2010 elections – Page 4

Party uber alles?

Let me begin by saying that I’m quite aware Audrey Scott, as MDGOP Chair, is paid to elect Republicans. But is this the right message to put out?

Sometimes you have to stand for something besides not being the other guys. Oftentimes we make our decisions based on the letter after the name, not realizing that there’s supposed to be underlying principles inherent within.

I think Brian Murphy understands this too. He criticized Scott in a blistering radio interview message:

For the last 100 years, the Maryland Republican Party has been irrelevant, and so they’ve just said, ‘Well, the only way to win is to look like Democrats.’ No, the way to win is what Ronald Reagan did: to stand on principle.

[The GOP] is really having an identity crisis. Over the weekend, there was a telling video, and it was really pretty disgusting, quite frankly. The reason I’m running is because we’ve lost sight of our principles in our party. If the Republican Party is one thing, it is a party of principles. It is a party of conviction and passion. Our Founders were all men and women of principle and passion.

There was this Rule 11 thing, where the Republican Party, most folks don’t know about it, they don’t really care. It’s this little group that decided to endorse Ehrlich, even before he filed. It was basically a vote against me. But that was a symptom. And this video, this weekend, was the real disease. It was the Chairman of the Republican Party… she said, ‘Party first. Party over principle.’ Which shows she doesn’t understand the Republican Party is the party of principle. That’s why we’re losers in Maryland.

Now, I already have heard the argument about Brian being a Democrat for awhile, yadda yadda yadda. Perhaps what attracted him to switch was the fact our party has good conservative principles and he felt he was the best person to lead us in that direction? To dismiss him is to dismiss a number of other leaders on a more local scale who simply were fed up with politics as usual. A church wouldn’t turn away someone who wants to convert, so why should we?

Unfortunately for establishment Republicans, I give a damn about principles too. One thing I demand is a fair shake for all candidates and let them stand or fall on their own merits, not being Obamalike and clearing the playing field for a chosen candidate. Yes, I’m proud to be a Republican but the “R” next to the name doesn’t guarantee a vote when I think they fall short on principles. That’s why I am unabashedly a Murphy supporter – on the other hand, Wayne Gilchrest was one of those types who wasn’t what I considered a good Republican to be. Fortunately Bob Ehrlich has just enough good points that I can support him in the general election if he doesn’t lose the primary. Chances are he won’t.

That being said, though, in the next term the GOP is going to need to have the whip handy in order to corral Ehrlich in the right direction and make sure he follows through on those areas conservatives supported him for. That means crossing the aisle to accomodate Democrats is verboten – let them come to us. If Ehrlich wins he makes the budget and that’s part of the political Golden Rule – he who has the gold, rules. So screw the Democrats – they’re more than happy to do it to us when they’re in power. It’s our contention as conservatives that following our philosophy of limiting government will lead to more prosperity and freedom for all, not just chosen special interests.

More than likely it’s too late for Murphy’s words to make much of an impact for this election – votes are already being cast and, with our party (led by Ehrlich) now hypocritically embracing the early voting we fought against, Brian Murphy has fewer minds to change. But there is still hope for the next cycle, and if Bob Ehrlich wins and becomes the titular leader of the Maryland GOP he shouldn’t be allowed to just expect the party to back his every move or become a vehicle for his re-election. We already tried that once and we see where we were led.

(On a side note, perhaps it’s time to consider something our neighbor to the south does and limit governors to one four-year term. While we’re at it, 12 years in the General Assembly is more than enough.)

It’s what makes your local Central Committee elections almost as important as choosing the best Republican candidates to follow the party’s conservative, limited-government philosophy through to a seat in the General Assembly. I happen to be running for one of those seats, and I’ll be thankful and humbled if Wicomico County voters place their trust in me for another term.

But it’s more important that our party conveys a message that principles matter and the people should have their say in electing a candidate. This Rule 11 fiasco wasn’t quite as covert as my birth state’s practice of regularly trying to avoid contested primaries in statewide races by cajolery but it still has the stench of a backroom deal written all over it. In an era where more people than ever are fed up with ‘politics as usual’ and don’t think there’s a significant difference between the two parties, there’s no need to make my job as a Republican harder by providing more evidence those perceptions are correct.

Ehrlich today, Murphy tomorrow

Late edit: Bob Ehrlich will also be at the local GOP Victory Center (the old Hollywood Video) from 3 to 4 today.

