Endorsements and other fun stuff in the Maryland U.S. Senate race
It seems to me that, much as I could probably like the other eight gentlemen seeking the Republican nod to charge up the hill that is Senator Ben Cardin, I only get to hear a lot from two of the ten contenders. And the dynamic between their campaigns is generally interesting, although I have to concede the advantage in communication goes to Dan Bongino over fellow candidate Rich Douglas. This list is culled just from items this week, which are coming at me in rapid-fire fashion.
‘Here are my colors, bold and clear’
I thought about adding this item to my ‘odds and ends’ last night but decided it was worth more in commentary than that.
At this time last year Jim Rutledge was a barely known contender for a U.S. Senate seat with little money, at least compared to eventual nominee Eric Wargotz. But he drew crowds wherever he spoke because he articulated a conservative message with the zeal and passion of a Pentecostal preacher. Instantly he became a TEA Party favorite, and it was a testament to their support that he drew 30 percent of the vote in a crowded field.
The other day he wrote a short treatise, which I’m reprinting here.
“Nail the Colors to the Mast!”
That is an old naval battle cry when the Captain determined that the ship will never surrender. In contrast, “To strike the colors” means to lower the flag in a clear sign of surrender. “Striking the colors” was an option that was usually kept open to salvage the lives of the men and save the ship from a watery grave. So nailing your colors to the mast meant that surrender was not an option. Colors that have been nailed to the ship’s main mast could not and would not be lowered in the heat of battle when all seemed lost. By giving the terse order “Nail the colors to the mast” the Captain was telling the men, “Today men we fight, and if we must, we die, For God and For Country. Today, by God’s Grace, you will fight like you never have before. Today, you will not be a prisoner of war. Today, you will not be a slave. Today, you are a warrior.”
Is today the day you will give the order, “nail the colors to the mast”?
To nail your flag to the mast, you must know what you believe and know where you stand.
So here is my flag. Here are my colors, bold and clear.
- The Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God give every man and woman the right to live free from rulers who deprive them of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
- The ruling political elites have violated the Laws of Nature and have abandoned their duty to secure our God-given liberties from tyranny, by, among other things, using government power:
- to steal the fruits of labor,
- to feed themselves with pensions and fete themselves with lavish parties;
- to give unfair market advantages to those who keep them in power;
- to demonize talent and entrepreneurship;
- to crush the virtues of work, property ownership, and religious charity;
- to destroy economic freedom and social mobility by nurturing a growing underclass who are consigned to a lifetime of dependence on the government.
- Western civilization moved people toward freedom and away from slavery and serfdom based on the Judeo-Christian ethic.
- Western civilization as informed by a Judeo-Christian ethic is our best hope for a society that can be both virtuous and free, albeit not perfect. Utopia is folly.
I am nailing my colors to the mast. How about you?
If you read through the items they serve as an indictment of the system we have now.
First of all, as a society we have forgotten that we the governed are supposed to give our consent to those who govern us. Sure, we dutifully elect our political leaders every two to four years but that lack of vigilance in the interregnum has led to the state within which we exist. And what of the unelected bureaucrats who pass regulations without so much as a cursory check from our elected leaders – or worse, their assent?
It leads to the six subpoints which make up the second charge of government power leading towards ‘tyranny.’ Just look at what the current administration has done in the 30-plus months they’ve been in charge. The TEA Party was a natural reaction to the very thought we were being led in that direction and as time went on it became more and more obvious we were indeed on a path toward an all-encompassing state.
And then Jim discusses a clash of cultures – the elites who forty years ago were chanting, ” hey hey, ho ho, Western Civ has got to go!” have pretty much succeeded in their task of eliminating the concept. Now we have the political correctness of all cultures being of equal value, even if they are stuck in the seventh century and treat women as little more than property. “If it feels good, do it” seems to be the new national motto, regardless of the eventual outcomes – in truth, any consequences and responsibilities are to be absolved and forgiven by the public at-large as opposed to a higher power.
