Somebody owes me some steak!
I was looking up something else and saw this passage from a post I did two years ago:
By the way, (Frank Kratovil) is a Democrat and not an independent because he’ll caucus with Nancy Pelosi and company. If he votes with San Fran Nan even 50% of the time the voters would likely want him thrown out, and I’m willing to wager a steak dinner with Joe that, if elected, Frank will have an ACU rating lower than Wayne Gilchrest’s 2007 rating of 36.
This was in the wake of Frank Kratovil’s “I’ll be an independent” campaign. Gee, before it was uncool to be a Democrat Frank was already running away from the label.
Well, you know I forgot about this until just now but when the 2009 ACU ratings came out back in February Frank Kratovil’s rating was…. 28. Did I call it or did I call it?
Admittedly, that’s one of the higher ratings among Democrats (only Dutch Ruppersberger has a lifetime ACU rating above 10 among the other Maryland Democrats) but it goes to show that there is a big difference between parties. Even the much-maligned Mike Castle in Delaware has a 52.49 lifetime ACU rating.
I really don’t want to have to keep a wary eye on my Congressman to be assured he’s doing the right thing and voting for the principles our district holds dear – it is a conservative district and should have a conservative Congressman. With Frank Kratovil we haven’t progressed any farther toward representation which reflects us, so whether Rob Fisher or Andy Harris wins the GOP primary they should be strongly considered as a viable replacement for ‘flip-flop Frank.’
The Andy Harris ‘job interview’
…was cleverly disguised as an Americans for Prosperity meeting.
Last night over 100 people jammed into the back rooms of Brew River to have an opportunity to ask questions of the man who wants to be our next Congressman and avenge his close defeat by current Rep. Frank Kratovil.
But first, we had to sit through some brief remarks by both AFP Wicomico co-chair Julie Brewington and chapter historian Eileen Lenehan to bring the newcomers (about 15 to 20) up to speed. In particular, Julie told those gathered that “2010 was game time” for those of us who believe in Constitutional, limited government. Eileen wanted us to ponder whether, “does (a candidate) believe God is in charge or man is in charge?” Those who believed in a higher power were more likely to favor limited government.
Steve Lind of the Worcester chapter of AFP alerted us to a new billboard which Wicomico members helped to support. This will be located just west of the intersection of U.S. 50 and State Route 589 for those traveling westbound, away from Ocean City. Nothing like putting those already leaving a fun-filled vacation in a more serious state of mind.
The chapter is also holding a street party on July 3rd at the corner of U.S. 50 and State Route 611, with more details to follow.
As a warm-up to State Senator Harris, we heard from the newly filed for re-election Joe Holloway.
In recalling his 3-plus years on County Council, Holloway likened it to a “secret society” at times, but revealed that the people are his key source of information – his job was to determine how accurate the information was and act accordingly. Holloway vowed to continue to “work for the people of Wicomico County.”
Asked about the fate of the new library, Holloway said it was “dead” and was concerned that, “when something new is needed, something old is neglected.” (Perhaps Joe read the post I cited above.)
“We’re gonna get that done,” said Joe in response to a question about night meetings. And when asked about the relationship between the County Executive and County Council, Joe conceded, “there’s been some tension” but overall having a County Executive was, “good if we have the right one.” What we in Wicomico County, “need (is) a good dose of conservatism.”
Andy Harris was given about 15 minutes to make opening remarks before the volley of questions began. In that time he chose to briefly touch on foreign policy, including the strife between the Koreas, the broken promise of a missile shield for Eastern Europe, and our allies in Brazil and Turkey assisting Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Turning to domestic issues, Andy noted that his parents escaped communism in postwar Europe but have noticed some of the same things happening here. Washington has, “systematically dismantled in American Dream” in the last year and a half, but also noted that “if they (the 50% with no tax liability) work harder in this election, they win.”
Naturally, Andy derided the stimulus as an “incredibly bad move” since unemployment zoomed beyond the promised 8 percent total even with $500 billion or so spent. Andy proposed the remainder go toward an across-the-board tax cut to help the economy. It would allow average Americans to pick the winners and losers of our economy instead of the government doing so.
