Judd Legum's New Line same as his old line...

Judd Legum couldn't be bothered to discuss his the recent revelation of his new gig as a mudslinger for New York Governor David Paterson. But he has plenty of time to continue raising money for his campaign for House of Delegates in District 30.....and apparently plenty of time to again violate state campaign finance laws by not including the authority line for his campaign committee.

Obviously, Judd Legum doesn't take campaign finance laws seriously since this isn't his first breach of them. Nor does he seem to care that the penalty for violating such laws is disqualification from being a candidate for public office.

The irony of course is that Legum does not advertise his own fundraiser from his own campaign site or his Twitter account. It's almost like he has been going out of his way to hide his fundraisers from the public; it was only from a post by Paul Foer that I was even made aware of Legum's event. And it's not like his last fundraiser which was sponsored by lobbyists days after claiming his campaign would not accept contributions form...lobbyists.

Judd Legum and his hypocrisy are going to be the gift that keeps on giving in 2010....

The Year That Was 2009

Yes, it's time for the 2009 Awards....and since this is the only "best of the decade" list I'm giving you, we'll deal just with 2009.

Last year's post is available here, the one from 2006 here, and the one from 2005 is available here.

Best Move of 2009: Sheila Dixon convicted

2008 Winner: John McCain picks Sarah Palin
2007 Winner: Peter Angelos hires Andy MacPhail
2006 Winner: Ravens trade for Steve McNair
2005 Winner: John Roberts Appointed as Chief Justice

I was as stunned as anybody that a Baltimore City jury actually convicted an elected official in the City of Baltimore. It was just amazingly stunning because, no matter how corrupt it seemed Sheila Dixon was, I always figured that somehow, some way she would beat the rap. Now we know that there are some legal wranglings regarding a boneheaded juror, but the fact of the matter remains that this jury proved that nobody, not even the Mayor, is above the law in Baltimore. I hope (but doubt) that some of these elected Democrats will get the message.

Honorable Mention: Jim Pelura resigns; Orioles acquire Kevin Milwood; Release of the Droid

Worst Move of 2009: Bracack Obama wins Nobel Prize
2008 "Winner": Federal Bailouts
2007 "Winner": General Assembly, Leopold impose School Board "reforms"
2006 "Winner": Harriet Miers appointed to Supreme Court
2005 "Winner": Rafael Palmeiro's testimony to Congress

There is nothing I can say here that hasn't already said, but let me tell you this; the fact that Barack Obama can win a Nobel Prize under the following conditions...

• Being nominated eleven days into his administration
  
• Two wars in the Middle East
• On the date of the first interplanetary bombing run

...pretty much tells you how credible the Nobel committee is these days. Not that they didn't lose that awhile ago. But never has one man been so feted for having accomplished so little.....

Dishonorable Mention: Anne Arundel County Council approves Arundel Mills slots parlor; Justin Ready fired as MD GOP Executive Director; Martin O'Malley unable or unwilling to control state spending; Levi Johnston continues to get press coverage

Strangest Move of 2009: Congress moves on Health Care "reform" without checking their backyard
2008 Winner: Being Rod Blagojevich
2007 Winner: John Flynn keeps job as MD GOP Executive Director
2006 Winner: Don Dwyer's May and June
2005 Winner: Martin O'Malley thanks MD4BUSH

The funny party about health care reform is not the fact that President Obama and his cohorts in Congress supported government-run health care and tried to implement it; the left in this country has been pretty adamant about their support for socialized medicine for quite some time now. No, it really has more to do with the fact that the hubris and the arrogance of the Obama White House and the perceived omnipotence of Speaker Pelosi combined to create a perfect storm for Democrats; a situation from which there is no escape.

Had anybody in the Obama/Pelosi camp bothered to ask anybody in the House or Senate Democratic Caucuses, they might have realized how much trouble they were really in. Because if there is anything that we have learned through this process it's that:

• Moderate Dems won't vote for health care if it funds abortion
• Far Left Dems won't vote forth health care if it doesn't fund abortion
• Some Senators won't vote for health care if there is a public option
• Some Senators won't vote for health care if there isn't a public option
• Some members of Congress won't vote for health care if it increases the debt
• Nobody agrees on whether or not health care will increase or decreases the debt.

