Odds and ends number 49
Let me just say up top that this occasional look at items which can be covered in a paragraph or three will also serve to clean up some of the loose ends remaining after our Spring Convention over the weekend.
In my first installment on the proceedings, I mentioned that the group Change Maryland has 12,000 members – although their cake maker wanted to grow them tenfold. But something I didn’t realize is that the number of those liking the group on Facebook is larger than those who like the state Democratic and Republican parties combined, and also more than those who like Anthony Brown, Peter Franchot, or Doug Gansler. Coincidentally, these are three of the top contenders for the 2014 Democratic gubernatorial nomination.
And Larry Hogan told me the group appeals to a broad cross-section of voters, drawing interest from Democrats and unaffiliated voters as well as Republicans. I was hoping to get a more formalized sit-down with him before the Executive Committee meeting, but we will have to do it another time.
Anti-tax rally in Annapolis March 22
Looks like the TEA Party is going to rear up: while the House of Delegates is debating the State budget the tax revolt will be heard and seen all around Annapolis.
Thursday’s event is a last minute call to action. Tomorrow at noon there will be a group of cars circling the State House starting at noon honking their horn to show their opposition to increased spending. Others will be standing with posters opposing the elimination of the tax cap, stopping tax increases, and asking the government to hold the line on spending. There is also an opportunity to witness the debate first hand. Visitors are invited into the House Chamber in the gallery.
Delegate Susan Aumann (R – Baltimore County) said, “We are facing historic tax and fee increases, and it is government spending that is inhibiting the growth of Maryland’s economy.”
“Enough is enough!” Delegate Kathy Szeliga (R – Baltimore and Harford County) added, “From the beginning of session we had polling that proves 96% of Marylander’s say they pay enough in taxes.”
Tomorrow’s event is expected to draw supporters from all around the state.
The protest is spearheaded by a number of Republican Delegates from the Annapolis area, who are counting on the help of local activists to make a point. Admittedly, the thought of a line of cars circling the seat of government has its appeal because there’s no need to have a large group to make the point. It would be more of a newsworthy event than the equivalent small amount of protesters holding their antitax signs.
It’s probable that the protests won’t do any good, particularly when the Democrats run the General Assembly like their own fiefdom and Governor O’Malley needs the money for his spending initiatives and to refill the funds he looted to balance his previous budgets. And who are we kidding? Those funds will be raided yet again next year as O’Malley begins his push for the 2016 Democratic nomination.
But the success of this event will be more on the awareness front, as the Democrats have been known to overplay their hand. Let’s get as many out who can spare the time and get ourselves in the news.
The McDermott notes: week 3
As I stated last night, this report is slightly behind schedule – from here on out, the intention is to put this up Sunday evening if possible. In case you missed them, here are the week 1 and week 2 reports.
Things must be getting a little more hectic in the General Assembly as Mike abandoned his day-by-day descriptions in favor of a general overview of the week’s proceedings.
The first topic was a quick look at judicial electronic filing, updating the progress and determining how to pay for it. I’m guessing the trial attorneys and others involved in the legal system are going to balk at additional user fees just as those of us in rural areas have no desire to pay a higher “flush tax.” But in their case, I think the benefits would be more tangible.
Second in line is probably the most important thing the General Assembly is entrusted with each year – the passage of the Governor’s budget. It’s the only item the legislature can pass and enact into law without the Governor’s formal approval.
And Mike is definitely a critic of this year’s spending bill, noting the “significant proposals that would affect every family in Maryland if they are adopted”: changes to income tax deduction, a variety of fee increases, a rise in college tuition, and the expansion of sales tax to a multitude of services, including the internet. We call that the “app tax.”
Mike also noted on Wednesday the fifteen House Republican freshmen, a group of which he’s a member, held a press conference to reveal that a majority of Maryland residents were convinced (to turn a phrase) the taxes are too damn high. In fact, 96% believe they are Taxed Enough Already – so I guess 96% belong to the TEA Party. Now if they only voted that way we wouldn’t have these problems.
Another update McDermott added to the notes was the fact both Wicomico County State’s Attorney Matt Maciarello and his Somerset County counterpart Dan Powell came to Annapolis to share their thoughts on the subject of a bill Mike is sponsoring (HB112), which would eliminate the requirement for a public defender at certain court hearings.