The format had Andy speed through a number of upcoming issues such as cap-and-trade (“job creation for India and China”), Obamacare (a bill which “will eliminate private health insurance” and already influences capital decisions by hospitals), and pending financial regulations (“‘too big to fail’ should not be in our vocabulary.”) Andy concluded, “‘America the bankrupt’ is absolutely correct.”
A dozen people were fortunate enough to ask questions, and some of the best are detailed below. First out of the chute was a question on border security and illegal immigration.
Andy didn’t think they’d be crazy enough to take up amnesty in this edition of Congress, but noted that our system is “the worst of all systems” by limiting people who would be productive but rewarding those who were a net drain. States should be following Arizona’s lead.
Which agencies would Andy work to abolish? The Department of Education, Andy emphatically stated, and it might not be a bad thing to eliminate it at the state level, either. His point: education guidance should be local since it’s closest to the parent and student. Perhaps the Department of Energy could go, too, or at least be downsized.
On the union pension bailout, Andy would vote no even as part of a larger bill. But the bill may not have enough votes to pass anyway. Harris decried it as another effort to have the government pick winners and losers, and revealed that only 5% of the families in the First District were union families – they just happen to be among the most politically active.
Is the government governing against the will of the people? The framers of the Constitution understood human nature perfectly, so they allowed the people to have their say on a frequent basis. Andy did say that, “once we get to July 4th we can breathe a sigh of relief” because of the nearness of the election. But he also warned us to watch out for the lame-duck session after the election.
When asked about the decline of America, Andy retorted that we’re “still the best country on the planet” and we just “need to return to our blueprint.” Again, the “Constitution was about human nature.”
Perhaps the biggest “trap” question was one Andy answered neatly. When asked “why can’t we get Obama out” Andy simply said, “we made a mistake” but we can “change the country the old-fashioned way – at the ballot box.”
We also found out that Andy would’ve voted to audit the Federal Reserve, would “absolutely support a flat tax” and back the FairTax if the 16th Amendment were repealed first – with a sales tax “everyone has skin in the game” and, the questioner added, it encourages savings.
One interesting Constitutional query: is a social safety net legitimate under the Constitution? Andy didn’t answer the question directly but advocated ways to make them “actuarily sound.” Perhaps Social Security could be made a defined contribution system at some later date; otherwise Andy’s 26-year-old son is convinced he’ll get no Social Security. (I’m 45 and convinced I won’t either.) Harris related how he tried to get the state’s General Assembly pension system switched from defined benefit to defined contribution and was called to Mike Miller’s office about it. (The amendment failed on a party-line vote.)
After Harris finished (and actually pretty close to schedule), we were briefed on next month’s meeting. Bill Satterfield of Delmarva Poultry Industry will speak on (what else?) the poultry industry.
We were also alerted to a national event, the Defending the Dream Summit, to be held in Washington, D.C. August 27 and 28.
Another rising phenomenon is the number of candidates coming to the meetings, attempting to entice the conservative vote. Besides the two candidates who spoke, seen were Council hopefuls Gail Bartkovich and Ryan Hohman, County Executive aspirant Joe Ollinger, and District 37A candidate Bob McCarroll.
And perhaps I found out why we have the meetings at Brew River now. The next one is June 23rd.
Time IS running out…
This comes to me from Americans for Prosperity:
With the crucial House health care vote most likely coming in 72 hours, I’m asking you to take a new step.
Go to NovemberIsComing.com and sign a new petition – which tells your member of Congress that if he or she votes YES on the health care takeover, you will vote NO on them in November.
Please send your message right now.
We’ve got to make sure in these potential final hours before the House vote that every member of Congress knows that tens of thousands of folks back home will vote NO on the Congressman if he or she votes YES on taking away our health care rights.
Every single member of the House of Representatives is up for election this November.
They need to know that if they ram this health care takeover through – with all the dirty deals, all the big spending and new debt, all the new government bureaucracy, all the parliamentary tricks – then Americans will vote them out in November.
This NovemberIsComing.com petition is the clearest way to send this vital message.
Let’s keep up the pressure! We are winning with the American people.
