Letdown

As the Senate GOP Caucus notes, we had a chance to shut down debate on the Death Penalty today:

After about an hour of tumoil on the Senate floor, Senator EJ Pipkin (R - Cecil, Kent, Queen Anne's & Caroline) move to recommit the bill back to the Judicial Proceedings Committee. The motion to recommit failed on a tie vote of 23 to 23.

So why did it fail by one vote. Simple. Take a look at the vote totals:

Senate of Maryland
2009 Regular Session

SB 279 Special Orders
Sen. Gladden
Criminal Law - Death Penalty - Repeal

Motion to recommit the bill

PRESIDING: MR.PRESIDENT

LEGISLATIVE DATE
MAR 3, 2009

23 YEAS 23 NAYS 0 EXC 1 NOT VOTING 0 EXCUSED (ABSENT)

VOTING YEA - 23
MR.PRESIDENT GLASSMAN KITTLEMAN PIPKIN
BRINKLEY GREENIP KLAUSMEIER ROBEY
COLBURN HAINES MCFADDEN SIMONAIRE
DYSON JACOBS MIDDLETON STOLTZFUS
EDWARDS KASEMEYER MOONEY STONE
GARAGIOLA KELLEY MUNSON

VOTING NAY - 23
ASTLE EXUM KING PINSKY
BROCHIN FOREHAND KRAMER PUGH
CONWAY FROSH LENETT RASKIN
CURRIE GLADDEN MADALENO ROSAPEPE
DEGRANGE HARRINGTON MUSE ZIRKIN
DELLA JONES PETERS

NOT VOTING - 1
HARRIS

EXCUSED FROM VOTING - 0
EXCUSED (ABSENT) - 0

So on the most important social issue facing the General Assembly, Andy Harris of all people decides to take a pass.

I can't wait to hear the reasoning as to why Senator Harris was not present for this important vote. Because at the moment, his failure to be where he needed to be is the difference between ensuring preservation of the death penalty as a form of punishment and its elimination.

The Brian Griffiths Minute: 12-08-2008

Advice Not Heeded

"Everybody needs to get prepared. Because anybody who thinks that Frank Kratovil is going to be a pushover in the General Election is deluding themselves..."
- Me, 2/14/08

While there was much to learn from John McCain's defeat, there is nothing useful that we can really learn from Andy Harris' defeat. Harris and Chris Meekins managed to find a way to grasp defeat from the jaws of what should have been an easy victory.

Other than an example of how not to run a campaign, nothing much can be gleaned from here...

Kratovil: Look for the Union Label

Eric Luedtke has his knickers in a knot because Andy Harris has accepted $9,000 in contributions from Oil Company PACs.

That got me thinking, how much money has Frank Kratovil taken from, say union PACs?

AFL-CIO COPE POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS COMMITTEE	03/26/2008	2500.00	28990858481
AMALGAMATED TRANSIT UNION-COPE	02/22/2008	250.00	28930766435
AMALGAMATED TRANSIT UNION-COPE	03/14/2008	500.00	28990809503

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVT. EMPL. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE	03/24/2008	500.00	28931214256
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE COUNTY & MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES - P E O P L E, QUALIFIED	03/27/2008	5000.00	28990875596

COMMUNICATIONS WORKERS OF AMERICA-COPE POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS COMMITTEE

02/21/2008

5000.00

28930818828

DRIVE - DEMOCRAT REPUBLICAN INDEPENDENT VOTER EDUCATION - PAC FOR INT'L BROTHERHOOD OF T	04/09/2008	1000.00	28931584922
ENGINEERS POLITICAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE (EPEC)/INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS	05/21/2008	5000.00	28991319554

DRIVE - DEMOCRAT REPUBLICAN INDEPENDENT VOTER EDUCATION - PAC FOR INT'L BROTHERHOOD OF T	04/09/2008	1000.00	28931584922
ENGINEERS POLITICAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE (EPEC)/INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS	05/21/2008	5000.00	28991319554

MACHINISTS NON PARTISAN POL LEAGUE OF THE INT'L ASSN OF MACHINISTS & AEROSPACE WORKERS

03/27/2008

5000.00

28990788019

NEA FUND FOR CHILDREN AND PUBLIC EDUCATION

03/28/2008

1000.00

28990863773

POLITICAL EDUCATIONAL FUND OF THE BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION TRADES DEPARTMENT AFL-CIO

02/27/2008

1000.00

28990616933

SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION COMMITTEE ON POLITICAL EDUCATION (SEIU COPE)	02/06/2008	5000.00	28990697192
SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION COMMITTEE ON POLITICAL EDUCATION (SEIU COPE)	04/11/2008	5000.00	28931693286
SHEET METAL WORKERS' INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION POLITICAL ACTION LEAGUE	03/25/2008	2500.00	28990855976

TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS COMMITTEE	05/01/2008	1000.00	28991270198
UAW - V - CAP (UAW VOLUNTARY COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAM)	03/10/2008	1500.00	28931127438
UNITED ASSOCIATION POLITICAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE	03/27/2008	5000.00	28931174045
UNITED FOOD & COMMERCIAL WORKERS INTERNATIONAL UNION ACTIVE BALLOT CLUB	01/16/2008	1000.00	28930610559
UNITED FOOD & COMMERCIAL WORKERS INTERNATIONAL UNION ACTIVE BALLOT CLUB	02/29/2008	5000.00	28930819742
UNITED STEELWORKERS POLITICAL ACTION FUND	03/31/2008	2500.00	28931077829
UNITED STEELWORKERS POLITICAL ACTION FUND	03/31/2008	2500.00	28931077829

That's $63,750 in contributions from unions to the Kratovil campaign. Not counting other donations from D.C. PACs.

If Andy Harris has been "bought" by the oil companies, does that mean that unions bought Frank Kratovil seven times over?

Cut Bait NOW

I was always kinda confused as to why Andy Harris would hitch his wagon to factually challenged third-rate Delaware blogger Joe Albero in the primary season. It seemed odd that Harris would put himself in league with someone so controversial and disliked in the Eastern Shore precincts that will be so crucial to victory in this November's General Election.

Today, Albero added to his extensive history with Maryland's judiciary today now that he is facing charges related to an investigation by the Comptroller's Office.

Now, I'm not here to bury Albero; he has enough problems and I don't want the kinda karma slapping me in the face that slapped him in the face (though certain sections of the blogosphere think this is like manna from heaven)....

...but the Harris Campaign needs to extricate themselves from Albero now. The fact of the matter is that Harris cannot have this kind of albatross hanging around his neck for six-plus months. True, Albero has no official role in the campaign, but Harris does associate his campaign with Albero and makes extensive use of Albero's blog to propagate information about his campaign. And given Senator Harris' position on taxes, having someone associated so closely with the campaign involved in an investigation stemming from the Comptroller's Office probably doesn't send the kind of message the Harris Campaign wants voters to get.

Time will tell what the campaign will do, but the Harris team needs to cut bait right now.

BREAKING: John Flynn out?

GOP Insiders are telling me that Maryland State GOP Executive Director John Flynn has resigned from his post to take a job with the Harris for Congress campaign.

More news and comment to follow...

Don't Get Cocky

If I can give any one piece of advice to Republicans and the Harris campaign right now it's this: Don't Get Cocky.

The general electorate in the First District has been voting for Wayne Gilchrest for 18 years. They are not prepared to automatically go to the polls and cast a vote for Andy Harris in November. Yes, this is a roughly nine month general election cycle, and yes there is a long road between now and then. But this is no time for complacency. The Harris Campaign successfully made their case to the the conservative Republican primary electorate for the past nine months. The next nine months needs to be spent getting the rest of the electorate on board.

And my Red Maryland compadre Tim Patterson points out this potential roadblock:

Andy Harris lost every county on the Eastern Shore. From Port Deposit to Pocomoke City, Andy Harris lost every single county on the Eastern Shore. The only counties he won are on the Western Shore. Thanks to Parris Glendenning, Mike ManPerm Miller, and then House Speaker Cas Taylor, a State Senator from Baltimore County now will have a chance to represent the Eastern Shore in Congress. How do you think Eastern Shore Republicans will respond to that?

Eastern Shore Republicans are well-known for being quite territorial. I would not discount their displeasure come November. Wayne Gilchrest may have been a RINO, but he was THEIR RINO. One of them.

It's something that needs to be considered when plotting the course ahead for the next nine months. The likelihood of a Harris win is clearly above 50-percent, but it's going to take some effort to make it happen.

Everybody needs to get prepared. Because anybody who thinks that Frank Kratovil is going to be a pushover in the General Election is deluding themselves...

Duh moments of the Day

Jimmy Braswell has a few notes this from Primary Day today:

Note #1: Senator Pipkin went to session today...Harris DID NOT. How amazing is that? Harris not doing his job.

