by once again playing the race card. And they only need to pick up four points to be victorious, as evidenced in an October Gonzales Poll (see Pages 9 and 21 here.) Not being certain of how the ballot wording will be, it’s hard to tell whether the poll question presented would have unduly influenced the results – but I’m sure the message presented by the other side will be trying to paint it in the starkest terms of racism they can get away with.

And they’ll have a reasonably compliant media to use in promoting the message, as media is the third M in my quartet. Most conservatives have already figured out that much of the state’s mainstream media is in the tank for liberal causes to one extent or another. But what the Colorado Model also takes into account is how what is perceived as news comes to be, as each component of their coalition serves as an echo chamber which eventually can’t be ignored. Yet the other side has successfully promoted the opposite message of a conservative echo chamber which is outsized to the actual base of support, citing talk radio and conservative blogs as the sources. Well, I have news for you: both sides play this game, and the other side has mastered it to a greater extent than we have.

I will lay out a guarantee that the pro-illegal side will get more extensive and – more importantly – overtly favorable coverage from most of the state’s media. Echoing the message put out by that side, the news organizations will do their best to portray those opposing in-state tuition for illegals as extreme and xenophobic, brushing aside the reasoned contention that we’re rewarding one group which flouts the law at the expense of a far larger group that plays by the rules every day.

The final M may be the most tricky for their side, and that’s mobilization. Perhaps the lone advantage those on our side have is in motivation – after all, we were the ones who made the effort to put the referendum on the ballot in the first place.

But the left will have its storm troops too, particularly in areas where support will need to come from. I daresay there’s not going to be a lot of favor shown to the instate tuition proposal in this area, but along the I-95 corridor there are a number of groups which will be part of the coalition to preserve this cherished magnet state benefit; in particular I can cite portions of the religious community and (especially) unions which employ many immigrants like the purple shirts of the SEIU – already among the most rabidly political animals Big Labor has to offer. They’re going to be the ones knocking on doors and working the polls to promote their sob stories.

Nor can we count on assistance from other unions which may be better served by making this state a little less attractive to illegal aliens. My guess is that they’ll remain neutral and as silent as possible on the issue and focus their efforts on re-electing the ones already in their pocket: Barack Obama, Ben Cardin, the six incumbent Democrats Maryland sends to Congress, and also picking up the Sixth District seat with the winner of the Democratic primary – most likely either Duchy Trachtenberg or Rob “Gas Tax” Garagiola. There’s no question we have enlisted at least a little bit of support from individual union members insofar as getting the referendum to the ballot, but the question is whether they’ll take the next step and become more of a pariah in their organization.

So if you peer at the scorecard at this early juncture, ten months out from a prospective election on this one issue, we are down three to one with the one point we can claim as ours being a rather tenuous one. The next part will deal with how we just might be able to begin taking away the other legs of their stool and perhaps making more victories for the conservative cause possible.

In the 2011 session of the Maryland General Assembly, members of the House of Delegates tried and failed to get the Marcellus Shale Safe Drilling Act of 2011 through the legislature. Undaunted by that legislative defeat, in early June Gov. Martin O’Malley signed an executive order to study an oil and natural gas-field process called hydraulic fracturing, with a final report not required until August 2014. It’s a demand to study a process used in more than one million U.S. wells during the past 60 years.

In layman’s terms, “fracking,” as the procedure is better known, uses a solution forced into hard underground rock formations to create tiny fissures. The fissures allow energy resources — in Maryland’s case, natural gas — to be released and extracted.

(Continued at delmarvanow.com…)

It so happens I was quoted in yesterday’s Coastal Dispatch out of Ocean City in an article by Shawn J. Soper regarding the prospect of an elected school board in Wicomico County. And while the quote wasn’t perfect (or perhaps I didn’t read my statement accurately) Soper conveyed the point I was trying to make, so kudos to him.

One has to ask, though, why an Ocean City paper is picking up something the Daily Times chose to ignore as they covered the budget hearing at Parkside instead. I’ll grant that the school board fight is somewhat old news but so are budget troubles. It’s just that the sob story at Parkside was almost guaranteed to attract a big crowd.

