Some Good News

It looks like the Hixson/McIntosh bill to circumvent county tax caps may not make it too far:

''If we are going to have charter government, we need to let the charters work," said Del. Anne Healey (D-Dist. 22) of Hyattsville, Hixson's vice chairwoman...

...''There are people who think Prince George's County should not have TRIM [a 1978 voter-imposed tax cap] and they are trying to get it repealed," Healey said.

Prince George's County voters in 1996 rejected a proposal to let a two-thirds vote by the council lift the cap and added a provision that requires most tax or fee increases to be approved by voters.

''The voters of Prince George's County have been very clear they want a property tax cap and that should be respected," Healy said...

...''I would not like to see Prince George's County be a part of that legislation," said Del. Carolyn J.B. Howard (D-Dist. 24) of Mitchellville and a member of Ways and Means. ''Our voters have expressed their opinion on that matter three times, and I'm going to support the voters."

Dels. Haddaway(R) and Cane(D) from the Eastern Shore are also quoted in the story as not being particularly tickled with the idea.

This is fantastic news, particularly given the tax-hiking mentality that seems to be running amok here in 2007.

An Amazing Waste of Time, Resources, Patience, Common Sense, and Political Goodwill

I have a funny feeling that the Kangaroo Court will continue to drag its feet into the 2006 gubernatorial election cycle. The Democratic- controlled committee will then wait and see what happens in November. I have a sneaking suspicion that these Democrats are going to drop all the talk about legislative protections if the people of Maryland are unfortunate enough to be saddled with a new Democratic administration.
- Me, December 20, 2005

So naturally, I am stunned that the Kangaroo Court closes down shop passing two relatively minor personnel bills. And provides this amazing hypocritical quote:

"An administration should have a legal ability to hire and fire for political reasons,"
- Sen. Thomas Middleton,

Which begs the rhetorical question as to why this inquisition happened in the first place, and EVERYBODY knows the answer to that...

Good Bill, Bad Bill

The Capital took note today of the dueling School Board bills that have been introduced in the General Assembly this year. But it can be broken down simply; there is a Good Bill, and there is a Bad Bill.

The Good Bill is SB28/HB395 bill that we have discussed previously, put forth by Senators Simonaire and Greenip, and Delegates McConkey, Costa, Dwyer, and George. This bill will create a legitimately elected Board of Education in Anne Arundel County. And they should be commended for introducing a bill that provides a legitimate election process.

The Bad Bill is HB1114/SB324, put forth by the Delegation Chairs at the request of John Leopold. This will, as have all of the other bills supported by Leopold over the years, codify the existing process that has so much wrong with it in the first place. This, incidentally, is nearly exclusively supported by Democratic legislators.

The Leopold bill is supported by the Chamber of Commerce and the Teacher's Union. "This is a consensus compromise...It's the first time both groups have been singing from the same sheet of music," he says. And I bet they do. Because Leopold wants to hand out one seat on the nominating commission to each group. The Leopold/Democrat plan would hand out seats on the commission in the following manner:

• 5 appointed by the Governor, one each from Legislative Districts 21, 30, 31, 32 and 33.
• 1 appointed by the County Executive
• 1 from the Teacher's Union
• 1 from the Annapolis/Anne Arundel Chamber of Commerce
• 1 from the Anne Arundel County Council of PTAs
• 1 from the Anne Arundel Community College of Board of Trustees
• 1 from the Association of Educational Leaders
  

And then the appointees will have to face a yes/no vote during the General Election. If they lose the vote, the Commission will have to appoint somebody else. Leopold wants to give special interests the keys to the kingdom.

And once again, as I have stated before, this is actually less representative than the current process. Leave it to Leopold and the Democrats to want and try to make the process worse than it already is. The appointment process is still controlled by the same interests currently controlling the process. And once again, despite Leopold's protestations and the Speaker trying to mislead voters into thinking that the process is similar to electing Circuit Court judges, people don't actually get to vote in a real election.

No wonder Leopold had to get into bed with Democratic interest groups and Democratic legislative leaders to get it introduced...

