It’s time for accountability

You know, I didn’t begin the monoblogue Accountability Project for my health. When the cycle came back around to the point where our General Assembly came up for election I wanted the actual vote tallies to tell you what our legislators are REALLY voting to do. It’s especially apt when you get a full-color mailer telling you that “Jim Mathias is one of us.” (We’ve received two in the last week; the other said he was small business-friendly.)

Before I go on, allow me to say that Norm Conway and Jim Mathias are nice guys; I can talk to them and in most cases we agree to disagree. But there comes a time to be held in account for the votes they’ve taken and I’m not going to let them get away with talking conservative in the district but voting against its interests when they are in Annapolis.

For example, how many of you like the electric rates you pay? Well, the state mandates the utilities get a portion of their electricity from “renewable” sources or fines utilities who don’t comply. In the last four years both of these Delegates voted for legislation that would charge utilities up to 45 cents per kilowatt hour if they fell short of goals.

Speaking of goals, the pair also believed the hype about greenhouse gases and foolishly signed on to a job-killing measure to reduce greenhouse gases to 75% of 2006 levels by 2020. I’m sure they’ll say that there is an “out” within the law if the economic price is too high (which there is) but why would someone agree to this pig in a poke in the first place? By that same token, these two stuck it to utilities through mandates regarding energy conservation. (This is why companies like Delmarva Power have to push their programmable thermostats.)

And thanks to them our new cars now have to be compliant with the more expensive California emissions standards.

These two even played smoking Nazis when they both voted to ban indoor smoking. Mathias even voted for an amendment to ban tobacco statewide.

And is it small-business friendly to vote every chance you get to empower unions? Over the last four years this dynamic duo (along with Rudy Cane in many cases) have gifted Big Labor with fees from child care providers, gifts to the teachers union, a double dose of mandated breaks (each voted for one version of the bill), binding arbitration (regardless of the cost to local governments), and making those who wish to opt out of the union still pay union dues (as Delegate Conway did in committee.) If it were a vote to amend prevailing wage or beat back the repeal of ‘living wage’, Jim Mathias – yes, Mr. Business-Friendly himself – was there.

How about fans of paperwork? Anyone? Well, these esteemed Delegates put recordkeeping mandates on business, adopting federal mandates for an unemployment bailout after Rudy Cane and Norm Conway helped put the system in a bind by making part-time workers eligible. Even the half-hearted effort to help them this year comes with a number of strings and paperwork attached.

So when these Democrats try to pull the wool over your eyes and tell you they’re business-friendly, you may want to ask them why they voted for these measures. The next installment I’ll do over the next few days looks at just how fiscally responsible these local Democrats are (insert derisive snort here.)

Mills focuses District 37A campaign on small business

It’s always a struggle to upend a 12-year incumbent from the Maryland House of Delegates, but first-time candidate Dustin Mills may have found the Achilles heel of current Delegate Rudy Cane by focusing his efforts on small business and job creation.

Despite the fact Mills currently works as a teacher and coach for Wicomico County Schools, he believes his strategy for incubating business on the lower Eastern Shore is a sound, time-tested one.

(continued on my Examiner.com page…)

District 38A hopeful gathers gun endorsements

AFP co-chair Julie Brewington read from remarks she prepared and preposted on her website.

One can’t quite call her Maryland’s answer to Sarah Palin yet, but District 38A hopeful Julie Brewington is holding her own with the boys insofar as getting endorsements from Second Amendment groups goes.

The most recent ones in her bag come from a coalition of groups including Maryland Shall Issue/Citizen’s Defense League of Maryland, and the Maryland State NRA Rifle and Pistol Association.

(continued on my Examiner.com page…)

**********

Now for the remainder of my take on this.

I’m certainly glad that Julie is a defender of Second Amendment rights and I have little doubt about her conservative credentials considering who she supports and the body of her work on her blog Right Coast.

But it doesn’t always work that way among people who vote single-issue. For example, the same group which endorses Julie is also endorsing Delegate Joseph Vallario, Jr. (D – District 27A) and Delegate Rudy Cane (D – District 37A). Vallario chairs the House Judiciary Committee, where bills like Jessica’s Law went to die until a vast outcry finally forced him to relent and bring the bill out. Cane regularly votes with big-spending I-95 corridor liberals on economic issues, which outweigh the limited good he does on Second Amendment-related items. (For my money I think Cane challenger Dustin Mills would likely be as good or better for Second Amendment stalwarts and certainly more friendly to our local business interests.)