Yet in his statement Rutledge is only paraphrasing what another great leader once said: “Our people look for a cause to believe in. Is it a third party we need, or is it a new and revitalized second party, raising a banner of no pale pastels, but bold colors which make it unmistakably clear where we stand on all of the issues troubling the people?” Yes, that was Ronald Reagan in 1975, just before he made his first run for President. Sadly, after Reagan left office the Republican Party has too often put up nominees composed of pale pastels rather than bold strokes of conservative governance at all levels of government.
Perhaps Jim has another run for office in him, too – maybe not in 2012, but perhaps 2014. Unlike the cookie-cooker mealy-mouthed politicians who couch their remarks to the lowest common voting denominator, Jim had a refreshing way of clearly stating his message. This is something to be emulated as today’s TEA Party leaders become tomorrow’s political candidates.
Once they win election – and they will – here’s hoping their colors stay nailed to the mast throughout their terms of office. Those on the left don’t have much trouble with adhering to the principle that bigger government is always better and power is all that matters because it’s easy and doesn’t require a whole lot of thought. Conversely, we need to continually convince the public of the benefits of liberty to be a stronger pull in the opposite direction.
Oh, and consider my colors nailed.
Should he stay (home) or should he go (for Senate)?
As of yesterday, it’s been 19 weeks since Dr. Eric Wargotz was crushed by 26 points in his election matchup against Senator Barbara Mikulski. However, Eric carried 12 counties and managed to do somewhat better than 2004 nominee (and now State Senator) E.J. Pipkin, who lost by 31 points and carried only 7 counties.
But now Wargotz may have his sights set on a (presumably) more vulnerable target in Maryland’s junior Senator, Ben Cardin. (After all, Cardin ‘only’ beat Michael Steele by 10 points in 2006.) Yesterday he debuted a Facebook ‘event’ dubbed “Help Eric Wargotz decide to enter the Maryland US Senate race 2012.” Still, given the fact he’s occasionally updated his election Facebook page since his loss my suspicion was that he was bound to give it another shot regardless.
Moreover, Eric will have a few additional advantages this time around – name recognition with voters, experience gained from a recent statewide run, and (most likely) a fairly shallow primary field. The biggest name considering a 2012 campaign is Delegate Pat McDonough of Baltimore County, who thought about a run for Governor last year but this time may opt to challenge Second District Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger. Last year’s chief Senate contender, Jim Rutledge, is more inclined to wait for 2014 opportunities as rumor has it.
So it looks like Eric will be hitting the campaign trail once again; obviously those who have responded to his Facebook are urging him to go for it. (As if anyone would tell him, nah, skip this race.) Barring any big names out of the Maryland General Assembly jumping into the race, it would appear that Wargotz would be the odds-on favorite for the GOP nod once again.
The TEA Party is not a loser
Sorry about the time away, but now things are back to normal in my new locale.
I’m catching up on some things I meant to respond to, with one being a December 31 post by Richard Cross at Cross Purposes which picked Maryland political winners and losers. I’m not going to quibble with the other seven items, but I don’t think the TEA Party in Maryland was a loser in 2010. After all, Cross also picked “insurgent Republicans” as one of his four winners and the TEA Party was a big part of getting those insurgents elected.
“The makings of a political farm team consisting of young, energetic, upwardly-mobile candidates” has been a GOP goal for many years, but Cross chooses to focus on the electoral losses of TEA Party darlings Jim Rutledge and Brian Murphy. Certainly those two were my personal picks, but the TEA Party was victorious on the local level in getting that GOP bench in place.
It’s also worth mentioning that Rutledge and Murphy have placed themselves in a position to run for future office. I don’t see another Senate run for Jim, but many have postulated that he could run for another statewide office in 2014 – perhaps Attorney General, as he was rumored to do this year. Certainly the GOP could use a candidate there. And with Bob Ehrlich out of the picture, one could use the example of recycling 2008 Presidential hopefuls like Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee on a national scale to presume Murphy as a gubernatorial player in 2014 (along with the possibilities of those who dropped out earlier like Pat McDonough, Larry Hogan, and Charles Lollar.)
