Once I saw this lineup of cars, I knew I was in the right place. Today I attended an “Eastern Shore Ehrlich Rally” in Ocean City.
When we got there (I drove up trailing Ellen Andrews and her husband Darryl, with the big Ehrlich sign in my back window) it was a pretty full house. There were 50-60 people there at the peak, pretty good for a Saturday noontime event.
After being introduced by Worcester County Ehrlich coordinator Ann Granados, our Senator, Lowell Stoltzfus, spoke briefly about working with Governor Ehrlich for the last four years and looking forward to four more as momentum is shifting toward the GOP in Maryland (and I daresay nationwide.) He also praised the campaign efforts of the next two pictured:
Michael James and Bonnie Luna also addressed the people. James is a quiet man who’s determined to bring Eastern Shore values to Annapolis, while Luna, the more talkative of the two, spoke on her campaign theme of placing people before politics, particularly when it comes to prioritizing spending.
Everyone was sort of clipped in their speeches because there was also to be a scheduled call-in from the Governor himself, which did occur after Luna finished. Ehrlich opened by saying he had good news and bad news…the bad news was that Drew’s ballteam was losing, but the good news was the momentum for his re-election that was building in the polls.
Honestly, the Governor doesn’t really have to give us the time of day – the Eastern Shore is solid Ehrlich/Cox country. In the last election our four-county area voted anywhere from 64.2% to 68.3% for Ehrlich and there’s no reason to expect anything less this time. But every vote counts and it’s nice to know that our hard work is appreciated. Also, the key for Ehrlich is to flip the two District 38B Delegates from two Democrats to two Republicans, helping enable the GOP to have enough members in the House of Delegates to sustain Ehrlich’s vetoes (they need 14 more.) This was another item noted by Stoltzus in his remarks – after almost 15 years without a single veto override in the General Assembly prior to his term, Governor Ehrlich has suffered 40.
After I returned and took a short break at home, I did my part to offset fellow MBA blogger Stephanie Dray as I worked a phone bank for Governor Ehrlich and Michael Steele’s campaigns. By happenstance I drew my newly adopted home precinct so if you live on the east side and close environs of Salisbury, there’s a chance you heard me today (or may tomorrow as I finish the precinct’s list. Waiting on answering machines can take a LONG time.)
We have just over 72 hours until the polls close as I write this. As I wrote to the Daily Times, this is the biennial opportunity for us to determine our country’s direction. Tuesday will determine whether we “cut and run” from the principles of limited government and freedom or embrace them.
I brought lots more friends today and tomorrow for GOTV, just to make sure, I’m one step ahead of you 😉
I want to comment though, that your rallies look much more comfortable than ours. There are never _chairs_ at Democratic rallies, much less refreshment!
It’s like your cute little headquarters in Towson–whereas ours is in an old jewelry store affectionately known as the Hotel Rwanda.
Well, it’s nice to have one candidate run a hotel. Actually if you saw GOP headquarters here it gives the Hotel Rwanda a run for its money. Then again, I don’t know where the Dems here are – since they keep taking out phone booths I don’t know where they can meet. 🙂