It seems like baseball and campaigning go hand in hand. Last night at the Shorebirds game State’s Attorney candidate W. Seth Mitchell went the sack race route to get in front of the crowd (yes, Kim got video and I will upload it for the next FNV) and today it’s Bob Ehrlich’s turn as he will throw out the first pitch for this evening’s 5:05 contest and hang around with supporters for awhile afterward.

Meanwhile, fellow Republican challenger Brian Murphy continues his “Refuse to Settle” tour on the Eastern Shore today with appearances in Easton, Eden (at the Bordeleau Winery at 3:30), and the Ocean City boardwalk this evening. Tomorrow he’ll be in Cambridge meeting with local homeschoolers, attend the final Shorebirds game (2:05 tomorrow afternoon) and wrap up in Ocean City again by jamming with Johnny Bling at M.R. Ducks. (See, it pays to have a nicely detailed events calendar.)

For his part, Martin O’Malley will be walking in Labor Day parades in Greenbelt and Gaithersburg tomorrow. Nothing like shoring up the base when you don’t have significant opposition in your primary.

These visits should make for an interesting subplot for the conclusion of an otherwise mediocre Shorebirds season. Right now the Shorebirds are playing only to avoid losing 80 games for the first time since 1999 (that team was 58-80 and currently we are 59-79.) Of course, longtime Shorebirds fans know the very next year we went from worst to first by winning the 2000 SAL pennant. Perhaps Maryland Republicans will go from bitter losses in 2006 and 2008 to success this time around.

A campaign gone on safari

The first television commercial of the U.S. Senate campaign goes to GOP challenger Eric Wargotz, and the message is clear: incumbent Senator Barbara Mikulski is a “political insidersaurus” at a time we need new leadership (the commercial video is attached at the bottom of this article.) As Eric says, “Barbara Mikulski is the ultimate political insidersaurus. She has been in office 34 years. During that time, she has increased spending, raised taxes, and destroyed our economy. We need new leadership in Washington.”

But the commercial is not without its critics, and I have to add my two cents to the discussion.

(continued on my Examiner.com page…)

Pushed back again

With getting the yard cleaned up and uploading some videos to my YouTube channel, the post I meant for today will need to be slotted tomorrow. It wouldn’t be right to push this below my final Shorebird of the Week this season and only have it on the top for a couple hours, so I’ll have it as a special edition of FNV tomorrow night. (Hopefully everyone will be recovered from Earl’s brush by then.)

The three videos I’m uploading come from last Sunday’s event and address a particular concern of mine, land use. But I want to address part of the premise of the question (which I didn’t record) regarding the two political parties working together.

Needless to say, I’m a Republican and by being in the party I adhere to a particular set of principles. To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure the Democrats have their own set of principles but it can be safely presumed that theirs would be the opposite of ours; at least as opposite as one can get given our republican (small-r) foum of government. There’s not a lot of middle ground to be had without one side or the other compromising on their core beliefs.

Obviously there are situations where this doesn’t matter, but in the big picture if one side compromises too much we have things go too far in the opposite direction. In my estimation, Republicans compromise too much and have done so for most of the last eighty years. And while people in either party can have good ideas, I prefer the ones which minimize government involvement and maximize freedom. Government at any level should be limited.

So you get split party-line votes sometimes. I have to put up with being in the minority at the state and federal levels while the other guys are saddled with being the minority locally (not that it matters much in their top-down manner of thinking.) Understanding that there is a difference between parties – if they are proper in maintaining priciples – helps to understand the political system we have and why compromise isn’t always easy or desired.

A jam-packed day

It was a day of hot and cold running politicians.

Obviously a lot of them made the scene at the grand opening and ribbon cutting for the local Republican headquarters, with most making their way to the Wicomico County Republican Club Crab Feast held this afternoon.

But quite a few made it a bipartisan event at the St. Francis carnival held in Salisbury. State’s Attorney Matt Maciarello was all over the event but also seen were Mike and Julie Brewington, County Executive hopeful Joe Ollinger, and fellow County Executive candidate Tom Taylor working the wheel for the church. That was just in the few hours I spent there tonight. Nice carnival, by the way.

I think I’m going to hold the pictures and text for tonight since I plan on attending Chris Lewis’s Sharptown event tomorrow. This way I can make it one nicely wrapped package.