All in all, it should have been painfully obvious that the votes were not there for Obamacare. As a rational American, that's a good thing, however it is one of the more brazenly bizarre decisions, particularly when in all likelihood it is going to severely backfire for Congressional Democrats at the ballot box this November.

Honorable Mention: Zina Pierre blows her chance to be Mayor of Annapolis; Martin O'Malley plays concerts while incapable of controlling spending; Memphis signs Allen Iverson; Jim Rutledge drops out of, back into Senate race within a week;

Gal I Feel Bad For for 2009: Trudy McFall(D), former candidate Annapolis Mayor
2008 "Winner": Dean Barkley
2007 "Winner": Arthur Blank
2006 "Winner": Rick Neuheisel
2005 "Winner": Rick Neuheisel

How can I feel bad for a Democratic Candidate for Mayor of Annapolis who lost in the Primary? Probably because she, more than anybody else, got screwed by the Zina Pierre debacle. Clearly, an overwhelming majority of the Democrats voting in the Annapolis primary did not want Josh Cohen to be Mayor. However, when the irregularities of Pierre's background came to light, the establishment immediately rushed to Cohen's side. Never mind the fact that the majority of voters voted for an "outside the box" candidate who was not part of either the city or county Democratic establishment.

And I think head to head, McFall would have beaten Cohen. Hands down.

Honorable Mention: Doug Hoffman, Jenny Sanford

Best Run Campaign(Local Division): Chris Fox(I), Candidate for Mayor
2008 Winner: None
2007 Winner: Fred Paone for Alderman (R-Annapolis)
2006 Winner: Nic Kipke for Delegate (R-31)
2005 Winner: Jeff Holtzinger for Mayor (R-Frederick)

Chris Fox is probably the one local candidate statewide who exceeded expectations. Sure, he did not reach the same numbers that Gilbert Reneault received in the 2005 General Election when he also ran as an independent. But Renault was also running against a Republican's whose consultant-driven campaign barely had a pulse. Fox ran a real, sustained campaign. And yes, his presence may very well have put Josh Cohen in City Hall. But that's a story for a different time. The fact of the matter is that no local campaign had as much of an immediate impact as did Fox's campaign. It's hard to say whether or not this has any impact whatsoever in 2013, but the short-term effects are real and obvious.

Best Run Campaign(Statewide Division): Andy Harris for Congress (R-1)
2008 Winner: Donna Edwards for Congress (D-4)
2007 Winner: Donna Edwards for Congress (D-4)
2006 Winner: Michael Steele for US Senate (R)

Oh what a difference a year makes. For two years running, the Harris Campaign couldn't get out of it's own way. But in the past year, no campaign has better served itself in keeping their eyes on the prize and focusing on the work that needs to be done in order to prepare themselves for the next election. It's a pretty drastic turnaround, and positions Harris well to unseat Frank Kratovil in the 2010 General Election (with the caveat, of course, that there is still a chance of a competitive primary in this seat...)

Honorable Mention: Eric Wargotz for U.S. Senate (R)

Best Run Campaign(National Division): Doug Hoffman for Congress (C-NY)
2008 Winner: Barack Obama for President (D-IL)
2007 Winner: Bobby Jindal for Governor(R-LA)
2006 Winner: Barack Obama for President (D-IL)
2005 Winner: Paul Hackett for Congress (D-OH)

Doug Hoffman found himself in an unusual position. Since New York allows "fusion" candidates who run under more than one party banner, Hoffman found himself for the special election in the 23rd District handed the nomination of the New York Conservative Party, but denied the nomination in his own Republican Party. Hoffman managed to take that defeat and turn it into a positive, corralling national support from many Republicans and conservatives across the county, and nearly defeating Democrat Bill Owens in the General Election. Sure, Hoffman's loss led to the election of a Democrat, but there were two fundamental items of importance that came out of this race; the fact that conservatives remain an important force in our body politic, and that the most liberal candidate in the race (the Republican Dede Scozzafava) didn't win...

