Size Counts

Since the day President Bill Clinton campaigned for Martin O'Malley, the buzz in Maryland was that O'Malley was a leading candidate for Vice-President on Hillary Clinton's ticket. Then, O'Malley was elected Governor of Maryland.

I suspect he took a deep breath and made the decision to reciprocate and endorsed Hillary's candidacy for the presidential nomination. The buzz became a roar, and O'Malley hadn't started to govern, yet.

The first session of the General Assembly of Maryland displayed the new Governor as a pragmatic who did not attempt to openly drive the agenda. Shortly after the end of the session, he began to terminate the employment of Republicans hired to middle management jobs during the last four years. The only discriminate exercise was to leave those who still had strong connections in politics in place.

Governor O'Malley continued to campaign against Governor Ehrlich, calling a special session of the General Assembly to fix the fiscal problems left by Ehrlich. When he was done, O'Malley, elected over an incumbent with favorable of over fifty percent in the polls just one year before, had his favorable drop to the low thirty percent area. This represented double devastation. First, the people who had elected him knowing he would raise taxes had turned their backs on him. Second, his base was turning against him. Sixty percent of registered voters in Maryland are with his party, yet his approval ratings looked like he was a Republican. Governor Ehrlich had approval ratings on his way out the door similar to O'Malley's winning portion of the vote. Now, though, O'Malley was receiving approval ratings ten points (and more) below Ehrlich's gubernatorial vote.

We can only imagine the reaction of the Maryland Governor, the one with approval ratings in the tank, to the announcement that a Governor with approval ratings of ninety percent was selected for his dream job of Vice-president!

Governor O'Malley can do either of two things to settle his future. He can continue to pillage Maryland, doing the things he has determined are necessary without regard for the people's wishes and needs, securing his future as a former Governor. Alternatively, he can learn for the Governor's who rode success in their states to national prominence. Ronald Reagan, Tom Ridge, both Roosevelt's, Taft, Bill Clinton, even Jimmy Carter, found that working for the people will be rewarded.

Governor O'Malley will learn that size matters, or shrivel and shrink like George Costanza on a cold day at the pool. He need only look to the success of Sarah Palin and wonder what could have been.

Crazy or sly?

"The definition of crazy'' we are told, "is to do the same thing over and over expecting a different result."

Patuxent Publishing's newspaper The Jeffersonian caries of series called Party Line. Each month a spokesman for the Republicans alternates with a spokesman for the Democrats, offering a partisan argument. The most recent article is one that brings the above adage to mind. Again, we have the same person, James Kehl, representing the Democrats of Baltimore County, attempting to deceive the public and indict his chosen political enemy with deceptions. Let me explain.

The title of his piece, "My encounter with Sen. Andy Harris" indicates an encounter with Senator Harris. An encounter is defined as a meeting, one that might be brief, it might be unexpected, hostile or violent, but a meeting, nonetheless. What is described? A sighting of Senator Harris. America did not encounter Senator Clinton on television at the DNC Convention. They saw her. Mr. Kehl continues to explain that he decided not to have a meeting, an encounter.

Based on this "encounter", we are led to believe that voters, bearing their Baltimore County Board of Elections issued Identification Card, swarmed to him, saying in unison, "Please tell us, oh great and wise spokesman for Baltimore County Democrats, what issue would you have confronted the Senator with, had you the courage and bravery we know you to be saving for a better opportunity, instead of the passive aggressive behavior you appear by your own words to have chosen?"

Then, Mr. Kehl tells the readers that "someone" researched the legislative records. Not him; not Joe; not Mary; not an intern; not David - "someone" - a most creditable source, we are to assume, because you used them, did the research and provided it to you.

No one cares if there is a fact or a fiction in the rest of the item. It is based on deception, and relies on unknown and unverifiable parties for the meat of the item. Like much of this author's work, this reads like a fantasy, like something for which the readers must willingly suspend disbelief for the premise, and logically, what follows.

Take away the trickery and deception, cite legitimate sources and toss away the devices of the fiction writer and we are left with a partisan attack on the chosen enemy and the praise of the hero. That, I believe, is what Party Line is for. If nothing else, people who read about politics can differentiate "stuff piled higher and deeper" from information that can help guide them in choosing their representatives.

Here is an example based on the article: Senator Harris has been elected three times by the people in his district to represent them, even after redistricting. State's Attorney Kratovil has been elected twice by the people of Queen Anne's County to represent the people of that county in criminal prosecutions. This information comes from their campaigns and is verified by the records of the State Board of Elections.

There you have information that can help voters without misleading them.

Here is another example based on the item: Marylanders know that Senator Harris is a Republican in a minority in the General Assembly. President of the Senate Mike Miller declared four years ago that he would bury the Republican Party in Maryland. He leads efforts to stop Republican sponsored legislation from becoming law. A county State's Attorney, like Frank Kratovil, is elected independently in order to diminish political influence in criminal prosecutions. A State's Attorney might lobby the General Assembly for strong laws, but should not compromise his independence by dealing with legislators from either party.

Once again, information that can help voters make decisions about the qualities they want in their representatives. Noting there casts aspersions on either candidate. It particularly does not, as the item does, impute that Mr. Kratovil compromises his independence of office.

In the end, no one objects to partisan articles. They stimulate the readers. By the same token, no one likes to be deceived or tricked by delusional, passive aggressive activities. Please, Baltimore County Democrats, find one of your passionate, honest, members to represent you on these pages.

Or not! I am probably the only Republican to raise the objection, and that, against my party's interests.

The Democrats Opening Bell

We don't have cable television. We canned it when the kids got interested in television on the theory that without much to watch they wouldn't. They didn't. They don't.

We watch a lot of PBS. They have made some great efforts in competing with the mindlessness that fills early evening network broadcasts. We have been watching endless PBS promotions for their October series on presidential elections. Not once did we see anything about their convention coverage.

With full knowledge that the big three would only give us one hour each night, I went to PBS at 8:00 PM for Antiques Road Show. What a pleasant surprise. Jim Leherererer (I can't quite get that pronunciation, or aparrently spelling, down) and company giving us commentary during the slow spots and letting us listen to the speeches.

As enriching as the format was, I found the team of Democrat apologists, oops, Presidential Historians, to be either offensive or comedic relief. Come on guys, add something to our understanding, don't relieve yourself on our legs and tell us its raining. A little more Brooks and Shields style evaluation will let the viewers make judgments about the information broadcast.

I hope the Republican convention will not have one-sided commentary. Challenges to ideas are far my edifying than sycophants. Knowing that your ideas will be thoughtfully considered will strengthen your ideas.