Yet it’s Richard’s contention that ”(the TEA Party) never approached the level of relevance and organization evident in other states, and its influence will only wane over time” which I object most to. Perhaps he wasn’t in Annapolis over the weekend to see over 200 conservative activists get together to plan for the next electoral cycles. (If it weren’t for having already picked the day to move, it may have been over 201.)
So you have 200 activists all ready to continue fighting and teaching, as they’ll influence their circle and those influenced will spread the word even farther. I’ll grant the political landscape of Maryland makes the fight an uphill battle, but I don’t believe the TEA Party has breathed their last in the Free State. Cross is wrong in picking this movement as a loser.
A key endorsement
One of the first big-name endorsements in the MDGOP Chair race came last night.
In a note to his supporters on his Facebook page, Jim Rutledge laid out some of the reasons he supports Maryland Society of Patriots head Sam Hale:
- He “is a proven leader at the grassroots, people-to-people level of persuasion.” Jim recounts how Sam founded the Maryland Society of Patriots and that it became a favorite stop for conservative candidates courting votes.
- He is “honest and transparent” and gives “straight talk from an intelligent mind.”
- He “has a work ethic second to none…his energy is badly needed to move us forward in Maryland.”
- He “is an optimist and visionary” who is “not daunted in his passion for turning the tide of freedom” despite living in the liberal enclave of Montgomery County.
- He “is a Christian who understands the call to civic activism,” and who “puts his faith into action.”
- He “is young and well-educated…youth and energy attract youth and energy.”
- Finally, he “is independent from the influences of the Washington, D.C. establishment.”
Truthfully, it’s not surprising Rutledge would place his backing behind a party outsider, as Hale may be the only aspirant to not either have been a 2010 candidate (Amedori, Campbell, Kane, Mooney, Wargotz) or involved with the Maryland GOP in some other fashion (Esteve is head of the Maryland College Republicans and Langer is on the Queen Anne’s County Central Committee.)
I haven’t taken the opportunity to speak to Sam yet, but as I noted yesterday he did an interview for RedState with Matt Newman. Later this week I’m thinking about sending out my own set of questions to see who has the guts to reply – after all, I’m one of the few people who are discussing the issue publicly to actually have some say in the matter.
It’s important to me that I make the best-informed decision I can to advance the conservative principles I believe in. Unlike some party chairmen, I put principle over party as much as I can (granted, it can’t always work that way – I do have some pragmatism.) So, those of you I think are in the running should be on the lookout.
Is Murphy the man?
Update 2, 8 p.m.: There is a draft movement to get writer and former State Senate candidate Ron Miller to run. I also have it on good authority that another former Delegate and candidate is considering the race as well.
Update: Eric Wargotz is on record in the Washington Post as considering a bid, too.
“We need to change the mindset — the idea that Republicans can’t win here. I’m a physician. I believe there’s a cure and a diagnosis for everything.”
A published report is now saying that Brian Murphy is “hinting” that he wants to be Maryland GOP Chair. Obviously the angle presented by Sun writer Anne Linskey is one of a near-rematch between Brian Murphy and Mary Kane – technically this rematch would be true if Mike Ryman jumped into the race (and for all I know right now observing this race he just might.)
Certainly Murphy would bring a more conservative element to the chairmanship, and those of us who supported him in the gubernatorial election were reminded on November 2nd that those naysayers who said only Bob Ehrlich had a chance against Martin O’Malley were, oh, only about 14 1/2 points shy of being right. Shoot, Brian could have gotten 40 percent of the vote just by being a underfunded placeholder.
The rub for any of these “insurgent” candidates, though, is whether they can keep some of the large donors and rainmakers on board. Of course, business sense does help when it comes to running a party, but there’s no denying that a number of people and entities decided to step up and open their checkbooks the moment Audrey Scott was elected. As I reported at the time:
In the spirit of cooperation, Mike Collins of Anne Arundel County began a parade of people willing to donate to the party. All told, the impromptu effort raised $4,000 for the party coffers, which included donations from two county committees.