With the crucial House health care vote most likely coming in 72 hours, I’m asking you to take a new step.
Go to NovemberIsComing.com and sign a new petition – which tells your member of Congress that if he or she votes YES on the health care takeover, you will vote NO on them in November.
Please send your message right now.
We’ve got to make sure in these potential final hours before the House vote that every member of Congress knows that tens of thousands of folks back home will vote NO on the Congressman if he or she votes YES on taking away our health care rights.
Every single member of the House of Representatives is up for election this November.
They need to know that if they ram this health care takeover through – with all the dirty deals, all the big spending and new debt, all the new government bureaucracy, all the parliamentary tricks – then Americans will vote them out in November.
This NovemberIsComing.com petition is the clearest way to send this vital message.
Let’s keep up the pressure! We are winning with the American people.
Yes they are, as polling continues to suggest the pro-Obamacare side is on the wrong end of public sentiment.
Of course, I know those on the Left will say it’s simply because our side is lying to the American people. But when time after time what they’ve said had been proven false, the people aren’t going to stand anymore. Perhaps they prefer the evil they know (insurance companies) to the one they also know (government.) After all, it’s a fact that government insurance denies more claims than any private insurance company, which is a complaint the Left makes about them. (Metric 12 on Page 3 here. And the source is the AMA, who’s supporting Obamacare.)
There’s also a bus trip to Washington (once again) sponsored by the local AFP chapter.
We have a bus leaving from Salisbury on Saturday Morning!! Details to follow!! We just HAVE to fill it!
Please call Ken Nichols ASAP at 410-726-2546 if you think you’d like to go with us.
You know, I find it interesting that I never hear from the Organizing For Against America knuckleheads about any of their rallies and such. It’s not the easiest site to stomach sometimes (you have to wince at the tortured logic and lack of common sense), but I do read Progressive Delmarva regularly and they don’t seem to promote that sort of activism. Perhaps they sense deep down they are on the wrong side of this.
An early morning ride
News from AFP Wicomico:
Some elected politicians still don’t get it, but more importantly there are many “on the fence” votes in Congress that need to hear from you and can be pushed to vote no on the Big Government takeover of your health care.
It seems our congressman, Frank Kratovil, may be flip flopping. To see this story click here.
Tomorrow Americans for Prosperity will be sponsoring a Bus to DC for a rally at 10 a.m. outside of the Senate offices and a visit to our Congressman all for $10, including lunch.
We need to let our voices be heard and let our Congressman that he needs to vote no again on the health care legislation
Contact Tom Cook (apatriotforever@gmail.com) to reserve your bus seat.
The bus will be leaving the Steer Inn on Racetrack Road at 5:30 in the morning, Boscov’s at 6:05 at the Mall in Salisbury, and the old K-Mart Parking lot in Cambridge on Rt. 50 at 6:35.
Truth be told, I haven’t decided yet whether to go because it makes for a long day of not being productive with other things I need to get done (probably wouldn’t be back home until 6:00 or later.) It’s a drawback of these sorts of events to have them at a time where working people can’t easily participate.
But if you are in a position where you can go it’s always worthwhile to meet with your Congressman, plus any others whose ear you may wish to bend. For all his faults voting-wise, it seems that Congressman Kratovil is willing to listen and hopefully he’s going to continue being a “no” vote on this issue.
There will be a good roster of speakers at the event, mostly from Congress – Reps. Pence, Bachmann, Price, Blackburn, Wilson, and Gingrey, along with representatives of the TEA Party Express, 60 Plus Association, National Center for Policy Analysis, and AFP.
Oh, by the way, did you answer your phone this weekend only to find an annoying Organizing For Against America volunteer on the other end? Neither did I, but that was their push according to flunkie Jeremy Bird:
The Final March for Reform is going strong — yesterday, OFA supporters made the phones ring off the hook in Congressional offices on Capitol Hill and across the country. But for every member of Congress, there are eight anti-reform lobbyists swarming Capitol Hill — and the upcoming vote is still too close to call.
