The First MD GOP Blogger Conference Call

We just finished up the first Blogger Conference call with State GOP Executive Director Justin Ready. Participants included RedMaryland stalwarts Michael Swartz, Greg Kline, Mark Newgent and myself.

This was a fantastic opportunity for Justin to speak with bloggers, talk about the issues important to Republicans, to bloggers, and to our readers, and to foster cooperation. One thing that Justin stressed was the need for cooperation between the party, Republican elected officials and the conservative blogosphere. As a former blogger Justin knows the important role that blogs have, particularly a state like Maryland with a generally monolithic liberal media, and that's going to become even more important as we head towards the General Assembly session and, looking beyond that, the 2010 Election.

Some good news from the call; fundraising, which was an issue during John Flynn's tenure as Executive Director, has greatly improved during Justin's three months on the job, and the part is in an ever improving financial position.

I am glad that Justin took the initiative to hold this call, and I look forward to participating with my fellow bloggers in future calls.

No Model

John Leopold continue his campaign to be anointed as the Republican Nominee for Governor in 2010 by calling urging the GOP to follow him:

Local government is at the cutting edge of bipartisan, pragmatic governance that improves people's lives. In Anne Arundel County, we have built a model for governing in the 21st century that sets a standard for effective governing that should be reflected in our national party platform.

Leopold talks about a lot of the good things that the administration has done here in Anne Arundel County, with a heavy emphasis on public safety and immigration enforcement, two things that the entire GOP can rally around.

Of course, some of the things that Leopold supports and has supported in the past leave me nauseated at the concept that Leopold thinks anybody should use him as a model for the Republican Platform.

• Does John Leopold still want to raise taxes and fees, as he has proposed to do half a dozen times since taking office?
• Does John Leopold still support government-funded abortions, as he did as a legislator in Hawaii and as a former Director of Planned Parenthood?
• Does John Leopold still oppose the small government model set forth by Ronald Reagan, as he did at the 1980 Republican National Convention?
• Does John Leopold still support the energy rate hikes he voted for as a member of the General Assembly?
  

If those are the things that John Leopold wants to do to the Republican Party, he can shove them where the sun don't shine.

Squishy liberal Republicans are the cause of, not the cure for, Republican branding issues in the modern body politic. It is when politicians started acting more like Leopold, and less like small government conservatives, where the Republican Party went awry, as I have stated time and time again.

When it comes to the future of the Republican Party if John Leopold is the answer, you're asking the wrong question...

I forgot to talk about Lincoln Day

It was Thursday night, but the Anne Arundel County Lincoln-Reagan Dinner was fantastic and RNC Chairman Mike Duncan did a great job. Everybody should be commended for the dinner.

The only downer: Former State GOP Executive Director John Flynn was recognized as AA GOP Man of the Year for 2007, showing that every once in awhile we Republicans do give rewards for failure....

Poignancy

As many of you know myself, Greg Kline, and others have spent a significant amount of time talking about GOP branding and how the Republican Party needs to right the ship in order to achieve electoral sustainability in 2008 and beyond. And nowhere has the argument for such a necessary rededication to principles has been found than today's Wall Street Journal piece penned by Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn:

Many Republicans are waiting for a consultant or party elder to come down from the mountain and, in Moses-like fashion, deliver an agenda and talking points on stone tablets. But the burning bush, so to speak, is delivering a blindingly simple message: Behave like Republicans.

Unfortunately, too many in our party are not yet ready to return to the path of limited government. Instead, we are being told our message must be deficient because, after all, we should be winning in certain areas just by being Republicans. Yet being a Republican isn't good enough anymore. Voters are tired of buying a GOP package and finding a big-government liberal agenda inside. What we need is not new advertising, but truth in advertising.

And if that doesn't cut to the teeth of the argument, nothing will. Make sure to read the whole thing.

One of the points that Coburn mentions time and again is the need for Republicans to start acting like Republicans again. And that is something that all Republicans need to embrace. Furthermore, this is not a problem just at the Federal level, either. We have seen time and time and time again where Republican elected officials even here at the state and local level have gone to unprecedented lengths to aid and abet Democratic efforts to raise taxes, increase the size of government, or support Democratic programs for pet issues.