Note #2: Harris' campaign put signs up all over Lake Shore Elementary School. Fantastic. Lake Shore has been closed for renovation. The polling place has moved. Glad to see that Harris is on top of his campaign.

Wow.....I'm speechless.

And now, a message from Andy Harris' Biggest Fan

Jim Braswell's second vlog....remember, he likes Andy Harris less than I do:

The Brian Griffiths Minute: 02-06-2008

CD-1: I Endorse Wayne Gilchrest

I'm coming down off of the fence and throwing my endorsement to Congressman Wayne Gilchrest in the 1st District.

As Greg Kline noted in our RedMaryland endorsements, this is a conflicting race for a lot of reasons. Clearly, Congressman Gilchrest is not as conservative as I would like to see in a Republican member of Congress.

But does not not make him unfit to serve. Wayne Gilchrest is a good man, a man of charachter. Sure, I may not agree with him all of the time on the things that he has done and the votes that he has made, but he has served in Congress with honor. With Wayne Gilchrest, you know what you are going to get, and that consistency is not a bad thing under our current circumstances.

E.J. Pipkin is a worthy opponent, and is more conservative than Congressman Gilchrest. Under different circumstances, I would consider supporting him. But under the current situation, I think Senator Pipkin best serves the people of Maryland in the State Senate, trying to work to rein in profligate spenders in our General Assembly, and challenging Martin O'Malley's mismanagement of our state. He has served us well, and I hope he continues to do so in Annapolis.

There is not much more I can say about Andy Harris that I have not already said, starting with my original un-endorsement. But last night really sealed the deal for me. He gave remarks at the Baltimore Area Young Republicans Super Tuesday event at the Ropewalk in Baltimore. He spoke, and you can just get the sense from him when he spoke. He's insincere. He's a phony. He lacks gravitas. There is just something about him that make me feel very uncomfortable sending him to Congress. He just reminds me of the type that you can't trust, and that he would "go native" in D.C. quicker than you can blink. I look at Senator Harris and see the type of politician we should not send to Washington.

Yes, Andy Harris is the most conservative candidate in the race. But charachter counts for a lot, which is why Wayne Gilchrest has my support.

In which I offer praise to Andy Harris...

....for sponsoring SB8, the Maryland Taxpayer Protection Act, which would amend the State Constitution to require both houses of the General Assembly to adopt any tax hikes by a two-thirds vote.

My only criticism of the bill: go farther. Require that all tax hikes be approved by the voters at referendum.

Where's Andy?

So....where was Andy Harris last night? He certainly didn't bother to show up for work in the State Senate.

Sources tell me that Harris was actually in New York fundraising for his Congressional campaign, but we'll see if the Harris camp puts out an official story...

And then there were two....

Jim Braswell joins the vlogosphere.....

The Brian Griffiths Minute: 01-07-2008 (#2)

Yes, this is a second video posted today...

The Brian Griffiths Minute: 01-07-2008

The Brian Griffiths Minute: 01-02-2008

Yes, I'm talking about my decision to issue an un-endorsement of Andy Harris...

The Harris Campaign has a truthiness problem

“America is a free country and anyone can run for office. We are glad the only state senator not to endorse Andy finally realizes that Gilchrest should no longer be representing the first congressional district. However, Pipkin and Gilchrest are two tax-and-spend peas in a liberal pod. Andy Harris is the only person in this race who shares the conservative values of the first congressional district.”
- Harris Campaign statement regarding E.J. Pipkin's entrance into the race

So if the Harris folks were telling the truth, why did this happen?

The campaign of State Sen. E.J. Pipkin announced today the endorsement of Senate Minority Leader David R. Brinkley. Pipkin is challenging incumbent Rep. Wayne Gilchrest in the Republican primary in Maryland’s 1st Congressional District.

“Sen. Brinkley is a very-well respected man and an outstanding Republican,” Andi Morony, Pipkin’s press secretary, said in an interview with PolitickerMD.com.

Morony referred to Brinkley’s said the endorsement would “absolutely” help the campaign.

Brinkley, speaking with PolitickerMD.com, said that Pipkin was the “best candidate to keep the (congressional) seat on the Republican side.”

The Harris campaign clearly seems to have a problem with telling the truth, and I have no idea why they would have try to get away with such a major fib on such a minor issue like an endorsement. But it certainly does draw further into question whether or not Andy Harris has the traits we want from a member of Congress....