There are four men and one woman running to succeed Carolyn Elmore as Delegate from District 38A. But I guess this momma doesn’t wear an apron too much since she gained this particular endorsement:
Kirk Jones, President of the Pioneer Sportsmen’s Association, is pleased to announce the endorsement of Julie Brewington, Republican candidate for the House of Delegates; District 38A on behalf of the Pioneer Sportsmen’s Association.
(continued on my Examiner.com page…)
I’ve already done a down-and-dirty factual story (with pictures) on my Examiner page, so if you want to read there for some of the particulars feel free to do so…I’ll wait.
Here I wanted to review the statements and performance of each of the participants and make a few other general observations. I don’t have to be fair and unbiased at this site. In alphabetical order, Stephens Dempsey comes first.
Stephens Dempsey came across as a man who truly wants to restore the government to its Constitutional case, and for that some may call him harsh. In a question about illegal immigration, Dempsey noted, “First, they’re not ‘illegal immigrants,’ they’re illegal aliens…that is the definition we should use.” Indeed, that’s how the federal government actually defines them.
Regarding the jobs issue, Stephens points out that, “it’s not my job (as a Senator)…that’s the job of the state and local level (governments.) Obviously he has a clear definition of what the federal role must be.
But the problem I see with his approach is, while the message is clear, his explanations may be too clever by half. For example, his campaign literature features a three-triangle logo that baffles the average person as to its meaning. Being an “American Constitutionalist” is one thing, but making that have meaning to the average voter who will ask what that does for him is quite another.
It was nice to see his family and friends support him, but I fear that’s all the support he’ll get if he doesn’t simplify his message a little bit.
Democrat Chris Garner was perhaps the most pessimistic of the batch, gloomily noting, “what’s happening right now, we’re in a deep depression. It’s gonna get deeper.” Garner also bemoaned the lack of industrial might – “No industry, no economy.” He added, “we’re turning our country into a Third World country.”
His solutions may not be the best for free marketeers, though – among others he proposed a maximum 15% trade imbalance to keep the value of imports and exports in balance. “Right now we’re sending a half-trillion dollars overseas.” But would that work in a real world where we import a vast amount of oil, for example? Certainly we could use some fairer trade, but that cap doesn’t seem anything but arbitrary.
I also couldn’t believe he didn’t know what EFCA was. The way I look at it, passage of EFCA would do more harm to our trade imbalance because unionization would drive up the cost of business.
Samuel Graham was a curious sort of Republican. One of his platform planks was a “radical idea…let’s just give (the unemployed) a job.” And that extended to illegal immigrants as well – Graham supports a policy to stop immigrants at the border and ask them why they are seeking entry. “Give them an opportunity to register themselves,” he said. Needless to say, he was the lone Republican not to favor the Arizona SB1070 law.
But then he joined the chorus of those candidates who said, “let’s cut the taxes.” Samuel ticked off a list of possible tax cuts for groceries, department stores, and gasoline. Yes, those are good ideas but I think a better solution would be to eliminate taxes on the income side and maintain a low, one-time rate on the consumption side.
On the whole, something didn’t jibe with Graham’s presentation. I’m not sure he’s thought through the impact of simply creating make-work jobs – wasn’t that the point of the stimulus? And how would that work with the straight 25% cut in government he advocated?
Being in the middle of three consecutive Republicans, Daniel McAndrew was at something of a disdvantage. He just doesn’t seem to stick out well in a crowd as it is and always being the fourth to respond made the problem worse. In answering one question, he sighed, “well, it’s repeating time.”
And asked why he wanted to be Senator, he expressed that, “I’ve had enough, and I think you have too…quite frankly, they’re not listening to us.”
But he did make some good points in an otherwise mainstream conservative presentation, talking about the aspect of “birth tourism” when the question of anchor babies was brought up. His ideas for creating incentives for manufacturing and privatizing portions of government have plenty of merit.
Also placing him at a disadvantage was being the only hopeful to not have any literature there (at least that I noticed.) He does have a website, though.