Yet one story actually goes well with the other. If we had an elected school board there would be more accountability for the budgetary process, and perhaps fiscally conservative board members would make the budget work under the constraints of the numbers given to them by the County Executive without a lot of wailing or gnashing of teeth. As it is, we have the emotional outpouring of parents and students who see the first fallback option given by the board is cutting sports and other extracurricular activities. Tell me that’s not a scare tactic.

It seems to me that over $11,000 per pupil is a bit much when parochial schools can charge less. (Yes, I understand that public schools have to take the special education students and troublemakers, but their numbers shouldn’t add that much to the budget.) After all, what is their goal – would a public school student get a better education if only we spent $15,000 per pupil? What about $25,000 – is that enough for their needs?

The sad truth is that no one knows exactly what a quality education costs because it has little to do with money. If money were the sole determiner, homeschooled children would be blithering idiots; instead, they generally turn out to be among the best and brightest. On the other hand, inner-city districts would be cranking out the next generation of doers like the late Steve Jobs because they spent a ton of money, but we know that’s not the case.

And the tactic of scheduling the budget meeting at a time when it’s well known County Council meets is very questionable on the part of the Board of Education. Surely the Parkside auditorium was open any other night this week, but they chose Tuesday and someone needs to ask the rationale behind that. It seems like this isn’t the way to promote a cooperative effort.

One thing is certain, though – this problem isn’t going away soon. As for the elected school board, all we need is to have the General Assembly do their job without obfuscating the question and we’ll be well on our way. Hear that, Delegate Norm ‘Five Dollar’ Conway?

Today, Rep. Andy Harris voted against the debt ceiling increase. The plan did not require passage of a balanced budget amendment, which Rep. Harris feels is essential to bringing permanent common sense accountability to Washington.

“A balanced budget amendment is the only way to make sure the federal government spends what it takes in and lives within its means,” said Rep. Andy Harris.  “Over the past few weeks I have repeatedly voted for reasonable proposals to raise the debt ceiling that included passage of a balanced budget amendment. But I didn’t come to Washington to continue writing blank checks. Maryland’s families and job creators sent me to Congress to permanently change the way Washington does business.  I appreciate Speaker Boehner’s remarkable, historic efforts to craft a proposal to solve the debt ceiling issue.  But today’s debt ceiling deal just doesn’t go far enough to build an environment for job creation by requiring passage of a balanced budget amendment to bring permanent common sense accountability to Washington.”

Currently, the U.S. Government has a national debt of $14.3 trillion and runs an annual deficit of $1.65 trillion.

I have been told by someone close to the Congressman that Andy was “one of the ringleaders” in getting the BBA into the original Boehner plan that was quickly shot down by Senate Democrats, so it was fitting and proper that he didn’t vote for this version.

Unfortunately, Andy’s dissent was in vain since the measure passed 269-161 – Republicans passed the bill 174-66 while Democrats evenly split 95-95. But at least Andy got some face time on the evening news (from about the 17-minute mark through the end.)

So the country is “saved” from having to stick to a budget plan – after all, that which is cut can be restored at any time. But if there’s a Constitutional amendment passed it would be more difficult (but not impossible, of course) to overspend.

You know, almost a century ago we passed a series of Constitutional amendments in less than a decade. In 1913 we allowed the income tax (16th Amendment) and provided for direct election of Senators (17th Amendment.) Six years later we enacted Prohibition with the 18th Amendment and in 1920 women gained the vote (19th Amendment.) That’s a lot of radical change in what was considered the “progressive” era.

Perhaps 2013 will begin a new series of Constitutional amendments, beginning with the passage of the Balanced Budget Amendment. But truly progressive reform would continue with the enactment of Congressional term limits (extending the 22nd Amendment enacting Presidential term limits to the legislative branch,) repealing the 16th Amendment to pave the way for a truly fair taxation system (one based on consumption,) and several other ideas I’ve had before.

So the fight’s not over, but it gives us all some breathing room before the fight begins anew in the 2012 election.

Take the location for example – a marina filled with boats valued in the tens of thousands of dollars hard by low-income housing. Denizens of the immediate neighborhood look forward to the Clam Bake as it provides an opportunity to sell parking spots to people who don’t wish to walk as far to the event.

In short, they create their own economic development. But bringing 3,500 visitors to Crisfield is an economic boost to the area.