So in these crucial, final days, we must make sure the voices of constituents break through the lobbyist attacks. And here’s the plan to make it happen:
As the next step in the Final March for Reform, OFA supporters like you will be gathering at volunteer phone banks across the country. We’ll be calling supportive voters in critical districts nationwide, asking them to reach out to their representatives and express their strong support for reform. A local OFA organizer will be on hand at every event, and no experience is required. (Emphasis in original.)
Gee, I can hardly wait to see what their next step is. But it looks like the people are going to speak tomorrow morning, bright and early.
The final march for ruination
I have so much fun with the e-mails from Organizing For Against America. Now they’ve undertaken a week-long “Final March for Reform” with steps their minions are supposed to take in order to achieved their desired result of Obamacare.
Step 1 was yesterday, where participants were supposed to “get the facts out.” So here are some of their so-called “facts”:
As the President has made clear, Americans deserve a final up-or-down vote on health reform. And the House is now expected to hold its final vote as soon as one week from today.
Yet House Democrats are scheming to avoid this. From CongressDaily yesterday:
House Rules Chairwoman Louise Slaughter is prepping to help usher the healthcare overhaul through the House and potentially avoid a direct vote on the Senate overhaul bill, the chairwoman said Tuesday.
Slaughter is weighing preparing a rule that would consider the Senate bill passed once the House approves a corrections bill that would make changes to the Senate version.
Undaunted, Obama’s flunkie David Plouffe pressed on:
As we speak, insurance-industry lobbyists are gathering at the D.C. Ritz-Carlton to stage a last-minute blitz to block reform — even as they jack up premiums by as much as 60% for small businesses and families across the country.
You know, I doubt you can get the Ritz-Carlton or any other major venue at a moment’s notice. This meeting was set up months in advance and besides, I thought we were supposed to have this last summer anyway.
Plouffe wraps up on this class-envy, “us-versus-them” note:
We’ve put together a simple summary of the President’s proposal, a fact sheet to show friends and co-workers how the plan will specifically help them, posters to display, Facebook notes to post, and much more.
(snip)
Today, it’s time to show the insurance lobbyists that no smear campaign cooked up at a posh hotel can match the power of millions of regular citizens who are ready for change and committed to the truth.
Yep, that’s grassroots all right. You have your talking points, we have this: Nancy Pelosi wants the bill to pass so we can find out what’s in it. Seems like it’s too late then, unless they want things to be hidden.
Here’s the real truth. This bill was of the special interests, by the special interests, and for the special interests. They don’t have the votes and they know it – hence the “Slaughter solution.” OAA has presented its case and lost in the court of public opinion.
By the way, here’s the Day 2 instruction, with OAA’s Mitch Stewart the flunkie of the day:
President Obama has called for the House to vote to move health reform forward as early as next week. Your representative, Rep. Frank Kratovil, stood with the President to create as many as 3.9 million jobs with the Recovery Act, and deserves our thanks. Now, it’s important to make it clear that the voters back home stand with President Obama and want health reform.
Yes, he pointed out Kratovil’s most glaring failure to date, voting for the porkulus bill, If Frank doesn’t hew to his word and vote against Obamacare, he may as well pack now. Kratovil can run to the right all he wants with his budget proposals and crackdown on illegal immigration, but a vote for Obamacare is his political funeral. And I’m sure he knows that.
So the battle lines have been drawn, activist vs. activist. I suspect there’s more of us than there are of them, and right is on our side. If they need to resort to trickery and deceit to pass their bill, well, there may not be much we can do about that now but certainly we can defeat this in other venues too. Just ask the commonwealth of Virginia.
Staying and fighting
Running for governor of your state is a task which takes a full-time effort, particularly if you’re not well-known around your state. That’s the situation Rep. Nathan Deal finds himself in as he strives to become the next governor of Georgia.
To that end, Deal had planned on resigning his House seat next week in order to concentrate on his run for statewide office. Instead, GOP leaders persuaded him to stay and made the hurdle for passing Obamacare that much higher. With a death and two earlier resignations (all Democrats who had voted for the bill previously), the nominally 435 member body was down to 432, requiring 217 votes for passage. Had Deal left as planned Nancy Pelosi’s job would have been made easier by cutting the majority number down to 216 and eliminating a sure “no” vote.
