Another Paul Person

Yes, PolitickerMD.com reports that another Ron Paul flunky has filed for Congress, this time in the 2nd District.

This just further reemphasizes the complete failure of John Flynn to recruit credible candidates to run for office, in both the 2nd and 3rd Congressional districts.

We must destroy this village in order to save it

"Jim Pelura meets the qualifications of the Chairman that we need, and I am extremely enthusiastic about his prospects as Chairman."

I wrote that one year ago today. Man, have things changed.

In the last year, the party has plunged deeper and deeper into debt. The party has become less and less relevant in Maryland's political landscape. We have completely inappropriate involvement of key GOP staffers in the removal of a duly elected County GOP Chairman. We have a party that was virtually absent during the most recent special session. And we have budget issues that seem to be only the tip of the iceberg.

And things seem like they are only about to get worse. Sources tell me that Jim Pelura has virtually cut off the entire Executive Committee from the day-to-day operations of the party. They also tell me that Pelura is backed only by a small fraction of Central Committee leaders.

And then there is the John Flynn problem. I have never been enamored with the idea of Flynn as Executive Director, given his record of working as a member of the Maryland Accountability Project and covering up attendance records for certain favored members of the General Assembly. But Flynn's performance as Executive Director has been completely abysmal...assuming you can find the record at all. The only thing that most party activists and leaders ever hear from their Executive Director is when he forwards useless, uninteresting emails.

What is Flynn's real record? Well, a lot of people seem to only hear from Flynn when he is complaining about the reduction of his salary and celebrating with those who ousted Mike Collins as Chairman of the Anne Arundel GOP. What has Flynn accomplished as the Executive Direcotr? Do we have credible candidates in all Congressional Districts? Did we have a cohesive, organized message during the Special Session? Have we raised money? Are there more registered Republicans than there were one year ago? Did the party have a financially successful Red, White, and Blue dinner? Did the party host a financially successful golf tournament? The answer to all of those questions is a resounding no.

It has become quite apparent that during the current regime long-time Republican donors are voting with their pocketbooks and choosing not to donate to a party that appears to be in disarray. And given the things that we hear and the actions that we see, it's hard to argue that particular point.

Unfortunately, it has come to the point where we must destroy this village in order to save it. In order for the Republican Party to be a viable political entity in Maryland in 2008, 2010 and beyond, Jim Pelura needs to be removed as Chairman of the Party, and John Flynn needs to be fired as Executive Director. Now.

We have seen the record over the last year, and the record is not good. In order to ensure that there is no further damage to both the Republican Party apparatus, as well as the Republican brand here in the state of Maryland, we need change. And we need it now.

Yes, it's true....

....PolitickerMD.com did a write-up on me this morning.

Consensus Reached on Pelura Successor

We reported yesterday about the desire for many to remove Chairman Jim Pelura, but that there was no consensus replacement candidate. Sources now tell me that a consensus has built around former House Minority Leader and Insurance Commissioner Al Redmer to succeed Pelura.

The biggest issue at the moment seems to be actually ousting Pelura as Chairman.

"You can't do it at a convention," one source tells me. "You can't get two-thirds of the Central Committee members to agree that the sky is blue, much less agree to oust the state chairman."

This is what I'm talking about...

....eating world class barbecue at Gates Bar-B-Q in Kansas City.

Things in CD-3

So a Christopher Panasuk is a candidate for Congress in the 3rd Congressional District, as well as a candidate for Republican National Convention Delegate as well.

As recently as three-years ago, he was a delegate to the Libertarian National Convention, a Libertarian Party-elector for Michael Badnarik, and a muckity-muck in the Anne Arundel LP organization.

Now, generally Republicans and Libertarians are generally copasetic on a lot of issues, but I have to wonder if this sudden switcharoo has something to do with Ron Paul's quixotic campaign.

And furthermore, this actually brings into focus further issues regarding the Republican Party. While the state party apparatus fiddles with bylaws changes, and spends little on party development while paying 64% of its budget on rent and salaries, we are left with a situation in the 2nd and 3rd Congressional districts while having either no Republican candidate (2nd) or no credible Republican candidate (3rd). Why has the party done nothing to take steps to ensure that credible Republicans are on the ballot in these two districts?

And just so we all understand where we are....

...E.J. Pipkin filed for Congress today.

CNN fails Googling

So apparently, CNN was unaware that a retired Brigadier General who came out as a homosexual after his career was over, and was flown to St. Petersburg, FL for tonight's YouTube debate to ask a question of the Republican candidates was a member of a Hillary Clinton steering committee.

Emailers and bloggers picked this up in less than an hour and Anderson Cooper offered somewhat of a half-assed admission of this one hour after the debate.

Is it any wonder that CNN is rapidly losing credibility as an unbiased news source? If they couldn't Google the questioners names before allowing these questions to be selected and use, doesn't it make you question whether or not CNN is doing adequate story and fact-checking research in other areas?

The MD GOP's proposed 2008 budget

I've got a copy of it and posted it here.

Some thoughts:

• Why does this party project to spend $50,000 on the Red, White, and Blue dinner when projecting to raise only $100,000? Particularly in light of the financial boondoggle that this year's dinner was?
  
  
• Total projected revenue of just north of $300,000 for a major party trying to compete in a state like Maryland is, to put it lightly, meek.
  
  
• Raising only just north of $300,000 for a major party that is spending $124,400 on two full-time equivalent employees is insane. Particularly when you consider that the party used to employee six people and those positions are no longer filled.
  
  
• $1,600 on party development. $1,600. Contemplate that.
  
  
• $65,202 on rent. Over twenty-percent of the money is spent on rent for the headquarters!

This budget is completely and utterly fiscally irresponsible given projected revenues and the sheer insanity of some of these expenses. Think about this: $189,602 is spent just on salaries and rent; that is 63.7 percent of the entire budget! And when you consider that only $18,100 is being spent on "political expenses" is it any wonder that the Maryland Republican Party is in the financial dire straits that we currently find ourselves in?

More MD GOP inside baseball

Still more from the rumor mill:

I was told that Flynn and Pelura are trying to take the Treasurer and Secretary's votes away on Executive Committee.

I was also told they have lost their last supporters on the executive committee. The problem now is that there is no new candidate that everyone will jump behind.

One opinion on the Bylaws Changes

This was forwarded to me anonymously. As always, anybody who wishes to send me a response is more than welcome to, and I will post unadultered as I have this:

Here’s one persons opinions of the proposed Changes to State GOP Constitution and By-Laws:

Summary:
This is a naked power grab by Pelura and John Flynn. This gives them absolute power over the State GOP and the County Central Committees and significant power over Elected Officials and Candidates (via a new State GOP primary endorsement mechanism). Furthermore, the ability to disagree or to speak up has been severely curtailed. Finally, if you cause too much trouble, you can be easily removed.