This is why HB28/SB395 is the strongest bill to help schools, children, and taxpayers in Anne Arundel County. Only this bill will give parents, teachers, and taxpayers alike the opportunity to decide who is going to be responsible for education in our county. And it provides for real, fair, competitive elections; not the farce that HB1114/SB324 want to call competitive elections. HB1113/SB324 is nothing more than codifying the status quo.

The delegation hearing on both bills is on Friday. I urge you to call your legislators and tell them that your support a truly elected school board, not one that empowers an appointed commission of special interests...

Here's the Problem

From a Strategic Vision Iowa Poll (H/T Hotline):

Do you see President George W. Bush as a conservative Republican in the mode of Ronald Reagan? (Republicans Only)
Yes 11%
No 77%
Undecided 12%

And that's partly why we're a minority in Congress right now...

Horse Farm Redux

With the Navy now taking offers on the Naval Academy Dairy Farm property, I would like to reiterate something I said a year ago about the property:

As a county, we would be better served by the state leasing the land from the federal government and operating the land as an agriculture education center, much in the same way Arlington Echo operates as a an outdoor education center. We would be able to preserve the land's agricultural heritage without the development and traffic concerns that may come with the creation of the horse park.

And I still think that using the property for that educational purpose is much more useful than a Horse Park, a mine, or whatever else somebody could come up with.

Defending Nannystatism

Because this issue is not going anyway anytime soon, (as discussed in yesterday's Conservative Refuge Podcast) County Executive John Leopold penned a guest column in this morning's Maryland Gazette defending his proposed smoking ban. His logic is...curious.

Five years ago, I was lying in a hospital bed recovering from surgery to remove melanoma from my abdomen. I had seen so many others suffer from various other forms of cancer. I resolved then that I would do everything I could as an elected official to fight this terrible disease and improve opportunities for early cancer detection.

While that may be true and unfortunate, melanoma is a type of skin cancer that is not caused by smoking. It is caused by exposure to UV rays. The type of UV rays that are strong near the Tropic of Cancer and from campaigning outdoors extensively without proper protection...

Now as county executive, it is my responsibility to push the debate forward and reduce exposure of non-smokers and children to secondhand smoke. Such exposure causes Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, bronchitis, coronary heart disease, lung cancer and numerous other ailments.

No, as County Executive his responsibility is to ensure that the county government works efficiently and at reduced cost. Given Leopold's call for "efficiencies" in county government, I wonder what resources he plans to use to lobby and then ultimately enforce this proposal.

He goes on to cite some scientific data noting that cigarette smoke is disgusting and unhealthy (there at least we agree), then he goes on:

and we certainly will not be the first jurisdiction to ban smoking in bars and restaurants. As of last spring, 2,216 cities and counties had some sort of smoking restriction in place, including 292 affecting restaurants and 215 affecting bars.

Five counties in Maryland, including Montgomery, Howard, Prince George's, Charles and Talbot already have various bans, and Washington, D.C. cut off smoking in restaurant bars and nightclubs this month. It is not a question of whether every jurisdiction will follow suit, but when.

Because if everybody is doing it, why shouldn't we?

To smokers who feel they have a right to light up in bars and restaurants, I ask if non-smokers and children have a right to enter public places without being exposed to carcinogens.

Except the proposed smoking ban would outlaw smoking on private property; smoking is generally already banned on public property and I doubt if you are going to find much of a groundswell to support it on public property. But what right does John Leopold have to determine that private business owners should be required to forbid certain legal activities in their establishments? And, once again, customers can vote with their feet; particularly ones who have children.

It should be noted that patrons can speak with their feet and choose not to frequent smoke-filled bars and restaurants. Waitresses and bartenders, however, who are just trying to make a living, are trapped in a workplace environment of thick smoke.

It is stunning to find that Leopold thinks so lowly of the intelligence of waitresses and bartenders that they cannot comprehend what they do for a living. Additionally, these employees can also choose to vote with their feet and choose to work in a smoke-free establishment. Nobody is holding a gun to their head forcing them to work in an establishment that permits smoking.

Once again, Leopold uses curious logic to try and outlaw a legal activity. I hope that this sort of activist government, the kind we expect from Democratic politicians instead of Republicans, is not a trend during his term. It makes me wonder what other legal activities Leopold wishes to ban in Anne Arundel County...