I also have other political items on the back burner which will become posts, so don’t fret. I took last week off to some extent because of personal business, but I think next week I’ll be back to normal.

Guest column: Why Maryland needs Brian Murphy for Governor

I’m happy to lend my space to a friend for this important message.

I love my family. I love America. I love my freedom and the abundant opportunities to pursue life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I also love the great state of Maryland and I am a proud Republican.

In 2010, I fear for my children and grandchildren and what is being done to squash their opportunities for the same freedoms I have enjoyed all my life. I am saddened that Republicans need to identify whether they are conservatives, moderates, log cabins, fiscally responsible or whatever. But by the statements set forth in the 2008 Republican National Committee’s Platform, I am a Republican and not a subcategory thereof.

Marylanders have endured the decades of career politicians growing our government and wasting our family funds on entitlements we taxpayers don’t approve. In 1994, Republican Ellen Sauerbrey represented our ideals. As far as I am concerned she unofficially won the election for Governor. She did, however, lead the way for Republicans to be heard and simultaneously introduce conservatism for the first time in many years. We stayed down for another eight years – but, there was hope for victory. In the interim period, GOP Clubs were activated as were grassroots enthusiasm. There was a renewed energy. Voters registered as Republicans and our Party grew.

The stars were in alignment in 2002 and Bob Ehrlich, with his Republican values still intact, beat Kathleen Kennedy Townsend for Governor. This gave the boost needed to elevate our Party, our morale and our aspirations.

Today, friends ask me how I could direct Mr. Ehrlich’s campaign in Anne Arundel County knowing I was prolife and he was prochoice. Back then I looked at the two candidates and there was only one logical choice – Mr. Ehrlich. I did not abandon my values. For political expediency though, he came to forsake conservatives, even favoring Glendenning appointed judges over the objection of Party loyalists supporting two very conservative candidates (who won).

Despite spending lots of dollars, Mr. Ehrlich lost in 2006. Ironically, he was the only incumbent Republican Governor in America to lose. Voters felt he talked the talk, but he didn’t walk the walk. After the significant losses in 2006 and again nationally in 2008, Republicans in 2010 seem to have the wind at their back to rise up again. A major drawback, though, is that the Maryland Republican Party has abandoned their loyal conservative members.

A few officials and party hacks literally hijacked the will of the people! In their view they know what is best for you. This small group believes they, not you, should pick the candidate to represent Republicans in this gubernatorial election. Various newspapers and bloggers reported most of the biased chicanery that reared its ugly head at the last Republican Convention in Ocean City. But guess what? The party loyalists and grassroots said “NO” to the political hacks. Fortunately, Brian Murphy also said enough is enough and filed papers to run (even before Bob Ehrlich.)

And who is Brian Murphy? Brian Murphy has the vision, solid business experience and who demonstrates Republican values every day of his life. He’s a polished leader who also has an exceptional knowledge of Maryland budget issues and promotes pragmatic solutions to a much better path without raising taxes. That’s why he has the vote of my entire family and many others who previously donated time and money twice for Bob Ehrlich. (Emphasis mine.)

Marianne Pelura is a Republican activist who was previously the Anne Arundel County campaign director for Bob Ehrlich.

Postscript: While Mrs. Pelura made some good points about why the establishment Republicans support Bob Ehrlich and not his more conservative opponent, I really wish she’d spent a little more time quantifying the benefits of Brian Murphy besides being the anti-Ehrlich Republican. Personally, while he’s not the completely ideal candidate I think his fresh approach of competing with our neighboring states for business and stance on issues where Bob Ehrlich differs little from Martin O’Malley – like the Second Amendment and being pro-life – makes Brian the better candidate in my view.

Obviously, the pragmatist would say that Murphy is underfunded and has no chance against Martin O’Malley. But I think they said that about a couple other politicians recently who defied long odds like Barack Obama (vs. Hillary Clinton) and Scott Brown (vs. the Kennedy legacy.) And at least I have someone to vote for rather than have to accept the lesser of two evils.

I could live with Bob Ehrlich as governor, particularly against Martin O’Malley. But I’d rather see Brian Murphy have a turn at the wheel and see what he can do for a state which he opined has unfair advantages over the rest.

The fur flies

Just because I’ve been away the last couple days tending to family matters (and before that coordinating the GOP presence at the Farm and Home Show) doesn’t mean I’ve been completely out of the loop. Even from afar there is a political stench emanating from certain quarters of the Eastern Shore.