Other key points are that there is no place for Clubs or Activists to speak or to be heard. There is no mechanism to curtail spending, even though the State GOP is thousands and thousands of dollars in debt. There are two very personal proposals, one to give John Flynn a significant salary increase and the other to ensure that Brian Harlin can never be the Chairman of a County Central Committee or on the Executive Committee.

More Specifically:

1. Currenlty, there is no method in the State GOP Constitution or By-Laws by which the State GOP may involve itself in a contested Republican State legislative, County or City primary election. The proposed change would allow the State GOP to pick sides in a primary by a simply 2/3's vote in the State Executive Committee. It should be noted that for Federal Candidates, the RNC (and ergo the State GOP) have a mechanism that allows pre-primary support.

It should be noted that many believe that Jim Pelura and his staff (vis-a-vis John Flynn) have spent the Summer and the Fall stacking the Executive Committee to ensure a 2/3's majority. Dirk Haire removed, Mike Collins removed, etc.

2. The Brian Harlin Rule (as allegedly named by John Flynn). A proposed resolution would ensure that people like Brian Harlin (staunch GOP supporter and former Central Committee Chair from Howard County) could never be elected to the State GOP since they have a business that serves Republican candidates.

3. Proposal to change the Convention Rules. This change requires convention attendees to propose any changes to the rules prior to the convention. What is not said, however, is that no convention rule changes will be allowed once the convention starts. Furthermore, the Proposed Convention Rules are extremely restrictive and preserve almost complete control and power to the Chairman (i.e., Pelura). In addition, the Convention Rules do not allow anyone other than elected officials and executive and central committee members from talking. Furthermore, if you are not a member or an elected official, Pelura has the right to have the Sergeant at Arms (i.e. Bouncer) remove you from the room. Finally, Pelura has the right to cut off discussion by any person if he believes it to be a personal attack or innuendo.

4. Proposal to state that Central Committee Members may not endorse Democrats or Independents in any race that includes a Republican. What is missing is the same requirement for the Executive Committee and the State GOP Staff.

5. Proposal to ensure that members of the Executive Committee not be elected officials nor a candidate. What is missing is the same requirement for Central Committee Members.

6. Proposal to give Pelura unfettered authority to reinstate John Flynn's previous salary - even though State GOP is between $100k and $150k in debt and even though previous Executive Committee cut John Flynn's salary.

7. Proposal to increase the number of Executive Committee members by two (move from 3 Vice Chairs to 5 Regional Chairs). This idea is not being supported by Flynn and Pelura. Such an increase would make it harder for them to get a 2/3's majority (see above).

8. Proposal to require an Oath of Office for Central Committee Members. Key is that you must swear true allegiance to the State GOP Constitution and By-Laws. So, if a Central Committee Member disagrees with something Pelura or the Executive Committee or John Flynn does, they have violated the Oath and can therefore be removed from Central Committee.

Make of it what you will.

BREAKING: 10 am GOP insiders meeting Tuesday morning

Just passed on to me....GOP Chairman Jim Pelura is having a meeting of select party insiders tomorrow morning to discuss strategy dealing with this weekend's State GOP convention in Westminster.

Information indicates that the Chairman is trying to head off a potential coup attempt at the pass, as well as to make sure that the oft discussed bylaw get pushed through the full State Central Committee apparatus.

Apparently, the opposition has printed and will be distributing this weekend "Don't Blame me, I voted for John White" bumper stickers.

More info as it becomes available...

An Abscess on the Peace Process

It's going to be difficult enough to conduct Middle East Peace talks in any setting, given the individuals, the personalities, and the interests on all sides when they come to the table.

So why in the world does it make sense that a Governor who can't even keep his own house in order wants to stick his nose where it does not belong?

Governor O'Malley has been a catastrophic failure in his scant ten months governing this state. His record on domestic issues has been a record of setback after setback, lessening the standard of living here in Maryland. His presence in the middle of the peace process is nothing more than that of an abscess, an unwanted growth that does harm and not good. The State Department should take steps to make sure that O'Malley's record of failure, and his record as someone who goes out of his way to avoid building consensus does not taint an already fragile peace process.

Descriptive Reasoning

I post this for no other reason than to wonder if we can nail O'Malley with such a penalty too, considering what he and the legislative leadership are doing to the taxpayers of Maryland:

More of the Same

Yeah, this is a good sign:

Garry Kasparov, the former chess champion and opposition leader, was arrested Saturday and sentenced to five days in jail after trying to lead a march to the offices of the federal election authorities.

Mr. Kasparov was taken into custody during a scuffle between protesters and security officers on the route to the offices, where he had intended to present a letter asserting that the parliamentary election on Dec. 2 was biased toward President Vladimir V. Putin's party.

Taken into a small bus, he gave a victory sign through the back window as he was being driven away.

On Saturday night, a Moscow judge ordered him to serve five days in jail for holding an unauthorized march. City officials had given his loose opposition coalition, Other Russia, permission to conduct a rally on Saturday, but not a march.

In a statement, Mr. Kasparov said the court proceedings had been “a choreographed farce from beginning to end.” He added, “It was a symbol of what has happened to justice and the rule of law under Putin.”

I think we can all agree that President Bush misfired just a touch when he looked into Putin's soul. I mean, they've threatened missile attacks, they have opened reeducation camps, and now have moved on to arresting protesters.

Putin's ploys a power are pretty transparent. And he's trying to move towards tin-pot dictator status like Castro, Chavez, and Kim Jong-il....

Great Moments in Academic Fundraising

I'm sure this is a proud moment for my alma mater:

In case you are wondering, the handwritten note says "Please don't support McDaniel College" and was written on the back of a fundraising letter raising money for....well, the college.

I guess even students going there now realize the five-year old problems surrounding the name change...

This is just a thought

Why do I have a feeling that some of the people who stand in line for four, six, eight hours to try to get a cheap HDTV are the same people who think that waiting in line for thirty minutes, sixty minutes, ninety minutes to vote is a civil rights violation of the highest degree?

I'm not going to reinvent the wheel

I have already waxed poetic about Black Friday and political correctness two years ago, and nothing has really changed. So please feel free to read those linked articles in lieu of any new content on the subject. Because they really haven't changed all that much...

And a Happy Thanksgiving to all...