Of all the candidates present, Jim Rutledge is probably the best known and leader of this pack. In terms of presentation, he had the smoothest and most eloquent answers which likely stems from his avocation as a “conservative” attorney. That would also come in handy if he were elected, as he could “translate those bills for you and give you the straight story on them.”
He was also unafraid to bring up the incumbent, labeling Barb Mikulski as the “chief culprit” of the largest expansion of government and attack on individual liberties this Republic had ever seen.
Yet he had a couple key issues which may have seemed a bit out there if you don’t understand the logic behind them. For example, one method of helping to sell Eastern Shore products would be to dredge the waterways in order for easier ship passage, since shipping by barge is very cost-effective. His (perhaps draconian) solution for illegal immigration involved jailing employer scofflaws and having visa holders post a bond when they entered the country – if they skipped bond, a bounty hunter could track them down. And why not a tax cut for homeschoolers? Yet these do make sense and at least represent a different manner of looking at problems not found inside the Beltway.
One observer afterward thought Rutledge had sort of an “angry” tone about him, and perhaps his passion can be taken that way. He had the largest group of supporters in the room, though.
And Jim’s ideas had some merit with Sanquetta Taylor as well. “I kinda don’t like sitting next to (Jim),” she said, “because we think alike and he’s a Republican and I’m a Democrat.” But some things are subject to bipartisan agreement and Sanquetta came across as a relatively moderate Democrat who thought “it’s time for the torch to be handed” to a new generation. She even explained that, “we have to go into government with good intentions.”
So what are those intentions? Well, Sanquetta does like lower taxes but she is protectionist, advocating “heavy fines” for companies which outsource jobs. She’s against the Arizona SB1070 law, believing “the President should step in and mandate something that should help them.” Yet she’s against anyone being here illegally. She wouldn’t come out and support Elena Kagan to be on the Supreme Court, but wouldn’t say no either.
Perhaps her and Rutledge do think alike on a number of fiscal issues, but the issues I pointed out suggest they’d have some strong differences as well. Certainly she brought an attractive presence to the forum as the most telegenic and youngest candidate.
For Lih Young, being on (and sometimes off) the ballot is a way of life.
In 2008 she ran as a Democrat in the 8th District Congressional primary and received 2.9% of the vote. Undaunted, she filed after the primary as a write-in and got 28 votes.
In 2006 Young ran for U.S. Senate as a Democrat and picked up 0.3% of the vote in a statewide race. Filing as a write-in for the general election ballot she got 120 votes.
In 2004, 8th District Congress, 2.4% of the vote in the primary, 79 votes as a write-in for the general election.
In 2002, it was Comptroller. She actually got 4% of the Democratic vote in the primary, so she figured a write-in candidacy was a lock – and got 1,375 votes.
This record, her reluctance to give a ‘yes or no’ answer on simple issues, and saying during the forum that, “law enforcement is a robbery machine” basically tells you what you need to know. If not, there is this gem from my archives.
As I mentioned, there were a number of “yes or no” questions during the forum which are helpful in assessing a candidate as well. Here’s how they went.
A ban on offshore oil drilling? Taylor and Young said yes, the others no.
Passing cap and trade? All said no, but Young wanted to study the issue.
Supporting Arizona’s SB1070? Dempsey, Garner, McAndrew and Rutledge all said yes; Graham, Taylor, and Young no.
Eliminating the death tax? All favored it, and all support the Second Amendment.
Would you sign a ‘no climate tax’ pledge? All but Young said yes and all did.
All seven favored term limits to varying degrees – all but Garner endorsed two terms for Senators (Garner just one.) Garner, Graham, Taylor, and Young said two House terms; Dempsey and Rutledge three, and McAndrew six.
All would favor not repealing the Bush tax cuts, although Garner, “didn’t like the phrasing” of the question.
Repealing or replacing Obamacare was favored by Dempsey, Graham, McAndrew, Rutledge, and Taylor. Young wanted a single-payer system while Garner would not answer.
While most cited a lack of information, only Young was certain she’d vote to appoint Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. Taylor was unsure, the others gave her a thumbs-down.
Only Young was in favor of taxpayer-funded abortions.