The First Salvo

The First Salvo in this legislative session is the proposed Constitutional Amendment to allow for Early Voting. A PDF copy of the text of the proposed amendment is here.

If people are already allowed to vote by absentee ballot without an excuse, why are we as a state so hard-up to allow for early voting? What possible benefit will it have for the people who already have this other option? And, given the text of the document, does this even accomplish what the Democratic leadership wants to accomplish?

And what about the practical effects of this kind of legislation? Look at it from the perspective of an activist; how will politicking outside of the polls be conducted for five days? Will yard signs clutter schools, senior centers, community centers, and places of worship for five days instead of the one day that already currently irritates many a voter?

And can somebody please tell me how this will protect the integrity of the electoral process?

Surprise, Surprise

Who is surprised by this?:

For a quarter of a century, Carmen Scialabba labored for Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), helping parcel out the billions of dollars that came through the House Appropriations Committee, so when the disabled aide needed a favor, Murtha was there.

In 2001, Murtha announced the creation of Scialabba's nonprofit agency for the disabled in Johnstown, Pa. The next year, with Scialabba still on his staff, Murtha secured a half-million dollars for the group, the Pennsylvania Association for Individuals With Disabilities (PAID), and put another $150,000 in the pipeline for 2003, according to appropriations committee records and former committee aides. Since then, the group has helped hundreds of disabled people find work.

But the group serves another function as well. PAID has become a gathering point for defense contractors and lobbyists with business before Murtha's defense appropriations subcommittee, and for Pennsylvania businesses and universities that have thrived on federal money obtained by Murtha.

Lobbyists and corporate officials serve as directors on the nonprofit group's board, where they help raise money and find jobs for Johnstown's disabled workers. Some of those lobbyists have served as intermediaries between the defense contractors and businessmen on the board, and Murtha and his aides.

That arrangement over the years has yielded millions of dollars in federal support for the contractors, businesses and universities, and hundreds of thousands in consulting and lobbying fees to Murtha's favored lobbying shops, according to Federal Election Commission records and lobbying disclosure forms. In turn, many of PAID's directors have kept Murtha's campaigns flush with cash.

Cute acronym. None of this should be a surprise given Murtha's corrupt past (ABSCAM and what not) but isn't this just a little too blatant to be allowed to continue? Where are the charges of ethical misconduct from Congressional Democrats and the media? Especially when you consider this is some of the same stuff that Tom DeLay was accused of doing...

So Much for That Promise

John Leopold has thrown his first major campaign promise out the window:

Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold, who has moved to cut spending in his first two weeks in office, plans to continue using a police security detail that costs at least $125,000 a year and that drew criticism during the fall campaign...

..."I have an obligation to the citizens of the county to follow the advice of the experts," Leopold said. "It's no longer about what John Leopold wants. It's what the police say County Executive Leopold should do."

I am having a hard time trying to figure out how we can we can be getting ready for a much needed 5-10% across the board budget cut while justifying this continued expense, especially considering how much more useful it would be to have these officers on the street. If it were I making the decision, I could not justify it, especially since $125,000 a year is enough money to fund about three new teachers. It just seems to me that Leopold decided to change his tune shortly after losing his House of Delegates plates. If he couldn't be identified as being different in his car, why should he bother to drive?

It reminds me of a story from the time I was working at Kurtz's Beach. It was the first time I ever met John Leopold. I was working during some sort of political function. Leopold rolls in driving his Pontiac with his House of Delegates plates and parks in a handicapped parking spot. I politely informed he that he could not park there. He said that he could, he had always parked there. I informed him that it was handicapped parking. He sternly informed me that he was Delegate John Leopold and yes, he could park there. I told him that I didn't really care if he was the Pope, he could not park in the handicapped parking. Ultimately, Leopold didn't really care and his car stayed.

I guess some people always think they are more special than other people.

Now, if Leopold or any other government official were the target of legitimate threats I would have absolutely no problem with providing them with an appropriate security detail. Given his history according to press reports, Don Dwyer has a more legitimate need for a security detail than Leopold. But to automatically provide the County Executive with a security detail when many higher profile public officials have no detail at all seems a bit ludicrous. If Leopold has been the subject of threats, and I hope that he has not been subjected to such a thing, he needs to say so. If he hasn't, then this is just the first Leopold campaign promise broken. He has survived for 25 years in public life without security; what changed?