Misfiring on all cylinders

University of Baltimore Law Professor Kenneth Lasson goes on a predictably leftist, completely unscholarly tirade about the 2nd Amendment in the Sun this morning. And after this complete reinterpretation of the concept of precedent, he drops this gem:

The justices should recognize that law professors are not always straight shooters.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Because Lasson drapes his warped views on the subject around nothing but his own background as a hack masquerading as a law professor.

The main problem I have with Lasson's arguments is the fact that he only gives one side of the story. He wishes to talk about the financial backing of the NRA without adequately exploring the financial backing of gun grabber groups like the Brady Campaign. What about Michael Bloomberg's illegal campaign to fight firearms? Yeah, no mention of that.

Nor did Lasson mention his work as an "Expert" for the Second Amendment Research Center. That outfit is supported by The Joyce Foundation, an outfit with a notorious anti-gun bias, and whose grant list includes grants to both the Bloombergers, Handgun-Free America, and the Violence Policy Center, which of course supports the outright ban on handgun ownership amongst other out there policies. Lasson's cover-up of his affiliations (and the Sun letting him get away with it) is appalling.

Lasson also completely whiffs on the concept or precedence. Under Lasson's worldview, the Supreme Court's decision in 1939's United States v. Miller is sacrosanct on the issue and cannot be challenged. Of course, there are a number of fallacies with the concept of precedence. Why should a decision be continued to upheld when it is wrong? Under Lasson's warped logic that means that Brown vs. Board should never have been issued as it stood due to the precedent of Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. And under the same logic, Tileston v. Ullman and Poe v. Ullman would have precluded the decision in 1965's Griswold v. Connecticut...and that case paved the way for Roe v. Wade . I don't hear Lasson arguing the concept of precedence in those cases because the decisions do not match with his leftist worldviews.

I am thankful only that Lasson's concluding statement lets me know that Lasson himself realizes he is a hack and should not be taken seriously. My concern is that my taxpayer dollars pay for a a professor to be this intellectually dishonest...

To read something educational about the Second Amendment, check out the source list put out by überblogger, UCLA law professor (and good lord willing future Supreme Court Justice) Eugene Volokh.

Irony Alert

"As a member of the General Assembly, I voted against slots, and my position has remained unchanged,....However, like all other interested parties in the state, I want to know what Anne Arundel County voters think of this issue."
- John Leopold

Again, this is the same guy who did not want a referendum on the school board selection process, nor does he want the people to see the voters select members of their school board, either.

I can never cease to be amazed at Leopold's hypocrisy on basic issues such as this.

More Flaws from the Constitutional Amendment

noted before that one of my biggest issues with a Constitutional Amendment calling for slots was the fact that this particular amendment specifies where slot machines can be, without allowing the state the flexibility to change the locations later without another referendum on a new Constitutional Amendment. And now we are starting to see the error of those ways:

Local government officials could block the legalization of slot machine gambling in their communities even if voters in 2008 approve a ballot initiative passed this week in the General Assembly, a lawyer with the Maryland attorney general's office said yesterday.

A little-noticed provision in the referendum legislation that orders state slots operators to comply with local zoning regulations essentially allows local authorities to exercise final say, said Kathryn M. Rowe, an assistant state attorney general who deals with bills passed by the legislature.

The threat of local opposition sets up yet another battleground in what many believe will be a fierce referendum campaign on slot machines leading up to the November 2008 election....

...Should slots not go forward in Anne Arundel and Worcester, the number of machines proposed by the governor would be cut almost in half - taking away a large amount of the $650 million in state revenues expected annually from slot machines for public education and health care. The state's horse industry would also be affected, as the Anne Arundel and Worcester slots sites are expected to be at two racetracks, Laurel Park and Ocean Downs.

All of this means the knuckleheaded Democrats who included those mandated locations in the Amendment are realistically setting the entire enterprise up for failure. And frankly, this makes me even more infuriated at the Republicans who knifed the party by supporting this amendment. If slots fails, either at the ballot box or upon implementation, because of these particular zoning issues, it is going to lead to (what else) even higher taxes. And I don't think that fiscal conservatives are going to forget that the next time these five run for re-election...

Right and Wrong

Isaac Smith is both right and wrong at the same time:

It's good that the special session didn't collapse, but I frankly would not have been surprised if it had. There was an unbelievable amount of things the General Assembly had to deal with -- not just the budget, but also Medicaid, Chesapeake Bay cleanup, a transportation package, etc. It was simply a lot, even too much, for a legislature to handle in the space of three weeks. As a result, the process was ugly, even by saugage(sic)-making standards.

He is right that the process was ugly, and he is right that there was too much on the docket for a three week span.

But, and we have been over this before, there was nothing that the General Assembly had to deal with. The Democrats decided that this would be a good time to raise everyone's taxes. But this is not a Special Session that had to be called because of an actual emergency. It was called because Governor O'Malley does not have the political willpower introduce a fiscally mature and responsible budget. The Governor's lack of understanding of basic economic principles, mainly that you don't spend more money than you have, was the reason for the session. Had the Governor taken the time now to realize this, he could have saved us the time and the trouble by merely cutting back on the many wasteful and unnecessary government programs he and the interest groups who love him cherish. How hard is that?

But it's a sheer fallacy to say that something had to be done. Governor O'Malley decided to call a Special Session because he figured now was the time to try to impoverish Maryland's working and middle classes by taxing them back to the Stone Age, and the legislative Democrats let him get away with it.

Leave it to Leopold

John Leopold has to be the only Republican mad that the General Assembly passed a tax of his:

Leopold was upset, though, that the General Assembly stole an idea he has pushed as a local revenue source - a higher rental car tax.

"I proposed a car-rental tax on out-of-state residents," that could have raised $5 million a year for the county, he said, but the Arundel delegation of state legislators rejected the idea.

Instead, the state will now impose a tax on all renters, including Maryland residents, and keep the proceeds to help pay for a new Chesapeake Bay restoration fund.

Aw....let's throw a pity party for Tax Hike John.

Ass Kissing to the Extreme

I would be embarrassed to write something that was so genuflective of any individual. But, it's just standard operating procedure for the gang on Calvert Street:

For three weeks, the State House has operated as a crucible as Gov. Martin O'Malley put the heat on the General Assembly to shape a compromise over his deficit-reduction package. It wasn't always pretty. But in the end, lawmakers cast the tough votes to raise taxes and gave the governor much of what he wanted.

It was an impressive victory for Mr. O'Malley - with significant and lasting implications. At a minimum, it means the state's structural deficit has finally been brought under control beyond the piecemeal, "take from Peter to pay Paul" approach of the last administration.

While next year's projected $1.7 billion deficit has been largely resolved, it will still require significant spending cuts. But there's no reason to expect the problem to return within the next several years - if appropriate spending discipline is maintained.