While the event has a reputation as a political stop, there is a business element there too. Some companies look to get or keep their name out in the area.

Others use it as a reward to their customers, hosting elaborate parties within the party.

But the crowd was noticeably smaller than last year’s. Yes, this is not an election year but even the number of businesses which took tent space seemed smaller. How often do you see this?

Maybe it’s something about Area 51? But this is a shot I took around 1:30 or so at the peak of the festivities.

Compare that crowd to this still shot from last year.

Even the mugs weren’t being snatched up as quickly.

As you’ll notice in the panoramic picture, there are two main areas where crowds gather. On one side are the smaller tents set up for businesses and groups. But many people sit in the pavilion and enjoy musical entertainment.

I can’t say I’m a fan of country or bluegrass, but a number of people sat under the pavilion to listen.

I know, I know – you readers are saying, “Michael, you have a political website. What’s the political dirt?” Well, there are two sides to that as well.

One guy who seems to straddle that line is Bruce Bereano, who annually has among the largest tents and his own “corner.” However, with a revised setup this year he was more in the middle.

In a nice touch, Bereano has honored a local leader for the last couple years.

If you don’t believe he works to both sides of the aisle, consider that the following two signs were close together on his tent.

Could this be the gubernatorial matchup for 2014? Peter Franchot could obviously be entrenched as Comptroller for as long as he wants to be but my feeling is he wants something more. Meanwhile, David Craig is term-limited as Harford County Executive but obviously has a run for something in mind three years hence. My guess would be that “something” is a long-term stay in Government House.

A matchup which will occur sooner is a statewide battle for the U.S. Senate seat held by Ben Cardin. Presumably he was a little busy today, but a number of volunteers were sporting his colors and registering voters as they stood in the food lines.

Arriving a little later was a man who’s aiming to be his Republican rival, Dan Bongino. Here he’s talking to Bill Harris of Cecil County.

I also spied Eric Wargotz there with his wife. But he wasn’t openly campaigning at this time.

Like Senator Cardin, Congressman Andy Harris was likely a little busy today but had volunteers and signs with a sharply pointed message about. Eventually a lot of folks were wearing yellow Harris shirts.

By gosh, I think Andy is right. But there was someone quite familiar to him there.

Allow me to pose a question. Why would you spend $200 on tickets and a half tank of gas to come down and eat crabs one can probably get just as readily in Queen Anne’s County? Perhaps it’s a case of best two out of three? For all his talk about time with the family I don’t think, given the power and prestige of a seat in Congress, he can let it go just to be a cheerleader for Ben Cardin.

And there were a few cheerleaders for our state’s junior Senator.

Yet the Democrats had a modest, unassuming presence compared to the GOP.

That’s not to say both parties weren’t represented, to be sure. Here’s two of our best freshman Delegates, Charles Otto and Justin Ready.

They weren’t the only freshmen Republicans there, as I saw Michael Hough, Kathy Szeliga, and of course my Delegate Mike McDermott at the event.

Meanwhile, Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt was reaching across the aisle, greeting old friends in the Somerset County Republican tent.

On the other hand, Norm Conway was holed up around the Democrats’ base.

Even the unaffiliated were there. Yes, last I checked Laura Mitchell of Salisbury City Council doesn’t state a party affiliation. I did catch up to her just outside the Democratic tent, though.

Nor was national politics forgotten. Kevin Waterman (who some may know for the Questing for Atlantis website) came supporting his choice for President, Gary Johnson.

Republican politics must run in that family – his mother Diana (who I cut off in the photo) is First Vice-Chair of the Maryland GOP.

Needless to say, the media was there as well. WBOC-TV was on location shooting footage, and I saw print reporters and fellow bloggers about, too.

But I’m curious if anyone else will report on this tidbit.

Notice the flag placed in the corner of the Democrats’ tent? It’s the Wicomico County flag.

Now I’m not convinced that the official imprimatur of our fair county should be in that tent – granted, Democrats have a plurality of voters here but Republicans hold more elected seats in county government. If it’s an endorsement of Democratic principles (such as they are) for our county, consider me as a conscientious objector.

So while the turnout was smaller than in years past, it was still a good event for the Crisfield community. And the rain, which I noticed on my drive back, stayed away.

