Odds and ends number 31
Once again I have a lot of little items that deserve a little bit of comment, so here goes.
Delegate Pat McDonough is at it again. The 2012 Congressional candidate has prefiled a bill called the Toll Fairness Act. It has three goals:
- Declare a moratorium on all toll increases.
- Mandate a General Assembly vote and Governor’s signature on all toll increases, for accountability.
- Prohibit transfers to non-transportation accounts. Delegate McDonough claims almost $800 million has been “stolen” from transportation accounts over the last eight years.
While it’s doubtful such a bill will muster the votes to get out of the Democratic-controlled committee it will be assigned to, the fact that we have this measure prefiled shows that people can be good and angry about the situation. We will see on July 14, when a hearing on the toll increases will be held in Ocean City.
Speaking of the peoples’ voice, the petition drive to overturn SB167 through referendum may well be successful. But CASA de Maryland was granted a request to make copies of the petitions; a move Delegate Michael Smigiel of the Upper Shore found shocking.
Delegate Smigiel made a point which I wanted to amplify. It’s bad enough that a group who’s dead-set against the referendum will be allowed to take possession of these petitions, if only for a brief time. Luckily the potential for mischief is lessened since that cat was let out of the bag.
But I think back to the controversy over Proposition 8 in California (to overturn same-sex marriage) and what happened to those who contributed to that effort financially – a number of them were harassed by pro-gay marriage supporters, with threats to both boycott their businesses and harm them physically. Could pro-illegal groups and supporters use the petition information to do the same in Maryland? They’re playing for keeps; unfortunately for them a goodly number of people about these parts are armed and don’t much like harassment. Hopefully the folks at the ACLU and CASA de Maryland will keep this in mind.
Meanwhile, those who support the petition and wish to make sure the count is done fairly aren’t allowed into the process. A Board of Elections worth its salt would tell the state to go pound sand on that (since it’s simply a policy memorandum and not law.)
And that’s not all from the state of Maryland. Richard Falknor at Blue Ridge Forum discusses the new “green” graduation requirement. There’s no time for teaching critical thinking or even the three R’s, but they have time to push that “smart growth” bullshit on our kids? Since the requirement appears to be only in public schools (for now) I guess I don’t have to deprogram my girlfriend’s daughter – yet – since she attends a private school.
I also learned a new word regarding this new environmentalism. In a press release from the Competitive Enterprise Institute announcing the formation of the Resourceful Earth website, a quote from Myron Ebell, the Director of CEI’s Center for Energy and Environment, caught my eye. Said Ebell, “unfortunately, many major corporations are being greenmailed into supporting these assaults on jobs and prosperity.” ‘Greenmailed,’ indeed. Do you think oil companies really want to spend millions to deal with environmental groups advocating for polar bears or caribou rather than job creation and maintaining our lifestyle? They probably add a nickel per gallon to the price.
Still, pump prices have been on the decline of late. That fact makes the timing of the decision to draw 30 million barrels down from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve very curious. Granted, there will still be nearly 700 million barrels remaining in our coffers, but there was no emergency situation to merit the release. Strife in Libya is no worse than unrest in Nigeria, another major oil-producing nation, back in 2009.
Reaction has been severe from some quarters, and seems to be the correct perception of the situation. Americans for Limited Government, for example, claims savings will be meager and short-lived:
If one is generous and assumes yesterday’s $4 drop was solely because of Obama and International Energy Agency, at best it will save consumers $.10 a gallon for gasoline. That works out to about $1.50 per fill up, or $6 for the month the additional gasoline is available.
In other words, Obama has jeopardized national security by drawing down the strategic reserves to, at best, save consumers about $1.50 per fill up when this ‘flood’ of new gasoline hits the market. To call this irresponsible would be an understatement.
And the real experts at the American Petroleum Institute were equally underwhelmed:
The release makes little sense for American markets. Crude and gasoline inventories are above average, and crude and gasoline prices have been trending down for weeks, despite the loss of Libyan oil, which markets have already adjusted to. The SPR was intended to be used for supply emergencies. There is no supply emergency. We don’t know what impacts this might have on markets long term. But we could and should be taking steps that would increase our own production by 2 million barrels a day or more for decades, which is possible if the government would grant much greater access to America’s ample oil and natural gas reserves. This would do vastly more to help consumers, increase energy security, create jobs and deliver more revenue to our government. It’s action that would truly strengthen our energy future, not a temporary gesture that has no lasting benefits.
30 million barrels is about what our nation consumes in a day-and-a-half. 60 million barrels (the total IEA release) is well under what the world consumes in a day.
Here’s the problem I see with this release. We have a President who doesn’t mind $4 per gallon gasoline, as long as the increase is relatively steady. He also has backtracked from allowing additional oil exploration thanks to a rare but ill-timed drilling accident in the Gulf of Mexico.