What a bunch of ridiculous, brown-nosing, ass kissing, embarrassing, pathetic, juvenile drivel. It is sad that such garbage even gets printed in a "major" daily newspaper...

No.....Really?!?

Wow, the folks at the Sun are really perceptive:

Marylanders will feel a pinch in their pocketbooks every time they shop for clothes, buy a pack of cigarettes or get their computers fixed under the tax plan signed Monday by Gov. Martin O'Malley.

When the Democratic governor first unveiled his budget-balancing plan, he said 83 percent of residents would pay less taxes. But after the General Assembly made several changes and dropped a proposed property tax break, only about 45 percent would pay less or see no change, O'Malley said Monday.

And....how many of us again said that a majority of taxpayers would feel the burn on this?

Maybe this is the first step of the Sun's twelve-step program to join the reality based community...

BREAKING: Pipkin to run in CD-1

Sources are telling me that State Senator E.J. Pipkin is going to jump into the Republican primary for Congress in the 1st Congressional District.

This takes an already muddy campaign picture and distorts it even further. It also makes Senator Harris's life more difficult since Harris would be just one of two State Senators in the race.

Every day, Congressman Gilchrest's re-election seems more likely, and this merely reinforces the fact.

The Brian Griffiths Minute: 11-19-07

Nothing to be proud of

Speaker Mike Busch seems to be happy with himself if you believe this quote:

"The governor took it all on his shoulders, and the legislature pretty much followed. . . . We've basically, in my estimate, taken a full legislative year of work and condensed it into 20 days."

I'm not sure what is more offensive to the process of representative government, that the Speaker is proud that the Legislative Branch took its marching orders from the Executive Branch, or that the Legislative Branch basically inflicted a number of financial calamities on the taxpayers of the state without due and thoughtful consideration.

Senate Minority Leader David Brinkley is much more accurate:

"Common sense and reason went out the window just to give the governor a victory...I think this whole thing has been a debacle, and taxpayers are stuck holding the bill."

I think that the Senator was being polite by merely calling it a debacle. It reality, what we have just been witness to is one of the more crass victories of special interests over taxpayers that we have seen in our state. To the legislative leadership, it was more important to make the Governor look good, to grow the size of government, and to make sure taxpayers have less money in their pockets than it was to do what was right and what was proper.

Maryland Democrats manufactured a crisis of their own failures. And as we warned repeatedly, we the taxpayers get shafted....

Drinking the Green Kool-Aid

This quote in this post completely defies logic:

One thing is clear. O'Malley emerges from the Special Session as a bold and decisive "can-do" leader. He knew what needed to be done. He put together a comprehensive and reasonable legislative package. He took a huge risk by calling a Special Session when the outcome was far from assured. He had the humility to treat the Assembly and its leaders as equal partners.

Where to begin? The Governor's legislative package was comprehensive only in the fact that he attempted to raise many taxes at once. At no point can any portion of the Governor's package be considered reasonable, however, when one takes into account that O'Malley's understanding of economics led him to the conclusion that in order to fix an alleged deficit that the state needed to spend more money. That's only reasonable if you are insane.

And, sorry, you cannot legitimately expect us to think that O'Malley tried to treat the legislators as equal partners when they attempted time and again to browbeat legislators into supporting their scheme and, failing that, just bought them outright.

Apparently, all of this makes sense if you drink the green Kool-Aid. Because only those who are true believers in O'Malleyism truly support taxing Maryland's working families back into poverty, which is what O'Malley and the Democratic leadership have just engineered.

Take the Hint

Apparently, environmentalists are a little irked that things like the war, the economy, and other issues that we can prove are happening are pushing environmental wackiness off the campaign trail:

Environmental activists are frustrated. They can't get the issue of global warming into the presidential campaign.

So a coalition of environmental groups, led by online magazine Grist.org and Public Radio International's "Living on Earth,'' held the first-ever presidential forum on global warming in Los Angeles on Saturday.

Good for them that they took the issue into their own hands. But at this stage national security, Iraq, and the economy half to take precedence over this.

Remember where you read it first

Insider sources are telling me that there is now, of all things, an alleged potential document forging scandal in the General Assembly that could completely derail some of the proceedings.
- Me, 11/15/07

Republicans in the Maryland House of Delegates are exploring whether to take legal action to challenge the constitutionality of the last crucial days of the legislature's special session after the House did not vote to allow the Senate to adjourn for six days last week.House GOP leaders had raised continuing objections on the floor throughout the week, but Speaker Michael Busch said he was relying on an attorney general's opinion saying the vote was not required.
- The Examiner, 11/19/07

* * * * * * *

I bet they are a bit surprised that former Frederick Mayor Jennifer Dougherty filed for the seat today....
- Me, 11/16/07

Interesting development over the weekend: former Mayor of Frederick, Jennifer Dougherty, is running for Congress in the Maryland 6th:
- Isaac Smith, Free State Politics, 11/19/07

Long Day's Journey into night

Yup, folks in Annapolis tell me that it looks like the Democratic leadership wants to conduct business under the cover of darkness in the middle of the night tonight....again.

I'm so glad that representative government has come so far that the Democrats have to pull lame tricks like this.

Full Circle

Michael Swartz brought the Special Session and members of the Republican Caucus full circle when he made an excellent point about the pro-tax Republican legislators and the proposed State Central Committee bylaws.

You remember those don't you? Particularly the one that would give the party the opportunity to endorse candidates in a primary?

As Michael notes:

It's something to keep in the back of our minds for 2010, and another reason that any effort at "incumbent protection" should be rebuffed at our upcoming Fall Convention.

Because the last thing that the state party needs to be doing right now is to protect any Republican who led us down this road of tax increases. This is the time to avoid any Linc Chafee/NRSC moments and to make sure that the bylaws are not amended to give protection to any incumbent (or any challenger to an incumbent, for that matter, given the current environment in certain Congressional races).

In which I agree with something written on Free State Politics

I know, it is rare indeed, but I do agree with Eric Luedtke that legislative vacancies should be filled by special election instead of appointed by the Governor with suggestions by the party Central Committee. There is a better way to do it than there is now, and special elections are the way. Besides, for three-quarters of the year the General Assembly is not meeting, so generally speaking it's not like this is going to impact the business of the people any, and this will actually make those who fill vacancies face the people before running for re-election as an incumbent....

That didn't take long

Sure didn't take long for the House and the Senate to agree on how much to hose Maryland's taxpayers...

I'm sure glad Maryland Democrats on on the job looking out for.....looking out for.....wait second, who are they looking out for again? Because it certainly isn't the working people of Maryland.

