So how conservative am I?

My thanks to fellow MBA blogger Crablaw, who came across this short quiz and posted his results. Here’s how I came out:

***Your Political Profile:***

Overall: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Social Issues: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Ethics: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal

Here’s the link for yourself.

I’ll bet my libertarian side pushed my “liberal” scores up a bit on Social Issues, the question on marijuana probably made that difference. It was a fun little exercise, although there are a few other quizzes out there. The most famous of them is this one, which I’ve taken before and I ended up on the border between conservative and libertarian there as well.

Saturday football returns

Much as I did during the tail end of the baseball season, I enjoy the run up to the NFL playoffs. To me, the week that the Saturday games return is the beginning of the final push although this season is different than seasons past where there were 2 or 3 Saturday games. Now they’re spread out farther during the weekend and start Thursday night.

What I’ll do is cover the playoff contenders and the possible outcomes after this weekend’s games.

Jockeying for position:

San Diego (11-2 overall, 4-1 division, 9-2 conference).

Opponent: home to Kansas City (7-6), 8:15 p.m. Sunday.

Last meeting: Kansas City won 30-27 at Arrowhead in week 7 this season.

What’s at stake: A win by San Diego plus a loss by Indianapolis assures the team who’s already clinched the AFC West a first-round bye and a home game in round 2. A loss to the Chiefs would allow either Indianapolis or Baltimore to leapfrog the Chargers into the #1 seed in the AFC. Because this is San Diego’s final AFC game (their last two games are against NFC foes Seattle and Arizona) a loss would set their conference record at 9-3. Indianapolis can win out and win the tiebreaker over San Diego (10-2 conference record vs. SD’s 9-3) while Baltimore automatically wins a tiebreaker over the Chargers because of their win over San Diego in Week 4.

Chicago (11-2 overall, 4-0 division, 9-0 conference).

Opponent: home to Tampa Bay (3-10), 1:00 p.m. Sunday.

Last meeting: Last season “da Bears” won in Florida by a 13-10 count. This is the first time since Tampa Bay was split out of the old NFC Central (after the 2001 season) that the Buccaneers play in Chicago.

What’s at stake: It’s pretty simple. If the Bears can handle lowly Tampa Bay and New Orleans loses to Washington, the Bears will have home field throughout the NFC playoffs. The Bears already have the first round bye and second round home game in hand.

Win and they’re in:

Indianapolis (10-3 overall, 3-2 division, 7-2 conference).

Opponent: home to Cincinnati (8-5), 8:30 p.m. Monday.

Last meeting: In 2005, Indianapolis won a 45-37 shootout with the Bengals in Cincinnati.

What’s at stake: Indianapolis has stumbled after their 9-0 start but can still secure a playoff berth by beating the Bengals. Their 11th win would be enough as only 6 teams in the AFC have fewer than 6 losses. It’s possible that by the time this game is played Monday night the Colts would be in the playoffs anyway if one of the following two scenarios happen:

Jacksonville loses to Tennessee. It would assure the Colts no worse than a tie for the top of the AFC South with Jacksonville (both with 10-6 records.) Indianapolis split the two games with Jacksonville but the Colts would have a 3-3 division record vs. the Jaguars’ 2-4 division mark.

Denver loses at Arizona. It eliminates the possibility of Indianapolis losing a 3-way tie with Denver and some other team which would have a better conference record than Indianapolis.

Baltimore (10-3 overall, 3-1 division, 7-2 conference).

Opponent: home to Cleveland (4-9), 1:00 p.m. Sunday.

Last meeting: In week 3, the Ravens barely beat Cleveland in front of the Dawg Pound 15-14.

What’s at stake: A win puts the Ravens in the playoffs with at least a wild card. If Cincinnati falls at Indianapolis then Baltimore wins the AFC North outright. A loss to the Browns would not only help make my day, it would put the Ravens in a slightly more precarious position to possibly miss the playoffs if other teams behind them win.

New Orleans (9-4 overall, 4-1 division, 8-1 conference).

Opponent: home to Washington (4-9), 1:00 p.m. Sunday.

Last meeting: The Saints marched into Washington and won 24-20 back in 2003.

What’s at stake: Probably the feel-good story of the NFL season, New Orleans can secure an NFC South title by beating the Redskins. This is because they swept second-place Atlanta in the season series and could do no worse than tying with 10-6 records. It’s also possible the Saints can get a first-round bye with losses from the other division leaders (Dallas and Seattle) and the New York Giants…but first things first.

Seattle (8-5 overall, 3-2 division, 6-4 conference).

Opponent: home to San Francisco (5-8), 8:00 p.m. Thursday.

Last meeting: In week 11, Seattle was surprised in San Francisco 20-14. That was the 49’ers last victory.

What’s at stake: It’s because of that loss in San Francisco that the NFC West is even in question. Had the Seahawks won that game they would’ve been in the playoffs already when Green Bay won last Sunday. But a win for the Seahawks at home puts them in and snaps a string of five straight Super Bowl losers not making the playoffs the next season.

A little help from their friends:

New England (9-4 overall, 4-2 division, 5-4 conference).

Opponent: home to Houston (4-9), 1:00 p.m. Sunday.

Last meeting: New England and Houston have met just once, a 23-20 OT win for New England at Houston in 2003. This is Houston’s first trip to New England since rejoining the NFL.

What’s at stake: A Patriot victory coupled with a New York Jets loss in Minnesota gives the Patriots another AFC East crown, their fourth straight (yawn.) However, they are currently the lowest seed among the four division leaders so it’s likely they’ll get just one home playoff game.

Dallas (8-5 overall, 2-3 division, 5-4 conference).

Opponent: at Atlanta (7-6), 8:00 p.m. Saturday.

Last meeting: The Falcons spanked the Cowboys in Texas Stadium, 27-13, during the 2003 season.

What’s at stake: This is actually the lone Saturday game on the schedule. Dallas needs a win plus losses by Minnesota against the New York Jets and either New Orleans or Carolina in their games on Sunday to assure themselves a postseason spot this week.

Muddling along:

There are several teams in the playoff hunt who cannot clinch a position nor can they be eliminated this week. These teams are:

Cincinnati (8-5 overall, 4-1 division, 6-3 conference).

Opponent: at Indianapolis (10-3), 8:30 p.m. Monday.

Last meeting: See Indianapolis above.

Jacksonville (8-5 overall, 2-3 division, 5-4 conference).