Tax cuts for homeschoolers? Graham and Rutledge said no, the others yes.
Employee Free Choice Act (card check)? Taylor and Young favored it, Dempsey, Graham, McAndrew, and Rutledge were opposed, and Garner was unsure.
All thought NAFTA had a negative impact.
Finally, all were asked when they last read the Constitution.
It was a pretty long forum, taking nearly two hours to wrap up. But those in attendance are certainly more well-informed about the candidates who could be bothered to show up and face the public they aim to serve.
Over the last few days I’ve received not one, not two, but three e-mail pitches urging me to donate to Barb Mikulski’s campaign for yet another re-election to her Senate seat before tomorrow’s quarterly filing deadline. Yes, it appears now my best friends in the world are now Ben Cardin, Martin O’Malley, and Paul Sarbanes and they all want me to donate to Senator Barb. Some of these appeals even have a nice little picture of her asking me to “help Barbara reach her $20k goal today” in that pseudo-hip Gotham font which Organizing for America likes to use.
But that got me to thinking (and doing a little research.) After all, with $2.7 million cash on hand at the end of March 20 grand is pretty much chump change.
(continued on my Examiner.com page…)
I pretty much knew this was coming, probably sooner than later. But a number of people have weighed in on the passing of Delegate Page Elmore, according to this Daily Times report. Additionally, candidate for District 37A Delegate Dustin Mills wrote:
I had the pleasure of knowing Page and working with him on several occasions; he was a man I considered a mentor and friend. I always admired the way he carried himself and the easy manner in which he spoke with both opponents and friends. While we did not always agree, Page was truly a stalwart leader in Annapolis. He always represented his district well and was a strong representative for his constituents. He was a man many admired, despite their political affiliation. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Elmore family in their time of grief.
Personally I wouldn’t say I was a great friend of Page’s, but I did appreciate how he would make sure to greet me at those events we were together at. He didn’t come across as phony as some politicians do, probably because he made a living as a businessman and his political life was how he spent “retirement.” Some may feel it’s a shame that Page didn’t take it easy in his waning days but then again if retirement is the time to do that which you love it’s obvious he loved what he did.
Certainly one can find fault with his voting record (Lord knows I did as he voted with I-95 corridor Democrats far too much on key items) but it’s true that you’d be hard pressed to find someone who valued constituent service and the county he represented as much as he did.
Perhaps, though, Elmore’s death at the age of 71 represents the beginning of a changing of the guard in local politics. Of the eight representatives who serve us locally, only two are under 60 years of age (Jim Mathias is 58 and Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio really bends the average at 33 years of age.) Otherwise, we have Rudy Cane (76), Norm Conway (68), Addie Eckardt (66), and Richard Colburn (60). The retiring Lowell Stoltzfus is also 60 years of age. Some of these incumbents face challengers who are many years their junior, a group which includes the aforementioned Mills. At 26 Dustin may represent the greatest age difference between challenger and incumbent in a state race.
With a strong chapter of Lower Shore Young Republicans coming into their own (as well as younger Democrats) the next couple cycles may see a complete change in the local political makeup. It’s a change that can’t come soon enough in a number of cases.
It goes without saying the deaths of Delegate Page Elmore and Deputy State’s Attormey Sam Vincent just hours apart have rocked the close-knit Wicomico community, but it also sets into motion the replacement process for the local GOP and could assure a Democrat safe passage for his re-election.
The death of Elmore, who had announced earlier this month he would not seek a third term to the House of Delegates, means that local Republicans face a process similar to one their Democratic counterparts went through in 2006 upon the passing of longtime District 38B Delegate Bennett Bozman.
(continued on my Examiner.com page…)
Last week the state of Maryland, on less than 24 hours’ notice, approved a contract to purchase around 1,000 slot machines for a casino presently under construction in Cecil County. The contract works out to over $46,000 per machine, a figure one industry analyst considered 4 times too high according to a Baltimore Sun article by Annie Linskey.
By participating in an “incredible windfall” for the industry (in the words of Comptroller Peter Franchot) the state has put itself in the business better considered by companies which actually make their fortunes in the gaming industry.