Look for an interesting cast of characters for next year’s event, which should fall after the 2012 primary on July 18, 2012.

But, out of the blue on Wednesday I was invited to go national for the first time as a guest on the Thom Hartmann program. Ironically enough, one would gather he’s the liberal answer to Rush because he occupies the same time slot during the day. But they wanted to discuss my Pajamas Media piece on regulation, and I received a message from Danielle Howe (who works for Black Rock – they handle PJM promotional appearances) asking me if I’d do the show and warning me that I could be ambushed since Thom is a ‘progressive.’ Didn’t faze me any.

So now you have the background – how did it really go?

Well, first of all, the people I worked with at Hartmann’s show were as nice as they could be, and, to be honest, so was Thom. We had a relatively civil conversation and I worked to get my points across. It wasn’t exactly how I’d have scripted it but I thought I was decently effective fighting behind enemy lines, as it were.

Something much different about this experience was working the Skype video in. I have used Skype audio before for a writing client of mine, but in this case I had to drag out an old webcam of mine and hook it up to my laptop. Well, I got that figured out but then they didn’t like the fact I had a window in the background so I had to turn the camera (and place my chair) at a more awkward angle – I was squished up against my bookshelf. At least my closet door provided a darker background.

Then, I had assumed that I would need a remote microphone but instead the call was on my cel. So Skype provided the video feed but my phone the audio. Hopefully that was in sync for the viewing audience.

So once the logistics worked out, they called me twice – once to test the Skype and the other to go on the air. That was about 1:00, so I was treated to Thom’s top-of-the-hour reading and remarks on the news of the day. Yes, it was a Republican-bashing festival, and if I have one thing to say about how Thom reacts – well, he’s exceptionally hyperbolic. Everything is a disaster to him. It’s why I started right out, right after he introduced the piece with his lengthy contention about the bad old days when there was no regulation whatsoever, saying he’s occupying an “extreme” position that’s not reflective of a normal view of costs vs. benefits.

One case in point was when we were speaking about the offshore wind turbines. (I thought it funny how he misunderstood me to say “windows” – is my diction that bad?) Thom was all up in arms about oil, coal, nuclear, and natural gas and the health maladies they allegedly caused. I understand the principle behind fracking, and obviously there is a slight amount of risk behind the technology. But that risk can be easily mitigated, while the benefits of clean-burning natural gas to create electricity (at a far cheaper cost than wind power) are much greater. Had I thought quickly enough I could have ticked off a number of drawbacks to wind turbines – they’re noisy, bad for aviary life, and not nearly as reliable as other forms of power generation because the wind has to blow AND it has to blow within a certain speed range.

And what was that about the 5% more moisture in the atmosphere causing storms and brought on by global warming? (Maybe that was on the news.) Since we all know there have been other warm periods in Earth’s history (well before the invention of the SUV) can we establish if those periods were overly moist as well? Or is Thom and his listeners just looking for any port in a storm (pun intended)?

But the final point was the one where I wished we had a few more minutes, because I was making the argument that Thom and I were essentially on the same side but had a completely different idea about the solution. Thom would get rid of the lobbyists (I think he said “arrest” or “imprison” them?) through a particular means but I would take care of the problem in another fashion by draining the money swamp. If there’s less money and power to be given out, then there’s less need for lobbyists and they can return to making a more honest living. My contention wasn’t completely addressed, and perhaps that’s my fault for not steering in that direction more quickly. (Hey, ten to twelve minutes on the radio flies by in a heartbeat.)

Still, I would imagine that opening that door will give me a better opportunity at round 2 at some future date. As I said in my wrapup thanking the staff, I’ll just have to keep writing good stuff and surely they’ll want me back.

Like I said to them, I had fun. I guess that’s what counts.

So today (since I assume most will read this Thursday morning) at 2 p.m. (1 p.m. – I was bumped up) I’m scheduled as a guest on the Thom Hartmann radio program. I’ve been on radio before as a guest – which will help me in this instance – but this is the first time I’ve been invited to a program of such a scale and it’s to discuss this Pajamas Media post. This should be interesting since Hartmann is considered the cream of the crop among liberal radio hosts, and you can guess where I stand politically.

Of course, since this region tends to favor conservative talk, there’s no local station which carries Thom’s program but you can listen here.