Unfortunately, friends, this is where the rubber is meeting the road for our Republican future. Our "farm team" both here and across the nation are being weaned on "compassionate conservatism" and running and governing on ideals that are anathema to the conservatism that endeared our party and our leaders to the electorate. These candidates and elected officials are being sold a bill of goods that puts greater importance on the next election than the next generation.

Connecticut GOP Executive Director Heath Fahle also makes solid points on The Everyday Republican and on his blog at The Next Right:

It falls on us to not be distracted by talk of a ‘new and improved brand’, and instead focus on promoting our values, especially those that we forgot about when Republicans were in power - a smaller government that cuts up the national ‘credit card’ and starts reducing the national debt, a simpler government that requires less red tape and agita to get things done, and a more fair government that does not favor one set of lobbyists over another - rather favoring sensible policy over foolish ones.

There is no silver bullet that will return Republicans and conservatives to ascendancy. But it will take Republicans from the grassroots level on up to stand up to big government Republicans, stand up to these liberals who wish to lead the party astray, and to reclaim the Republican Party for what it is. As Senator Coburn concludes:

Regaining our brand is not about "messaging." It's about action. It's about courage. It's about priorities. Most of all, it's about being willing to give up our political careers so our grandkids don't have to grow up in a debtor's prison, or a world in which other nations can tell a weakened and bankrupt America where we can and can't defend liberty, pursue terrorists, or show compassion.

The responsibility, friends, is ours.

The Justin Ready Interview

I had the opportunity to interview via email our new State GOP Executive Director Justin Ready. Here is the full Q&A, and it provides a lot of insight into Justin's view on our current situation here in Maryland, where we go for the rest of 2008, and how our party is preparing for 2010 and beyond.

I greatly thank Justin for taking the time to do this!

* * * * * *
Brian Griffiths: You've been on the job for a couple of weeks now, how are you adjusting to the new position.
Justin Ready: I am adjusting pretty well, I think. Its still a process of learning more about day to day responsibilities and technical "stuff" while also looking to move the Party forward and take the next, crucial steps in fundraising and grassroots development. No matter how busy things get, it is an absolute privilege to wake up every morning and be able to work to advance the Maryland Republican Party.

BG: How different is your role as Executive Director from your previous roles on campaigns or in the General Assembly?
JR: In the General Assembly, policy and legislation are the primary concern. In my position with both Senator Greenip and Delegate Jennings, I spent the lions share of my time on researching and in some cases developing legislation, communicating with constituents, and working on problems that individual constituents brought to the Senator or Delegate's attention. At the State Party, it's a little different in the sense that my job is not to make policy but to work very hard to build a strong political infrastructure and organization to elect Republicans and grow our party.

There are a lot of similarities to running a campaign except your pushing all of your candidates while working to stockpile resources for the future.

BG: What are your goals for the rest of 2008?
JR: Building a stronger grassroots infrastructure, increasing the coordination between elected officials and the MDGOP, increasing our file of reliable donors both small and large, working to be sure we hold onto Congressional Districts 1 and 6 while working with our challengers in the other six districts, and beginning the process of recruiting and training great candidates for our races in 2010. How's that for a short list lol? Putting the party in position to elect more Republicans is what I see as my primary objective.

BG: In the past, the state party apparatus has been accused of meddling too much into the affairs of local central committees. What do you think the relationship should be between the state and local parties?
JR: The state party is empowered by the local parties, and not the other way around. I'm not sure about past situations, but my job is to work with our local chairs and central committee members on advancing broad goals not micromanage their processes. The only exception I would make is if there is some extreme case of fiscal mismanagement, corruption, or criminal activity. Even then, it's best handled locally.

BG: One of the concerns that many Republicans have deals with fundraising. How do you plan on ensuring that the party coffers get into and stays in the black?
JR: Our fundraising has been strong this year but we must use this election year interest to expand our donor base. It is so important to bring more and more small and large donors into the party. Part of the challenge is developing good relationships with people around the state who are able to invest a substantial amount, while also letting the small and medium level donors know just how important their donations are. You'll get tired of hearing me say this, but it just takes working very hard and also reaching out beyond our normal boundaries to find new donors.