Back to Back

That's two weekends in a row the House has been held late:

Voters are likely to get the final say on whether to welcome slot-machine gambling to Maryland, following passage early this morning of legislation by the House of Delegates that provides details of a plan to place 15,000 machines at five locations around the state.

The 71 to 44 vote, which came at 1:40 a.m., was the second action needed to execute a proposal by Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) to hold a referendum next November on legalizing slots at venues in Baltimore and Allegany, Anne Arundel, Cecil and Worcester counties.

And even then the didn't adjourn until closer to 2.

Once again I ask, is there any reason to hold these votes in the middle of the night if the legislative leadership has nothing to hide?

Delegates, bought and sold wholesale

Multiple sources are telling me that Ana Sol Gutierrez, an anti-slots Delegate from Montgomery County, sold her vote on the slots referendum to the O'Malley Administration. In exchange, the Administration guaranteed Gutierrez passage of a two-tiered driver's license that will give licenses to illegal aliens.

And I bet this 'aint the only story we are gonna here about payoffs....

A Suggestion

It's just a thought...but we really should let the people decide this issue at the ballot box.

No, I'm not talking about slots. I'm talking about petitioning whatever tax bill is signed by the Governor to the ballot next fall. This is the time where all of those who are opposed to the tax increase can unite, collect signatures, and prepare to continue the fight against radical taxation.

And I am sure that legislative Democrats would support our efforts. I mean, they were so excited to give the people a voice on slots, I'm positive that they want people to cast a yes or no vote on these massive tax increases.

Well....can we the people of Maryland do it?

EDIT(2:42 PM): A Commenter at Red Maryland notes, accurately, that Revenue bills can't be petitioned to the ballot. But I leave the post up just to note that the bill can't be petitioned. Isn't it sad that the right of people to have their voice heard on taxes is nonexistent in our state?

Bailout

My good friend Nic Kipke had his breakfast fundraiser this morning, and originally the guest speaker was supposed to be Delegate James King.

King bailed out, and was replaced by my friend Delegate Bob Costa....

Get Ready: Here Comes Leopold

The residents of Anne Arundel County might as well get ready, because tax hiker-in-chief John Leopold is on the scene:

Officials say they hope to avoid increasing local taxes to make up for lost funding.

"I made a commitment in my campaign not to increase property or income taxes," said Anne Arundel Executive John R. Leopold, a Republican.

But that doesn't mean he won't try to raise fees. "I'm going to try to secure revenues outside of property and income taxes," and by cutting expenses, he said.

Once again noting that Leopold has never made a commitment he could keep, be prepared for a lot of Leopold's pet-tax projects to be repackaged as fees very soon...

'Tis the Season

It's close enough to Thanksgiving, and with the ramrodding of the slots and the taxes down our throats, I think we can all think of some turkeys we'd like to stuff....

BREAKING: Is a Document Forging Scandal brewing in Annapolis?

Insider sources are telling me that there is now, of all things, an alleged potential document forging scandal in the General Assembly that could completely derail some of the proceedings.

As told to me, Delegate Mike Smigiel from District 36 noted that in the Maryland Constitution that one chamber cannot stand in recess for more than three days without a vote in that chamber, a message being sent to the opposite chamber, and a vote approving the recess in the opposite chamber. Smigiel, and attorney, wrote a memo to the Attorney General outlining his concerns.

Yesterday, Delegate Smigiel brought this point to the attention of the Speaker on the floor during session. The Speaker informed Smigiel that the Senate had notified the Speaker that the Senate would be in recess until Thursday (today). Smigiel asked to see a copy of the transmission, and when he saw it he noted that the message was dated November 9th (Friday), but timestamped with yesterday's date.

Kicker is: the Senate proceedings and the Senate log note that the Senate was recessed until the 13th (Tuesday).

So the question is: was the message from the Senate to the House forged as alleged? And if so, who ordered it to be done? And we all may find out very shortly as my source tells me that a non-profit organization is going to court and challenge the legality of the proceedings. Why? Because the Attorney General noted in his message to Delegate Smigiel that if the House was a violation of the Constitution were found, every action taken by the House since the Senate's adjournment Friday would be null and void. Including the Saturday Night Massacre tax votes.

What to make of all of this? We'll see. Right now, all we have are allegations. Who knows how many ways that the system could shut this down. But it is also interesting to see that this has not made it to the press yet. My source tells me that the reporters have known about this since yesterday, and it has not been discussed in any media outlet as of yet except for at the very bottom of this story on WBAL.com.

China Syndrome indeed...

Busch has lost control

Insider sources are telling me that Mike Busch has lost control of the House Chamber.

You will note today that at 3:53 PM the Senate went into session, and stayed in session for five minutes. Busch adjourned the House because he looked around the room and realized that he didn't have the votes to get the Senate slots bill passed.

It was after that around (as reported here via WBAL ) 6:15 that House Majority Leader KumarBarve started saying that they had the 85 votes to pass slots.

When they went back at 7:06, Busch tried to pull a fast one and pass the House bill instead of the Senate bill. Minority Leader Tony O'Donnell tried to Special Order the bill until tomorrow, since Delegates had prepared amendments to the Senate bill, but not the House bill. The Speaker said no, which prompted Democratic delegates to start booing and hissing until the Speaker relented.

As I said, Mike Busch has lost control of his chamber. He is not handling the stress put on him by the O'Malley folks very well because he is making poor judgment calls and can't keep his own Democrats in line.

Tomorrow is going to be interesting.

Privatization still the solution

This article from this morning's Post further reinforces the need to privatize transportation construction:

State transportation officials say Columbia's future might not include rail transit despite pleas to extend such service to the county's largest community.

Howard Del. Elizabeth Bobo (D) asked state officials last year to study whether Washington's Metro rail system or the MARC, the state's commuter rail service, could run to Columbia. But state officials have told Bobo in recent weeks that both options would cost billions over the next 30 years, a prohibitive expense. That should provide local officials with "a little dose of reality," Bobo said.

"We can't move forward thinking we're going to have [rail] transit anytime soon in downtown Columbia," Bobo said after a meeting of Maryland transportation officials in Ellicott City last week.

But they could move forward if a bid went out to private contractors to determine the costs to build such a system privately. I would be willing to be that a number of companies would be willing to build and operate a Metro, MARC, or Light Rail extension if given the opportunity to bid. The concept that a multi-billion project such as this has to be constructed using only state funds is outmoded, and leads to further traffic delays, congestion, and projects that take fifty years to complete.

As I noted last month, the privatization of such projects is the only way to make progress.