If you assume the oil which was placed in the SPR was purchased at a relatively low market price, well, we have to make that up sometime. And if you believe their line about supplies tightening up thanks to a civil war in Libya it would be my guess that oil will be more expensive. We just added 60 million barrels to future worldwide demand, and that will likely drive prices up a little bit.
In short, this is a shell game (no pun intended) to make people believe we’re doing something about a problem better solved with more oil extraction. For example, approving one pipeline would eventually make up for about half of what the world normally gets from Libya on a daily basis. Needless to say, I don’t buy the ‘peak oil’ theory. (Thanks to Jane Van Ryan of API for the pipeline info.)
And one final item. Over the last few weeks I had a PSA for the Move America Forward Troopathon which was broadcast over the internet last Thursday. They now have their tally in and were pleased to report they raised $507,843 from their efforts – exceeding their $500,000 goal.
It wasn’t as much as previous Troopathons raised, but then again we have fewer troops in that theater. Considering that being pro-military isn’t as much in vogue as it used to be I think that total is pretty good and reflects a nation that remains in a giving mood for our men in uniform.
Wow, that did a nice job of cleaning out my e-mail box. Look for more interesting stuff to come.
In-state tuition for illegals to become law – or will it?
On Thursday, Governor Martin O’Malley signed SB167 into law. Of course, that bill may be sent to referendum if enough signatures are applied to a petition seeking the vote of the people, and Delegate Neil Parrott is leading that effort.
Here’s what he had to say about the signing.
(On Thursday) Governor O’Malley signed into law SB 167, known as the Maryland Dream Act, that will provide in-state tuition benefits to illegal aliens.
MDPetitions.com, under the leadership of Delegates Neil Parrott and Pat McDonough, has launched a petition drive to bring the bill to referendum in the November 2012 elections.
Delegate Parrott, Chairman, indicated that “It’s no surprise that Gov. O’Malley signed this legislation. The people of Maryland anticipated this and that is why people across the state are going to www.mdpetitions.com to sign the petition so we can bring this bill to referendum.”
Delegate Pat McDonough, Honorary Chairperson of the Petition Drive stated, “Taxpayers are wasting millions educating someone who cannot and will not be hired legally. Politicians like Governor O’Malley have transformed Maryland into a ‘sanctuary state’ by becoming a Disneyland for illegal immigrants, attracting hundreds of thousands of them, and costing taxpayers about 2 billion dollars. This law will only make things worse.”
Delegate Parrott noted that “this bill barely passed during the night on the last day of the session despite Bi-partisan opposition to the bill. Given the choice, I believe Marylanders will reject this legislation outright.”
The outpouring of support for our petition drive should serve as notice to Governor O’Malley and the legislators in Annapolis that Marylanders are fed up with the rampant abuse of our hard earned tax dollars.
Certainly I’m as fed up with “rampant abuse of our hard earned tax dollars” and I was happy to place my John Hancock on the petition. And I also think Alex Mooney was right when he commented at the state GOP convention that “we need to use that petition to referendum more often.” Just wait until the Special Session, and the tax increases we’re sure to see.
Of course, much of that momentum will depend on how this particular petition drive goes – if it’s a success, then people will be emboldened to use the referendum route to overrule O’Malley and the Democrats in the General Assembly more often. But the last attempt to petition a bad bill into referendum (the speed camera law) failed when the organizers came up short at the 1/3 barrier in May 2009.
Obviously there will be a lot on the ballot next November, as the general election in Maryland only comes once every two years and there’s a long list of items which the General Assembly sends to the voters for final ratification. Three items were placed before voters in 2010, two in 2008, and four in 2006.
But according to this piece by Ann Marimow in the Washington Post, the last petition drive to succeed in making it to the ballot came two decades ago, and it lost at the polls. Insofar as this drive is concerned, the effect on the 2012 election will be interesting should it succeed - with Barack Obama a prohibitive favorite in the state, will downballot turnout determine the fate of the referendum? Also, since the ballot question could pit one minority against another, how will that shake out?
Perhaps one reason these drives tend to fizzle out is the lengthy timeframe between the referendum and the election. If the petition effort succeeds we’ll have 17 months before voters will decide. In many cases where the ballot question is determined by the General Assembly this doesn’t seem to matter, as most Constitutional amendments placed before voters pass handily. But this will be different and there’s a potential of legal wrangling before the voters get to decide whether to rescind the law.