Something which really should be carefully read in McDermott’s original notes are his accounts of the Eastern Shore Delegation meetings. Obviously we have a mixed group, with three moderate-to-liberal Democrats interspersed among the 12 members of the General Assembly who hail from this part of the state (Districts 36, 37, and 38.) Most of the others are conservative Republicans, although some tend to stray from the party line from time to time.
My sense – and in looking at the monoblogue Accountability Project I can bear this out – is that McDermott is the most conservative of the group. In fact, the four freshmen Delegates we have from the Shore (all Republicans) rank among the five highest (most conservative) out of the 12-member Eastern Shore Delegation, at least by my measure. Senator E.J. Pipkin breaks that group up; otherwise the freshmen are the ones who most agree with how I would vote.
But McDermott also states that there may be a couple Department of Natural Resources projects in the pipeline; an upgrade to the bathhouses on Assateague Island and a proposed boat ramp on 64th Street in Ocean City. Perhaps that would be money well spent, although I’d be curious to know if any property acquisition is needed for the 64th Street project.
Finally, Mike promises an update in next week’s field notes on the bills he’s sponsored (there are now four where he is lead sponsor, while he’s a co-sponsor of 38 others) and restates his promise not to introduce any bond bills this session. So far, the local Republicans in the House have made good on not introducing any bond bills; however, both Shore Republicans in the Senate seem to want to go their own way on this. (Needless to say, Democrats will introduce these debt creators with impunity, since it’s only our children’s money they’re spending.)
This was a somewhat shorter summary than we had the first two weeks, probably because the routine is now setting in and there’s a lot of ground to cover – so far there are nearly 700 bills in the hopper.
But there is one omission, a bill I haven’t seen yet in the House. Last year Delegate McDermott promised to move our bill on an elected school board early in the session, but to date there is no House version. In the Senate, though, Senators Mathias and Colburn introduced SB99, which is a clean up-or-down vote, on January 17. A hearing slated for January 25 was cancelled, which may mean trouble for our cause. (Remember, a similar bill passed the Senate last year only to be bogged down by Delegate Norm Conway in the House.) Perhaps the Delegate can inquire as to why this cancellation occurred and get this bill moving in the House.
Cain: Gingrich is able
This truly wasn’t a shock; back in December when Herman Cain exited the race I came right out and said I wouldn’t be surprised if he endorsed Newt Gingrich. They’re very familiar to one another as both hail from Georgia and you may recall they had a one-on-one debate with each other last fall. (Gingrich also had a similar debate with Jon Huntsman, which neither did anything for Huntsman nor got him to endorse Newt, as Jon Huntsman now backs Mitt Romney.) Cain’s consolation prize is now a position chairing Newt’s tax reform efforts.
However, the timing of this perhaps shows Cain’s lack of political savvy – or, to play devil’s advocate, means he marches to his own drummer and eschews standards which would place him within the political norm. Your choice. The latter seems especially true when you consider Cain had already made his “unconventional endorsement” of “the people.”
Honestly, as a former Cain supporter, I think Herman’s post-campaign decisions have been quite disappointing. His TEA Party response to the State of the Union address was all right, but it seemed to me he pulled his punches somewhat; of course one could also argue that had he endorsed Newt earlier he would not have received the slot. As I said up top, it wasn’t unexpected that he endorsed Gingrich but doing so at this time, when Newt’s campaign is otherwise imploding in Florida, smacks of desperation on the part of both – but moreso Gingrich, who’s trying to corral onetime Cain supporters into his camp.
Too bad that, for many, the horse has already left that barn – Newt isn’t going to get much of a bounce from an endorsement eight weeks after the candidate’s withdrawal. Obviously it wasn’t needed for Newt to win South Carolina, so to do so now indeed seems like flailing from a candidate who vows to “go all the way to the convention.” That movie has played before, and usually that sort of declaration comes just before the closing credits roll on the campaign.
Unfortunately, the GOP voters and caucus participants who have come before me have seen to eliminate most of my top selections from the race. It will leave me a choice – as too often seems to be the case in Presidential politics – of:
- voting my conscience (even if he dropped out before the primary), or
- voting for my third- or fourth-favorite choice who’s still there, or
- voting against the guy I don’t want to win with his strongest remaining opponent.