While the conventional wisdom is that the Senate and their reconciliation process is where the bill’s fate will be decided, they conveniently ignore the fact that President Obama and Democratic leaders could double-cross the House by promising them fixes to the Senate bill they’d pass – but as soon as the House passes the Senate bill (with the pro-abortion language, “Cornhusker Kickback” and “Louisiana Purchase” included) you better believe President Obama is going to find the pens to sign it.*
This is why many observers feel the whole battle over reconciliation is a red herring, a feint to distract anti-Obamacare supporters from the real important vote in the House. No wonder Frank Kratovil is making the news a lot more these days.
If the House somehow gets the Senate bill through, the game is over and we are stuck with Obamacare. Well, more precisely we are stuck with the taxes and regulations included therein – the so-called benefits don’t kick in for several years. And what entitlement have we overturned in the last seventy-five years since Social Security?
The ballgame is in the top of the ninth, and the American people need to be the ace closer who gets the save. Let’s get out and win this one!
* I’ve read past practice is that, on ceremonial bill-signings like Obamacare would surely be, the President signs his name one letter at a time with a different pen so that each of those who helped get the legislation through have a memento of the significant event. Talk about your poison pens.
Electoral toast
Update 9:30 a.m. – A new AP story by Erica Werner quotes Kratovil spokesman Kevin Lawlor, who says that Frank won’t vote for the Obamacare bill if it’s similar to the first one. Apparently there’s not enough carrots dangling out there for him yet.
Perhaps this is wishful thinking from the Associated Press and writer Charles Babbington, but Frank Kratovil is listed as one of ten House Democrats who may be open to switching his vote on the health care bill in order to pass it. Technically the article says he’s not stated a position or is undecided, and it may well be he’s not stating.
But his vote may be the one which makes the bill sink or swim because, of the 220 votes Nancy Pelosi got to pass the bill the first time through she’s likely to be missing four due to death, resignation, and the slim chance Republican Joesph Cao would make the mistake of voting ‘yes’ again without language restricting abortion.
So Kratovil is between a rock and a hard place for sure. With it out in the open that he may be amenable to changing his vote, the White House may dangle all sorts of bribes for his support - think help for his re-election campaign or even a cushy Administration job if he loses come November. On the other hand, First District voters might see to it the latter happens if he doesn’t maintain his stance against it and he would truly earn the moniker ‘flip-flop Frank.’
Perhaps this is why Kratovil has been attempting to burnish those conservative credentials he does have like talking up fiscal conservatism and getting tough on illegal immigrants.
But that may be too little too late as First District voters may decide why have conservative-lite when they can have the real thing?
Upping the ante
Well, isn’t this conveeeeeeeeenient (spoken in a Church Lady voice).
Last week I talked about Organizing For Against America wanting 1 million volunteer hours to spread the lies about Obamacare – no surprise they got that goal, which I thought was a little weak considering there’s 13 million on the e-mail list. Here’s their breathless announcement:
In just the last 3 days, OFA volunteers like you have pledged an incredible 4,000,000 (and counting!) hours to support members of Congress and candidates who fight for real health reform.
We can prove to Congress that health reform is good policy and good politics, but we need to go as big as possible. So today we’re setting a new goal: 5 million hours pledged.
If we hit it, the country will know. We’ll be running an ad with the final tally in USA Today, the nation’s largest newspaper. And to make sure your voice is heard where it matters most, we’ll run radio ads in critical states and districts, featuring local voters announcing the pledge total from their area.
(snip)
Beginning soon, we’ll talk to voters state-by-state, district-by-district, about why it’s important to stand with those who fight for progress and reform — and reject those who stand with big insurers to protect a status quo that is devastating our economy, families, and businesses. (Emphasis in original.)
We can rewrite that last sentence to say: Beginning soon, Organizing Against America will go back to lying like a rug to promote our takeover of 1/6 of the national economy by wiping out private health insurance companies.
That and I’ll be listening for those radio ads around here since we’re represented a Democrat who’s been reticent to join the rest of his party, believing (correctly) to do so would be political suicide.
Bet the TEA Partiers can log 10 million hours, but we’re not going to pay for an ad in USA Today to crow about the accomplishment – we’re just going to get to work.