In thinking back, though, one could construe that effort as a little bit insulting. The party’s needs didn’t change and hopefully its principles didn’t change either, but suddenly they were worth donating to again. Will Mike Collins and his ilk again snap their wallets shut in a snit if Murphy or another non-establishment candidate (read: anyone besides Mary Kane) wins? That seems like a poor reaction to losing control of a party that, quite frankly, badly underperformed on a state level.
One who will not be running is Jim Rutledge, who announced on his Facebook page he wouldn’t be a candidate. But he had some strong words for those who were:
This is the time for bold leadership, not the time to succumb to the siren’s song of moderation, liberalization, and the club mentality of the Rockefeller republicans who have held sway over too many elements of the party in MD for too long. We in MD are being ruled not represented. Money is king and those that have it threaten to walk if they do not get their way. I say, let them walk, no let them run to their democrat friends. It is time for the ruling class to be deposed. Just look at the MD GOP website today promoting a celebration of Audrey Scott who presided over one of the worst GOP performances in the nation. After losing 2 MD Senate seats, she should have taken the honorable path and resigned immediately.
Time is short, and under pressure, taking the familiar “safe” way will be a great temptation. Take the opportunity now to buck the trends and strike for a new face on the MD GOP. The phone calls and emails having been flying and clamoring for new leadership and a new direction. The enemies of liberty abound, and we are counting on you to strike the ground for freedom now.
I write as a citizen. I am no longer a candidate, and I am not running for the Chair. I have obligations to fulfill that will not permit me to give the job the time it will require.
The “familiar ‘safe’ way” got us drubbed by 14 1/2 points and only netted us 4 seats in the General Assembly. But in areas the state party didn’t touch nearly as much we were much more successful – look at our success here in Wicomico County where we picked up at least one (and possibly two) County Council seats and the State’s Attorney office. (Too bad we couldn’t fill the whole ballot or we may have done even better!) And I’d be willing to wager that those who run as the most conservative alternatives win easily in Salisbury’s upcoming election (which is nonpartisan.)
Maybe it’s time to listen to those who have success?
Blog note: I think I’m going to create a widget for my sidebar on the ins, outs, and maybes. Look for it later today or tomorrow.
It’s now or never, Maryland
That was the message put forth today by a number of speakers at the Salisbury stop of the “Now or Never Maryland” bus tour.
Well, I use the term ‘bus’ loosely. This looked more like an extended straight truck.
The person posing with the bus is former Senate candidate Jim Rutledge. In part he was responsible for bringing this crowd, but more on him later.
A total of eight speakers orated at the hour-long event, with AFP Maryland head Dave Schwartz acting as master of ceremonies. In his opening remarks, he reminded us that AFP has 26,000 members in Maryland among 17 chapters and stated his reason for doing this as “I want to protect the American Dream.”
Dave rattled off a laundry list of offenses by government, saying that the federal government overreached on doing the stimulus bill and bailing out Wall Street while the state government enacted the largest tax increase and worst deficits in our state’s history, not to mention creating a poor business climate.
As AFP supporters we needed to get involved – two suggestions Schwartz had were to enlist in the group’s “Freedom Phone” project or to walk your neighborhoods with door hangers (provided by AFP) and engage neighbors in political discussion.
Tim Phillips is the head of the national AFP, and here’s what he had to say.
And you thought I skipped Friday Night Videos? Nope, I just cleverly made them the story!
Local AFP head Joe Collins also said his piece, telling us that as a budding activist “I chose AFP for the voters” and that this election was time to “rebalance the scales.”
I stole Andrew Langer’s joke as he came up since there wasn’t a chicken suit in sight. (Maybe they went to the wrong location – I was a bit confused at first too.) He recalled the town hall meeting where Frank Kratovil gave his reasoning for voting for cap-and-trade as keeping the EPA from regulating it. When it was pointed out that Frank was a Congressman and could pass a law, Langer quoted him as asking, “I can do that?”
The head of the Institute for Liberty warned us to be vigilant of what the executive branch will try to do over the next two years as they face the prospect of an unfriendly Congress.
Also speaking to an AFP rally here for the second time in a month was WGMD-FM host Duke Brooks, who remarked that his liberal callers claimed they didn’t hate this country, but…there was always a “but.” They “think the country is flawed.”