Honorable Mention: Chris Christie for Governor (R-NJ), Bob McDonnell for Governor (R-VA)

Worst Run Campaign(Local Division): Dave Cordle for Mayor (R-Annapolis)
2008 "Winner": None
2007 "Winner": Kieffer Mitchell for Mayor (D-Baltimore)
2006 "Winner": Don Dwyer re-election campaign (R-31)
2005 "Winner": George Kelley for Mayor (R-Annapolis)

I hate to pick on a good guy who had good people running his campaign, and I hate to give this award to a second straight Republican nominee for Mayor of Annapolis. But the fact of the matter is that the Cordle Campaign barely registered prior to the Primary Election. Instead of aggressively meeting and engaging voters all summer, the campaign waited. A frustrating way to see a campaign be run, particularly with a good candidate who should have won the election had the strategy not be to sit and wait to see who the Democrats nominated...

Honorable Mention: None

Worst Run Campaign(Statewide Division): Gov. Martin O'Malley re-election campaign (D)
2008 "Winner": Andy Harris for Congress (R-1)
2007 "Winner": Andy Harris for Congress (R-1)
2006 "Winner": Steven Abrams for Comptroller (R)

This almost has more to do with O'Malley's governance and decision making than it does his campaigns ability to campaign. But think about this; what campaign operative in their right mind cannot find themselves a way to convince their candidate that jumping around on stage with their band is a bad idea in the middle of a recession and in the middle of a dig-out from a snowstorm that has a paralyzed their state. True, maybe the problem is a candidate stuck on vapor lock all of the time, but people don't forget simple stuff like this.....

Dishonorable Mention: Rep. Donna Edwards re-election campaign (D-4), Jim Rutledge for U.S. Senate (R)

Worst Run Campaign(National Division): Creigh Deeds for Governor (D-VA)
2008 "Winner": Andy Harris for Congress (R-MD)
2007 "Winner": The Al Gore Draft Campaign (D-TN)
2006 "Winner": Sen. George Allen's re-election campaign (R-VA)
2005 "Winner": Jerry Kilgore for Governor (R-VA)

I honestly can't write any more articulately about the Deeds campaign than Chris Cillizza did, so take a loook at his thoughts on Creigh Deeds.

Dishonorable Mention: Terry McCauliffe for Governor (D-VA), Dede Scozzafava for Congress (R-NY), Gov. Jon Corzine's re-election campaign (D-NJ)

Best International Development: Climategate
2008 Winner: The Surge Continues to Work;
2007 Winner: The Surge in Iraq works
2006 Winner: Saddam Hussein Convicted and Executed
2005 Winner: Free Elections in Iraq

For many years a lot of pundits have considered the idea of global warming and the idea of anthropomorphic climate change to still be an open question. Sadly, many scientists and many political leades had decided that the question was a closed one, that it was a "known fact" that the planet was warming and that it was a "known fact" that humans were the cause of it (much in the same way the heliocentrism was a "known fact"). It's gotten so bad to discuss climate change in some circles that those discussing skepticism of climate change sufering the same ridiculue that one would have received if they dismissed the existance of God in the 1600's.

Of course, when the Climategate emails were released, a lot of regular people became much, much more skeptical about the whole matter. Sure, scientists and politicians are still attemptinmg to remain as true believers on the subject. But there is a reason that a majority of Americans are now skeptical or dismissive of the science on climate change. It's not that people think it may or may not be happening. It's the fact that people think that scientists and politicians are lying to them. That's a big deal.

Honorable Mention: None

Worst International Developments: Copenhagen Climate Conference
2008: "Winner": World economy goes to hell
2007 "Winner": Vladimir Putin consolidates power to outlast term/The Assassination of Benazir Bhutto
2006 "Winner": Russian President Vladimir Putin begins murdering critics
2005 "Winner": Vladimir Putin's Reforms in Russia

And this dovetails with our previous mention about Climategate. In the face of tremendous opposition, and the revelation of the falsification of data on climate, leaders from countries around the world flew their jets to Copenhagen in an effort to hammer our a successor to Kyoto. I don't say that this is a bad development because of the agreement Barack Obama negotiated with China; that agreement, in the long run, is rather pedestrian.