The problems I had with the issue of slots when it came up on the ballot two years ago were many.
Another casualty of the failure of slots may be the repeal of the 2008 sales tax increase. When I spoke to Bob Ehrlich regarding how he would make up for the decrease in revenue, part of his answer concerned slots:
Bob explained… the increased economic activity lowering the tax would create would fill in part of the gap (also a good presumption.) In addition, with slots coming online that revenue will enable the state to lower our tax burden in that manner.
Those slots, which already need to create $50 million in revenue to the state just to pay for themselves, have a lot of people counting on them to be productive and create the cash to help solve the state’s problems. It’s a burden bound to create disappointment in Annapolis as the best laid plans of the General Assembly and Governor O’Malley fail once again.
It was a tough decision, but today I decided for space reasons to drop the links to Delaware political races.
Not counting party offices, in Wicomico County we are affected by four statewide races (governor, comptroller, attorney general, and U.S. Senator), two State Senate races, four races for Delegate, and contests for seven County Council seats, County Executive, Sheriff, State’s Attorney, Register of Wills, Clerk of the Courts, and three Orphan’s Court posts. It’s over 20 races for which to post candidates and links so something had to give.
Perhaps a blogger across the line like Chris Slavens or Elbert Collins can take up my slack and try to keep my Delaware readers informed. (Lord knows Salisbury blogger Joe Albero – who actually lives in Delaware – won’t do so.) Similarly, there should be a blogger or two in each county who aggregates the links for their home county and tries to keep readers informed about the political races. It could even be a job for the local hometown newspaper given the power of the internet and their presence there.
I don’t know how many local politicians read my site (my guess is most GOP officeholders do – Democrats, not so much) but if you have an event for my upcoming Political Calendar I’d appreciate a shout out – e-mail me or leave a message on my Facebook page. The better my calendar is the more readers, and the more readers there are the more people know about the event. And I won’t bury it among press releases, old jokes, and stories which are disproved by Snopes.com. Hey, I’ll even take advertising from the right people.
So again, I apologize for disappointing my First State readers for needing to be more Maryland-centric but this is the year to change Maryland’s policies. Your chance comes in two years.
While it’s not quite “one for you, nineteen for me” yet here in Maryland, one perception among business owners who remain in the state after the last four years of being battered by a sluggish economy and government less than friendly to their interests is that taxes are simply too high.
GOP frontrunner Bob Ehrlich already promised his effort to repeal the one penny per dollar increase in the state sales tax adopted in 2007 while Libertarian Susan Gaztanaga pledges to phase the sales tax out entirely over 8 years, but fellow Republican contestant Brian Murphy is going farther down the anti-tax road.
In a series of press releases this month, Murphy has challenged his two main opponents to refrain from raising taxes, vowed to cap property tax rate increases, and revealed a plan to eliminate the corporate income tax entirely. Taken at face value, one would be led to assume that Murphy would also have to make deep cuts in Maryland’s budget.
(continued on my Examiner.com page…)
As a means of showing contrast between he and his opponent this works well, but I’m not sure this is the race to bring up the subject in much more of a meaningful way than this post. Brian Murphy is pro-life while opponent Bob Ehrlich – eh, not so much.
Maryland’s inadequate regulation of abortion facilities may have contributed to the death (of a young woman from a botched procedure.) Murphy has affirmed his commitment to improve the regulations of abortion facilities to ensure women receive the best possible care. “As the only pro-life candidate for governor of Maryland, I have significant philosophical differences with my opponents, Bob Ehrlich and Martin O’Malley. But I like to think we can all agree that the obvious lack of adequate regulation of Maryland abortion facilities is a disservice to women,” said Murphy.
“It has been said that abortions should be, ‘safe, legal and rare,'” said Murphy. “In Maryland, where abortions are legal, we have no way to know if they are also safe and rare. We must ensure that abortion statistics are made available to the public, while also preserving patient confidentiality. And we must hold abortion facilities accountable for the health of the women they serve. Incidents such as this must be investigated, and Maryland women must be protected,” said Murphy.
