Kittleman leaves state leadership post

For those critics who believe there is a schism in Maryland between social conservatives and the Maryland GOP; well, this news may prove that the two are joined at the hip.

Earlier this week State Senate Minority Leader Allan Kittleman of Howard County announced he was stepping aside, effective tomorrow. His reason? According to a story by Sarah Breitenbach in the Gazette, Kittleman is leaving his leadership post because:

I could just sense that the majority would feel more comfortable having someone who is more socially conservative, and that’s just not who I am.

This stems from a bill Kittleman plans to introduce in the General Assembly which would legalize civil unions for same-sex couples in Maryland. It’s a position which puts him at odds with many Republicans outside the Log Cabin segment.

State GOP Chair Alex Mooney, a former colleague of Kittleman’s, also weighed in on the situation and prodded Allan to reconsider:

Senator Kittleman is an excellent Senate minority leader and I encourage him to reconsider his decision to step aside this Friday.  In the past election Senator Kittleman was the only Republican Senator to give away most of his campaign funds to help elect other candidates.  Senator Kittleman also traveled the state of Maryland tirelessly to offer grassroots campaign support to candidates without requiring any litmus test on issues.

While Republicans in elected office and Republican voters at the grassroots level will not agree on every issue, Senator Kittleman’s strong record on issues such as the right to keep and bear arms, tax relief, parental rights in education and less government spending fit well within the values of the Republican Party

In addition, Senator Kittleman is a man of the utmost ethical and moral character.  He is a strong family man from a distinguished family of loyal Republicans.  I urge my former Republican colleagues in the state Senate and Republicans at the grassroots level to publicly show their support for Senator Kittleman to continue as minority leader.  I have already called Senator Kittleman today and asked him to reconsider.

I think the die has already been cast, and it will be interesting to see who emerges as the new Senate GOP leader.

To me, this is a no-win situation for the GOP. If the measure has enough votes to pass they would surely come from the strong Democratic majority, who would likely squeeze Kittleman out of any credit for introducing the bill. (Don’t put it past Democrats to write nearly identical legislation under their auspices and pass it, either.) If it doesn’t pass, of course Republicans will be blamed for hanging their leader out to dry over the issue.

There are some who argue that marriage shouldn’t be a government issue at all; that it’s an issue between the couple and their church or deity. Some states still allow common-law marriages, for example (but Maryland is not one of them.) However, the state does recognize common-law marriages originating in jurisdictions where they are allowed – for the most part they would come out of the District of Columbia.

In the Republican Party though there is considerably more sentiment for the idea of marriage being between one man and one woman than for muddying up the waters with civil unions or gay “marriage.” Perhaps that’s because the tried and true method for maintaining society depended on men marrying women, and children brought up under such arrangements tended to succeed on a more regular basis. Exceptions to the rule cut both ways, but I happen to think the inclusion of same-sex couples in this institution for the sake of “tolerance” is the wrong move.

I also believe that this hill is far from the best one for Allan Kittleman to die on. As Mooney points out, Kittleman isn’t too unconventional of a Republican in most other ways. Then again, if leadership is using the power of conviction to bring others to your cause Allan isn’t being much of a leader in this regard. Instead, he’s a follower who seems to believe that being politically correct will pay off in the end – it rarely does for conservatives.

In a time when Republicans need to do whatever they can to stop the unceasing march of Maryland toward becoming a statist’s paradise, we need strength at the top. Perhaps it is time for new blood in Senate leadership.

Update: Richard Cross wonders if this is a harbinger of a possible Kittleman run for state office.

Author: Michael

It's me from my laptop computer.

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