No, this is a bad international development because a majority of the nations of the world sent representatives to a conference predicated on an idea that may have been completely fabricated. And that is a sad statement on modern society...

Dishonorable Mention: America become even less respected in the world; North Korean saber rattling; Iran's continued punishment of dissidents; Russia remains uppity

Best News of 2009: Citizens Express desire for Fiscal Discipline
2008 Winner: Ravens make the Playoffs
2007 Winner: Rise of Maryland Blogosphere

The voters of America are fed up. They are fed up with out of control spending. They are fed up with taxes. And in a lot of places, the people are making their vocies heard. They are doing it not just with protests, and blogs, and emails to their representatives. But they are doing it in town halls, and at the ballot box too.

I think we may very well see a paradigm shift in the body politic in 2010. Candidates who support fiscal restraint may find it much, much easier to run this coming year.

Honorable Mention: None really

Worst News of 2009: Debt, Spending Remain out of Control
2008 "Winner": Federal Bailouts
2007 "Winner": O'Malley, General Assembly Democrats Screw Taxpayers
2006 "Winner": Democrats take Congress, Government House

Maryland is again "America in Miniature" when it comes to spending. Find a deficit; raise taxes; raise spending; revenues decrease; wonder what went wrong.

The American people are sick and tired of their taxes being raised, and they are sick and tired of out of touch elected officials continuing to spend money that the state and federal governments do not have. You have to wonder if there is any situation where these elected officials wouldn't spend money if they continue to make the situation more dire for middle and working class families in the middle of these economic times...

Dishonorable Mention: Barack Obama as incompetent as we feared

The only best of the decade list I will give to you....

As if giving the opportunity for Greg Kline to mock me like he did for me for my all-time favorite songs on RedMaryland Radio back last year, I now present you with my 25 favorite songs of the 2000's (at least as of this moment in time)......with some assistance from the web no less:


25. Divide the Day: "Let it Roll"



24. The Raconteurs: "Steady as She Goes"


23. A Perfect Circle: "Judith"


22. Franz Fedrinand: "Dark of the Matinee"


21. The White Stripes: "Hotel Yorba"


20. Interpol: "The Heinrich Maneuver"

19. Band of Horses: "Detlef Schrempf"


18. Fall Out Boy with John Mayer: "Beat It"


17. Muse: "Uprising"


16. Jack's Mannequin: "The Mixed Tape"

Jack's Mannequin - The Mixed Tape
Uploaded by oth-chad. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

15. Wolfmother: "New Moon Rising"


14. Jimmy Eat World: "The Middle"


13. Josh Ritter: "Me & Jiggs"


12. Franz Fedrinand: "Take me Out"


11. Placebo: "This Picture"


10. Coldplay: "Clocks"

9. Velvet Revolver: "Fall to Pieces"


8. Something Corporate: "I Woke Up in a Car"


7. Pete Yorn: "Life on a Chain"



6. Shooter Jennings: "4th of July"


5. My Chemical Romance: "Helena"


4. Charlie Robison: "El Cerrito Place"


3. Muse: "Knights of Cydonia"



2. The Ruse: "Beautiful is Gone"



1. Johnny Cash: "Hurt"

3B, or not 3B

We have done a pretty extensive job of documenting the situation in District 3B, from the resignation of turncoat Rick Weldon, to some pontificating about the choice of any potential successors to the seat.

Well, I'd like to weight in with my two cents on the subject by hearkening back to something I wrote in May 2007:

The problem with all of these examples is that Republican leadership constantly avoids leading by the examples that gave reason for the electorate to entrust Republican politicians with positions of leadership for so many years; to cut taxes, reduce the size of government, to emphasize personal responsibility and protect our national security. We cannot continue as a party to expect the American people to entrust us with the confidence and entrust us to lead our ship of state if our party cannot be entrusted to stand up for its first principles.

We cannot identify ourselves as the party of fiscal responsibility if our leadership cannot stand up against earmarks and cannot stand up against wasteful spending....