Obviously abortion should be one of those state’s rights issues, but the problem lies with the Supreme Court not having the opportunity to overturn Roe v. Wade and returning the battleground issue to its proper venue. It’s sure enough that if Murphy wins and can somehow convince a Democratic-controlled General Assembly to pass these laws that they would end up in court and at the mercy of whether a judge is tolerant of the legislature’s right to enact laws or wants to play activist.
Yet it’s not like Brian isn’t pragmatic about the situation here in Maryland – he’s nowhere near taking a step like other states and restricting the act of abortion itself. All he’s proposing is accountability and reporting requirements; then again, it’s more than any other candidate for governor is backing and certainly should bring cheer to Maryland’s pro-life community.
This oughta be an interesting one, kids. Let’s see what trouble I can dredge up this weekend as we ease into summer.
I’ll begin with an issue which is sure to be contentious this summer – the lack of fiscal responsibility in Washington, D.C. The group is called “Bankrupting America” and the process of doing so is what Congress seems to be ignoring in favor of these pressing issues detailed. Call it fiddling while Rome burns.
But Newt Gingrich has some solutions to what ails us, does he not? Or is he just pimping his new book? You decide.
Yet there are others profiting on the other side. We had no idea public service could be so, well, self-serving. Check this out from Americans for Limited Government.
Then again, there are many in Maryland who would be happy just to have a job. Unfortunately, they don’t seem to have a very business-friendly government as Americans for Prosperity points out.
Yeah, we lost that fight. But another is brewing over illegal immigration. As one example, check out the Center for Individual Freedom’s take on the Arizona immigration law, SB1070.Yet illegal immigration is a battleground for Maryland voters as well, as a 17 year old videographer suggests by her coverage of a rally of those who want the borders secured.
This time I’m going to wrap up, not with a song, but with a video Bob McCarty (a veteran himself) did about the preparations for Memorial Day at a cemetery not far from his Missouri home.
As for me, I’ll probably be at the Wicomico County observance Monday morning. Hopefully neither our aging veterans (nor the JROTC regulars who tend the flags) won’t wilt in the predicted heat.
With that, I’ll be back with more videos in a week or so.
You know, it’s really hard to be stuck indoors at a convention in a place with a view like this.
Yep, it was a little windy Friday afternoon when I shot that brief video. This was prior to the first of four seminars I attended as the event was billed as a training convention. Now, because of a scheduling conflict I had to miss the Executive Committee meeting but Kim and I did arrive in time to enjoy the hospitality of various candidate suites – in truth, the partying spilled onto the Princess Royale’s pool deck.
One Senate candidate made the most of his presence there, festooning the venue with signage. It began with this creative use of bumper stickers.
Several balconies had Wargotz’s signage, so it was a good thing Eric had a special one by his suite.
Governor Gary Johnson led the state of New Mexico from 1995-2003, winning an election as an outsider who was told he had little chance of winning (it was his first electoral contest.) Here’s Eric and Gary together – it’s one of two pictures I took (the other will likely be on his campaign site sometime soon.)
I’ll come back to Johnson later. In the meantime, it’s worth noting that fellow U.S. Senate hopeful Jim Rutledge also had a presence there, with a table near the registration desk.
Rutledge did come down on Saturday to meet and greet conventiongoers.
But if the MDGOP was anticipating a lot of revenue from table rental, they had to be sorely disappointed. Aside from Rutledge and the debut of Americans for Limited Government as a presence, not much was to be found on the tables.
This table on Friday night showed the undercurrent of competition.
As I mentioned earlier, part of the idea behind this convention was to conduct training for Central Committee members. I sat in on four seminars: voter vault training, new media, treasurer’s training, and a panel discussion led by Audrey Scott and featuring General Assembly members Delegate Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio and Senators David Brinkley, Nancy Jacobs, and Allan Kittleman. Of the four that was the most interesting, but I learned something new at each and I suppose that was the intent.
I think I’m going to treat the panel discussion as a separate post because a lot of interesting statements were uttered. So let’s skip to lunch and its two guest speakers.