Opponent: at Tennessee (6-7), 1:00 p.m. Sunday.

Last meeting: In week 9, Jacksonville routed Tennessee at home 37-7.

New York Giants (7-6 overall, 3-1 division, 6-3 conference).

Opponent: home to Philadelphia (7-6), 4:15 p.m. Sunday.

Last meeting: Back in Week 2, the Giants took a stunner at Philly in OT 30-24.

Philadelphia (7-6 overall, 3-1 division, 6-3 conference).

Opponent: at New York Giants (7-6), 4:15 p.m. Sunday.

Last meeting: See New York Giants above.

Atlanta (7-6 overall, 3-2 division, 5-4 conference).

Opponent: home to Dallas (8-5), 8:00 p.m. Saturday.

Last meeting: See Dallas above.

Fading fast:

These teams are one game back of the lowest playoff teams in each conference. A loss may not eliminate them but they would be on the brink. In the AFC, wins by Cincinnati and Jacksonville would all but doom the teams below them on the ladder, while the NFC also-rans would be hurt badly by an Atlanta win. Since the Giants and Philadelphia play each other, someone will (almost certainly) get an 8th win.

New York Jets (7-6 overall, 3-2 division, 5-5 conference).

Opponent: at Minnesota (6-7), 1:00 p.m. Sunday.

Last meeting: Back in 2002, the Jets won at home 20-7. Teams in opposite conferences only meet every four seasons during the regular season under the NFL’s scheduling formula.

What’s at stake: This is a game between two teams in the “fading fast” category so it’s sort of a sub-playoff matchup.

Kansas City (7-6 overall, 3-1 division, 3-6 conference).

Opponent: at San Diego (11-2), 8:15 p.m. Sunday.

Last meeting: See San Diego (way) above.

What’s at stake: A loss by the Chiefs eliminates them in all but the most complex mathematics.

Denver (7-6 overall, 3-3 division, 7-4 conference).

Opponent: at Arizona (4-9), 4:05 p.m. Sunday.

Last meeting: The 2002 season finale saw Denver blow out the hapless Cards 37-7.

What’s at stake: Denver has an advantage over many others in this group as they’ve won all seven of their victories over AFC foes. Since conference record is a key tiebreaker, it’s to the Broncos’ benefit. A loss to Arizona doesn’t hurt their conference mark.

Minnesota (6-7 overall, 2-3 division, 6-4 conference).

Opponent: home to New York Jets (7-6), 1:00 p.m. Sunday.

Last meeting: See New York Jets above.

What’s at stake: Like Denver above, Minnesota has picked its victories well and holds an advantage in conference record over other close teams. Again, a loss doesn’t hurt their conference record but would put them two games in back of either the Giants or Philadelphia.

Carolina (6-7 overall, 3-1 division, 4-6 conference).

Opponent: home to Pittsburgh (6-7), 1:00 p.m. Sunday.

Last meeting: In 2002, the Steelers manhandled Carolina 30-14 in Pittsburgh.

What’s at stake: This is Carolina’s final home game and the last two are no bargain (at Atlanta, at New Orleans.) So here is a must-win for the Panthers.

On life support:

Teams in this category – if they lose, stick a fork in them because their playoff hopes are done. They’re 2 games back with 3 to play.

Buffalo (6-7 overall, 2-3 division, 4-5 conference).

Opponent: home to Miami (6-7), 1:00 p.m. Sunday.

Last meeting: In week 2, Buffalo knocked off the Dolphins in southern Florida 16-6. Loser walks.

Pittsburgh (6-7 overall, 2-2 division, 4-6 conference).

Opponent: at Carolina (6-7), 1:00 p.m. Sunday.

Last meeting: See Carolina above. This looked like a great late-season matchup in August, didn’t it?

Tennessee (6-7 overall, 3-2 division, 3-6 conference).

Opponent: home to Jacksonville (8-5), 1:00 p.m. Sunday.

Last meeting: See Jacksonville above. If they had half-winners on the NFL schedule, Tennessee would be a second-half playoff team…6-2 after an 0-5 start.

Miami (6-7 overall, 1-3 division, 3-6 conference).

Opponent: at Buffalo (6-7), 1:00 p.m. Sunday.

Last meeting: See Buffalo above. Another rotten start by the Dolphins did them in this year.

St. Louis (5-8 overall, 2-4 division, 4-6 conference).

Opponent: at Oakland (2-11), 4:15 p.m. Sunday.

Last meeting: 2002 saw the Rams win a battle between the defending NFC champs and the soon-to-be AFC champs 28-13. My, how times change in the NFL.

Green Bay (5-8 overall, 2-1 division, 4-5 conference).

Opponent: home to Detroit (2-11), 1:00 p.m. Sunday.

Last meeting: In week 3, Green Bay won at Ford Field 31-24. Brett Favre is 15-0 against the Lions at Lambeau. It would be nice to make that 15-1. Now if that somehow happens, Lambeau might just sound like a Lions home game.

San Francisco (5-8 overall, 2-2 division, 4-6 conference).

Opponent: at Seattle (8-5), 8:00 p.m. Thursday.

Last meeting: See Seattle above. At least the Niners got this far in the playoff picture, better than last season.

Anticipating the spring

I know we’ve have a relatively chilly week, the college football bowl season is ready to begin, and we’re in the midst of the holiday season, but I’m thinking baseball. Recently our Shorebirds were sold by Comcast-Spectacor to a California-based company called 7th Inning Stretch, LLC. The Shorebirds join the Stockton Ports of the California Legue as teams owned by this group. Obviously, being a Shorebirds fan, my interest was piqued and what I wondered about was what I could expect as a fan in 2007. So I looked into some of the things that the Stockton Ports have to offer.

The Ports are the class “A” (Advanced) affiliate of the Oakland Athletics; in other words, they are one rung above Delmarva in Oakland’s minor league chain (the same level as the Frederick Keys in the Orioles system.) I bring this up because, much like Delmarva, the fans in Stockton get a large player changeover each year as prospects move up or down.

Stockton just opened a new downtown stadium in 2005, so the ownership of the Ports obviously spent the time and effort (or at least lobbied the city and state well) to upgrade the facilities where the Ports play. The Ports doubled their attendance from 2004 to 2005 and now have attendance numbers almost identical to what the Shorebirds draw – last year the Ports drew 213,724, which is within a good night’s crowd of Delmarva’s total. The Ports toil in a more competitive environment though, as the city is about an hour or so from the Bay Area and their CL rival Modesto is just a few miles down I-5. It takes away some of the advantage Stockton would have by being in an area more populous than the Eastern Shore. While the Shorebirds don’t need a new facility, it would do the new ownership well to make some upgrades in the next season or two. Job one in that respect has to be a new scoreboard and video board. And it wouldn’t hurt for Sherman to get a bit of a makeover.