....It is time that our party reject those issues that divide us as conservatives, and unite around those core issues that bring together all wings of the Republican Party. We must bill willing to embrace fiscal responsibility, particularly when it comes to eliminating pork barrel projects. We must be willing to reduce the size of government in order to ensure to contain government only in the areas where it belongs. We must protect our national security, in order to protect us from foreign nations and from the presence of illegal aliens. And we must ensure that we are committed to upholding all of our Constitutional rights.

Now, when it comes to this vacancy in District 3B, the issue becomes more of state level issues. What issues should be the most important when it comes to considering the ideology of any successor to Weldon's seat? The most important need to be:

• Fiscal restraint;
• No on new taxes;
• A commitment to the reduction in the size of Government.

That's it. Period. And I am going to make the next point in big bold letters:

The absolutely last thing that the Frederick and Washington County Central Committees should be doing is making this a referendum about social conservatism.

What we know is that Maryland, for better or for worse a socially moderate to liberal state, even in somewhat outlying places such as Frederick County. We also know that District 3 is home to a number of transplants from the Washington, DC area who may not be particularly receptive to an overly social conservative message in a General Election.....but they (like the majority of Americans) do find fiscal conservatism and restraint appealing. They want people who are going to protect their pocketbooks and try to ensure government stays out of their way.

Time and again, we have gone out of our way as a party to shoot ourselves in the foot. This is one prime opportunity to make sure that we do not do so again, by sending to Annapolis a Delegate who is best qualified to serve the interests of all Marylanders in these fiscally uncertain times.....regardless of that new Delegate's credentials on social issues.

Judd Legum's still playing in the Mud

Sure, our friend Judd Legum may be running as a Democrat for Delegate in District 30, but that doesn't mean he's taking any time off from being a political hack for hire:

Gov. Paterson has hired the man who was responsible for "negative research" on then-presidential candidate Barack Obama to dig up dirt on Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who is preparing to run for governor, The Post has learned.

Paterson's campaign committee signed Maryland-based Judd Legum, research director for then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's bitterly fought presidential primary campaign against Obama in 2008, to a five-week contract earlier this month, with the understanding that he would "prepare a research book on Cuomo" and other potential candidates for governor, said a prominent Democratic Party activist.

"Legum is the guy who did a lot of the opposition research work on Obama, and now Paterson's people are outsourcing that kind of work on Cuomo to him," said the source, who demanded anonymity.

Legum, a friend of Paterson campaign spokeswoman and strategist Tracy Sefl, is being paid about $25,000 for the project, it was learned.

Legum confirmed that he had been hired by Paterson's campaign but, when asked to describe his job, insisted, "I really can't talk about that now," and hung up the phone.

Repeated attempts to reach Legum for additional comment were unsuccessful.

Well isn't that special? I wonder what the African-American Democratic primary voters, who just saw Zina Pierre thrown under the bus by the Democratic establishment, are going to think about the white lawyer whose job was to trash Barack Obama in the General Election.

I find it even more humorous that Legum has no comment when you consider the fact that Legum told Capital reporter Eric Hartley that he wants "people would know what I'm up to" in a Twitter interview.

When you combine Legum's shady dealings with Paterson, along with his involvement in ThinkProgress' manufactured deceit, his auctioning of himself to Washington lobbyists, the old questions about his campaign appartus, and the self promoting narcissism that even Democrats can't stand, I would say that there a lot of reasons why nobody of any political stripe can find any reason why Judd Legum should be representing the people of District 30.

Regardless of the ethical clouds that surround Judd Legum, the fact that of the matter is that he owes the people of District 30 and honest answer; is he going to try and be their delegate, or is he content to be a professional political hack. The people of District 30 want to know...

Screwing the Pooch

The Anne Arundel County Council approved the zoning change that will allow slot machines at Arundel Mills Mall tonight. This is, of course, a completely ridiculous zoning change that will allow a slot machine parlor to be constructed in an area of the county that not only doesn't want slots, but also has enough problems with crime at Arundel Mills itself to deal with without the construction of a new, larger magnet for petty crime.

The bigger context of this story, however, is once again how badly Governor O'Malley and Maryland Democrats screwed up when they approved the Constitutional change that allowed for slot machines in the first place.