I can't wait to see if Leopold has the audacity to sign wave alongside his police detail...

Life Imitating Art

I have finally come up with the perfect analogy for the Republican Party's recent struggles at the polls. The Republican Party as the Goo Goo Dolls. Even the timeline works with this analogous comparison.

First came the origins phase. The Goo Goo Dolls were a punk band struggling to get noticed by the record executives, only to be picked up by Metal Blade Records, an independent recording company specializing in hard rock and metal bands like Slayer and GWAR. This version of the Goo Goo Dolls was the embodiment of their musical roots, culminating in their album Superstar Car Wash.

Then, in 1994 the band recorded A Boy Named Goo. The album was true to their metal sensibilities, but was put forth in a packaging that made it more appealing to the masses.

From there, things went in a different direction. The band lost more and more of its original sounds as it more and more moved towards something mainstream. Sure, the band was headlining large arenas and stadiums across the country. However, the more time progressed, the more and more the band lost the edge that had made them unique. They were turned into any other guitar driven band making commercial music to play on Mix stations, selling records more on their brand name than anything else. Their latest album, Let Love In, is almost unlistenable and sounds nothing like even A Boy Named Goo from 12 years ago.

Now, instead of selling out stadiums and arenas, the band recently struggled to sell out the Lyric Opera House.

Republicans prior to 1994 had a distinctive sound and message, appealing to the political sensibilities of its constituency. It had a little edge in it. In 1994, we had the Contract With America, which put forth a true Republican agenda packaged in a way that appealed to the sensibilities of an electorate that was looking for something different. And while Republicans went mainstream across the country on the backs of the Contract, along the way we kept losing more and more of our way. We kept compromising more and more on the principles that made Republicans Republican. We wound up with higher deficits, bigger government and a larger bureaucracy. We went from a Congress committed to eliminating the Department of Education to a Congress that passed No Child Left Behind. Sure, there was enough left that you could recognize that it was in fact a Republican Congress, through tax cuts and a commitment to national defense. But a lot of Republican principles were left behind in an effort to be more "mainstream."

Now, we find ourselves with Republicans in the minority in Congress, with fewer than half of the Governships, and staring the 2008 Presidential Cycle without a superstar who can guarantee victory.

I'm not really sure where the Goo Goo Dolls go from here. But I know it is time for Republicans to regain their edge, and return to the principles of limited government and fiscal responsibility. In 2006 Republican candidates at all levels, from Governor on down to Delegate, won elections by campaigning on their Republican principles. A Republican cannot win by being a Democrat. It's time for Republicans across the nation to get the message and starting appealing to the voters who share their beliefs. Only by being true to the first principles of conservatism can the party find electoral success.

More Taxing Matters

It's not just the cigarette tax prominent Democrats will push for in Annapolis this year, from the sounds of it:

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett yesterday called for an increase in Maryland's gas tax to help fund road and mass transit projects he said would not be possible without a sustained way to pay for them.

The suggestion by the new leader of the state's largest jurisdiction to raise the 23.5-cent tax got a tepid response from Gov.-elect Martin O'Malley (D), who sized it up as an "interesting proposal," and state Senate President Thomas V. "Mike" Miller (D-Calvert), who said it could be a tough sell in the General Assembly.

I'm not exactly sure why O'Malley finds in "interesting." I find it pretty sad that the same politicians who blamed the Bush Administration for higher gas prices now want to raise gas prices once more through taxes; and another regressive tax to boot.

Is there anything in Maryland same from new potential taxes? Especially considering what we need to do is lower the gas tax to ensure to relieve the costs of higher gas prices

Here We Go Again

Despite no longer being a legislator, John Leopold is once again going to push for the school board bill that he introduced in 2006. Once again, it seems that Leopold's dream bill involves little to do with electing school board members, much as it did last year.

The double-edged sword at the moment is the fact that, as noted in the Capital article, the biggest opponents of change is no longer serving in the State Senate. However that's good and bad; it's good if we can get legitimate change and a truly elected school board. It's bad if we get Leopold's bill.