Let’s take the example G.A. Harrison of Delmarva Dealings uncovered regarding District 37A incumbent Rudy Cane. Obviously one can accuse him of having a few overzealous backers, and I’m certain some variation of that excuse would come from that camp IF they are even:

confronted with the information, or
if so, would bother to say something about it.

Since it’s concerning a guy whose campaign website looks like it hasn’t been updated since 2002, I’m not holding my breath.

To me, it’s part of the entitlement syndrome many incumbents suffer once they’ve been placed into office. They seem to assume the job is a lifetime appointment with the election just a formality they have to endure every four years. The fact that Cane routinely votes with the extreme liberals in the House of Delegates (hint: he scored a big fat ZERO on this year’s upcoming edition of the monoblogue Accountability Project) instead of for the relatively conservative interests of his district shows that he holds his constituents in utter contempt – well, unless they happen to be campaign contributors.

(Just as an aside for those of you who think party doesn’t make a difference – Norm Conway and Jim Mathias will tell you they are moderate Democrats who sometimes lean conservative. Well, scoring a big fat ZERO on the monoblogue Accountability Project as Conway did or 5.61 out of 100 like Mathias should tell you otherwise. By comparison, Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio scored 56.25 and Addie Eckardt posted a 57.6 score – not really strong conservatives to be sure but certainly better than the alternatives. The best score among Delegates this year was 90.44 so no one was exactly perfect.)

By my count, there are 48 Delegates who are running again having served 12 or more years (three terms or more) – all but 7 of them are Democrats and among that group are Rudy Cane and Norm Conway. Obviously they will tell you that they need to remain because leadership in the House seems to be seniority-based – regardless of whether they are true public servants or political hacks, if they hang around long enough they’ll be put in charge of something.

Yet this becomes a Faustian bargain for constituents as the interests of the district become subordinate to the personal interest of advancing one’s political career. In the end, is a district better off having someone in leadership when those leaders have to scratch the back of everyone else to maintain that position? It’s a situation which cries out for term limits and having committee chairs decided on the basis of merit.

And then we have the Julie Brewington drama, which she describes on her Right Coast site.

Don’t get me wrong – I like Julie, and if she wins I think she would be a good conservative Delegate for her district. And I am quite aware that there are some people who happen to believe they have a large bullhorn and have it out for both her and husband Mike because they decided to stop sitting on the sidelines complaining and actually put themselves out in the political game.

However, that being said, just in Districts 37 and 38 alone there are a total of seven females on the House of Delegates ballot (out of eighteen total participants.) Counting Julie, three of them are even blonde. None of them seem to have that same target placed on their back and if they do they shrug it off without complaining about it publicly. (Granted, Julie is the lone serious blogger among the bunch and that can be a double-edged sword.) Certainly I think Julie may need to grow an extra layer of skin to deal with some of these detractors.

Yet those detractors aren’t blameless, either. I’m not sure why some of the items being brought up are issues except to those bringing them up, particularly the innuendo about her private life. I don’t think it’s going to affect how she conducts her business in Annapolis just as what we know about Jim Ireton’s private life hasn’t seemed to affect his policy decisions.

Perhaps complaining about politicians is a sport to some, but when we step into the voting booth it’s not a game anymore. As we’re finding out on a state and national scale, making the wrong decision can have catastrophic results.

Murphy finds it difficult to gain traction despite Palin endorsement

The old saying is that “you can’t fight City Hall.”

Bucking the establishment is hard, even with a little bit of outside help. Maryland gubernatorial candidate Brian Murphy is finding this out the hard way as the first-time candidate isn’t just going up against former governor Bob Ehrlich in the September 14 primary election but also against a party establishment stacked in Ehrlich’s favor.

Before Palin had surprised observers with her backing of Murphy, the only two backers of any consequence Brian had were Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins and former Maryland GOP chair Jim Pelura, who stepped down last year amidst continued financial woes for the state party. Jenkins opted to back Murphy due to his hardline stance on illegal immigration and became the first elected Republican to openly do so.

Slowly, though, other Republicans not yet elected but seeking office are beginning to back Murphy – some publicly while others exhibit more tacit approval.