Being introduced by GOP Chair Audrey Scott, who said “we need Bob back to make this a business-friendly state,” Ehrlich pretty much stuck to his stock speech. Most of us knew that “Maryland has been good to us” and “the last grudge match I had was in middle school.”
To Bob, “progress” in Martin O’Malley’s terms was a higher unemployment rate, 3,000 fewer businesses, increases in sales and business taxes, a so-called “living wage,” and gifts to Big Labor – all in all, a poor business climate is O’Malley’s legacy. “You don’t raise taxes on the producers,” said the former governor.
Annapolis is “never out of excuses,” continued Ehrlich, who also said that for us, jobs are “real” and not a “talking point” as they are for O’Malley. The “worst-kept secret” of a second O’Malley term would be the “monumental tax increase awaiting us.” It’s the “politics of getting over” – getting over the next year or the next election. His biggest disappointment was dealing with the schools in Baltimore (and then-Mayor O’Malley) – he accused the Democrats of not stepping up “because it was inconvenient” for them to. Never mind the kids sentenced to a below-grade education.
Addressing the TEA Party movement – a movement which “is serious” – there’s “no doubt” this “pro-opportunity” group wil help us.
While there’s little doubt that everyone in the room supports Ehrlich against O’Malley, I would’ve liked to hear from another man present – Brian Murphy.
We’re not supposed to endorse candidates pre-primary, but by all appearances the Maryland GOP has placed its lot for better or worse behind Bob Ehrlich. Yes, it can be argued that Murphy has little chance but at least he put his name on the line while someone was dithering about which race to run in – if he would run at all. I think we owed him the opportunity to speak, or else be neutral in the race and find a different keynote speaker.
The other speaker isn’t officially running for anything – at least not yet. While the list of current and former governors perhaps seeking the 2012 GOP presidential nomination is long, should Gary Johnson decide to do so we’ll have a pretty good idea of where he stands thanks to his Our America website alluded to above on Eric Wargotz’s sign.
Johnson related his experience as an entrepreneur and being told he “can’t come from outside politics to be elected” to statewide office. But he succeeded by putting “issues first and politics last.”
Perhaps his most noteworthy achievement in two terms as governor was vetoing 750 bills. He used the example of a bill to mandate pets in a store be exercised 2 hours a day, 3 days a week – who would police such a law?
That streak of libertarian thought extended to issues which were received well, like our lack of fiscal conservatism naturally leading to inflation, the “next shoe to drop” being state pension funds, and noting “I was hoping for free-market reform” on health care.
Other issues, though, may have fallen somewhat flat with those gathered, such as taking a “hard look” at the War on Drugs and “squandering our military might” on Iraq and Afghanistan. Regarding drug laws, Johnson noted that 1.8 million are arrested for drug crimes each year and 90% of that is prohibition-related rather than use-related. Instead, we should look at nations like Holland and Portugal and adopt “harm-reduction strategies.”
Gary was definitely thought-provoking, though, and may fit in as a second-tier participant should he begin the process of seeking the GOP’s highest nomination.
After lunch we got down to brass tacks and began the convention proper with Chair Audrey Scott presiding.
I must say, though, this may have been the absolute worst hall I’ve ever sat in for this sort of gathering.
I truly felt sorry for the guests who had to sit in the back, far away from the stage. You can’t tell by the picture but our group was fairly far back; we sat at the outside corner where the room narrowed.
With those surroundings, even Andy Harris didn’t fire up the troops as he could have in nicer circumstances.
Harris did wax eloquent about “taking America back” and stopping the “systematic dismantling of the American Dream” by the “gang in Washington.” To them, electing Scott Brown was “not (a) loud enough message” because they passed Obamacare anyway.
One big flaw with Obamacare Harris elaborated on was that hospitals were unwilling to make new investments because of the uncertainty. “It’s about time Congress admits its mistake (and) repeals health care,” Andy said. Another red meat comment: “when it comes to taxes, we should be the party of ‘hell no’!”