A combination of the second and third options was the approach I took in 2008, basically voting against John McCain rather than for Mike Huckabee. Huckabee was pretty much my fourth option after Duncan Hunter, Fred Thompson, and Rudy Giuliani withdrew. (As I recall, Florida was Giuliani’s Waterloo, too.) In 2012 I’ve already lost Herman Cain, Michele Bachmann, and Rick Perry (although Perry is on the ballot here.)
But we’ll see if Cain’s backing for Gingrich is too little, too late. If it ends up I vote for Newt Gingrich, it won’t be because Herman Cain endorsed him. Instead, see bullet point #3 above and you’ll find my reason.
1,000 days…and counting
There are certain things Congress is supposed to do, and creating a budget is one of them. But on the very day President Obama delivered the State of the Union address, we “celebrated” an ominous milestone:
It didn’t take the House long to do its job, but the title of the “do-nothing” Congress belongs to the Senate. While gridlock can be a good thing in a lot of instances, not performing their Constitutional duty is inexcusable.
The House did their job, so tell the Senate to do theirs. We’re always being asked to compromise so now it’s their turn.
And if they don’t, perhaps it’s time to elect some new Senators who would work more closely with a Republican house. A few good candidates come to mind, none of them named Ben Cardin.
Scott reveals support group
For most, the contest to represent the Maryland Republican Party nationally as National Committeewoman has no meaning and is just another example of the “inside baseball” of party politics. But those who are astute should see the parallels between this race and the power struggle within the Republican Party on a national level.
To review, last month current state National Committeewoman (and onetime MDGOP Chair) Joyce Lyons Terhes announced she would not seek another four-year term in the post. To date two contenders have announced their intention to seek election – former YRNF Chairwoman Nicolee Ambrose and former state party Chair Audrey Scott. Anyone who’s paid attention to this space has seen me rake Audrey Scott over the coals for her participation in a rally supporting an increase in the state’s gasoline tax and, secondarily, for locking up the Transportation Trust Fund to prevent it from being raided every time Martin O’Malley needs to balance his budget. (The latter I’m fine with, but not the gas tax increase. Correctly prioritize what we have first.)
Audrey Scott, though, has a lot of backers who don’t mind that misstep with six members of the MDGOP’s executive board, six of the 24 local county Chairs, 24 of 43 Delegates, and 5 of 12 Senators on a list of endorsers Audrey has on her Facebook site devoted to the race. On the other hand, Ambrose has fewer elected officials supporting her (only Delegates Donna Stifler and LeRoy Myers, Senator J.B. Jennings, and U.S. Senate candidate Dan Bongino have expressed their support for Ambrose) but far more “likes” on her campaign’s Facebook page (143 vs. 17 for Scott.) Perhaps that’s a generational thing, but in any case the votes which will count are coming at the party’s Spring Convention April 27-28 – over three months from now.
(This upcoming state convention will also feature the election of ten Delegates and ten Alternate Delegates to the Republican National Convention. I unsuccessfully ran for this in 2008 but will take a pass in 2012 since I have something far more important to attend to that month and money enough for just one trip. We also elect a National Committeeman but thus far I’m unaware of anyone who will challenge current officeholder Louis Pope.)
An update on the Audrey Scott flap
Obviously this story from yesterday has gotten a little bit of play around the state because former MDGOP Chair (now National Committeewoman candidate) Audrey Scott claimed we bloggers got it wrong.
(Insofar as I know, those “bloggers” would be me. Richard Cross of Cross Purposes made the statement as part of linking to the Washington Post story on Facebook, and I just pointed to his site as a professional courtesy. To date he hasn’t weighed in on the subject on his site.)
Regardless, Scott’s contention is that she was only at the rally to support protecting the Transportation Trust Fund (TTF), a position she staked out at Kevin Waterman’s Questing for Atlantis website. Apparently she also defended herself at the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee meeting, according to county Chair Mark Uncapher.
But Mark also sent along a link to the press release the Greater Baltimore Committee did regarding the rally, noting that their Chairman also served on the Blue Ribbon Commission which recommended the gas tax – along with a slew of other fee and toll increases and enactments, including “development of revenue mechanisms that are directly tied to the use of the transportation system…commonly referred to as mileage-based or vehicle miles traveled (VMT) charges” – in the first place. (Not only that, those who are up in arms about PlanMaryland should also pay attention to Issue Area III in the 32-page report.) The rally’s basic purpose was to show support to the General Assembly for raising $800 million annually in revenues for the TTF, according to the GBC release. A tax increase is also part of the GBC legislative agenda.