Because the teams in the minor leagues are only as good on the field as the players provided to them by the parent organization (something the O’s have been lacking for most of the last decade) much of the fan interest is spawned by whatever promotions are dreamed up by the team brass. As an example, it’s pretty common now in the minor leagues that weekend night games have fireworks at their conclusion. For the weekday games, a cottage industry of various entertainers make the rounds during the summer. Shorebirds fans are familiar with the antics of Myron Noodleman, the purple mascot Reggy, and other acts that make appearances at Perdue Stadium. Another gimmick is the alternate uniform nights, where the Shorebirds wear a different cap or jersey (or both) for a particular cause and they’re auctioned off to benefit that organization at game’s end with the player’s autograph. Personally I thought the Harley-Davidson uniforms with the flames were pretty cool. Not so sure about the pink ones.

But in looking at some of what the Ports did, there’s a couple neat things that they could bring to Delmarva. For one, I’d love to know how their Singles Night turned out. Basically it’s “speed dating” but by being at the ballgame (which means you’re probably baseball fans) you’re assured that you have at least one thing in common with the person opposite you. They also did a Wing Fest at the ballpark, which had to be pretty good. (Gee, does that tie in to Delmarva or what?) The Shorebirds do similar items on a more limited basis (such as toward the tail end of last season they had beer/wine tasting nights) but this effort in Stockton was open to anyone. Other events the Ports hosted were a Salute to Military Night, a Foster Care Night, a ’70’s Night (as for me I’d prefer an ’80’s night because the tunes were better), and a Law Enforcement Night. (I think the Shorebirds had a facsimile of Law Enforcement Night on a Sunday afternoon last season.)

In turn, there’s a few promotional items I’d like to see the new management keep. I really liked the car show, that needs to stay. Related to that, honoring Delmarva’s agricultural heritage also needs to continue so keep the Ag Day too. I’m sure Perdue, Mountaire, and others will also maintain their particular dates. And bring back the Redskins cheerleaders too.

Hey, while I’m doing requests I may as well ask that a couple things be brought back that were missing last season. First of all, I liked having the two onfield hosts better. Obviously the onfield hosts are typically younger folks and they move on to bigger and better things, but I enjoyed having the banter between the two rather than just one last season. Second and more importantly, bring back the bands!!! Of all the things I missed last season, that was far and away #1! It makes Thirsty Thursday just SO much better.

I had one other Shorebirds item to throw in. Many fans may recall outfielder Lorenzo Scott, who played here all of last season. Because of his advanced age compared to other Shorebirds I felt he was going to have to jump at least one or two levels next year to have a shot at the bigs.

The good news for Scott is that he was selected by the Florida Marlins in the AAA portion of the Rule 5 draft during the winter meetings. (This draft is for players not protected on a team’s 40-man roster that have played in the minor league system for at least either 4 or 5 seasons, depending on their age when signed. This way a team can’t hide a good player in the minors for more than a few seasons.) What this means is that the Marlins have to keep Scott on their AAA roster (or higher) for the duration of the 2007 season or offer him back to the Orioles for a monetary sum. So Lorenzo should get at least some opportunity to prove himself at a higher level.

Now our version of the hot stove league can begin and it’ll be interesting to see how the Orioles decide to staff the Shorebirds next season. April 5th will be here before we know it and we’ll begin to judge our experiences with 7th Inning Stretch, LLC accordingly starting April 13th (or earlier if they do a fan day in March like Comcast did for at least the last two seasons.)

But whoever owns the Shorebirds can look for me there frequently. I have to get my pics for Shorebird of the Week sometime!

Such a hard decision…

This is one of those times you wish events were more spread out over the calendar. There’s not one but TWO large local band shows tonight up in Seaford and over in OC.

In Seaford at Coyote’s the lineup for the “Slower Lower Christmas” is as follows:

Crookedfinger, Third Time Around, Red Number 40, Trip to Hollow, Pirate Radio, and Semiblind. I believe all but Pirate Radio hail from the First State so Seaford is the capital of their music scene for one night.

That show starts at 6:00 and admission is either $5 or three non-perishable food items (for the Food Bank of Delaware.) Coyote’s is located right off the corner of Stein Highway (SR 20) and Atlanta Road. I know right where it is because I bowl at Seaford Lanes next door.

The other show begins at 7:00 at the Sandbar in OC (33rd and Coastal Highway). There’s 9 bands for this one but I don’t have the info about admission cost. The “X106.9 Christmas Cranker” has Falling From Failure, Pirate Radio (doing both venues), The Sophies, Plunge, 7 Days Torn, Agents of the Sun, Havok in Hollywood, Hard$ell, and headlining the gig is Lennex. Should be a pretty packed house by that point.

Of the 14 bands in question, I’ve seen seven of them so I’ll have some new songs to check out regardless of where I go. But it should be fun regardless of venue, and certainly the one in Seaford is for a good cause.

Open letter to Senator-elect Cardin

As I stated yesterday in my last post, I got an e-mail late Wednesday night from Ben Cardin with its subject being his reaction to the Iraq Study Group report. Here’s what he wrote:

Dear Friend,

Today, the Iraq Study Group presented its recommendations to the Bush administration and the American people. I hope President Bush and his top advisers will read them very closely.

After conducting the most in-depth study on the Bush administration’s management of the war in Iraq to date, the bi-partisan commission reached the same basic conclusion that most Americans have already reached for themselves: we need a change of course in Iraq and we need it now.

As the commission notes, the situation in Iraq is in fact “grave and deteriorating.” The Iraqi government needs to take more responsibility, the Bush administration must reach out to the international community, including some of Iraq’s neighbors, and our troops need to start coming home soon.

I believe the decisions we make in the coming weeks and months about our future involvement in Iraq will be among the most important foreign policy decisions of our times. Our approach in Iraq will not only impact the future of that nation, but also the stability of the entire region and America’s standing in the in the world. With so much is at stake, I am honored that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has nominated me to serve on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where I will work with my colleagues to develop a new policy in Iraq when the new Congress convenes.