Checking in with the usual reports were our National Committeewoman, Joyce Lyons Terhes, who opined, “Michael Steele is doing an excellent job,” and that, “America is being dismantled before our very eyes.” National Committeeman Louis Pope added that our national fundraising was “right on target” and “the TEA Party is us.” The Republican National Committee is predicting a 30-60 seat House gain and 29 or 30 governorships after this election.
In her Chairman’s Report, Audrey Scott claimed that the “party was in disarray” when she took over but she’d improved both communication and finances during her brief tenure. The recent town hall meetings had gone well “beyond her wildest expectations” and she revealed that a paid Maryland Democratic Party staffer was following her during the latter stages of the tour, recording her every remark. (There was no Democratic staffer at her Wicomico stop. I’m bummed.)
An exciting upcoming event was the annual Red, White, and Blue Dinner, which will feature Mitt Romney as guest speaker.
Yet I have an editorial comment. What was the problem these big donors had with Jim Pelura? They could have opened up their wallets just as easily then and saved the party a lot of headache. Jim must not have been the fair-haired boy they wanted I guess.
Other than that, the business at hand went more or less routinely. Three of us from Wicomico County and another from Montgomery County objected to the adoption of the rules – in my case I suggested to Audrey beforehand that the “compromise” voting system be voted on separately (as they were last fall) and when they did not I objected. So there’s four people who “get it.”
But since the only resolution was to allow the Teenage Republicans a seat at the Executive Committee table the rules were no big deal. Most disappointing was the Voting Committee – who was charged with studying the issue and suggesting a solution – punting the voting system issue down the road. Their excuse this time was that an outgoing convention shouldn’t dictate rules for the next year. Well then, I guess we should rewrite the bylaws every four years then, shouldn’t we? (Actually we did a major revision this term – we just didn’t resolve the voting issue or properly adopt the worthwhile idea of regional chairs. That’s another issue the powers-that-be will find excuses to ignore for another term.)
Okay, my rant is over. For the first time that I recall, the Young Republicans didn’t have a hospitality suite on Friday night. Instead, they capitalized on current events for this idea to bridge the gap between the convention and dinner.
Speaking of dinner, I wasn’t sure about the speaker but political consultant David Winston turned out to be interesting to a numbers freak like myself.
Some of his findings:
Finally, our annual awards for 2009 were given out and we were pleasantly surprised!
Obviously we won one award and as I recall we nominated Matt for his award for his work as head of the Salisbury University College Republicans. Here are the award winners with Chair Audrey Scott.
So I don’t have a completely bitter taste in my mouth for the event. It just looks like the work won’t stop on November 2nd – when I’m reelected to the Central Committee and after we beat the Democrats like a rented mule it will be time to push for much-needed reform for the MDGOP.
Back to politics again after my foray into local music. Let’s see what I can dig up here, all right?
The other day it was Earth Day and needless to say I don’t go in for the hype – neither does Mario Lewis of the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
Three guys who were too much into Earth Day are Senators John Kerry, Lindsey Graham, and Joe Lieberman. They are a creative bunch, though, as they spin cap and tax. Again, from CEI:
Speaking of big government, the Environmental Protection Agency has a video contest going to explain why government regulations are a good thing. Needless to say, someone had to poke fun at it – why not the gang at Americans for Prosperity?
This spotlight is on a group which wants government regulation (in the form of higher taxes) to fatten their coffers.
Perhaps the Maryland GOP can borrow this from their California brethren?
Instead, our state is faced with too many voters like this group Bob McCarty found at an Illinois rally.
This is the same rally where TEA Partiers were greeted by a riot squad.
A protest of a different sort occurred right here in Maryland. Disaffected workers in the film industry aren’t too happy with our present governor – WBAL reports.
Newt Gingrich always has something to say as well. Here he talks about President Obama’s “secular socialist machine.”
I wrote about Daniel “The Whig Man” Vovak earlier this week as he proposed to legalize pot. Nick Gillespie of the Reason Foundation agrees.
But I didn’t forget local music! Here’s the hard-rocking Christian group Not My Own recorded live (not by me) at Circles in Milford, Delaware.
Until next time, that’s a wrap.