Passing the bill in its fourth try (2007, 2008, and 2009 – notice they didn’t go for this in the election year of 2010 knowing it would be a hot-button issue) was ill-advised, so Maryland voters should get a crack at this. Some may argue that the referendum shouldn’t go through because it would bring more Latinos to the polls and they’ll both vote against the referendum and punish Republican candidates. But I believe this will help GOP turnout in a state that’s generally written off by the national GOP and maybe give the Republican nominee an outside chance of winning.
So if you get the chance, sign the petition. Let’s show the General Assembly and Martin O’Malley who’s in control of this state.
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.
Ending the sanctuary state
In a little less than two weeks, after the calendar turns to 2011 and we return back to our post-holiday daily routine, our ’90 Days of Terror’ known as the General Assembly session will commence. And Delegate Pat McDonough is ready, with a 15-point package to counter the scourge of illegal aliens in the state. As he says in a release:
Everyone is aware of the fact that Maryland is a premier sanctuary state.
I intend to introduce the largest and most effective legislative action agenda in the history of the state. Hopefully, fellow citizens and organizations who are concerned about the burdens created by illegal immigration will join us in this important effort.
I refer to my comprehensive plan as the “Citizens Protection and Rights Initiative,” in other words, CPR.
While fifteen bills seems like a lot, bear in mind that in an average session we’ll see over 2,500 measures introduced during the General Assembly session – it’s nearly 150 per member of the General Assembly. Undaunted, McDonough plans to address the following fifteen items:
- Arizona Style Law entitled the “Citizens’ Rights Act” mandating that state authority enforce the Federal Immigration Act.
- Sanctuary Policy Penalty provides complaint process against public officials who knowingly violate the Federal Immigration Act.
- Higher Education In-state Prohibition – This bill prohibits illegal alien college students from receiving taxpayer subsidized tuition discounts.
- Higher Education Legislative Scholarships Prohibition Regarding Illegal Aliens
- Federal 287 G Statewide Enforcement – This bill would mandate the enforcement of the federal criminal action section of the law addressing criminal illegal aliens and gangs.
- Division of Correction Immigration Status of Inmates – This bill would mandate reports and records of the immigration status of inmates in the Maryland prison system.
- Immigration Status Bail and Pre-trial Release – This bill would mandate that judges and other officials confirm the immigration status of defendants prior to release.
- Task Force to Study the Impact of Illegal Aliens on Maryland’s Job Market
- E-Verify State Procurement -This bill would mandate that all state contractors, venders, and employees must pass the e-verify test.
- Consumers “Right to Know” Transparency Act – This bill would mandate that consumers have the right to know the immigration status of all employees performing work or services on their property.
- Prohibition of State Benefits to Illegal Aliens
- Charitable Organizations Prohibition of Acceptance of Contributions from Terrorist Groups, Nations, or Nations That Have Relationships with Terrorist States
- Foreign Language Costs Transparency Act – This bill would mandate that all state agencies provide an annual report detailing any funding provided to policies, programs, services or any functions that require the use of non-English languages.
- The Voter Fairness Act – This bill would mandate that election workers require identification from voters.
- The Montgomery County College Lawsuit and Criminal Complaints – I have partnered with the National Legal Foundation “Judicial Watch” to engage in a civil lawsuit against Montgomery County College in order to ban the unlawful practice of providing in-state tuition to illegal aliens costing taxpayers millions of dollars. I am preparing criminal complaints against certain public officials to be submitted in the near future.
Obviously this is not a program for smaller government or less red tape; unfortunately, since the federal government has dropped the ball on enforcement of its borders and immigration law those of us in Maryland are left to pick up the pieces. Perhaps the one I most support would be The Voter Fairness Act, although I presume Pat would want to have a photo ID. Then again, since illegal aliens can get a driver’s license relatively easily in Maryland (by many accounts) there may have to be other additional restrictions.
(Personally I think the voter cards we receive should have a photo and the state should opt out of compliance with “motor voter” laws. If the federal government can let Maryland get away with flouting the rules about cleaning the voter rolls on a regular basis, we should be able to get around that law too. Make people go to the Board of Elections to register to vote – those who care to do so would probably be those who care about being informed on what they’re voting on.)
I’m very sure Republicans may split on provisions 9 and 10, since the Chamber of Commerce screams bloody murder whenever E-verify is brought up. This isn’t a cure-all since documents can be forged and occasionally the system spits out a false positive but it’s probably the best step we have currently available.
But with just 43 Republicans in the House of Delegates and all seven House committees firmly in Democratic control (including the notorious Delegate Joe Vallario in charge of Judiciary) the chances of McDonough’s agenda advancing are fairly slim. It seems that Democrats would rather listen to “New Americans” who aren’t even supposed to be voting over the interests of those who believe that illegal aliens are, well, illegal. Crossing the border illegally may only be a misdemeanor akin to getting a traffic citation, but forgery is a somewhat more serious offense and portraying yourself as being here legally sans documentation is the same as misrepresenting yourself for fraudulent purposes.