Why the Constitutional Amendment authorizing Slots is dumb

And I'm not just talking about the abdication of responsibility from our elected officials. I'm talking about the general bickering and bitching about slots locations:

A key House subcommittee today recommended adding Frederick County and possibly Harford County to the list of sites where slot machines would be placed and knocking out Worcester County, home to the Ocean Downs racetrack and a site strongly opposed by many local officials and residents.

House leaders say a location near Interstates 70 and 270 would attract gamblers from Montgomery County who now drive to Charles Town Races and Slots in West Virginia. They said they believe it would be significantly more lucrative to the state than the slots parlor at Ocean Downs envisioned in the gambling bill that Gov. Martin O'Malley submitted and the state Senate approved.

Both the O'Malley administration and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller have said they don't want to see major changes to the slots legislation at this late date in the current special session of the General Assembly. But they have also said they will be flexible about the details as long as the legislature votes to put a slot machine gambling referendum on the November 2008 ballot.

OK, the long and the short of it is that nobody can agree on the details of the slots plan. Everybody wants the slots in differently places, mainly due to rampant NIMBY-ism.

And that's the problem with the slots plan as currently proposed. Making it a Constitutional Amendment will artificially limit the location of slots parlors to certain jurisdictions or, in the cases of one of the plans floating out there, limiting them to certain geographic coordinates within municipalities or defined areas. That is not the point of a Constitutional document. This amendment goes into specific details about plans that would make the location of slots parlors difficult or impossible to change since any change to those locations would require the approval of the voters.

A Constitutional Amendment on slots, at least one as specific as the legislators are currently discussing, is a problem hatched by legislators to address a concern the voters really don't have. The voters want the legislators to deal with the issues. The legislators want to pass the buck the voters. Ultimately, the legislative leadership is abdicating its responsibility to lead, and in doing so handcuffing whatever potential profit the state may have from slots revenue given the constraints of using a Constitutional Amendment as a change agent (and as political cover)...

Why are we in this handbasket again?

This story, H/T to NRO:

THERE'LL be no ho, ho, ho this Christmas. Aspiring Santas have been told not to use the term "ho" because it could be seen as derogatory to women.

Thirty trainees at a Santa course in Adelaide last month, held by recruitment company Westaff, were urged to replace the traditional festive greeting with "ha, ha, ha".

A Santa veteran of 11 years who attended the course told the Sunday Mail the trainer was very clear in spelling out no to "ho".

Two Santa hopefuls reportedly left the course after the trainer's edict.

It's actually worse than that because they hide that stupidity with this stupidity:

Westaff national operations manager Glen Jansz said the company's Santas had been urged to "tone down" their use of the "ho, ho, ho" phrase – but he said it wasn't for fear of offending women.

"The reason behind that is we find that in some cases the little kids can get a little bit scared of the deep ho, ho, hos and we ask them to be mindful of keeping their voices to a lower level," he said.

"And kids are probably more inclined to understand `ha, ha, ha', than `ho, ho, ho'."

Amazing...

District 31 Town Hall Meeting

The District 31 delegation (well, most of the District 31 delegation) held a Town Hall meeting at the North County Library in Glen Burnie. Senator Bryan Simonaire and Delegates Steve Schuh and Nic Kipke spoke on the issues and answered a number of questions from the audience on taxes and slots. Delegate Don Dwyer, as usual when facing the public, didn't bother to actually show up despite living a whopping third of a mile away from the North County library.

The crowd was a mix of Democrats and Republicans, with a few independents thrown in for measure. And just about every one of them was appalled by what the General Assembly is doing.

If the Democratic leadership thinks the people are going to forget about this anytime soon, they are sadly, sadly mistaken...

Good News, Bad News on Spending Cuts

Well, let's start off with the good news:

House budget writers Monday identified nearly $500 million in potential savings in next year's budget, including recommendations to freeze inflation increases in the state's Thornton education funding plan, eliminate vacant state jobs, and tap surplus funds in the state health insurance fund.

"We're at a point where some very, very tough decisions have to be made," said Norman H. Conway, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, before the committee approved the bill to reduce spending by $498 million in the fiscal year 2009 budget.

The full House of Delegates takes up the proposed cuts Tuesday as part of the General Assembly's special session to close a $1.7 billion budget gap for the next fiscal year.

I mean don't get me wrong, it's a start, albeit it far from anything close to what should be happening in regards to budget cuts. But it appears that the Democrats in the House had a Eureka! moment sometime in the last few days and realized that if they are going to pillage the people with massive tax hikes, maybe they should at least make the appearance of trying to get their own spending house in order.

Steve Schuh, one of my very own delegates, made good points on the budget as usual:

Del. Steve Schuh, an Anne Arundel County Republican, said that while he supported the final bill in committee, he would like to have seen spending curtailed even more.

He also criticized the deficit-reduction plan being crafted by Democrats because it would raise a variety of taxes and relies on revenue from legalized slot-machine gambling that wouldn't kick in for several years. The slots proposal would be put to voters in a November 2008 referendum if the legislation passes.

"If you blow it on spending restraint and if you blow it on slots, you're backed into a fiscal corner of having to raise taxes in a very big way to balance the budget," Schuh said.

But of course, this is not the land of milk and honey. Because some of our own people are complaining; yes, some Republican Delegates are complaining about cuts!

But other Republican legislators Monday balked at some of the small spending reductions.

Del. Susan L.M. Aumann, a Baltimore County Republican, opposed a measure to keep grants to private colleges at the current fiscal year amount, which would save the state $3.4 million. She expressed concern that more students will leave Maryland to attend private colleges.

As I noted a few days ago, the $62 million grant in the Sellinger Formula to private colleges is ridiculous in the first place. Del. Aumann's consternation at a $3.4 million cut to Sellinger aid is disturbing, because it makes me wonder if some of our own Republican Delegates are committed merely to only opposing tax cuts: that these legislators, in actuality, support the continued feeding of this governmental beast.

$500 million in cuts are a good thing. Let's find another $1.5 billion and get this tax hike off of the backs of Maryland's working families...

Challenging the Slate

As you know, one of the reasons the plotters of the GOP leadership fiasco here in Anne Arundel County went about their actions was their efforts to use the Central Committee as a slate for their County Council candidacies in the 2010 elections. I noted at the time that, due to their actions, these Central Committee members would not go unchallenged in their quests for power.

Well, at least one person has stepped up to the plate. Lawyer, blogger, and former District 31 House Candidate Jimmy Braswell will likely be a candidate for County Council in the 3rd District. He will likely be taking on ethically challenged Central Committee member and former Democratic County Councilman Tom Redmond in the primary.