Hit back twice as hard!
Well, well, well…even the folks at Organizing For Against America sound worried about election prospects. Think our side has an effective strategy going or what? Mitch Stewart must:
As we head into an election year, the new strategy for killing reform is claiming that members of Congress who vote for it will suffer at the polls.
For months, our opponents have spread lies about reform to scare voters away. But the simple truth about what reform would actually do — save jobs, guarantee all Americans affordable, stable coverage, and significantly reduce the deficit — is something most Americans strongly support.
The question is, come November, will the voters know the facts?
OFA supporters have asked for a way to show every member of Congress that if they fight for reform now, we’ll back them up this election season.
That’s why we’re launching “You fight, we’ll fight” — a volunteer pledge bank where you can commit your time to back up candidates and officials who fight hard for health reform.
We’re shooting for 1,000,000 hours pledged to spread the word to fellow voters. And if we get there, we’ll publish the total hours pledged in USA Today, so there will be no doubt that health reform is both good policy and good politics.
(snip)
President Obama has made it crystal clear that he has no intention of walking away from health reform — and this movement has made its desire to fight on just as clear.
And many members of Congress are already working hard by his side to get the job done. But for those on the fence about whether or not to proceed, knowing you are there to back up a courageous stand can make all the difference.
Your volunteer hours can have a huge impact no matter where you live. You can make calls into critical districts where health reform champions are in jeopardy, write letters to the editor, volunteer for nearby campaigns, or even just talk to friends, family, and neighbors to help cut through the special interest spin.
We’ll offer lots of ways to get involved between now and the elections in November, and you can decide which are right for you — the important thing right now is to publicly show your commitment to fight for those who make health reform a reality.
(snip)
We’ve certainly faced setbacks in this fight. But as President Obama told OFA supporters last week, that only means we need to work that much harder. (Emphasis in original.)
The problem for Mitch and his gang is that Americans DO know the facts, and they don’t want the significant changes threatened in the legislation. By the way, the legislation won’t save jobs, doesn’t cover everyone (even proponents agree that millions would be left out) and isn’t deficit-neutral because no Congress has the guts to cut Medicare payments to make it even out. Those aren’t lies – sorry, Mitch.
Anyway, I happen to recall that the Organizing Against America database reaches about 13 million e-mail addresses, so they only need a small percentage of them to pledge to reach 1,000,000 hours. Doesn’t really seem like that ambitious of a goal when you compare it to the number of hours TEA Party volunteers and participants have put in. I’m sure it took the million-plus in Washington on 9-12 last year more than an hour to express their views.
But it’s interesting I received this e-mail and it may be because I happen to live in a district where a Democrat went against his party to vote no on reform. I don’t recommend hanging your Congressman in effigy to get the point across, but something in the pro-liberty tactics worked and Frank Kratovil just said no. Naturally he left his opposition open to change based on factors within the bill, but for now he’s on the right side of the issue and the reason is he’s not suicidal when it comes to re-election.
While polls may suggest that Americans want some sort of health care reform, this solution isn’t what they desire. If it were truly popular, why would most of it not be adopted until 2013?
I’m curious to see when the ad will appear in USA Today, although I suspect it may be awhile. But I’ll bet TEA Party activists can easily top whatever the (probably made-up) figure Organizing Against America comes up with. When the Democrats have to come up with trickery in order to pass this bill, the message should be like the new third rail of American politics: touch that “yes” button when Obamacare comes up for a vote and you’re dead at the ballot box.
I can commit some time to helping make sure foes of freedom are defeated in November; how about you?
Kratovil joins bipartisan bid to hold deficit line
I don’t like to space posts so close together, but this is just in… (there’s a fresh post below too.)
217 House Democrats voted to extend the nation’s debt ceiling to $14.294 trillion, but Frank Kratovil wasn’t one of them. I guess that once again he drew the hall pass from Nancy Pelosi to vote no, which was iffy because the measure only passed 217-212. (There were 5 who didn’t vote, which leads me to wonder where the empty seat is. Since 2 of them were Democrats – Gutierrez and Murtha – they would’ve likely had a majority anyway.)