However, I did notice that the coalition specifically states:

Our vote recommendations are based upon 2nd Amendment positions only. When both candidates would benefit the 2nd Amendment community, we suggest that each voter consider other criteria in the Primary Election. These critia (sic) would include the voter’s personal knowledge of the candidate, candidate’s experience, past performance, and especially the candidate’s “electability” in the November General Election.

I would hope that this coalition comes to its senses regarding other issues once November’s endorsements roll around, and perhaps in cases where there is no primary they simply omit the candidate in question until then.

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.

A thought or two on Page Elmore

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.

Young Republican seeks to oust Cane

Dustin Mills is running for the GOP nomination in District 37A - if he wins, he'll face longtime Delegate Rudy Cane.For the first time since 2002 District 37A Delegate Rudolph C. “Rudy” Cane will have a GOP opponent.

Dustin Mills, who has assisted in previous local campaigns for Michael James and Andy Harris and was selected as the top young Republican in Maryland two years ago, made the announcement today that he will seek the Grand Old Party’s nomination for the district, which covers portions of Wicomico and Dorchester counties. Dustin has been active in local Republican circles since moving to the area to attend Salisbury University several years ago.

In his announcement Mills took a shot at Delegate Cane’s liberal voting record, noting, “(a)s someone who has spent most of his life in the workforce, I am not a career politician and believe that a Delegate should represent the District, not the wayward leadership in Annapolis.”

(continued on my Examiner.com page…)

Toppling an incumbent

A few weeks back I spoke about District 37A, positing that Rudy Cane can be beaten. This stemmed from a Wicomico County Republican Club meeting where we were introduced to GOP hopeful Bob McCarroll.

While this district is a crazy-quilt district (check out this example of gerrymandering) set up originally to protect the most liberal Eastern Shore Democrat as a majority-minority district, recent development has changed the demographics and made this a prime chance for pickup. So if you live in the area between Cambridge and Salisbury (also encompassing Hurlock, East New Market, Vienna, Sharptown, and Hebron) you can help get your area better representation in Annapolis.

To that end, Bob McCarroll, who is running for Delegate in 37a, would like to hold an organization meeting for his campaign either this week or next. If any one would like to help get this campaign off the ground please e-mail him at b_a_mccarroll@yahoo.com. He is shooting for Saturday, April 17, but is flexible if other dates work for those interested.

While it’s not a “perfect” conservative to liberal spectrum, just knowing that Rudy Cane ranks just outside the bottom 10 in the monoblogue Accountability Project shows he votes far to the left of what an Eastern Shore legislator should. Too often he votes in lockstep with delegates from Baltimore City and Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties – and we see how well those areas are run.

So the question for District 37A voters: have you had enough yet? If so, help yourself get some real representation in Annapolis!

How beatable is Rudy Cane?

As an adjunct to my last post, I wanted to share some information I looked up on the Maryland Board of Elections website.

While we tend to think Democrats are invincible, particularly in a majority-minority district like District 37A was drawn out to be, here are the facts.

In 2006 Rudy Cane ran unopposed in the general election. More’s the pity because he only won his primary with 68.7% of the vote.

And in 2002 Cane only won with 56.5% of the vote. Granted, this was the year Bob Ehrlich won election and a point when President Bush was riding high in the approval polls. For Cane, this was a decline from when he won the district with 63% of the vote in 1998.

Before that, Cane was beaten in a three-way race in 1994, the last time Republicans held the seat. In that election, Don Hughes won with 41% of the vote, beating Cane’s 40 percent. The difference was an independent candidate by the name of Lemuel Chester, who garnered 19% of the vote and carried the Dorchester County portion handily. Cane lost by 20 votes out of nearly 7,000 cast! (Oddly enough, Hughes only served that one term and chose not to run again – a true citizen legislator.)

The demographics aren’t as bad as one might think, since development has placed the district into a situation where it may not be a “majority-minority” district anymore. So with the right message and hard work, Bob McCarroll can win.

Democrats talked boastfully last year about making Maryland a “10-0” state, with Democrats occupying all the Congressional and Senate seats in Washington. Methinks this is the year we can make it a solid Republican Eastern Shore by ending the political careers of Rudy Cane (12 years), Norm Conway (24 years), and Jim Mathias (4 years but ambitious enough to run for the Maryland Senate to replace Lowell Stoltzfus.) It can be done, let’s do it!

