Odds and ends number 34

Believe it or not, I have been besieged with another plethora of items which deserve perhaps an paragraph or three of comment on my part. So let me get crackin’ on them.

Since I’ve had the opportunity to speak with him in person, I would suggest that those of you who are political activists consider attending David Craig’s campaign school. It will make a stop here on the Lower Eastern Shore at the Comfort Inn in Cambridge this Saturday (October 1st) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It’s absolutely free and includes lunch too. You can sign up for the event here.

You know, I’d be curious to know if any liberals show up because it’s a freebie. But if it’s conducted like the “Bloggers and Burgers” confab you should leave the Craig campaign school neither hungry nor uninformed.

Speaking of liberals and freebies, there’s 116 people in Salisbury who really must suffer from terminal ignorance. I got this in my e-mail the other day, simply because September 30 is coming:

Here’s something you don’t have in common with 116 other supporters of this movement who tell us they live in Salisbury, MD.

That many of your neighbors have decided to own a piece of this campaign by making a donation of whatever they could afford. For some, that meant just $5. For others, it meant $100 or more. But each had their own personal reason for giving.

Our records show that you aren’t one of the 116 people where you’re from who have stepped up for 2012. Now’s your chance to change that.

Since the e-mail came from Jim Messina of the Obama 2012 campaign, don’t hold your breath waiting for my gift. I might give a little to Herman Cain, though.

It makes me curious, though – how many of my readers have donated to a Presidential campaign? I haven’t done so yet this cycle, but I did donate to Rep. Duncan Hunter’s ill-fated bid last time. He was my first.

Still, Obama may need the money since he’s losing one of his core constituencies. Matt Brooks of the Republican Jewish Coalition alerted me to this poll and let me know that, well, Obama’s numbers among that group are dropping like a stone. Over the last year, the President has lost 6 points in his overall approval rating among Jewish voters, while his marks on the handling of Israel dropped from an already-tepid 49% approval to just 40 percent.

Now I’ll grant that Jewish voters make up a small fraction of the overall electorate but they are concentrated mainly in states Obama won last time around so the loss is magnified. Added Brooks, “These numbers show why Democrats are scrambling to shore up their support in the Jewish community,” and it’s particularly true after the NY-9 loss.

Another curious case is that of Eric Wargotz. I had just naturally assumed since his website was updated to reflect the 2012 election that he would jump into the U.S. Senate race again as the odds-on favorite for the nomination. But maybe there’s second thoughts?

I believe we can build on the momentum you helped me gain in 2010, and give Senator Cardin his pink slip. There is no question that Senator Cardin is more vulnerable than Senator Mikulski. Still, the question only you can help me answer “Is Senator Cardin vulnerable enough for Dr. Eric Wargotz to beat him?”

My core campaign team and I have been carefully evaluating whether to formally enter the 2012 election cycle. As I continue to travel around the great State of Maryland and to reach out across this great Nation trying to gauge potential support for another run, I am encouraged! We are not there yet.

There’s no doubt he would need money, since as it turns out the bulk of his campaign last time was self-funded and he still owes himself over $600,000. But there’s a question hanging over his head regarding that loan, and I think that will weigh very heavily on his decision – I know I wouldn’t want a $400,000 bath again.

If nothing else, though, we certainly can’t accuse Eric Wargotz from profiting personally as an elected official. And I’ll bet Ben Cardin isn’t loaning himself anything to run for re-election.

But it also shows that there’s more than just a sacrifice in family and personal time in running for office. Like him or not, you have to admire Eric for putting his money where his mouth is. More importantly, though, you have to wonder how many candidates are willing to go deeply into debt in this state to go against the machine. (E.J. Pipkin still owes himself $481,000 from his 2004 U.S. Senate campaign.)

Meanwhile, on a national level Michele Bachmann’s campaign said, in essence, it’s win in Iowa or go home.

No doubt that’s a stunning admission from a Presidential campaign, which tends to guard their strategy like a state secret.

But since she won the Iowa Straw Poll back in August, Michele Bachmann’s campaign has gone into free fall. (And having 0nly 300 views suggests this video isn’t drawing a lot of scrutiny either.) It looks like she’d going to limp into the Iowa caucuses come January and go all-in – anything less than perhaps second place and she’s toast.

Let me swerve back to local politics for a moment, and congratulate a couple people I know for advancing in the Delmar primary election. It was good to see that seven people ran for two seats on the town Commission and three entered the ring for Mayor – many small communities end up having to appoint someone to these posts because no one stands for election.

But current Commission member Carl Anderton received over 50% of the vote in winning the mayoral primary, besting second-place finisher (and Deputy Mayor) C. Luther Hitchens by over 20 points. Nicole McGuire came in third.

“Bunky” Luffman was a fourth-place finisher in the Commission contest, but finished just 12 votes behind Michael Gibb and curremt Commission member James Henderson, who tied for first. Mary Stephanie Ring finished third and made the final cut as well, while Pamela Schell, Cory Shaffer, and Thomas McGuire (mayoral hopeful Nicole’s husband) rounded out the results.

And finally, something that’s not necessarily political but could be life-threatening. While I don’t have a severe case, I am an asthmatic so once in awhile I do need an inhaler. This from Americans for Limited Government:

This is a telling decision by the FDA to ban the use of (epinephrine) asthma inhalers, as it places a higher priority on spurious and questionable effects on the atmosphere than on protecting human life itself.  Why is the Food and Drug Administration concerned with promoting the radical environmentalist agenda?

Now 25 million asthma sufferers in the U.S. will have to pay more for non-epinephrine inhalers, all to supposedly save the atmosphere.  That is because the alternative inhalers are only available via prescription.  So, in addition to paying more for the inhaler, the cost of the doctor’s visit and insurance costs must also be taken into account.

Once government agencies begin placing higher primacy on the near-religious ‘green agenda’ than on saving lives, it ceases all its legitimate functions.

One report stated the price would more than double, which will necessarily drive up health care costs. Is this because epinephrine presents a health risk?

Nope. It’s because these inhalers violate the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, says the FDA.

So for the dubious benefits of supposedly maintaining the ozone layer – like ten million inhalers are really going to make a difference compared to a couple thousand Chinese coal-fired power plants – asthma sufferers will need to get a prescription to continue their treatment program.

Shouldn’t we rethink this United Nations thing?

Author: Michael

It's me from my laptop computer.

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