The Bush administration’s policies in Iraq simply are not working – and everyone seems to recognize that but President Bush himself.

The American people know the status quo isn’t working and they voiced their opposition at the polls last month. Most members of Congress, on both sides of the aisle, know it’s not working. Numerous former generals and military experts have spoken out against it too. We now know that even Donald Rumsfeld, just two days before resigning, conceded to the President that the current course in Iraq wasn’t working. Yet, to this day, the President insists on continuing with the same failed policies.

Hopefully now, with the commission’s recommendations in hand, the Bush administration will hear the concerns of the American people and chart a new course. It’s time to finally put forward a strategy to start bringing home our troops safely and honorably.

I believe the Bush administration should implement the commission’s recommendation to start significantly drawing down our troops – particularly the non-combat personnel. As the commission noted, beginning the process of bringing American troops home will send a strong signal to the Iraqi government that they need to stand up and assume responsibility for their own security.

I voted against the going to war in Iraq four years ago and have remained an outspoken critic of the President’s management of it. Last June, I outlined my own plan for moving forward in Iraq, which like the Iraq Study Group report, included gradually drawing down American troops and aggressively engaging the international community in the rebuilding of Iraq.

The Iraq Study Group’s report has provided the Bush administration with many thoughtful recommendations on how to chart a new course in Iraq. Now it’s time for the Administration to take action – change is long overdue.

Sincerely,

Ben Cardin

After receiving this e-mail I thought this would be a great chance to post about my feelings on the ISG and the Long War in general.

Dear Senator-elect Cardin:

As one of many on your e-mail list because of my interest in political affairs, I am in receipt of your e-mail note of Wednesday, December 6th. To me, it’s quite ironic that the report came out when it did, as the next day we commemorated the 65th anniversary of the previous (to 9/11/01) surprise attack on American soil, Pearl Harbor.

I find it enlightening that you support having a study group to tell us how to conduct warfare. Back in 1941, the only group that mattered was America as a whole, and as a nation we rolled up our sleeves and got to work defending ourselves regardless of cost in material and lives.

But I thought a good, simple to understand analogy would be to compare our war efforts in Iraq to the current success enjoyed by the Baltimore Ravens. In actuality, the scenario I describe becomes quite possible as the remainder of the football season plays out.

Having defeated an opponent in their first round playoff game, the Ravens would find themselves having to make the long trip to San Diego for the next round of the playoffs. During the prior week, the Ravens study film of previous Charger games to determine what tendencies San Diego has and how best to combat them. And once the game starts, they use their strength and power on both offense and defense to jump off to a quick 14-0 lead.

But as any good team would over the course of the game, the Chargers adjust and start to find some of the weaknesses in the Ravens’ attack. Plus, having the advantages of home field and a week off to prepare, San Diego tosses out a few wrinkles that the Ravens weren’t expecting coming in. The combination of these factors knocks the Ravens back on their heels – Baltimore becomes inept at even the simplest tasks of blocking and holding on to the football. Penalties, turnovers, and mistakes compound and by halftime the momentum has shifted and the Chargers have come back to take a 17-14 lead. And the contingent of Ravens fans who were loudly and boisterously cheering on the purple and black early on becomes openly derisive of their chances in the second half while the ever-skeptical “experts” sneer that “we told you that the Ravens weren’t good enough to win.”

Hopefully it was quite easy to determine which parties in the Long War were analogous to the ones in my semi-mythical playoff game. Our country took the fight to the Islamofascist forces much as the Ravens would have to take their playoff fight to San Diego in order to advance.

So halftime has arrived. It seems to me that the course that you seem to advocate (and have all through the campaign) would be for the Ravens to play their second-stringers during the second half and walk off the field after the third quarter. But true Ravens fans would expect their team to make whatever adjustments were necessary and shift tactics back to other areas they were strongest at to come back for the win. To that end, I find it interesting that nowhere in the main body of the ISG report is the word “victory” mentioned aside from the citation that pulling out would hand the terrorist forces a victory.

As I see it, there’s only one good outcome in the Long War. We win. America cannot win this by retreating nor can diplomacy save the day. Five Presidents (since Jimmy Carter in 1979) have had to deal with these terrorists to one degree or another, with the first of many incidents involving Islamic terrorists being the kidnapping of 52 hostages at the American Embassy in Teheran. One of the hostage-takers is a man who the ISG advocates negotiating with!

President Bush said early on that this fight would not be easy nor would it be short. I read a news article the other day that noted we’ve now fought the battles in Iraq on the ground for a longer period than our involvement in World War 2. As the media almost gleefully reports a daily body count and works to move the nation into an anti-war frenzy as occurred with Viet Nam, it makes me wonder if the length of this fight has as much to do with the lack of support from people like you, Senator-elect Cardin, as it does the anti-Semitic, religiously extreme resolve that drives our enemies on the battlefield. We learned today that this resolve may have led a young man to sacrifice himself and kill hundreds of others in an Illinois mall during the holidays if not for good work by FBI agents.

The other good work has been done by many thousands of young men and women who do support our country and what it stands for. Some of them have made the ultimate sacrifice as Derrick Shareef may have planned to as part of jihad. But with any outcome other than our eventual victory, those fine Americans (and other coalition forces) who’ve died in Iraq and Afghanistan die in vain.

Sincerely,

Michael Swartz
www.monoblogue.us

Open invitations

I actually began to write this post earlier tonight but then my cable modem decided to fritz out for some reason. That’s probably a good thing because I started to think after awhile that my tone in the article would’ve been too bitter.

The article came about because I still occasionally get e-mail in the mailbox I established prior to the election for campaign news. And yesterday I got this from Brian Hammock of the Martin O’Malley campaign, under the subject of “Inaugural Workers Needed”:

Dear Michael,

One month ago you helped make history by electing Martin O’Malley as our 61st Governor of Maryland. I’m writing this morning to ask for your help once again as we prepare for the Gubernatorial Inaugural.

Invitations for the inaugural need to be sent out next week. We are looking for volunteers to help assemble the invitations next Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at the 5th Regimen Armory in Baltimore (219 Twenty-Ninth Division St, Baltimore, MD 21201). We have three shifts available each day: 3:00 – 5:00pm, 5:00 – 7:00pm, 7:00 – 9:00pm.

This will be a good opportunity to see friends from the campaign and be a part of this historic event. Food and beverages will be provided. Please let me know if you can help and which day/shift you are available. You can let me know by email or call the inaugural office at 410-547-8884 ×200.