Troy Stouffer, who’s running for the Republican nomination for the Second Congressional District seat held by C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger, announced in a note on his personal Facebook page he was backing Murphy, but was careful to note that he’d back Ehrlich in the general election should he survive the primary.

In essence, it all comes down to principles with him. “The Republican Party elite have been telling us for years that a Conservative simply cannot win in (Maryland), but yet we are greatly outnumbered in the House and the Senate in Annapolis and we rarely make any significant gains in our numbers in either voter registration or our elected representation,” Stouffer remarked. “The voters want to see someone with a backbone stand up for what they believe, not some politician sticking their finger in the wind to see which direction the wind is blowing. You either stand up for your principles or get out of the way.”

“I promised that I would not turn into some politician that was willing to compromise on my core values and principles just to gain a political edge.”

It was a sentiment agreed with by local candidates as well. Julie Brewington is a work-from-home mother of twins, a co-founder of the local Americans for Prosperity chapter, and a first-time candidate running for the House of Delegates in District 38A, which covers much of the rural southern reaches of the Eastern Shore along the Virginia border. Her house has a Brian Murphy sign out front and she’s posed for a picture with Brian at one of his recent local appearances, but in speaking to Julie I found her hesitant to make a public endorsement of Brian so as not to alienate Ehrlich backers – conversely, she’s much more open in showing her support for fellow conservative and U.S. Senate hopeful Jim Rutledge. Like Stouffer, Julie promised to support the GOP primary winner and “will be enthusiastic to do so.”

Rani Merryman, who’s another first-time candidate running for a House of Delegates seat in a suburban Baltimore County district, agrees.

I like what Murphy has to say, though I really don’t get into the whole endorsement thing. When people ask me about the governor’s race, I usually respond with factual information and follow it (by saying) ‘for too long, political parties have been choosing who the people would support,’” said Rani, another political outsider making her first run for office.

On the other hand, there are a number of officeholders who make no secret of their support for Ehrlich. Candidates across the state have adopted signage featuring both their name and the stylized blue-and-white Ehrlich moniker. Some hopefuls are even using the Ehrlich brand to fatten their coffers among fellow GOP supporters.

One example is John Phoebus, a Crisfield attorney who’s running against Brewington and two others to take that District 38A seat, a seat which opened up upon the death of two-term Delegate D. Page Elmore (His wife Carolyn was appointed as a caretaker for the seat; she is not running for election.) Phoebus recently held a fundraiser featuring Kendal Ehrlich as the guest speaker – Marylanders are almost as familiar with her as they are with Bob as the couple has co-hosted a Saturday morning radio show since Ehrlich left office in 2007. That familiarity extends to Phoebus, who has known the Ehrlichs since 2002 and said he was “honored by their support of me in this fashion.”

Still others simply wish Murphy would just pack up and go home, with a few diehard Ehrlich supporters even creating a Facebook page called, “Tell Brian What’s his name to Drop Out!” In it, they claim that, “A vote for Marty (sic) September 14th is a 1/2 a vote for O’Malley. Remember that Murphyites when you vote.”

Even so, their cause is not a large one as the page has only about thirty fans. And when I asked one of them, House of Delegates District 18 candidate Josephine Wang, about her presence as a fan of the page she replied, “I was never anti-Murphy because I didn’t know he was running. I thought that Ehrlich was the only one running.”

It’s a perception perhaps too many Republican voters have given the amount of name recognition Bob Ehrlich has and the template within Maryland’s dominant media to wish the “grudge match” which would sell papers and attract eyeballs to their evening news programs and websites.

When Bob Ehrlich takes the opportunity of a debate challenge from Brian Murphy to presumptively begin discussions with Martin O’Malley’s camp on a fall debating schedule, it means either one of two things: he’s extremely confident of victory in September or he’s trying to deflect attention away from a candidate who appeals to conservatives within his own party who recall Ehrlich’s fairly moderate record as governor. In either case, he ignores the conservative voter bloc at his peril.

This was originally written for Pajamas Media, but they decided not to run it unless Murphy surged in the polls. So it’s appearing here instead.

Gazette article reasonably fair

Perhaps you didn’t know this – I know Julie Brewington picked up on it after I shared this among my Facebook friends – but I was quoted in yesterday’s Gazette regarding the Maryland GOP’s Rule 11 controversy which has been simmering since May. Reporter C. Benjamin Ford also spoke to fellow blogger Ann Corcoran of the Potomac Tea Party Report, who had the better quote, “What the tea party movement has opposed is this whole concept of sneaky politics, the backroom deals.”