I welcome immigrants who come here and choose to pursue the American Dream through the legal means available. It’s those bad apples McDonough targets who are spoiling things for the rest.
Odds and ends number 22
With the sheer frenzy of candidates filing earlier this week, my e-mail box was filled with other news. But instead of making a long series of posts, a good editor can pick out the relevant points in a paragraph or two and that’s what I’ll do here.
Needless to say, I receive frequent dispatches from a number of candidates. In the race for U.S. Senate, Eric Wargotz was proud he won a ballot to be the featured candidate for “Ten-Buck Fridays” as he explains:
Ten congressional candidates are nominated each week. Whoever receives the most votes is announced Friday. All of the web site and blog sponsors spread the word on the winner across the web to conservative sites and encourage all visitors to the sites to donate. In essence, they promote a $10 per donation money bomb for the winning candidate of that particular week.
I checked it out last evening and Eric won with 673 votes. I’m not sure how that will translate into actual donations, so I suppose this goes in the category of “every little bit helps.”
Oddly enough, Eric’s opponent Jim Rutledge used something Senator Scott Brown (who had assistance in getting elected from Wargotz) said in blasting incumbent Democrat Barb Mikulski:
Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts summed up the philosophical differences in Washington regarding how Congress should provide solutions. Sen. Brown said, “It’s the checking account versus the credit card.” Democrats like Barbara Mikulski want to spend and tax their way out of a recession while conservatives like Jim Rutledge believe we need to lower taxes, cut spending, and reduce the deficit. Rutledge said, “President Reagan showed us that America can grow and prosper by reducing the size of government and lowering taxes.”
One thing Rutledge forgot to add was that Reagan did it with a Congress controlled by Democrats, at least in the House. But Jim didn’t forget to let me know he was endorsed by Delegate Pat McDonough.
Endorsements are a funny thing – sometimes they are useful and sometimes they bite you in the behind. Given President Obama’s track record on campaigning for other candidates, perhaps Martin O’Malley may regret this statement from the One:
Since being elected Governor in 2006, Martin O’Malley has been a true champion for the people of Maryland.
He has restored a sense of fiscal responsibility and helped the state grow sustainably, expanding access to health care coverage and continuing to improve Maryland’s schools, while also restoring the Chesapeake Bay. His four-year freeze on college tuition brought the cost of higher education within reach of middle-class families.
Governor O’Malley has a lot more to contribute to your state — and I hope you will do your part to ensure he has four more years to continue his work.
Actually, if he’s re-elected Governor O’Malley will likely make sure We the People of the Free State are forced to contribute a lot more. It’s funny that President Obama left out the increased tax burden and job losses Maryland has endured under O’Malley’s watch. It seems the only sustainable growth we have is in the unemployment rate.
And as Dave Schwartz of Americans for Prosperity reminds us:
Earlier this week, Gov. Martin O’Malley announced a plan to spend $1 billion for school construction. Even though we still have a $389 million hole left in this year’s budget and a projected $8.3 billion long term structural deficit, O’Malley believes that more spending is the answer. This unhinged appetite for spending our dollars is exactly why Maryland is in trouble.
Yes, President Obama, Martin O’Malley has a lot to contribute – a lot of deficit spending and budgets balanced on the backs of the counties and working people of Maryland.
Tomorrow I pick on O’Malley’s television ad. It should be fun.
McDonough: Middleton resolution ‘clueless’
The colorful Pat McDonough, who considered a run for Governor but instead will bid to retain his seat in the House of Delegates, is using his bully pulpit to blast a resolution to be introduced by Baltimore City Councilwoman Sharon Green Middleton.
McDonough’s staunch opposition to illegal immigration extends to a pledge to introduce a bill similar to Arizona’s SB1070 if re-elected to the General Assembly next year. In contrast, Middleton’s proposal codifies the City of Baltimore’s opposition to the law.
(continued on my Examiner.com page…)
Ehrlich won’t rule out Senate run
Bob Ehrlich surprised a group in Pikesville this morning by telling a questioner at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast that a Senate run against Barbara Mikulski was still “in the mix.”
That news may come as a shock should Ehrlich follow through with a Senate campaign, especially to a group of eleven people: the seven candidates who are already running for the Republican nomination to unseat the four-term incumbent (leading the way are Carmen Amedori, Jim Rutledge, and Eric Wargotz), the three men who explored but dropped out of the GOP race for governor (Mike Pappas, Larry Hogan, and Delegate Pat McDonough), and Brian Murphy, who might have the GOP nod handed to him as the only other active candidate seeking the Republican nomination for governor.
(for more visit my Examiner.com site…)
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