It was only up to the government to provide equality of opportunity, continued Brooks, but not equality of outcome. He quoted Tony Blair’s line that the measure of a nation is how many want to get in vs. how many want to leave, and part of the reason for our success was that we had no elite ruling class.
Of the three candidates for the First District Congressional seat who were invited to speak, it’s not surprising only one showed. This is what Andy Harris had to say.
But the person I wanted to hear from came next. I actually recorded this because his biggest fan (Kim) wasn’t there to enjoy it, but it turned out so good I decided to share. Here’s Jim Rutledge.
And you wonder why there’s a push by some to write him in for the Attorney General slot thoughtlessly left unfilled by the Maryland GOP. He’s got my vote.
One elected official who spoke was Joey Gardner, who was elected earlier this year as one of Princess Anne’s Town Commissioners.
His message was simple – when he saw a need “I got involved.” We shouldn’t put any limitations on our involvement when it comes to helping the community.
While Gardner was the last speaker he wasn’t the only candidate for office people could get face time with. The entire statewide ticket of Maryland’s Constitution Party was there.
Gubernatorial candidate Eric Knowles is in the dark suit, with his running mate Michael Hargadon giving me the thumbs up next to him and U.S. Senate candidate Richard Shawver in the blue coat on the right.
Also looking on was Republican District 38A hopeful Charles Otto.
The Libertarian candidate for District 2 County Council was there as well. If you don’t know who he is, read the sign.
So it was at least a tri-partisan event, with a touch of good old-fashioned capitalism thrown in.
Something tells me this rig was at all the stops, but it didn’t look like he did a lot of business.
Believe it or not, there is yet another bus rally scheduled that I found out about last night. The RNC’s Fire Pelosi Bus Tour will stop at the Salisbury Victory Center (the old Hollywood Video at 1016 South Salisbury Boulevard) at 9:30 a.m. next Friday – featured speaker is some guy who used to be our Lieutenant Governor, Michael Steele. To RSVP, contact Patrick at (443) 736-8042 or via phefflinger (at) mdgop.org.
Thank you for your support!
Update 9/16: I picked up another 46 votes today in the absentee count and increased my margin to 27.
It looks like I may have made it…just barely, but I may have made it.
With a few hundred absentee ballots out, I’m holding on to ninth place for the Wicomico County Republican Central Committee by a 25 vote margin. It’s a damn good thing my suggestion of a couple years ago (to expand the WCRCC from 7 to 9 members) was finally adopted by the committee or I’d be out in the cold!
Obviously I’m bummed that both of my statewide candidates I supported lost. It’s not a surprise that Brian Murphy lost, but I am heartened that he picked up 29% of the vote here – it means that Bob Ehrlich can’t take us conservatives for granted over the next seven weeks. (Murphy got over 30% of the vote in a handful of counties, peaking so far at 33 percent.)
But I guess Eric Wargotz may have bought himself a nomination, since he doesn’t seem to anywhere near the grassroots support that Jim Rutledge did. My friends who are Rutledge backers should be proud that the top two counties in the state to back Jim were (in order) Wicomico (#1) and Worcester (#2.) Shows we have some common sense, and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least to see Wargotz skedaddle to the center now.
I did better on the homefront – wasn’t sure Marty Pusey would pull it off but she did! Congrats and way to go Marty!
More shocking was the ease in which Charles Otto won his primary. And people will be talking for awhile about the upset of Davis Ruark by Seth Mitchell.
Looks like later today I can condense my righthand column and prepare for November. But again, thanks to the 2,036 people who had faith in me and my efforts on the Wicomico County Republican Central Committee!
Just don’t tell me I’m a shoo-in next time!
Friday night videos – episode 45
Call this the primary edition. It’s some of the interesting things which have come across my screen lately and I want to share with you.
First, I love the smell of hypocricy in the evening as much as I do in the morning.
Yep, let’s hire non-union people to protest on behalf of a union. Unless there’s full employment within the union (in which case they shouldn’t need the work anyway) why can’t they use their own members?