The Brian Griffiths Minute: Saturday Night Massacre edition

More thoughts on the strike

This article from the Washington Times reinforces something I said yesterday about the Writers Guild strike. The article itself talks about conservatives in Hollywood (I mean, they are backing Giuliani, but I'll take what I can get out of Hollywood). 24 producer Joel Sunrow made this remark:

"Hollywood's not being held hostage. ... I think [the studios] are going to break the Guild," he said, later remarking: "Millionaires on the picket line. ... They're not going to get a lot of empathy."

Somebody in Hollywood gets it. Writers are disposable. Writers are a dime a dozen. Virtually anybody can write most of the drivel that passes for entertainment these days. Sure, there are a few good shows (House, Numb3rs, Family Guy), but for every good show that goes on the air there are ten shows that are terrible. Machinists, skilled workers, technical workers aren't. And the writers may find all of this out the hard way...

"Don't Taze Me, Ma'am!"

At least some self-defense methods these days is getting some positive attention:

Groups of women are gathering at homes across America for Taser parties, where the guns are presented with wine and cheese, similar to earlier Tupperware parties.

A host at the parties explains the value of owning a personal Taser gun and then women are allowed to look at and handle the devices, which include a metallic pink gun.

Lisa Rigberg, who hosted a recent Taser party in an upscale Arizona neighborhood, said the guns are a must-have for women."It's light, it's small and it comes in colors," Rigberg said. "But if you know you are going to be in a certain situation where you might be uncomfortable, why not have it with you? It just makes you more confident."

I can think of more effective methods of self-defense, but this is a positive step too...

Does average America care about the writers strike?

There has been a seeming insistence on mainstream coverage of the Writers Guild strike, since the networks may lose hundreds of millions of dollars on lost ad revenue when episodes go to reruns. But does the American public really care?

When it comes down to it, the fact of the matter is that the Writers Guild of America dos not produce anything that is instrumental to the American economy. Sure, they produce a lot of television shows and movies that keep some audiences entertained. Sure, the Hollywood economy is a multibillion dollar business (which is why Gov. Schwarzenegger is trying to make peace). But if the Writers Guild went away, if the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (the trade union of which the Writers are on strike against) went away, would anybody really notice in this modern era of entertainment production?

Seemingly the most successful shows on television these days are reality shows, with American Idol clearly leading the way with that. In fact, many argue that the last Writers Guild strike back in 1988 led directly to the development of reality television as a major aspect of network entertainment. When you combine that with the opportunities available on the internet for non-unionized, non-Hollywood entertainment, and the fact that networks can (theoretically) pick up these programs and replace the union programming with non-union programming, it makes me wonder what the union and its members really have to gain from a strike action.

What is even more absurd about the writer's strike is who is striking. A Writers Guild strike does not exactly cast a sympathetic face on the plight of unionism. Most Americans, even Republicans like me who are critical of unions and their leadership, can more easily sympathize with a Teamster, or an auto worker than we can with writers, many of whom make six figure salaries and live in Hollywood. Having multi-millionaire movie stars refuse to cross the picket lines and seeing them actively march with the picketers just adds to the level of absurdity.

The Writers Guild should probably receive as much sympathy from the public as athletes who go on strike or a strike that actually cripples an important part of the infrastructure, like the 2005 New York Transit Strike. This is merely two sides of the Hollywood elite having a pissing contest, and the public should treat it accordingly, especially in light of the drivel some of the writers on strike are actually coming up with in these modern times.

What you might not know...

What neither the hard copy Sun nor the Sun's website are telling you is that HB2 and HB5 passed third reader last night...when the House came into session at 11:07 PM and adjourned at 1:22 AM this morning.

Again, by holding major votes in the middle of the night, the legislative leadership clearly has nothing to hide, right?

The Saturday Night Massacre

I'm just postulating this out loud, but if the leadership of the General Assembly was truly interested in being above board with their attempted pilfering of the pocketbooks of Maryland taxpayers, then why is the House of Delegates in session on a Saturday night on a holiday weekend? Seriously. HB2, the so-called "Tax Reform Act of 2007" and HB5, the so-called "Transportation Investment Act, both passed second reading tonight in the House. The House adjourned at 10:36 PM and was to return nine minutes later.

If those favoring these ridiculous tax increases truly believe in pilfering the taxpayers, there would be no need to ramrod these massive tax hikes through when nobody was looking...

Ah...the days

It's hard to imagine a time when such a machine was...uh...cutting edge:

Oh, and another thing....

Memo to Sens. Astle, DeGrange, Dyson, Kramer and Zirkin: for not having the courage to support the filibuster, the tax hikes are your fault. Nobody cares that you didn't vote for the bill on its third reading. Everybody cares that you allowed the third reading vote to happen....

State Senate to Taxpayers: Get Bent

That's really the message here. Having scores of constituents call in opposing taxes seems to not be a good enough reason to, you know, listen to the constituents. We must give more money to a government that wastes it, and we must expand a government that is already too big.

With the State Senate completely ignoring the voice of their constituents, methinks that a tax revolt is on the horizon...and soon.

An Exaggeration

Harris Campaign Manager Chris Meekins has an...er...interesting perspective on the endorsement of Governor Ehrlich.

‘‘It’s pivotal in the fact that Governor Ehrlich is the Republican Party in Maryland,” said Harris campaign director Chris Meekins. ‘‘It not only brings grass-roots support, but also a lot of his senators and his money people will be willing to open up their checkbooks.”

Well, there are two things here that just drive me crazy.

One is the fact that the party is bigger than one person. Bob Ehrlich is not the Republican Party an and of himself. And I think Governor Ehrlich would say that as well, considering he often thanked extensively those that supported the party and supported him during his campaigns.

Second, the concept that Ehrlich delivers Senators and money to the Harris campaign is unproven. A lot of people thought that the Governor's endorsement of Rudy Giuliani was pretty much the end of serious discussion regarding the support of Presidential candidates in Maryland. And it has been anything but, with a strong Romney organization, and a developing Thompson organization as well (though one that has been completely absent from here in Anne Arundel County). If the Ehrlich pull were as strong as the Harris team would like to think it is, that would not be happening.

The Ehrlich endorsement was a big get for the Harris campaign, but it is not the exclamation point that the Harris team thinks it is...

You've heard this before

We have talked on the Conservative Refuge Podcasts over the course of the past year about rebuilding the Republican brand, and Mark Sanford is one of the folks who realizes that we need to do just that:

One year to Election Day, and the struggling Republican Party is looking for much more than a new leader.