WCRC meeting – March 2010

Despite the fact there was no flag in the room and our secretary was away on personal business (among other oddities) the Wicomico County Republican Club persevered and gathered once again to celebrate our party – and perhaps lick a few wounds from the health care fight. We did give our customary recitation of the Lord’s Prayer and pledged in the general direction of the courthouse, where certainly a flag would be handy.

Perhaps the recently completed health care fight still left a little bit of acrimony in the crowd, and it began with the treasurer’s report. There was some discussion about changing banks after the group received word of a couple fees we found objectionable, but we will allow the bank to present its case before moving our money.

The contentiousness died down so that our guest speaker could begin his campaign pitch.

Bob McCarroll told us one reason he was running because “no one has stepped up” in District 37A over the last eight years; indeed Delegate Rudy Cane was unopposed by a Republican in 2006. (He did dispatch his Democratic primary opponent with 68.7% of the vote but didn’t carry the small part of the district in Dorchester County.) However, the key reason he was running was his four year old daughter – he was “worried about her future in this area and county.” Areas of particular concern were deficit spending and education, where McCarroll spoke in favor of vouchers (so money could follow the child and allow parental choice) as well as the state “get(ting) off teacher’s backs” and cutting a “top-heavy” administrative system.

In fact, a main theme of Bob’s presentation was the concept of government getting off our backs. For business, that took the form of cutting onerous taxation, including the “millionaire’s tax.” For farmers, it was slicing the amount of environmental regulations, as McCarroll opined that farmers could be better stewards of the land than some Annapolis bureaucrat. The same goes for those making their living on the waterways, like fisherman and watermen. In all, noted Bob, “Maryland has more restrictions than New York,” where he grew up.

On the Obamacare “debacle” McCarroll thought it best that Maryland make an attempt to opt out of the mandates as much as possible.

One question about vouchers asked about the input the state would have in private schools if vouchers were made available, and Bob said that we’d have to trust the legislators – he’d propose a “hands-off” policy. In that same vein, another questioner asked why we couldn’t have a 50-50 split between funding vouchers and public schools, where half the parents’ tax burden would stay with the public schools. But then schools wouldn’t “step up their game.” McCarroll also favors an elected school board.

Another questioner asked about the “minority component” of the district and what would be most appealing to them. Bob saw taxes and educational restructuring as the key issues which would bring in black voters.

On another query, McCarroll saw a line-item veto as “a good idea.”

But perhaps his best answer was on how he could appeal to small businesses. Besides cutting taxes, Bob related his contemplation of starting a small business of his own, but backing off when he “couldn’t get a straight answer” from the state. It was time to “streamline regulations” and exempt Maryland from some of the more onerous federal restrictions.

After McCarroll concluded, we got the Lower Shore Young Republican report from Dustin Mills. The state convention was still in planning stages, but they were looking forward to being hosts. However, the food drive planned for later this month was being pushed back to a date in May. That and the convention also affected planning for another hog roast and fundraiser similar to that they held last year.

But in better news Dustin informed us there would be a meeting in Worcester County for the first time as the LSYR club wished to expand its geographic reach.

Bob Miller again appealed for Salisbury Festival volunteers to both man the WCRC booth and make brownies. The Salisbury Festival is held April 23 and 24 in downtown Salisbury.

Dr. John Bartkovich was pleased that Bob McCarroll was running and commented, “we need more people to step up.” Exciting upcoming events for Wicomico Republicans were the Lincoln Day Dinner April 3rd featuring Bob and Kendal Ehrlich, a town hall meeting with state Chair Audrey Scott on April 5th, and the Spring Republican Convention April 30 and May 1 in Ocean City at the Princess Royale. We also drafted a letter endorsing the idea of an elected school board and asked County Council to consider the idea.

After dealing with a financial question which involved some discussion, we made one other key decision: henceforth our meetings will begin a half-hour earlier, with social time at 6:30 and gavel at 7:00.

This means our first 7 p.m. meeting will be April 26. At this time, we haven’t secured a speaker. Our May meeting has U.S. Senate candidate Carmen Amedori slated, with probably a host of local candidates getting their turn over the summer.