So, since this will likely by the top post seen by any who stumble onto my website thanks to this appearance (as happened previously with my Rushalanche in 2007) I invite you to read, ponder, and comment on what I have to say. The local liberals know that I am fair with my comments.

Besides, if you don’t like my politics, wait a few hours or until tomorrow – no, my political stripes aren’t going to change, but I do a regular feature on our local minor league baseball team (the Delmarva Shorebirds) Thursday evenings and Friday night I put up local music videos. If I did wall-to-wall politics I would have been fried four years ago – still, I do my share of discussion on local, state, and national issues.

But I look forward to getting this opportunity to speak out on overregulation – hopefully I can vocalize as well as I place pixels on a computer screen or words on a printed page.

But there’s an overlooked element of the story that may last longer than the effects of the light sweet crude which spewed from the ruins of a wellhead (and has mainly either dissipated in the seawater or been removed as tar balls onshore.)

It was the perfect excuse for the Obama Administration to place a lengthy ban on giving out new permits for offshore drilling and then rescind the plans for new drilling leases in offshore waters. In turn, that’s costing our economy thousands of jobs, as Jack Gerard of API points out:

“The oil and natural gas industry is a reliable vehicle for growing the economy and creating good-paying jobs. This decision (to cancel new offshore leases) shuts the door on new development off our nation’s coasts and effectively ensures that new American jobs will not be realized. It will stifle investment, deny billions in revenue for critical government services and increase our dependence on foreign energy sources.

“The oil and natural gas industry is committed to safe and environmentally responsible operations, and both the industry and regulators have added new safeguards to ensure such operations. This reversal on new lease sales off America’s coasts comes on top of a de facto moratorium, which has all but stopped new drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.”

Obviously the story focused on the economic damage to the Gulf seafood industry. Indeed, it was a very tough blow to their finances but for many assisting BP or filing claims for damages with them, they were made as whole as possible. Yet taking away the livelihoods of thousands of oil company workers didn’t seem to be nearly as high on the priority list, and little attention was paid to their demands when they had their own “Rally for Economic Survival” back in July.

Yet where the energy industry is allowed to do its job, there are jobs being created. An oil boom in, of all places, North Dakota has led them to the lowest unemployment rate in the nation (3.8% in November) and the state is doing its best to encourage the Williston Basin boom. And private industry is following suit – see how this works?

On the other hand, so-called ‘green’ jobs tend to be one-time production jobs for the components and limited-duration construction jobs for installations. Once you set a windmill or solar panel, it’s not going to create any new jobs.

It seems to me that the government is quite happy to create or save jobs in the pencil-pushing field, but when it comes to promoting employment by making stuff and extracting natural resources within our borders they seem to fall short (even if they have the prospect of being their precious union jobs.) We’ve lost something around 8 million jobs since the employment peak a couple years back, and while the energy industry might not be able to bring them all back we certainly can make a dent in the number.

That is the story which needs to be reported. Spread the word.

The portions of the conversation he used had to do with my thoughts on the voting process and the job of the Chair to promote party growth through candidate recruitment for future elections and working with conservative activists.

Indeed, I believe it’s going to be a long Saturday morning in Annapolis. It’s simple math, really – with so many candidates in the field and the need for a majority of those present to win (rather than a plurality) there’s probably going to be the necessity for multiple-ballot elections. Certainly we could get a last-minute pullout or two to simplify the process but failing that we’ll probably see a number of races take the better part of an hour apiece to sort out. It takes time to caucus a county for support, and each county needs to publicly state its vote so those tallying can get the information.

(Since these elections are done by county in alphabetical order the results are generally a fait accompli by the time Wicomico County is asked – maybe that’s part of our contrarian streak. But this year our numbers may be really interesting.)

The other statement Alan used is yet again a case of me looking beyond the here and now – I prefer to think at least a cycle or two ahead.

In 2014 there will most likely be at least two and perhaps three statewide openings depending on how the scrum for Governor goes. (There’s also a school of thought which sees Governor O’Malley leave a year or so early to take Barbara Mikulski’s U.S. Senate seat, giving Anthony Brown a head start and a bit of incumbency. Still, it’s doubtful that move would be unchallenged and a special election for the Senate seat when one would otherwise not exist would give the GOP another opportunity.)