To be fair to Audrey, neither she nor Doug Duncan, who was also quoted in the Post article (which was a reprint of an AP story), was a featured speaker at the event. Apparently she was a face in the crowd who wanted to lend her support for the protection of the Transportation Trust Fund. Certainly I would like to see the TTF protected as well – if we have to have any gas tax, it should go to keep up roads and bridges. Mass transit should pay its own way, although the Blue Ribbon Commission believes farebox collection should only make up 35% of operating revenues. So much for building bridges and highways.
But as I said yesterday the perception of Audrey Scott, who is a symbol of the Maryland Republican Party, being at a pro-tax increase rally was something the Post would seize on to undermine the principled position Republicans in the General Assembly would stand upon that we are taxed enough already. It doesn’t necessarily matter what she actually said, for perception is often reality.
On the other hand, if we eliminate the items which aren’t germane to transportation infrastructure, like mass transit, and pass the legislation already introduced by a bipartisan coalition that would protect the TTF, we can see what can be done under the existing tax structure first.
Let me state for the record that I haven’t made up my mind in the National Committeewoman race yet. But when Audrey Scott is already infamous in some quarters for her “party over everything” statement, she’s already behind the 8-ball with a lot of Republican regulars and supporters. And I come from a muckraking county Central Committee which definitely goes against the flow the establishment attempts to create because we have a heavy TEA Party influence on our body, so Audrey already has a tough sell locally.
Now if you want to know what was said at this rally, the Greater Baltimore Committee has a YouTube channel with four videos of the January 19 event. None of them feature Audrey, so presumably the AP stringer covering the rally recognized her as someone important and got her take. But what I did hear being said was speakers who were only too happy to raise our taxes, with the TTF protection being secondary at best.
Judge for yourself whether you agree with me that her attendance wasn’t a politically wise choice.
Update: Scott has garnered a key local endorsement. District 38B Delegate Mike McDermott wrote in a note to local Central Committee members:
I ask you to give strong consideration to (Audrey Scott’s) candidacy as I know that she has everything it takes to represent the interests of Maryland and our party to the uttermost.
He also pointed out Scott’s involvement in the Ehrlich administration as Secretary of Planning. One thing in Scott’s favor: no move toward a PlanMaryland was made during her tenure there.
Is this the way to win an election?
Last night I was tipped off (h/t Richard Cross of Cross Purposes) to a Washington Post item regarding bipartisan support for the gas tax increase. Yes, you read that right – bipartisan.
It seems our Chamber of Commerce types have the misguided notion that increasing the gasoline tax will allow the state to fully fund transportation projects, but I ask of them: what planet are you living on again? This is Martin O’Malley’s Maryland – we all know that the money is going to be spent on 1,001 items in the general fund and the rest will go to build more mass transit and bike paths we don’t need.
Meanwhile, the victims of the War on Rural Maryland will have to once again pay through the nose perpetually, because as proposed by one possible scheme advanced by a state commission the gas tax isn’t just going to go up a nickel each year in 2013, 2014, and 2015 – nope, it’s going to be indexed afterward to a construction cost index. So as union demands get more and more brazen and the cost of construction climbs at a dizzying rate, so will the gas tax. Nice system if you can con people into believing the roads will actually get fixed.
Obama’s path(s) to 270
It’s interesting to hear the strategy Barack Obama and his campaign are trying to put into place to fool Americans once again. But according to his campaign manager Jim Messina, there are at least forty paths he has to winning yet another term. In this video he picks out the top five.
Of course it’s nauseating to think Obama could win and ruin our country for another four years, but it’s possible if we don’t work hard to defeat him in all 50 states.
But there are also good opportunities to snatch away some of the states Kerry won – and Obama is counting on holding. Good examples would be Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Michigan, in that order. If Obama lost in all three, he would be down to 206 electoral votes and would have to win five or six additional states in order to compete. (You can play with the numbers and scenarios yourself here.) If Obama loses those battleground states, though, it’s not likely he’s going to have any chance in states where victory is less assured.
The key, though, is getting the truth out about Obama’s record. Frankly, it sucks – and if America were truly paying attention Obama would be lucky to get 30 percent. (Unless, of course, the idea was to get more Americans reliant on government, in which case the policies are working like a charm to the detriment of our prosperity and our very republic.) But there are a lot of sheeple out there who still blame Republicans – you know, the party which barely controls 1/2 of 1/3 of the government – for everything that goes wrong. If that theory was true, things should have been hunky-dory before the 2010 election and Democrats should have expanded their majorities. Didn’t happen that way, did it?