The County Council was basically pressured into allowing slot machines at Arundel Mills. There is no way around it. Pressure was coming from the Governor's office, from Legislative leaders, from County Executive John Leopold (once he decided that he was for slots after opposing them for so many years).

But why was so much pressure exerted on the County Council? It wasn't because Arundel Mills was the optimal location for slot machines, particularly in light of the fact that one of the ostensible reasons slots became part of the conversation was to save horse racing. No, the real reason the Council was pressured into the Arundel Mills site is because of the boneheaded decision to allow slot parlors in Anne Arundel County only within two miles on either side of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. Had the Arundel Mills site failed, then no slots parlor in Anne Arundel County would have been able to open without the adoption of another Constitutional Amendment changing the location requirement (one of the many reasons that I was against the amendment despite being pro-gambling).

Now Marylanders, and particularly those folks in the Hanover/Jessup area, are stuck with a slots parlor nobody wants because Governor O'Malley and General Assembly leaders didn't have the moxie to adopt a slots bill on their own without passing the buck on to the voters of Maryland. What a sad, sad display showing the ramifications of leaders who take no responsibility.

The irony of course; table gaming is coming to Charles Town, probably rendering a lot of this conversation moot and sending a lot of Maryland's gambling dollars to West Virginia....

Not Good Enough

Well it looks like the General Assembly's Spending Affordability Committee has advised Governor O'Malley to freeze state spending when he introduces his FY2011 budget next month. And while I commend the fact that even legislative Democrats realize our spending growth has gotten untenable, it still is not enough action being taken on the part of the legislature.

Fortunately, Republicans on the Committee tried to show Democrats the way:

Republicans rebuked O'Malley and Democratic leaders, accusing them of fiscal mismanagement. Some contend the state shouldn't accept federal stimulus funding, while others predict Democrats will temporarily reduce spending next year and then propose tax increases after the November 2010 election to fix a structural deficit.

A GOP proposal before the spending committee sought a 7 percent decrease in year-over-year spending. It failed on a party-line vote.

Nobody is surprised that this failed on a party line vote. But it is absolutely correct that state cannot and should not maintain spending at it's current levels. Spending has already increased over the past several years at levels that we cannot afford. And that spending problem is only partially the result of the national economy. As we have noted again, and again, and again, the reasons Maryland has a spending affordability problem are:

• Unnecessary increases in social spending, that led to;
• Historic and immoral tax increases, that led to;
• Lower revenue and a higher costs for Maryland's small businesses, that led to;
• Fewer jobs and a higher cost of living for Maryland's middle and working class families, that led to;
• Lower tax revenues.

And of course we have talked extensively about wasteful spending and tax policy before.

The State of Maryland has a spending problem and our legislative leadership needs to cut spending. NOW. And until Martin O'Malley and the General Assembly decide to do right by Maryland's middle and working class families, Maryland will continue to have spending affordability and revenue problems.

Marylanders need responsible leadership. We get that chance in 2010...

A Friendly Reminder

Hey, I'm as happy as anybody that so many people are protesting health care in DC. I really am. The fact that 15,000+ people took the time to go downtown today, on a work day, and protest says a lot about their passion and the anger being felt by millions of Americans over the Democrats attempts to bankrupt the country and ruin our health care system.

But this is the easy party. Unless these protesters are willing to put in the grunt work, the long hours, to donate their time, their money, and their sweat to candidates who are willing to fight for their values in Annapolis, in Washington, then it will all be for naught.

My point is that it's real easy to bitch, but it's not so easy to work hard and lead. Our party and our nation needs leaders and workers right now a heck of a lot more than we need protesters...

Meaningless Numbers

The left has decided to examine Governor Ehrlich's chances of unseating Martin O'Malley next year, and Adam Pagnucco decided to start his analysis with the most meaningless statistic in all of politics: voter registration data.

Overall, the Democrats have an absolute majority (at 56.9%) and outnumber Republicans by better than two-to-one. But the total numbers mask the geographic domination of the Democrats and the regional isolation of the GOP.

The Democrats have more than 50% of registered voters in eight jurisdictions: Baltimore City and Baltimore, Charles, Dorchester, Kent, Montgomery, Prince George’s and Somerset Counties. Those jurisdictions account for 60% of the state’s registered voters. The Republicans have more than 50% of registered voters in two jurisdictions: Carroll and Garrett Counties, which account for just 4% of the state’s registered voters.