I don't understand why Leopold is so opposed to the nonpartisan direct election of school board members. If we are not eliminating the appointment process, why bother with change, especially considering the likelihood that voters will vote for a rubberstamp "yes" as they often do with judicial appointments.

My previous thoughts on the matter are here, here, here, here, here, and on previous school board bills here, here, here, here, here,

I wonder if I will see another letter to the editor like this again...

Not to Worry

There seems to be a great deal of consternation in some about the recent push to allow for the District of Columbia to have a voting representative in Congress in exchange for a fourth Congressional seat for Utah. I'm really not exactly sure why some people, particularly conservatives, have that big of a problem with this.

Ultimately, the following things are accomplished if such a deal goes through:

• The District will have voting representation, which means maybe the "Taxation Without Representation" business goes away from their license plates.
• More than likely, the new Democratic vote from D.C. will be offset with a new Republican vote from Utah (likely, but not a slam dunk).
• The Electoral College will increase by one vote, ensuring one more GOP vote for 2008.

Now the argument could be made that the permanent establishment of such a voting member would result in a net decrease for the GOP of one seat starting with the 2012 Reapportionment. However I don't understand why, once again in the interest of cooperation and offsetting, the Public Law 62-5 can't be amended to allow for 437 members of the House instead of 435.

The idea of allowing D.C. to have a vote while allowing a new member for Utah is the kind of common sense bipartisan solution we haven't seen much of recently. Besides, I'd much rather see this solution come to pass than retrocession, which would be bad news for Marylanders.

Where'd He Come From?

Apparently the Brownback for President campaign needed to canvass far and wide for members of its exploratory committee. According to The Hotline, Bowie Kuhn is a member of Brownback's committee. Yes, the same Bowie Kuhn that was Commissioner of Baseball from 1969-1984. That's not to disparage Kuhn, who was a good commissioner and took a hardline on the Pittsburgh fiasco. I just wouldn't have expected Brownback to dust him off to be part of his committee.

The Right Choice

In case you have not heard, Louis Pope, National Committeeman for the Party, has withdrawn from the race to be State Republican Party Chairman (his full statement can be viewed at Greg Kline's site). He and Lt. Governor Steele have thrown their support to Dr. Jim Pelura .

I am extremely pleased by this decision. Dr. Jim has a great deal of experience working on campaigns and within the party from the local level as a former member of our county's Central Committee, up to the state level as Maryland Chairman of Bush-Cheney '04. As I stated a few days ago:

One thing the party needs for the next four years is a direction and a consistency of leadership. The party needs a chairman who understands the importance of building local parties in addition to raising funds and promoting the ideals of the party. But it also needs a fresh outlook, somebody who can bring new ideas and a new perspective on building a party.

There was one aspect of the story in the Capital that was unfortunate and it was the fact that, as Greg reported, serious consideration was given to Pope serving as a one-year caretaker Chairman:

Several Republicans said the hope was for Mr. Pope to serve as an interim chairman for one year, and then step aside for Dirk Haire, an Annapolis lawyer who ran a short-lived campaign for Anne Arundel County executive. He sprinted out of the box by raising $220,000 in a matter of months before dropping out.

"Louis has agreed to serve for a one-year transition period and then step aside to allow Dirk Haire to assume the chairmanship of the Maryland Republican Party," Mr. Steele wrote in the memo obtained by The Capital.

That is a disaster that I am glad that we avoided.

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

Dems Back Regressive Tax

Surprising absolutely no one, a group of Democratic soon-to-be State Senators called for a cigarette-tax hike today:

Though proposed tobacco tax increases have stalled in the General Assembly in recent years, a coalition of nine newly-elected state senators is leading the push for a $1-a-pack hike -- a move they hope will win the support of the incoming Democratic administration.

"Where there's a will there's a way, and I'm here to tell you there are nine new senators, at least, who have that will," Sen.-elect Michael Lenett, a Montgomery County Democrat, said yesterday during the Baltimore kick-off of the Healthy Maryland Initiative.

Isn't this the same type of regressive taxation that hurts middle-class workers that Democrats always accuse Republicans of supporting? Of course it is.

Besides, if these Democrats were so damn concerned about eliminating the health risks from smoking, and if they were so damn concerned with protecting people from cigarette smoke, than they would ban cigarettes instead of using this as a source of extra revenue from the poor and the middle classes.