Delmarva was well represented on the bill as all three representatives (Castle, Kratovil, and Nye of Virginia) voted nay. Needless to say, aside from the Republican Roscoe Bartlett, the remainder of Maryland’s feckless Congressional delegation had no problem putting their grandchildren further into debt.
Since the bill passed the Senate earlier (before Scott Brown could be sworn in and possibly create a cloture roadblock) it will soon be on President Obama’s desk.
While it’s good that Kratovil voted as he did and he deserves kudos, the question needs to be raised: if Frank Kratovil (and, for my friend Melody Scalley down Virginia way, Glenn Nye) are now trying to portray themselves as Republican-lite, why not just elect the real thing in November?
The scenario
Originally today I was going to go back and try to wrap up the week of Scott Brown, but instead I think I’ll do that tomorrow or Sunday.
A few days ago, a friend of mine posited a scenario assuming Scott Brown won and the Senate version of Obamacare was forced into the House for an up-and-down vote. I’ll let her do the rest:
Nancy Pelosi is then going to try to force the Senate bill, unchanged, through the House. The problem is, without the Stupak language, she certainly loses Joseph Cao, and she’ll also probably lose Stupak and a few other Dems on conscience alone. She’ll probably lose a few more who had the sh*t scared out of them today, but will hide behind their consciences. That means she has to go back to them Dems who voted no– you know, folks like that guy who “represents” you. I see the dialogue going something like this:
Nancy: I need your vote on this bill.
Frank: If I vote for this thing, I haven’t a prayer of being reelected, and will be hung in effigy in every town on the eastern shore.
Nancy: You are going to lose whatever you do. The only reason you won in the first place is because the GOP was divided. Not going to happen this time. But, if you vote for the bill, when you lose, the administration will find you a cushy job– maybe an ambassadorship somewhere where hanging an ambassador in effigy is enough to get a person locked up. If you vote no, don’t expect any help finding a job.
So, what’s your take— assuming the scenario plays out about like that, what do Kratovil and his ilk do?
Well, this may not happen because Pelosi’s already claimed she can’t get 218 votes for the Senate health care bill, and maybe she’s already had a similar conversation with Frank.
Quite honestly, I don’t think Frank Kratovil would fall for this (perhaps others would) because, in my (admittedly limited) personal dealings with him he doesn’t come across as a smarmy political hack like some other Democrats I’ve met do. I know he’s been involved in politics since his college days, but he’s made at least some attempt at maintaining an independent streak with a couple votes and stance on illegal immigration.
That’s not to say Frank won’t be looking for a federal job if he loses in November – certainly Stevensville isn’t a terrible daily commute to Washington and the Justice Department is always looking for sharp legal minds. (Kratovil doesn’t seem like the lobbyist type, but you never know.) Nor is it out of the question to think a 2010 loss for Kratovil could lead to Kratovil vs. Harris act 3 in 2012.
But I think the Brown victory represented a “come to Jesus” moment for Kratovil as well. The issue where Frank is probably most conservative is illegal immigration, so this week was an opportune time for him to jump on board a House resolution supporting the “E-verify” program, improved border security, and not granting amnesty to illegals already here. In an effort to maintain his job, Frank’s voting record for the rest of the 111th Congress just might be comparable to Roscoe Bartlett’s. Anything to avoid the “liberal” tag.
Since there’s likely not going to be a primary challenger to Kratovil’s left, the true portsiders are going to have to hold their noses and vote for Frank in November. Of course, those on the right will go for presumptive GOP standardbearer Andy Harris, who will certainly be tarred by Kratovil’s supporters as the second coming of President Bush.
That leaves the people in the center, who just happened to be the ones who spoke loudest in Massachusetts. While Kratovil has spent the last year catering to the perception of being middle-of-the-road, I don’t think he can stay there without being run over by either his party’s leadership or the voters of the First District. We know how he voted before the TEA Parties began and once he’s safely re-elected I think he’d travel back down that route.
Then Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama wouldn’t have nearly as much to worry about.
Harris officially in the Congressional race
“In 9 months and 27 days we get America back.”