BG:. There have been several proposals in recent years to allow the state and local parties to endorse in competitive primary elections, something that has proven rather controversial with Central Committee members and activists alike. What are you thoughts on these proposals?
JR: The position of the state party is to stay out of primaries and I think it is the right position. The Republican primary voters in each district should decide and then we should all come together behind the winner of the GOP primary. There are not enough of us to fight amongst ourselves during the General Election. That does not do anything to advance our cause or beat Democrats.

BG: The 1st Congressional District race was particularly ugly and caustic. What do you see as your role in bringing the party back together?
JR: Well, I think the party in many ways is back together. Senator Harris has reached out to supporters of his primary opponents and nearly everyone has gotten completely behind his candidacy, because the major debate in the primary was over policy issues. He has the support of every Eastern Shore GOP Central Committee and the elected officials on the Shore. My job as ED is to point out that the election in CD1 is between a liberal Democrat who wants higher taxes and more government spending and who wants to be an "ally of Governor O'Malley's in Washington," and a common sense conservative who wants lower taxes and less wasteful government spending. When Republicans, Independents, and moderate Democrats see the difference between Andy Harris and Frank Kratovil, I am confident Andy will be our next congressman. My role is to work with the local parties and activists to ensure that our entire Republican infrastructure is doing all they can to bring about victory. It hasn't been a hard sell. Andy Harris has really energized the Republicans across the board as well as many independents and Democrats.

BG:. Despite the party registration numbers, Maryland has a very vibrant conservative blogosphere. How do you think that bloggers can help the party, and how will you try to engage them?
JR: The conservative blogosphere in Maryland is doing a wonderful job of getting information out to activists all over Maryland. The commentary and issue spotlighting that happens on the blogs really encourages our elected officials and lets them know that they are not alone in the fight. With the dominant print media in this state being so left of center, it is vital that we have alternative outlets.

My plan is to be sure we are keeping bloggers in the loop with what we want to do message wise, while respecting their autonomy. It means treating bloggers as allies but not expecting them to be lockstep with us all the time. In addition, I would like to see the conservative blogosphere call attention to our candidates for office and work to drive volunteers and donations toward GOP candidates that are putting their name on the line to help build our party.

BG. One concern that I have had and have argued for is that the 2010 elections are much more important than the 2008 elections due to the composition of the General Assembly, the governorship, and the impending redistricting after the 2010 census. How important is 2010 in your eyes, and what preparations are you taking now for that election?
JR: It is vital for our party to come out of 2010 with positive progress. Even if we do not win the governorship back or a U.S. Senate seat (although those are certainly major goals), we must pick up seats in the General Assembly. If so called "moderate" Democrats are able to come to Annapolis, vote for higher taxes or ridiculous government programs and then get re-elected, then there will be no stopping the left-wing from completely dominating all aspects of our state.

As far as preparations go, my passion is finding hungry, committed candidates for State Senate, House of Delegates, and our county offices throughout Maryland. They must be willing to work hard, raise money, and take an active role in getting themselves out in the community. Our party must stockpile financial resources so that we can have the ability to go after vulnerable delegates and senators BUT we must use our limited resources intelligently. Through identifying winning messages and pairing those messages with grassroots effort from solid candidates, we can make solid gains in 2010. We have to be smart about it as a party though. We need Republicans in every district to get behind their candidates and also their GOP incumbents to ensure that we hold our seats and make gains.

BG: One recent criticism of the state party apparatus has been candidate recruitment, two particularly egregious examples being the 2nd and 3rd Congressional Districts this year. Have you started candidate recruitment for 2010, and do you think that the party will be able to field stronger candidates for Congress in the future?
JR: We are in the beginning stages of candidate recruitment. My goal is to have quality candidates for every state legislative district and congressional district in Maryland. There are many districts where, with hard-working and enthusiastic candidates, we can pick up seats in the General Assembly. In off year elections, we also have a much better chance in the six Democratically held congressional seats because Democratic turnout is much lower. One of the lessons that I learned running races in 2006 was that in districts with a strong senate candidate and strong delegate candidates, you had a much better chance of picking up House or Senate seats than if you just had one strong State Senate candidate or 2-3 strong House of Delegates candidates. It's important that we have qualified people up and down the ballot. We're working on identifying what ought to be our top targeted districts statewide and want to get our candidates trained and setting the table in their districts very early on.