Leaving aside the fact I wouldn’t vote for Martin O’Malley for dogcatcher (let alone governor), this got me to thinking about a simple question. Of all the volunteers this envelope-stuffing gig will draw (since that’s basically the purpose), how many of the actual stuffers will have an invite sent to them? They may get a courtesy invitation for helping out, but the real movers and shakers who gave big bucks to O’Malley’s campaign (union leaders, trial lawyers, etc.) are going to be the ones who get access to the more exclusive events. And I doubt the high-dollar donors will be the ones in the trenches doing the grunt work.

I suppose the MBA member with the most cogent thoughts on the subject would be Stephanie of Jousting for Justice, she’s done volunteering for the O’Malley campaign and it’s quite possible she’ll be one of those stuffing the envelopes. But if one were to just glance at the subject line like I did, I would be thinking of helping at the actual inaugural event, not a solicitation to stuff envelopes.

Anyway, on to bigger and better things. I also got another note today from Delegate Jeannie Haddaway that I’m happier to pass along:

Dear Friends,

It’s time once again for the 5th Annual Care & Share Santa Swim!!! The event provides funding for families and senior citizens in Dorchester County that need food, clothing, toys and other items to make their holidays brighter.

My request is that you join Delegate Addie Eckardt and I in the swim (PUHLEASE!!!!) or sponsor us for being brave enough to wear a bathing suit in December. So come cheer us on, jump in with us, or sponsor us with a donation!!!

The event is set for this Saturday, December 9th at the beach at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay resort. Santas will jump in to the brrrr-isk river at 10:00 am (registration starts at 9:30am). There will be awards, refreshments, and other entertainment during this wonderful holiday event – and – don’t forget, the Hyatt has HOT TUBS!! :o)

If you would like to help out, give me a ring at (443) 786-2137 or reply to this email. If you cannot help us this time, please consider joining us for the Polar Bear Plunge in January (to benefit Special Olympics) and say a prayer that it warms up a little before Saturday!!!!

For more info, you can also visit www.votehaddaway.com.

Thanks and Happy Holidays,

Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio

Sorry Jeannie, I don’t think your prayers will be answered. Looks like mid-30’s for temperature with a light wind out of the north.

And wouldn’t you know it, I guess I’m Ben Cardin’s “friend” as well. His campaign dropped a note in my mailbox this evening regarding the Iraq Study Group (or, as Rush Limbaugh calls them, the “Iraq Surrender Group”) and their recommendations. I think I’m going to post on that one tomorrow or Friday.

Just another day with my mailbag. It had actually been quiet for awhile but I guess it’s time to gear up the political machines. We’re only a few weeks away from the resumption of politics-as-usual in both Annapolis and Washington. One thing about having a bipartisan mailbox is it gives me all sorts of opportunities to compare and contrast the two parties, and this example shows why I’m on the right side.

Thoughts on Jim Pelura

In my last post I noted that the incoming head of the Maryland Republican Party was one Jim Pelura. Whether through reading monoblogue or the article in the Baltimore Sun, already several people have the opinion that Dr. Pelura may not have been the best choice, particularly Cato at Delmarva Dealings.

As I noted, I took the time to speak with both Pelura and opponent John White on Friday night as I was making my rounds. I actually enjoyed speaking to both of them and figured either would make a good chairman; however, in the end I thought White would’ve been the better choice and voted accordingly. But I was in a relatively sparse minority as almost 2/3 of the eligible voters at the convention selected Pelura. To me though, it was clear from the start that Pelura was the “establishment” candidate. Several of the e-mails I received in the last couple days before the convention were pro-Pelura and there was one that openly advocated not voting for John White. Nothing wrong with that, obviously some people wanted Pelura to win and stuck their neck out for him. No hard feelings whatsoever.

The most bizarre thing about this chairman election was there were some counties that strongly supported White. He won 8 counties and Baltimore City by a combined 50-11, which was over 70% of his total. Three of our four local counties went into the White column (including Wicomico – Somerset was the lone exception.) The tally in our area was 14-8 White with 7 Pelura votes being Somerset’s. But Pelura pitched shutouts in seven counties and had just one dissenter in three others, which racked up an insurmountable 76-3 margin for the chair.

However, just like the November election that I was on the losing end of for the most part, I’m going to choose to look forward. Here are the items attributed to Pelura that Cato questioned in his post, which actually comes from an Anne Arundel County blog called The Conservative Refuge. I’ll give my thoughts on each afterward.

1) The majority of Marylanders are basically conservative.

To one degree or another, I think Pelura is correct in saying this. Obviously, a place like Takoma Park has the people farthest from this ideal, but in areas like the Eastern Shore and Western Maryland Pelura is spot on, even if there’s more registered Democrats in some counties.

2) The Republican Party of Maryland must reach out to the actual voter and make them feel proud to be Republican.

This comment is pretty much a platitude, on this I have to agree with Cato. Its sentiment is better said in point number 5.

3) The Republican Party should simply promote Republican ideals which will benefit all candidates on the ticket.

I sort of like this “keep it simple stupid” approach because the GOP does have several issues that would appeal to most IF they choose to govern accordingly. Unfortunately, they didn’t do so in Washington over the last 4 to 6 years and that’s why they’re in the minority.

4) There should be active and open cooperation between the Republicans in the House and Senate and the State Party.

Nothing wrong with that. The elected officials should help us out when they can.

5) Most voters want to vote for something or someone and not against something or someone.

On this I agree wholeheartedly. Because disappointed conservatives had no one to vote FOR, the 2006 election was one that was won by a party that simply benefitted by not being in power, as happened in the 1974 post-Watergate election. Did the Democrats really have a lot of bright ideas? Not particularly – at least nothing that rivaled the Reagan “morning in America” or “city on a shining hill” or the Gingrich “Contract With America.” Come to think of it, all the Democrats had in their last big victory (1992) was Bill Clinton’s aw-shucks charm and a country pissed off because of “read my lips” and the Clinton claim of the worst economy in the last 50 years. Times weren’t great in 1991-92 but they weren’t the Great Depression either.

But in talking to Jim Pelura Friday night, I got the impression that he wanted to get a lot more input from the grassroots, which would be folks like me. I think he had a goal of meeting with all 24 local parties in his first year, and I know we here on the Lower Shore can make his life easier because I believe we do tri-county meetings (Worcester, Somerset, Wicomico) three times a year…save him a couple trips. If he wants the party to get away from conservative ideals, he’ll get an earful from us folks down here, particularly me.