I can only imagine what other taxes these Democratic senators-elect will unleash upon the middle class the next four years...

Somebody Take Care Of This Please

Let's save the millions on promoting dollar coins and take care of this:

Scientists calculate that if Apophis passes at a distance of exactly 18,893 miles, it will go through a "gravitational keyhole." This small region in space—only about a half mile wide, or twice the diameter of the asteroid itself—is where Earth's gravity would perturb Apophis in just the wrong way, causing it to enter an orbit seven-sixths as long as Earth's. In other words, the planet will be squarely in the crosshairs for a potentially catastrophic asteroid impact precisely seven years later, on April 13, 2036.

I plan on being around in 30 years and am not particularly enthusiastic about getting vaporized by an asteroid traveling at 30,000 MPH. Saving humanity is, actually, one of those few government programs I could get behind...

If At First You Don't Succeed...

...do the same thing over and over again:

Can George Washington and Thomas Jefferson succeed where Susan B. Anthony and Sacajawea failed? The U.S. Mint is hoping America's presidents will win acceptance, finally, for the maligned dollar coin.

The public will get the chance to decide starting in February when the first of the new coins, bearing the image of the first president, is introduced.

Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison are scheduled to grace the coin in 2007, with a different president appearing every three months.

The only way for this to work is to start phasing out the dollar bill, which nobody seems particularly interested in doing. This is one of the few European ideas that would actually work in this country. European currencies phased out one-unit pieces years ago. I remember even in Germany in 1995 coins went up to the five marks, with paper bills starting with 10.

The most irritating aspect of this dollar coin project I'm sure will be the hundreds of millions of dollars spent promoting the thing. Because that worked so well when they spent the money on the Sacajawea dollar.

Lawyer Up

Send in the lawyers...

Del. Donald H. Dwyer Jr. beat Del. Joan Cadden by 28 votes for the third seat in House District 31, the county Board of Elections reported after counting absentee ballots from overseas. And two-term county Councilwoman Barbara D. Samorajczyk lost to Annapolis jewelery storeowner Ronald A. George by 53 votes for the third spot in District 30....

...Though Dwyer and George declared victory yesterday, the Democratic candidates said they would not yet concede, leaving open the possibility of a recount. The Democrats also are questioning the rejection of more than 200 provisional ballots - some by people who claimed to have registered at the Motor Vehicle Administration. Cadden, a three-term legislator, said that a decision on how to proceed will be made next week, and that party attorneys are considering other issues as well, but she would not elaborate.

This is not entirely surprising given how close the races are and how large Cadden and Samorajczyk's margins were after Election Day itself. But I highly doubt that the results are going to change. More than likely, Dwyer will return and Ron George will take the oath of office in January.

Of course, this also shows the problems that exist with the Motor Voter law rammed down our throats during the Clinton years, but that law isn't going anywhere anytime soon, unfortunately.

Speaking of Dwyer, I got a message from a fellow District 31 resident who wanted me to pass this along as it relates to this post:

The phrase Katy bar the door! (also as Katy bar the gate!; sometimes written as Katie) is a very American exclamation, more common in the South than elsewhere, meaning that disaster impends—“watch out”, “get ready for trouble” or “a desperate situation is at hand”.

Dwyer is telling the world that either he is going to cause more trouble, or probably more accurately, that he is a desperate and disastrous legislator.

The reader said it, not me.

The Devil is in the Details

It's really important in politics that you pay attention to detail, or else you let things like this slip (H/T California Yankee at RedState):

The political party formed by U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman after he lost the Democratic primary in August has a new chairman - and it's not Lieberman.

However, according to the bylaws adopted by its new chairman, Lieberman critic and Fairfield University professor John Orman, the senator is an eligible party candidate.

According to bylaws established by Orman, anyone whose last name is Lieberman may seek the party's nomination - or any critic of the senator.

Orman seized control of the Connecticut for Lieberman Party this week after registering as its sole member and electing himself as chairman.

Read the whole story, it's fascinating.

Stories like this show how important it is that political figures and elected officials pay attention to the details. It is easy to speak in broad generalities and to talk in haughty tones, but if you don't pay attention to the little things, that's when you get in trouble...