BG:. Voter registration numbers in recent years have indicated that the younger demographic is registering as independents more than in previous years? How do you think we can reach these voters?
JR: I think we have to have a strong message and show them that they can trust us when we are in power. Also, Maryland Republicans have to break through the stereotypes created on the national level about Republicans. We are the party in Maryland that fights for working families, small business entrepreneurs and employees of businesses small and large. We want to cut taxes, stop wasteful spending and provide free market solutions in health care and energy.

The Democratic Party in Maryland (and nationally) believes that government knows best how to run your life. They want to control how your kids are raised, what car you drive, and whenever they spend too much money, they want to make you pay for their largesse by increasing your taxes. Why do they always blame us for the problem and not their over-spending? Because they think that we taxpayers are greedy, that's why! They think we are desperate for more and more government intervention in our lives and without big government there, we wouldn't have a hope of making it on our own. So they tell us they are hiking up taxes "for our own good". If we can succinctly express this to independent voters, I am confident that we can win a large percentage of them over.

BG: Any other thoughts you would like to share with our readers?
JR: Be a rebel...fight the establishment... support Maryland Republicans.

Shorter Schwarzenegger: "Republicans should not be Republicans"

Well, Greg Kline (much like in the latest podcast) and I have been talking about the issues of Republican branding for some time now. Well, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger seems to agree with that idea:

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger created shock and awe in the Republican Party when he warned years ago that the GOP was in danger of "dying at the box office" by failing to make the sale to a wide swath of voters.

And with the presidential election looming, the Republican governor of the nation's most populous state - a decidedly blue state - has now found a chorus of agreement. The Republican "brand" - thanks to an unpopular president, a war, gas prices, foreclosures and deficit - has become such damaged goods that GOP Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia groused last week that "if we were dog food, they would take us off the shelf."

Of course the Governator wants us Republicans to create a brand that is.....not Republican:

"The Republican idea is a great idea, but we can't go and get stuck with just the right wing," Schwarzenegger said. "Let's let the party come all the way to the center. Let those people be heard as much as the right. Let it be the big tent we've talked about.

"Let's invade and let's cross over that (political) center," he said. "The issues that they're talking about? Let them be our issues, and let the party be known for that."

Read the whole thing, because it is a sad indictment of a lot of things. First, it's an indictment about the brand of Republicanism that Gov. Schwarzenegger is trying to lead California down. While I understand that it is harder for a mainstream conservative to win in California than it is in Alabama, for example, the concept that we need to "cross over that center" is anathema to everything that we are trying to do as Republicans. If Republicans wanted to be Democrats, shouldn't they just go be Democrats.

Second, and more damning, is the fact that the Republican brand has been allowed to be reduced to what it is through milquetoast leadership, reckless spending, and morally bankrupt officials. When Republicans stop acting like Republicans, when you can't tell the difference between the Republicans and our Democratic opponents, our party and our nation suffer dire consequences.

The party as a whole would be best suited to ignore Governor Schwarzenegger's recommendations. We have shown time and time again that the way Republicans win elections is to stick to our conservative principles. People much rather vote for true conservatives than for a just slightly more conservative than the opponent liberal any day of the week. Only through principled conservatism can the Republican brand be restored to what it can and should be.

John the Destroyer

Tax-hiker John Leopold looks like he wants to be at it again, with the proposed hotel tax sparking well-deserved outcry:

Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold's proposal to raise the hotel tax to generate revenue for the financially strapped school system has drawn sharp opposition from state and local tourism officials, who say it would have a devastating trickle-down effect on the county's economy.

The measure - which combined with Maryland's 6 percent sales tax would give the county the state's highest checkout fee and one of the steepest in the country - will drive visitors to competing destinations, officials predicted, saying they've seen it happen elsewhere in Maryland.

"People will be laid off, they will lose jobs, shops will close, and hotels will go bankrupt - the mid-size hotels that can't survive this - if we have a decline in visitors coming here," said Connie Del Signore, president and CEO of the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Conference and Visitors Bureau.

Of course, Leopold tries to defend this, but there is a noted change in his rhetoric from previous years:

"Because of the well-established aversion to any increase in property and income taxes here, it requires me to secure revenue for our public school system through other means."