(I know, everything’s the fault of those damn uppity teabaggers. Well, I prefer to be called a TEA Partier and we’re the ones who are trying to right the ship, thank you very much.)
So I think it’s long past time to stop the circular firing squad Republicans seem to have and point our guns in the correct direction, that being the record of the current occupant of the Oval Office. That also means those of you who don’t like Ron Paul should know that he would still be an improvement over Obama.
More importantly, though, it also means those of you who fervently support Ron Paul better listen well: if you get into a pouting snit over the next few weeks because he doesn’t get the nomination, GET OVER IT. Don’t go into the pout-whine sequence this fall and stay home on Election Day.
It’s highly likely that I won’t like the nominee either, but you better believe I’ll vote for him because it’s far easier to convince someone who’s 70 to 80 percent of what you like to continue in the right direction than to have someone on a full-throttle run the other way. That, my friends, is the situation we are in now. Despite the best efforts of many House Republicans (and a handful in the Senate) to dig in their heels, without the Oval Office and conservative majorities in both houses we are as effective as a sapling against a herd of buffalo, and I’m very tired of seeing the side of liberty being run down.
So now we know what some of the tricks up Obama’s sleeve are, and don’t believe they’re really calling bullshit on raising a billion dollars. That can buy a lot of votes, and they need to buy as many as they can get because a lot of people are fed up. The question is whether it’s the right group of people in the right states.
Somehow if the Democrats win the election with a minority of popular votes but a majority of the electoral votes, they’re not going to consider themselves illegitimate like they did George W. Bush. Don’t think it can’t happen again.
Odds and ends number 40
It’s no secret that the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is traditionally a slow news week, so this is more of a reminder about a couple upcoming events which will sandwich a somewhat local news item.
On Saturday, January 7th the 18th Annual Rich Colburn Brunch takes place at the Holiday Inn here in Salisbury at 11 a.m. Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis is the master of ceremonies, and tickets are $25 (or 5 for $100.) Colburn noted that, “It is a great honor to again have Sheriff Lewis serve as Master of Ceremonies for this event. Since being elected in 2006, Sheriff Lewis has worked hard to reorganize and restructure the Wicomico County Sheriff’s department. The dedication he has shown to this community show his commitment to Wicomico County and the citizens who live here.”
If interested, reservations may be made by January 3rd by calling (410) 924-0098.
This is more of a big deal than one may think as Colburn will gain a larger chunk of Wicomico County for his district in the next go-round. Obviously we Republicans are familiar with Colburn from his work in the Maryland Senate, where he’s among the busiest pre-filers in the state – he was first to the post with a bill to allow for a specialized “vintage” license plate similar to one Delaware allows on certain vehicles, which will be SB1 in the 2012 session. Perhaps that’s not a bill of great import, but Rich is one of the harder workers in the body.
The more newsworthy item is the repercussion from Gary Johnson’s withdrawal from the GOP Presidential sweepstakes to seek the Libertarian nomination. Because Johnson is changing parties, Gary’s Maryland campaign director Kevin Waterman had to step down. Since Kevin sits on the Queen Anne’s County Republican Central Committee and party bylaws prohibit publicly supporting anyone but Republican candidates, he decided to resign from the Johnson campaign. In a note I received, Waterman writes:
My decision to step down as state chairman is not an easy one. I fully support Gov. Johnson’s platform and his message of liberty, and it has been an honor and a pleasure to serve as a part of this campaign and to work with all of you. I’m not leaving because I disagree with any of the moves the campaign has made. But I still hold out hope that even if the RNC has proven itself wanting that there is hope of moving the Maryland Republican Party in a more liberty-oriented direction and I can’t continue to work towards that end without remaining within the Party.
Some also paint me as an anti-establishment rebel within the MDGOP fold, and it sometimes drives me crazy when we try the same old centrist approach and wonder why we keep losing in this state. Obviously there are issues that Kevin and I don’t see eye to eye on, but I respect his efforts and think his decision and stated reasons are the correct ones. Indeed, we need to push this state in a more liberty-oriented direction.
And that explains my final item – a new TEA Party group is forming in Worcester County.