If the new Chair is effective and takes the fight to the corrupt and sclerotic Maryland Democratic Party, there’s nothing which says that the leaders we’ve elected locally can’t move up in the ranks. It may not be as obvious in an area like this one where the GOP already has power, but why can’t we see a young but experienced local Republican like Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio seek a higher office? (Speaking of her, I learned tonight that Jeannie has advanced to become the new House of Delegates Minority Whip, replacing now-Senator Christopher Shank. Congratulations to her!)

Not to mention we still have a few local seats which desperately need Republicans in them – instead of those who only talk like Republicans at election time. Rumor has it two of those seats will open up as their liberal Democratic placeholders get long in the tooth. Yes, there is the possibility those seats could also be presented to young Democrats who would try to benefit from this “incumbency” but they’ll be untested by electoral fire in their districts, which also will change before the next cycle. This will be another challenge Republicans have to overcome, but it can be achieved.

In turn, 2014 success can breed more victories in 2018. But the hard work for those elections starts in the here and now. We know eight years is forever in politics.

If you look back to the electoral climate in 2002 Republicans in Maryland were jubilant. We had a GOP governor for the first time since 1969 and peaked in the General Assembly. But the work of party-building wasn’t continued; instead the GOP became more about one person and, to be frank, we’ve wasted eight years and ceded a lot of ground to that other party.

If we’re still sitting out of power with just 55 of 188 members in the General Assembly eight years hence, this state is probably lost like California seems to be. I don’t want to look back at my time on the Central Committee and consider it wasted but this state needs the right GOP Chair to help us rectify the bad situation we’re in.

Take the fight to the enemy. We can settle our internal issues if people worry about their own station in life less and the fate of the state and the Republic more.

**********

For Republicans in Maryland the 2010 election was a complete shock, especially compared to national results. Despite victories here and there for the GOP we now know our state government will lurch on to follow economic basket cases like California or New York, where free-spending Democrats believe that taxpayers comprise a never-ending gravy train.

The title of this piece refers to Ayn Rand’s 1957 novel, Atlas Shrugged. A book which doubles as a parable, its theme is how society reacts when the producers withdraw from an intrusive, overbearing government. In Maryland this scenario played out on a small scale via the so-called ‘millionaire’s tax’ in 2008 – instead of creating the extra revenue predicted, overall tax receipts fell well short of projections. Those who could afford to do so voted with their feet and left Maryland for other states which encouraged their presence by featuring low tax rates and a regulatory environment more conducive to business.

For those departing it was their manner of ‘going Galt,’ a phrase inspired by the character in Atlas Shrugged who led the exodus of those tired of the overtaxation, overregulation, and general disgust from those in government toward citizens successful in the private sector.

With this backdrop, Free State Republicans are in the process of choosing a leader for the next four years. Given the hand with which they have to play, the next state government term will need to be spent both fighting a rear-guard action to slow down Annapolis’s march toward oblivion and educating the public as to why it’s necessary – needless to say, voters missed the GOP message prior to the election.

Or did they? Maryland Republicans put up the candidates who, for the most part, were tacitly endorsed by party brass. Many among them were willing accomplices to the Democrats on their destructive course over the last four years – although some would argue that ship began sailing decades ago. In either case, no course correction was made with this election and Republicans need to work on making sure voters are aware of the fix surely required four years hence.

And while it may not be popular with the Democrats or the press, Republicans in Maryland indeed can’t just be the party of ‘no’ – we must be the party of ‘HELL NO!’ Sometimes there can’t be a compromise made; as Rand herself pondered, what is the compromise between food and poison? We must refuse the siren song of budget ‘fixes’ involving new and expanded taxes, and fight tooth and nail against additional regulations and misguided ideas like the ‘green jobs’ boondoggle.

Our best new Chair will be the one who realizes there can be no compromise in our principles; instead he or she will intuitively know Maryland Republicans need to present a bold palette of ideas and candidates in 2014. Our new leadership must convince our state’s producers help will eventually arrive.

Give us anything less and Atlas will fail.

Michael Swartz is a member of Wicomico County’s Republican Central Committee and a freelance writer who covered Maryland’s 2010 election for Pajamas Media. His home website is monoblogue.