Let’s lower the threshold to 40%. The Democrats have more than 40% of registered voters in 18 jurisdictions (all except Allegany, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Queen Anne’s and Washington Counties) that account for 88% of the state’s registered voters. The Republicans have more than 40% of registered voters in eight jurisdictions: Allegany, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Queen Anne’s, Talbot and Washington Counties, which account for just 17% of the state’s registered voters.

All of which, statistically speaking, was incredibly similar to the numbers that then-Congressman Ehrlich faced in 2002 when he defeated Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.

Pagnucco goes on to continue with his analysis:

Registration does not always determine voting behavior. Maryland is a state in which Democrats can and do vote for Republicans, the most successful of whom has unquestionably been Bob Ehrlich. But all of the above means that the Democrats have a far broader reach across the state than does the GOP. Western Maryland is the only region in which the Democrats struggle to compete. The Republicans are non-competitive in three of the state’s four biggest jurisdictions (Baltimore City and Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties) and lag Democrats in Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, fast-growing Charles County and even some parts of the Eastern Shore. All of this is a hurdle that any statewide GOP candidate would have to overcome.

Which of course, is also completely meaningless. When you look at voting results, and not voting registration, you see a picture that is, statistically speaking, more of a level playing field for Republicans running in Maryland; particularly a more-moderate, high-name ID Republican such as Bob Ehrlich. And, of course you need to look no further than the aforementioned Anne Arundel County to notice that a Democratic-majority county has elected this decade a Republican County Executive, Clerk of the Court, Register of Wills, two Circuit Court Judges who ousted Democratic appointees, three Judges of the Orphans Court, four of seven County Council Members, a majority of the Delegates, half of the State Senators, and gave two solid majorities to Bob Ehrlich and George W. Bush, and even one to John McCain.

What does this all mean? It means that voter registration numbers as a means of determining voter performance are completely useless......which was something Pagnucco could have learned had he read my analysis from six months ago, the last time he tried this argument.

If Democrats are hanging their hat on voter registration numbers to bail them out next year, Bob Ehrlich and the Republican Party may be in better shape that even we think...

Get Real

Len Lazarick reported yesterday about the work of the General Assembly Compensation Commission, which determines whether or not the members of the General Assembly are underpaid when they make $43,000 a year for part time work. But it seems like some of the findings of the commission are not going to put members of the General Assembly (presumably of both parties) in a good light:

The 51 pages of data legislative staff produced for the commission contained a number of telling statistics. For instance, 86 percent of the 188 lawmakers claim their full $42 daily meal per diem during the 90-day session without submitting receipts, though some senators and delegates attend receptions and committee dinners hosted by others....

...Eighty percent of legislators --156 lawmakers -- are reimbursed for lodging for all 90 days the legislature is in session, most at the maximum rate of $126 a day, even though many live within commuting distance. Some of the hotels throw in free breakfast, Sprague noted.

Emphasis mine. And why not give these folks higher compensation during a recession, the lot of them are doing such a bang-up job...

This is an issue that we have touched on before, with a number of legislators who live right here in Anne Arundel County staying the night in Annapolis and claiming their full $126 per diem rate. As I said nearly two years ago:

There is virtually NO good reason (except for maybe issues concerning the weather) for an Anne Arundel County legislator to seek state reimbursement for hotel rooms in Annapolis. It's completely insulting as a taxpayer to see legislators, regardless of political affiliation, live the high life at the Loews or the Marriott in Annapolis while the rest of us mere mortals are subjected to higher taxes and higher costs of living. Sure, I don't have as much of a problem allowing for reimbursable expenses for legislators from the Eastern Shore, or Western Maryland, or even Montgomery County. But when you work in the county you live in, it's just shows embarrassingly poor judgment.

And it still stand true. Frankly, any legislator who lives within a reasonable commuting distance from Annapolis who decides to stay in Annapolis and claim their full per diem is unfit for office. Period.