That’s how Andy Harris termed the 2010 election as he officially confirmed probably the worst-kept political secret in Maryland and placed himself in the running to oust Frank Kratovil as the First District’s Congressman.
After speaking to an audience of 70 in Easton (according to one observer) and earlier stops in Bel Air and Annapolis, Harris greeted over 40 supporters in the metal shop turned announcement location. Observers shivered in the chilly room but were excited by what Harris had to say, interrupting the State Senator with applause several times.
First, though, he was introduced by one of his cohorts.
State Senator Richard Colburn told those present that Harris “knows the Eastern Shore” and would fight to preserve those industries and jobs which define our region – seafood and agriculture. After pointing out some of the half-dozen elected officials in attendance, Colburn praised Andy’s work in the State Senate as well, telling us he would be missed after this session.
After Colburn’s introduction, Harris strode to the podium and told the chilly crowd, “this kind of business is what the election is all about” as it was one directly impacted by federal policy. It was time to put us back on the path to prosperity because people were telling him “enough is enough.”
He recounted the reasons he got into politics in the first place in 1998, as the entrenched incumbent held positions Harris believed were out of step with the district. In contrast, Harris defended his record as one which put families and businesses first.
By the same token, he felt Congress was out to “dismantle” our way of life and make our children worse off than we are. They “attempted to take over” business and health care while “whistling past the graveyard” of mounting deficits.
Harris touched on a number of items he’s planning to work on when elected to Congress:
- Ending the stimulus and deficit spending. America is saying “enough is enough” to wasteful and excessive government spending.
- Patients and doctors making health care decisions, not a one-size-fits-all plan.
- A Constitutional amendment for term limits, similar to one recently introduced by Senator Jim DeMint.
- No cap-and-trade “schemes” since they’ll threaten the area’s agricultural tradition.
- Stopping the “payoff for union muscle” by killing the legislation enabling “card check,” best known by the misnamed “Employee Free Choice Act.”
- No earmarks – “business as usual” in Washington is the wrong way to do business.
- Not voting to maintain Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House.
Perhaps the biggest direct swipe at opponent Frank Kratovil came at a point in Andy’s speech where he spoke about Kratovil’s pledge of fiscal conservatism while spending $250,000 of taxpayer money to send out several full-color brochures to local supporters and other residents. (For the record, I’m not on that mailing list.)
The overriding theme for Harris, though, was one of “bring(ing) back America from Pelosi and company.”
After his remarks, Harris took a few questions from the reporters present. Responding to a question about the election, he termed it “a clear call for changing business as usual in Washington.”
The first thing Harris would do if elected? Co-sponsoring the Constitutional amendment for term limits.
Biggest issue? “Getting our jobs back and preserving our heritage.”
Which Kratovil votes did you object to most? Harris mentioned the vote for the stimulus bill (after voting against it), the partisan vote to install Pelosi as Speaker, and Kratovil’s vote for cap-and-tax, which Harris called, “a jobs bill – for India and China.”
It promises to be an interesting campaign, with the “9 months and 27 days” likely to be full of charges and counter-charges and 30-second commercials mainly sponsored by outside interests. This will be fun.
Update: Maryland GOP Party Chair Audrey Scott also chimed in, describing Harris’s Annapolis stop:
Yesterday was “Andy Harris for Congress Day” across the State and at the MDGOP headquarters, as State Senator, Andy Harris, announced his candidacy for Congress from Maryland’s 1st District. Excitement was high and turnout of supporters and the Party faithful was impressive… the headquaters was packed with enthusiastic, cheering Republicans commited to electing Andy to Congress!
Notable attendees included Former Ambassador Ellen Sauerbrey, and elected officials, Senator Ed Reilly, Delegate James King, Delegate Bob Costa, Delegate Tony McConkey, Delegate Ron George, former Senator Janet Greenip, and County Executive John Leopold, who addressed the crowd in support of Andy Harris. The race is on! Get on the band wagon and help Andy return the 1st District to Republican representation in Congress.
As a general policy, the MDGOP does not get involved in contested primaries. There are many candidates coming forward and those who are not challenged in primaries can count on full State Party participation from the onset. During the General elections, we are supportive of all our Republican candidates.
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