That was my objection from the start. Why should three people make the decision best left to the voters of the First District (for Andy Harris) or the whole state (Bob Ehrlich)? Not saying they aren’t good candidates, but some may prefer the alternatives presented. It’s true that we may not to be able to “tip the scale” but we can send a message.

I just wish he’d quoted me right – I’m “barely left of militia” according to my Facebook page. I do say that tongue-in-cheek to an extent but I’m quite conservative in my outlook. So read the article and see whether you agree.

Breaking: Murphy to appear at Farm and Home Show

The campaign for Governor comes to Wicomico County as upstart Republican candidate Brian Murphy will take his quest to our neck of the woods today at 5 p.m. Murphy will do brief remarks around 5:15 or so, although that time may vary due to a bluegrass show adjacent to the building where the Wicomico County Republican Party table is located.

He should be in Salisbury for about an hour before leaving to work an event in Caroline County. This will be the last time Murphy will be in the Wicomico County area “for a week or two,” according to campaign spokesman Sam Hale. But the fact he’s going through the region so close to primary time seems to indicate he’s counting on the conservative Eastern Shore as a base of support.

Candidate Wednesday: August 18, 2010

The second in the series will feature three candidates – one is running for Wicomico County Executive while the others are trying to replace Jim Mathias as a Delegate from House District 38B.

Having a more detailed budget and vowing to reduce government as John can sounds good. Cutting from the top and getting rid of “double-dipping” has its own populist appeal. Even lunch with the employees sounds good – but that’s going to eat up a lot of John’s income!

But is the ferry that big of an issue to run a campaign for County Executive on? John sounds like the opposite of Rick Pollitt in that he would be more of a hands-on executive. It would be a refreshing change in that respect.

The question I wish Matt had asked, though, was how Baker’s background in dealing with state government and unions would hold him in good stead on the level of a County Executive. In speaking with him before, the one beef he has with the Tea Party is their disrespect of unions (perhaps their anger is more with the union leadership than the rank-and-file, but it’s still there.) That’s something which may need to be reconciled in a Baker administration.

This is one of the more interesting interviews insofar as location, since it was shot in Marty’s dress shop. (Full disclosure: her dress shop is one of my advertisers as is she.) She started out a little slowly, but once the conversation got rolling her delivery improved. In some respects she is the perfect candidate, with some reluctance to serve the public in such a manner but determined to do so as a product of her background in small business and the agricultural community.

I like the part where Marty fretted about the effect on her life with the legislature being in session (I call it Maryland’s 90 Days of Terror), and certainly she raised some legitimate concerns about private property rights with the reference to HB63. (Spoiler alert: that committee bill is part of my upcoming monoblogue Accountability Project.) She’s part of a crowded four candidate field for the District 38B GOP nominations.

On the Democratic side in that same race is John Hayden.

John seemed to have a way to describe those things which were problems, but was a little short on details on how to solve them. He did make a good point regarding the coastal bays as opposed to Chesapeake Bay (a distinction which the state doesn’t always make) but seemed to have too much of a platitude for schools. And if he can “simplify” the state government it would be a Houdini act given he would be among a whole party of Democrats who are basically responsible for writing the labyrinthine code we have now.

One thing John didn’t point out is that he’s a fellow blogger; he does the Maryland On My Mind website I link to.

Unfortunately, the interview was marred by several interruptions – certainly not to the extent of Jim Rutledge’s bus interview from last week, but having a phone ring and other conversations going on didn’t help a voter decide. In fact, all three of these interviews featured seemed to be out of focus (they were among the first done so perhaps it was a guinea pig effect.)

I’ll continue this series next week with another 38B challenger, a hopeful from District 37B, and a County Council candidate – for the first time it will be an all-GOP edition. You’ll have to stay tuned and find out who gets featured.

Thanks again to Matt Trenka and Right Coast for allowing the usage of these interviews.

Still holding faith in Steele

No matter how embattled Michael Steele may become as the head of the Republican National Committee he will always have a base of support here in Maryland, where his name is still golden among certain circles. One case in point: an Anne Arundel County candidate for Delegate is holding a fundraiser tomorrow with Steele as the featured attraction.

(continued on my newly revamped Examiner.com page…)