On January 13, 2012 their first meeting will be held in the Assateague Room of the Ocean Pines Community Center at 6:30 p.m. with Congressman Andy Harris as their featured speaker. With a mission statement like this…
We exercise, protect, and promote the principles embodied in The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights through attracting, educating, and mobilizing the people to secure public policy consistent with these core values; fiscal responsibility, open and constitutionally limited government, and free markets.
…the visit from Congressman Harris may not necessarily be the slam dunk he thought because of a couple of his votes.
But since Harris won’t have to worry about a third-time grudge match against Frank Kratovil, the atmosphere should be relatively cordial and ripe for a frank (no pun intended) discussion about what will happen in 2012. It’s a conversation which needs to occur for the TEA Party to be most effective.
National straw polls still like Gingrich – but for how long?
Anyone who’s a political junkie of any sort knows that the presidential winnowing process will begin in Iowa a week from next Tuesday, January 3, 2012. By the end of that day we’ll have some idea of who the Republicans in that state prefer, with the battle then shifting to New Hampshire a week later.
But what if there were a national primary? Well, there is no such thing, but there were two recent straw polls which attempted to widen the focus out a little bit. These polls were conducted by two different groups: one was the Townhall/Hot Air Primary and the other was the Tea Party Straw Poll. I participated in the former but not the latter.
One interesting facet of the Townhall/Hot Air Primary was the opportunity for a “second choice” vote. As we all know, there are times we have to settle for our second choice as Herman Cain supporters are finding out. But I’ll start with their topline results (poll taken December 13-15):
- Newt Gingrich 36.5%
- Mitt Romney 18.8%
- Michele Bachmann 17.7%
- Ron Paul 17.4%
- Rick Perry 9.5%
Second choices:
- Michele Bachmann 25.4%
- Newt Gingrich 20.6%
- Mitt Romney 20.4%
- Rick Perry 18.2%
- Ron Paul 15.4%
There’s more summary here, but I found it fascinating that Bachmann supporters were the most diverse and that those who voted for Ron Paul must not have had a second choice. Jonathan Garthwaite’s article doesn’t mention who those that backed Paul voted in as their alternate selection. Worth noting as well is that Jon Huntsman and Rick Santorum weren’t included because they didn’t attain 5% in national polls.
The Tea Party primary had the same frontrunner but also a caveat: four of the seven candidates they polled also participated in a tele-forum held in conjunction with the poll, so results may be a little skewed. I’m denoting forum participants with an asterisk (*).
- Newt Gingrich* 31%
- Michele Bachmann* 28%
- Mitt Romney* 20%
- Rick Santorum* 16%
- Ron Paul 3%
- Rick Perry 2%
- Jon Huntsman 0% (0.34%)
Obviously the poll was very skewed in favor of participants, but one can still make a reasonable assumption that Bachmann and Santorum in particular get a heavy dose of their support from the TEA Party, with Gingrich enjoying a more broad appeal among conservatives at-large. On the other hand, Mitt Romney isn’t making the hearts of the right wing go pitter-patter.
Yet there’s another item one can read between the lines. It seems that every time one turned around, Ron Paul was winning a straw poll someplace. But he didn’t do all that well in these two (granted, he didn’t participate in the call so his numbers would naturally be artificially lower) at a time when he’s supposedly becoming the front-runner in Iowa. We hear about Newt’s campaign “collapsing” but these numbers don’t necessarily bear that theory out either. I know Paul has his passionate supporters but too many find his isolationist foreign policy scary. And the trumpeting of the news that we’re no longer in Iraq may take away the Long War issue from the front burner.
As we have seen over the last several months of this GOP campaign, a week means a lot. Since the voting began in the Townhall/Hot Air Primary we’ve had a GOP debate and the media has trained its heavy fire on Gingrich. It’s no wonder some voters are having second thoughts, although some must be on thoughts six or seven by now. The only candidate still in the running who hasn’t had his day in the sun is Rick Santorum and maybe he’ll peak just in time for Iowa. Stranger things have happened.
MDGOP 2011 Fall Convention in pictures and text
At the risk of a slow-loading post, there are 30 photos on this one. But I took a lot more, and you know every picture tells a story with me. And this is the story of the Maryland GOP Fall Convention, brought to you by…
I’ll begin with Friday night, the usual social time for the convention. Even though I’d never been to the Sheraton in Annapolis, once I saw these I knew I was in the right place.
(Of course, I took that snapshot yesterday morning.)
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