"It takes time to damage a brand," says South Carolina's Republican governor, Mark Sanford. "It takes even longer to rebuild it."

Sanford is a low-taxes, low-spending type who believes the GOP has lost its credibility as the party of fiscal conservatism.

"The Republican Party, I think, has really been hurt with regard to its brand on the degree to which it will walk the walk on government spending and government taxes," Sanford told CNN in a recent interview at his State Capital office in Columbia.

Read the whole thing. Clearly, the branding issue is a concern of more than just a few guys from Maryland on a podcast. It is an issue of paramount importance to the future of the party, and the main reason I get indignant and angry when Republicans here in Maryland do things like this and this that do great damage to our brand.

It still doesn't register

Young Master Kujan still doesn't understand the econ of this:

Is it grounds to support a reactionary filibuster that could lead to bankrupting the state? Of course not.

So...on what grounds does Young Master Kujan believe that we should support additional government spending that will lead to bankrupting the state?

I'm telling you, we need to run a remedial economics class for these urban liberals...

More chink in the global warming armor

John Coleman is not a global warming fan. I'm sure that his criticisms will be dismissed since he is not a consensus scientist: merely the founder of the Weather Channel and an award winning meteorologist...

It is the greatest scam in history. I am amazed, appalled and highly offended by it. Global Warming; It is a SCAM. Some dastardly scientists with environmental and political motives manipulated long term scientific data to create an allusion of rapid global warming. Other scientists of the same environmental whacko type jumped into the circle to support and broaden the "research" to further enhance the totally slanted, bogus global warming claims. Their friends in government steered huge research grants their way to keep the movement going. Soon they claimed to be a consensus.

Environmental extremists, notable politicians among them, then teamed up with movie, media and other liberal, environmentalist journalists to create this wild "scientific" scenario of the civilization threatening environmental consequences from Global Warming unless we adhere to their radical agenda. Now their ridiculous manipulated science has been accepted as fact and become a cornerstone issue for CNN, CBS, NBC, the Democratic Political Party, the Governor of California, school teachers and, in many cases, well informed but very gullible environmentally conscientious citizens. Only one reporter at ABC has been allowed to counter the Global Warming frenzy with one 15 minute documentary segment.

I do not oppose environmentalism. I do not oppose the political positions of either party. However, Global Warming, i.e. Climate Change, is not about environmentalism or politics. It is not a religion. It is not something you "believe in." It is science; the science of meteorology. This is my field of life-long expertise. And I am telling you Global Warming is a non-event, a manufactured crisis and a total scam...

Furthering the Sham

To continue to show how much of a sham the new Anne Arundel County School Board nominating scheme is, take a look at the appointed members of the Commission as announced so far:

O'Malley Appointees:

• Chairman Joshua C. Greene, attorney from Crofton
• Christine Davenport, retired Teacher from Glen Burnie
• Lee Roy Payne, retired Guidance Counselor from Millersville
• Matthew Tedesco, attorney from Odenton
• Konrad Wayson, former School Board member from Harwood

Leopold Appointee:

• Yevola S. Peters, Special Assistant to the County Executive for Minority Affairs, from Annapolis

The appointees are a cross-section of everything that is wrong with the commission. It's a political commission that does not represent that interests of the parents, students, teachers and taxpayers of Anne Arundel County in mind. Only Konrad Wayson has the type of background in education and finance that even gives me anything close to the vibe of qualification to serve on this panel. Peters presence on the commission is merely to serve as John Leopold's mouthpiece. The teacher Davenport represents District 31 on the Anne Arundel County Democratic Central Committee. Tedesco is 29 and has no experience in education issues whatsoever, but works at a politically connected law firm. Greene also works at a politically connected law firm and seems to have no ties to local education whatsoever, but did donate extensively to Democratic candidates in 2006 (and, strangely, Delegate James King and Councilman Ed Reilly).

What we will be stuck with will be decisions on the future of Anne Arundel County school leadership being based on political ties. This is unsurprising, but also infuriating. We all saw how the old process worked. And we all agreed that the process was flawed. But the fact of the matter is that the recommendations were made by parents, by teachers, and by taxpayers to the Governor. This process seems be nothing more than politically connected yes-men and yes-women designed to ensure that the current educational model is continued by all means necessary. This is not a model that will engender chance, but will merely continue to reinforce the status quo. Only when we have a competitively elected school board, and not an yes or no vote on politically connected choices, we will truly get the kind of School Board we need to move education in Anne Arundel County forward.

I have noted several times the chutzpah of those who called this cockamamie scheme an elected school board. Instead of public participation, this is the politically-tainted garbage that John Leopold has shoved down our throats....

Leopold's School Board lies continue

John Leopold continues to shamelessly lie about the new School Board nominating scheme:

"For the first time in Anne Arundel County, the public has the chance to provide direct input into the selection of school board members," Leopold said. "It's a compromise solution that was elusive for more than two decades."

Once again, John Leopold can't be honest about his school board selection plan. If the plan truly were to provide direct input into the selection of school board members as Leopold attests, then the voters would be provided with a choice of candidates in a general election. Merely voting up or down nominees put forth by a nominating commission of the intelligentsia has the same legitimacy as one-party elections do in Cuba.

Once again, Leopold cannot admit the sham that he foisted upon the people of Anne Arundel County.

In case you have haven't seen the Citizens United ad...

It's now on YouTube:

BREAKING: Leopold talks AA Delegation into Electricity Tax deal

An inside source tells me that John Leopold sweet-talked the Anne Arundel County Delegation into getting a amendment to the new Electricity Tax that would allow the county to collect up to $28 million from the power generators located in the county.

More as this develops....

What's right with America

I don't think it's a surprise to any one (including Mark) is surprised that our RedMaryland colleague Mark Newgent got his ass kicked by County Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke today. As of 10:31 PM, Mark was gotten five percent of the vote in City Council District 14. But I am glad that Mark ran. I am glad that Elbert Henderson ran. And Glenn Werner, and Brian Davis, and Sean Cummings, and Michael Bradley, and Duane Shelton, and even Green Party candidates Maria Allwine and Bill Barry.

The fact of the matter is that these candidates said "damn the torpedoes" and campaigned in an incredibly hostile political environment. And they tried to get the candidates of the majority party to campaign on their issues. That is what is right with America. No matter how the deck is stacked against the minority, everybody gets a chance to put their names on the ballot and let the voters sort it out. Not always the way we'd like to see it (lord knows that you can't convince me that 88-percent of the electorate really wants to continue the failures of the O'Malley/Dixon team), but the voters get to make that call.

So I say good for Mark, and for all of the challengers who undertook the idea of campaigning in the face of a sure loss...