I look forward to working with the new Chairman, and hopefully John White will send out a press release of some sort indicating he’ll be happy to support the incoming chair. As I stated at the outset, we had two good candidates running so we were bound to have someone worthy in the role of Chairman. Now it’s time to get cracking on 2008 and 2010, and I have some e-mails to write.

2006 Maryland GOP Fall Convention

The Doubletree Hotel in Annapolis, site of the 2006 Fall Maryland GOP Convention.

The Doubletree Hotel in Annapolis was the site of my first convention as an invited guest. Rather than do a laundry list of all the business that occurred, I’m looking at this post as an opportunity to give some of the flavor of the event, particularly happenings on Friday night. Honestly, a lot of that is because my pictures from today did not turn out well. The ballroom we had the business portion of the convention in was pretty dark and my attempts to compensate for this by changing camera settings made those pictures too blurry for use.

I actually arrived in Annapolis about 4:30 yesterday afternoon and took that time to restudy all of the information I had on our various candidates for party offices. After checking in and receiving my packet, the first event on the agenda was actually the Executive Committee meeting that I sat in on. But at the table where credentials were verified lay some popular stickers:

A sticker sure to be on many GOP cars in the coming four years.

At the beginning of the meeting, outgoing Chairman John Kane joked that anyone chanting “four more years” would be escorted from the room. But he went through a list of things that were accomplished under his tenure, particularly in the financial arena. He reiterated a favorite saying of his, that “the price of relevancy is discipline.” Despite losing the elections this year, the party had become relevent as a legitimate opposition party poised for future growth. National Committeewoman Joyce Lyons Terhes and National Committeeman Louis Pope echoed Kane’s emphasis on where things were successful for the MDGOP in this election cycle and thanked John for his service.

We also heard from some of the auxiliary groups that the Maryland Republican Party affiliates with, as the Young Republicans, College Republicans, and Teenage Republicans all detailed their GOTV efforts in the 2006 elections. The Executive Committee meeting was rather brief, as time was given at the end for the various committees to meet and work out details for the actual meeting held today. With that, most of the group was free to socialize at one of several gatherings in the hotel.

Despite the recent tough election, the GOP elephant was in good spirits.

The outgoing Chairman had a party thrown in his honor.

Chairman candidate Jim Pelura had a large party room as well.

The Maryland YR suite hosted a party well into the night.

One item that Kane also noted was his belief that there should be only one convention a year while the other one could be reserved for regional events. I don’t agree with this approach because I see these conventions as an opportunity to interact with Central Committee folks from all over the state, as well as some of the other people from the host city. In this case, I met several other active Republicans from Anne Arundel County who stopped by to enjoy the socializing, and I’m sure they enjoyed interacting with Republicans from all across Maryland.

In my case, I also took the time to try and have a few minutes with each of the candidates who were running for party offices because I’d gone to the convention with just the information I alluded to in an earlier post. And another oddity was meeting a few people who had Eastern Shore roots but were now living in different areas. They’d see my badge from Wicomico County and ask me, “what part of the county are you from?” And either they would be originally from the county or have close relatives nearby. It’s a real-life example of the theory that we raise and educate young folks who can’t find good-paying jobs here so they move across the bay.

I ended up socializing and schmoozing with many nice folks from all over the state until about the time the clock struck midnight. But the alarm was set for an early start for today.

(One aside regarding the hotel. I had a nice room and its best feature was a Sleep Number bed. Never slept in one before but I have now and I can say that I like it and my Sleep Number for the night was 30. Loved sinking right into that bed, it was cocoonlike. Rush would be proud.)

Either I slept REALLY soundly or my mind was on overdrive because of the events to come today, but I was up at 6:00, in time to see this:

The sun rises over Annapolis.

I went down to breakfast and had a good meal. Our speaker was Cathleen Vitale, who’s a local Anne Arundel County Councilwoman and their representative on the state Critical Areas Commission. Her basic themes were learning to tell our story (before the other side does), finding a farm team of candidates from people involved in the community, and setting goals on a regular basis. She likened these achievements to making a playbook for use in this and future election cycles.

The convention hall awaits the transaction of our business.

After breakfast, the actual business meeting began. When I posted about the spring convention in Cambridge, I noted that there was a rather hastily drafted change to the by-laws to allow for regional chairs rather than the vice chairs that the state had at the time. But after reviewing the proceedings later, it was concluded that these changes weren’t properly made per the rules and we would have to revert to the old system of electing three vice-chairs. This led to some confusion among the gathering who were expecting to vote for regional chairs. It’s a problem sure to be revisited in the spring (this time with proper notice, which was the issue.) But the party should be commended for making sure things are done by the book, unlike some other parties who like to make things up as they go. So despite the overwhelming support for the idea in May, it was accepted that the old system would be kept in place until the changes are made properly and to me that is the correct course to take.

Once again, the reports were given much as the Executive Committee meeting’s were. But we also had other speakers who were allowed to address the 205 Central Committee members in attendance (plus guests.) Both of our “downticket” competitors in November, Anne McCarthy (Comptroller) and Scott Rolle (Attorney General) made remarks. Particularly interesting to me was the degree to which they were outspent in their races. McCarthy noted that she spent 7 cents per vote to Democrat Peter Franchot’s dollar plus; while Rolle claimed he was outspent in an 8:1 ratio. But both said they’d “be back” so it’s to be believed they’ll remain in the mix for efforts in 2010.

Two guests were given plenty of time to speak. Both Lt. Gov. Michael Steele and Gov. Bob Ehrlich were introduced to raucous, thunderous ovations. Steele stated that allowed himself to be despondent about the results on election night “for about seven minutes” but at seven minutes and 30 seconds, he was thinking about what was next for himself and the Maryland GOP. This was an opportunity to move on, he continued, and the close races proved once again that the party was “relevant.”

Bob Ehrlich opened by alluding to a sign in his office which reads “No Whining Allowed.” We lost the election but were not defeated, pointing out the difference where losing an election happens but abandoning principles because of losing the election was defeat. He urged the assembled to emphasize his four years of policy successes (he gave a long list of these) and “compare and contrast” the record of his administration to the incoming O’Malley one. This, he added, would require a vigilant effort to track the doings of the new administration – after all, it was pointed out during the convention that Martin O’Malley had pulled down the “promises” portion of his website the moment he was declared the winner.