In the meantime, the administration they blindly support is killing other union and non-union jobs in the energy industry.
It’s interesting – 5,500 people came of their own accord to speak out on their jobs but providing a handful of jobs to the members of the union who instead paid scab labor to picket was out of the question.
The statewide races for Governor and Senate are quite interesting, with Jim Rutledge and Eric Wargotz fighting out the U.S. Senate nod and Brian Murphy closing the gap on Bob Ehrlich. Here’s a little something from each, beginning with Rutledge. Someone came up with a great video on Jim’s behalf.
I still like the bearded look on Jim. Meanwhile, his opponent Eric Wargotz hit the airwaves with this last week.
It’s a humorous ad, and certainly gets the point across. But is appearing in safari garb Eric’s ‘Dukakis moment’?
A more conventional message comes from Brian Murphy in his TV spot.
It sounds pretty Eastern Shore to me, since that’s where he grew up. Meanwhile, Bob Ehrlich vows to kill the expansion of the sales tax to 43 services.
Oh, I remember the bill – they’ve tried to sneak it through but didn’t have the cajones to do it back then. We fought it tooth and nail and won.
Finally, this week wouldn’t be complete without mentioning something about tomorrow. It’s this week’s Freedom Minute from the Center for Individual Freedom.
I decided to skip the music video this week because I may just have fresh ones next week if I’m able. We’ll have to see on that; otherwise enjoy the rest of your night!
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…)
Candidate Wednesday: August 11, 2010
The first edition of Candidate Wednesday begins with Democratic Wicomico County Council at-large hopeful Mike Brewington, features second Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jim Rutledge (in the famous school bus interview), and wraps up with House of Delegates District 38A officeseeker Mike McCready.
Just in watching the interview I was struck by the ease at which Mike delivered his message, which is sometimes rare in a first-time candidate. I can understand his ideas about being a Democrat, although I disagree about them being “for the people” anymore. He obviously would fall under the category described as a “Reagan Democrat” given his conservative fiscal views.
However, he fell a little flat in some of the answers. While you can’t get too wonkish in a ten-minute interview, he needs to realize that, yes, it will be tough on these workers that are furloughed but job creation doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game: losing a public sector job may be the stimulus for creating private sector work on a large scale. And Mike never answered the question on the parking lot, although he brought up a good point regarding the gas tax.
The interview with Jim Rutledge was done on his Crisfield-bound bus for the Tawes Crab and Clam Bake – sometimes you have to take your chances when you get them. But the problem with doing the interview in such a location is that the background noise is too distracting to effectively allow Jim to convey his message. And that’s too bad because Jim makes a lot of good critical points about legislation passed (financial reform, Obamacare, etc.) with the help of his Democratic opponent, Senator Barbara Mikulski.
This interview with Mike McCready was one of the earlier efforts and it seemed that they were still working out the bugs – for example, the whole interview is slightly out of focus. But I liked the line of questioning for the most part and if McCready was trying to establish himself as a conservative he did more or less a decent job – perhaps aside from the aspect of toll roads and raising bridge fees.
I just wish Matt had thought to ask an obvious question I would have asked – how do you think you’ll get along with the liberal majority of Democrats in Annapolis? Certainly he’ll be one of the few who supports gun rights and cares about the fate of farmers and watermen in that caucus.
That brings the first edition of Candidate Wednesday to a close – hopefully if you’re a voter you’re now a more informed one.
Filling the federal checkbook
Continuing a double-barreled GOP questioning of Senator Barbara Mikulski and her record, U.S. Senate hopeful Jim Rutledge pointed out the continuing references by Maryland’s senior Senator of “filling the federal checkbook” and questioned if she truly realized where the money was coming from.
On the other hand, Rutledge “doesn’t believe filling the federal government checkbook is the solution to restoring fiscal accountability in Washington. Barbara Mikulski keeps spending while Marylanders are forced to pay back all the debt she is creating.” Said Rutledge, “Mikulski would have us believe that all this money is free when in fact we’re going to have to pay it back with interest.”
(continued on my Examiner.com page…)
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