In the meantime, somebody also needs to get the memo to Senate President Mike Miller that it's a tacky to justify these handouts to General Assembly members in the middle of a recess

Miller defended the per diems and lodging arrangements.

“I don’t think people abuse” the meal or lodging per diem, Miller said. “These are elected officials. Nobody is going to be chintzy about meals.”

“I get invitations to four or five receptions a night, and I rarely eat or consume anything at these events,” Miller said. “Obviously you can’t drink or you’d be an alcoholic.”

“You’re not there to eat, you’re there to meet and greet, and you can’t talk with your mouth full,” Miller said.

He pointed out that some senators and delegates don’t go to any receptions on principle, and other members will go out to eat after they’ve attended a reception.

Well, let's throw a pity party for General Assembly members. It must be tough getting $43,000 a year to work a part-time job (that admittedly does require a lot of extra attention) while generally holding down another full-time job.

There are thousands of Marylanders right now who are unemployed (a lot of them thanks to the General Assembly's complicity in Martin O'Malley's reckless spending) who would be absolutely delighted to be making $43,000 a year for a full-time job, much less a part-time one. To then defend the legislators use of per diem, with the added insult that implies General Assembly members are too good to eat like the rest of us, is an insult to all of the middle and working class taxpayers who are suffering thanks to the actions of Miller and the rest of the Democrats in the General Assembly.

I hope that the compensation commission recommends no changes to the salary or expense rates for General Assembly members. Regulations should be adopted by the General Assembly regarding who is and is no eligible to receive per diem lodging payments (banning legislators within a 50-mile radius of Annapolis from receiving lodging reimbursements would be a good start). And the commission should continue to hold the line on expenses until legislators shape up, provide receipts, and stop abusing the system. They are not send to Annapolis to have a taxpayer funded vacation; they are citizen legislators who are (theoretically) there to serve the interests of the state, not to be reimbursed for expenses that are clearly unnecessary or nonexistent.

Let the Sunshine In

In one of those rare instances in which the left and right of the Maryland blogosphere can wholeheartedly agree, Adam Pagnucco points out that Del. Saqib Ali is introducing the Legislative Sunshine Act, which will require that the business of committees of the Maryland General Assembly, particularly voting records on both legislation and amendments to the aforementioned legsilation, would be posted online. This is an idea whose time came a LONG time ago.

If one wanted to research committee voting histories of a member of the General Assembly, you would have to:

1. Go to Annapolis (easy for me, but not for a lot of Marylanders);
2. Visit the Committee Staffers for that particular committee;
3. Ask them for their Committee Records
4. Hope the Committee Chairman allows them to be made public (this is NOT at all a certainty);
5. Pour through countless copies of paper records to determine a member's voting record.

Why is this such a big deal? Because a pretty significant amount of legislators, on both the Democratic and Republican sides of the aisle, vote a lot differently on bills in committee than they would on the floor. Why is that? It's precisely because the committee records are not publicly available. It lets, for example, Republicans to support tax increases in committee (note: this happens more than you think it would), but still vote to "hold the line on taxes" when the bill comes to the House or Senate floors.

The fact of the matter is that open government is better government, partiuclarly in a state such as Marylan where such a large amount of business is conducted in committee, and particularly in a state in which the elected officials are a little less on the ethically straight and narrow than one would hope. Particularly important when you consider that it was members of the Senate Finance Committee, to name one such group, who were incredibly nervous when former Senator Tommy Bromwell took a deal in 2007. Committees in Annaolis are incredibly influential; their level of influence demands accountability and accessibility to records in this modern time.

I encourage all Republicans, including ALL members of Republican House and Senate Caucuses, to support such this legislation during the upcoming General Assembly session. Maybe if Marylanders truly knew what was happening in Annapolis, they'd be more inclined to seek the change our state so desperately needs...

Well, We Can Try

It looks like the Governor is going to be having a Virtual Town Hall on Wednesday. Mainly because he almost certainly does not have the cojones to hold a live town hall...

Show starts at 8:00 PM, and will be online at www.martinomalley.com/townhall. You can submit your question to the Governor at the website, where more than likely readers of this site will have their questions discarded for asking something legitimate about O'Malley's failure to lead.

(H/T Adam Pagnucco)