After our speakers, it was time to elect the new officers. Despite the fact that I seemed to be the kiss of death for the candidates I ended up voting for in each contested race (3 of my 4 that I voted for in contested races lost), I’m still proud to announce the incoming slate running the Maryland Republican Party for the next four years because we had a bushel of excellent choices where we pretty much couldn’t go wrong. For the next four years, these are the leaders of the Maryland GOP.

Chair: Jim Pelura (Anne Arundel County)
1st Vice Chair: Chris Cavey (Baltimore County)
2nd Vice Chair: Chuck Gast (Anne Arundel County)
3rd Vice Chair: Mike Geppi (Harford County)
Secretary: Rex Reed (Montgomery County)
Treasurer: Chris Rosenthal (Anne Arundel County. He’s a Salisbury native.)

With that, we finally ended a long morning (into early afternoon) of business and adjourned to a farewell lunch where we heard from some of the winners. In a nod to my argument that we should remain with the two conventions a year, I’d like to note that at breakfast I sat with nice folks from Frederick and Garrett counties, but at lunch we had an all-Eastern Shore table with Wicomico, Queen Anne’s, and Talbot represented.

Now that I’ve actually been sworn in and got to go through my first full convention, I can say that I truly enjoyed the experience and can’t wait for the next one. Hopefully I’ve made a few friends along the way, or at least now people can put a face to a name that’s on the list of Wicomico County members. If they are relatively diligent about “turns” (and want to save my friends in Western Maryland another long drive) it’s likely time for that side of the state to get a convention, but we’ll see. Somewhere about March I should be given the time and place, and I look forward to another great political experience. 

monoblogue turns one

*Before I start, I’ve updated information on Mike Lewis’s swearing in below.*

Today is the first anniversary of monoblogue. One year ago, I made my first post for this website. In that year, I’ve achieved some of my goals for the site while others are still in the process of being worked on.

One goal that I’ve far exceeded is readership. On my previous blog site, my best week readership-wise was 197 readers (according to my Site Meter) but generally I would get between 30 and 50 readers a week. I was hoping for 100-200 a week from monoblogue but here are my best readership weeks for each month since I added the Site Meter to this site in April:

  • April – 229
  • May – 261
  • June – 291
  • July – 541
  • August – 556
  • September – 708
  • October – 806
  • November – 867

It’s actually leveled off somewhat since the election (back to about 600 readers per week or so) but I’m betting you’ll find this to be the case at many political websites, particularly in my case since monoblogue was a good conduit for finding candidate information. Anyway, as you can tell my goals were blown away early. Now I’m trying for my first four-figure readership week.

Also, the number of links to monoblogue from other sources has risen. For much of that I’m indebted to the fellow members of the Maryland Bloggers Alliance, a family of now 15 fine blogs from around the state that are generally political but also touch on many other topics. In its first year the MBA has grown from the original two members (Pillage Idiot and Soccer Dad) to its current state. My website was the first to be included from outside the Baltimore/DC metro area and still is the sole representative on the Eastern Shore.

Probably the largest goal I have yet to achieve is getting monoblogue to be a profitable enterprise. Fortunately it’s not a really expensive hobby, but I would like to see SOME income from it. There’s methods of achieving that which I’m going to explore further in year number two.

But overall this has been a good year for my website, and I would consider mine to be in the upper echelon of the local blogosphere. Slowly monoblogue is getting a voice in local and state affairs, and I’m planning on keeping that focus in the days to come. There’s a few things I’m working on for future posts and hopefully these will be enlightening and entertaining once they are posted.

There’s just something about December 1st in my life. It’s also the day I began my first architectural job back in Toledo, Ohio 20 years ago. That career path led me to this area where monoblogue started, so I’m looking to see where my monoblogue path leads me. It’s a journey that I’ll hopefully share with my readers for many years to come.

Late update: December is off to a good start! My latest Site Meter report came in and I topped my old record with 881 visitors according to them.

The second campaign

As I sit here, I have 23 e-mails and 3 snail mails here that relate to the various hopefuls seeking positions within the Maryland Republican Party. It’s like going through the election all over again except this time my mind’s not already made up for the most part. (Actually it’s sort of like the primary except we only get one election come Saturday.)

I haven’t actually read through all of the information yet, but I suppose the people I’ll vote for need to assure me that they’ll keep several things in mind and work toward certain goals for 2010.

As some readers may recall, I ran for Central Committee with a particular set of goals in mind. One is, “an open-door policy and outreach to the…College Republicans as well as local Young Republican chapters. (W)e as Central Committee members need to do what we can to encourage these interested youths to get involved with the political process. Take advantage of their youthful energy, not just as grunt workers for the same old candidates but give them an opportunity to make a difference. Will mistakes be made? Yes, but it’s better to make a mistake trying to make a positive change than screwing up doing the same old thing.”

The other key and relevent one is, “I’m a believer in contested primaries regardless of office. Just because someone is in elected office makes them no more special than the rest of us…In 2010, I would like to see even the Republicans who win election this year pushed to a contest in the primary. A spirited but friendly competition is a good warmup for the real test, when our candidates square off with those Democrats who will likely have the advantages of help from Annapolis and a friendlier media.”

The second one may be the rub and place me in a small minority as far as the Maryland GOP goes. The conventional wisdom is that having uncontested primaries frees up money for the general election and keeps the mud from being slung within the party. An example is the “Willie Horton” ad used by Democrats as an example of Republicans being mean and racist – it was actually first used by an opponent of Michael Dukakis in the 1988 Democrat primaries (I want to say Al Gore, but I’m not sure. Looked it up on Wikipedia and there’s conflicting stories on the source.)

Anyhow, I’m a person who puts his trust in party voters to elect the right person for the position. But sometimes the state and national GOP brain trusts place their support behind a warm body who just happens to carry an “R” behind his name and the power of incumbency instead of a candidate who is more in line with the party’s interests as a whole – only to see their fair-haired boy stab them in the back when the chips are down. See Specter vs. Toomey in Pennsylvania (2004) and Chafee vs. Laffey in Rhode Island (2006). In particular, I was perturbed when we had a representative from the state GOP come to a meeting to explain the Republican GOTV efforts and use this year’s Rhode Island primary as an example because the party was using it to endorse the RINO Chafee, who may have lost the primary if not for the efforts. And do you think some conservatives in Pennsylvania may have kept the memory of Rick Santorum endorsing Arlen Specter over Pat Toomey in the back of their minds when they decided to skip that race or pull the lever for Bob Casey out of spite?

I want candidates to run my state party who understand that there’s no need to compromise its principles because we live in what’s now a “blue” state. We just need to solidify our base (the “outstate” areas) and focus on reeducating those in the swing areas that a conservative philosophy of governance is the best one.

Note to fellow bloggers…

Just to make this clear…

Update:

I received a phone call today from a nice lady who wanted me to clarify my brief post. The swearing-in ceremony at Wicomico H.S. is open to the public and anyone may attend.

However, the subsequent “inaugural ball” if you will is only open to those personnel in the Sheriff’s Department and invited guests (i.e. a private party.)  

I found out that next Monday Sheriff-elect Mike Lewis is being sworn in at 4 P.M. at the Civic Center and is closing the office so all personnel can attend (paid). (The State Police will take the calls.) He has invited all of the deputies and their families for this catered affair.

I mention this because I can’t be there to take notes and pictures (since I’m a loyal employee and have to get our projects out), but my fellow Salisbury area bloggers (:::cough:::Joe:::cough:::) may want to record this for posterity.

Late edit: Mike Lewis has changed plans…swearing in at Wi-Hi and post-party at Brew River. The times remain the same.

WCRC meeting – November 2006

I attended a wake tonight. Ok, it wasn’t QUITE that bad, but there was a little bit of discontent at our meeting. Obviously, our side didn’t win as much as we’d hoped starting from the top down and a good deal of the time was spent in analysis why we thought this happened. But, as it turns out, in the words of one commenter, “we got butt whipped.”

Discussion touched on a number of topics, including a lack of enthusiasm by Republicans as a whole, how the primary losers didn’t get behind the primary winners, and a need for better organization and more targeted advertising.

There’s one topic that I got raw numbers for (thanks to Woody Willing at the Board of Elections.) The Republican turnout was 57%, while the Democrats managed 51% and independents were 2,800 strong (that’s roughly 40%.) It works out to about 10,830 Republicans, 11,730 Democrats, and the 2,800 independents. So the independents were enough to tip the scales.

What was noted at the meeting is that the 62% Ehrlich vote didn’t translate all the way down the line – aside from Mike Lewis and Gail Bartkovich, no other contested Republican came close to those numbers. The GOP could not even hold its base in a lot of races as some votes leaked away for Norm Conway, Mark Bowen, et. al.

So that turned out to be the bulk of our meeting, and I even chimed in with my thoughts, which I’ll elaborate on at the end of the post.

We did do some business items. Our treasury is still pretty healthy and ready for the next election cycle. The club also got nice thank-you notes from State Senator Lowell Stoltzfus, Bonnie Luna, Bryan Brushmiller, M.J. Caldwell, and District 3 Councilwoman Gail Bartkovich. And come January, the club will begin the process of nominating and selecting its officers for 2007. It was also revealed that the next event for the club will be our Christmas Party, which will be Sunday, December 10th from 5-7 p.m. at the Elks Club on Churchill Drive. Admission is $5.

Fellow incoming Central Committeeman Dave Parker told us about the state Executive Committee meeting (he attended in place of our chair, Dr. John Bartkovich), particularly about the remarks that Michael Steele made to the attendees. Steele stated that basically the Maryland GOP was back in the same position that they were in after the 1998 elections – beaten down and battered because of poor election results. At the time their goal was to eventually elect a GOP governor…by 2006. Obviously Bob Ehrlich beat that timetable.

According to Parker, Steele had two points that he stressed to those in attendance. One is work on getting candidates early, particularly younger candidates (which our local party did pretty well this cycle.) The other is place more emphasis on the annual Lincoln Day dinner, as that draws attention to the party even in off years. Dave noted that Michael Steele was quite upbeat and positive at the gathering, despite being handed a convincing defeat at the polls and despite having the better position on issues facing Maryland. (Ok, the last is my editorial comment.)

We also heard briefly from two electoral winners. Joe Holloway, newly elected in County Council District 5, joked about the tone of the meeting, quipping “(I guess) I’m the bright spot. Sorry about your luck.” He admitted that he’s still getting up to speed on some of the issues but looked forward to tackling them. (Note to Joe: read the blogs more often.) But he thanked all of us for our help, and complemented opponent Ed Werkheiser on running a gentlemanly campaign.

Delegate Page Elmore also spoke a few words, saying that we all needed to move forward and most likely the first big issue out of the chute when the General Assembly kicks off will be the slots debate, as Maryland is facing a financial crunch and Page didn’t see Governor-elect O’Malley raising taxes right away. In Elmore’s view, if slots are going to be placed it should be where gambling already occurs; in other words, at the racetracks.

There was also a quick question regarding revamping the club’s website, and it was reiterated that the issue had been left up to the officers and they were awaiting a proposal from a prospective operator (it’s not me!)

Which leads me to my comments. During the whole discussion about what happened in 2006, I had to place my two cents in. In so many words, I just had to say that 2006 is history now, let’s learn from our mistakes and move forward.

We have two years now before the next major election. What I thought should happen among the people in the room is not necessarily to spend that whole time being political with people, but rather to lead by the example of doing things in the community and get out among other people. Sooner or later they get to know you and it’s at that point that, if politics becomes a topic of conversation, they’re more amenable to listening to the Republican message. You have a much better chance for success with stating a case for a candidate by talking to a friend about him/her than any 30 second commercial or mail piece ever does.

I was also the subject of an interesting comment put to me because I’m a blogger. Since I have a record of my blog posts it gives me an institutional memory that can be used for or against a candidate or a point of view. Obviously I spent a LOT of time attending forums and the like and compiling my notes on what was said…so someone could go back and say (for example) Rick Pollitt, you said you “want no more government than is necessary” but here you are asking for funding on (fill in the blank) and that’s more intrusive government. It’s sort of like opposition research on the cheap, and as the blogosphere expands and becomes more of a “legit” media source, many more voices can and will be heard. (Finally, someone who MIGHT understand this blog thing and how it can work for the GOP.)

All in all, it was a long meeting that was basically an exercise in getting out the frustrations we have over the election results of three weeks ago in a civil manner. Maybe we didn’t work quite hard enough, and maybe our side was hurt by national events, but now that’s all water under the bridge and we must move on. I’m not going to be like those on the other side who were STILL whining about Bush stealing elections years after the fact. We have a county, state, and nation to help govern even if we are in the (temporary) minority in most cases.