Once again, Leopold is going to blame country residents opposition to higher taxes as a justification to raise the hotel tax. But as usual, Leopold fails to see the forest for the trees. Yes, people are opposed to higher income and property taxes. But they are also opposed to liberal County Executives trying to tax businesses out of existence too. The Convention Bureau is correct in that the tax will destroy the local tourism industry. And when you think about how many people cycle into and through Annapolis, and cycle through the hotels at BWI each year, such a tax would have a devastating effect on the economy.

What's even more ridiculous about the proposed tax hike is the fact that Leopold is trying to have it both ways on school funding. He wants to be able to tell Superintendent Kevin Maxwell to pack sand on Maxwell's egregious and outlandish budget proposals, but still wants to raise taxes in order to increase the education spending that he himself has proposed.

Leopold's usual run towards hypocrisy and tax increases is becoming more and more ridiculous. Leopold wants to take money out of the pockets of Anne Arundel County's businesses through higher taxes that will drive businesses and visitors out of our county. Unfortunately, it seems that the closer we get to 2010, the more it is starting to look like 1998....

An Inspired Choice

Justin Ready has been tapped to be the New Executive Director of the Maryland Republican Party. And if you are expecting to come here waiting for me to read me blasting the choice....then you'll be disappointed.

The selection of Justin is an inspired choice. Justin actually brings together a lot of the practical perspectives that one needs in order to be a successful Director in the modern age. He has strategic, grassroots, legislative and organization experience. Most importantly, and this is something that I have been harping on for a while, he is a blogger who has some understanding of the importance of the new medium.

Jim Pelura went out on a limb in naming Justin and interviewing a lot of nontraditional candidates. I thank him for that, as well as giving me the opportunity as well. And I am glad that he went against the grain. Rumors swirled all weekend that the choice was going to be Harris Campaign Manager Chris Meekins, and had Meekins been selected we would have looked back at the age of John Flynn as the halcyon days of good management, and we all know how poor of a job Flynn did during his tenure.

I wish Justin well and look forward to working with him.

Lacking Speculation

There has been a lack of speculation out there regarding the possible names who are being considered to fill the vacancy as the Executive Director of the Maryland Republican Party. In fact, I have heard of no names being seriously considered, at least names that have made their way to me.

The quick turnaround of the deadline for resumes to be sent to Jim Pelura seems like it may limit the ability of the party to conduct a national search for a replacement. It will be interesting to see if that in anyway impacts the final selection.

So at this time, I can only speculate as to how many resumes have been submitted for the position. But I can confirm this: that after receiving encouragement from several individuals, I have in fact submitted my resume for consideration. I am extremely grateful for those individuals who have confidence in my abilities and asking me to consider serving. And while I do not expect to be selected to fill the vacancy, I feel like I have a duty given my critique of John Flynn's job performance to seek the opportunity to replace him.

We'll see where we go from here...

Two Days Late

Two days after reading it here, the Sun finally gets around to reporting John Flynn's departure (without crediting me, of course):

Party seeking new director

The Maryland Republican Party is looking for a new executive director after John Flynn resigned this week to take a job as general counsel for Americans for Prosperity, a public interest group in Washington.

Flynn became the party's executive director in January 2007 as Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley took office after defeating former Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.

Later that year, the party reported that it was nearly broke. State GOP Chairman James Pelura said yesterday that Flynn helped rebuild the party and draw more small donations that allowed it to pay off debts.

"I was left with a lot of debt and very little fundraising ability in the way of large donors," Pelura said. "The Republican base is excited and energized again, and John was instrumental in helping me see that through."

I'll let you interpret the comments that you just read regarding the state of the party for yourselves...

CONFIRMED: Flynn Out

This note from Jim Pelura is being sent around, sent yesterday:

From: "James Pelura"
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:21:44
Subject: Bittersweet news


Dear Republican Leaders,

It is with mixed emotions that I contact you tonight.

John Flynn, our Executive Director, has given notice that he will be
embarking on a new and exciting adventure in 2 weeks.

As you all know, John has been instrumental in carrying out my plan to
return the State Party to the county Central Committees and the grassroots
Republicans of our beloved Maryland.

I am dismayed in his leaving but extremely happy for him and wish him every
success and happiness in his new position. He will be missed!!

Due to time constraints, I will be interviewing for this position on
Tuesday, April 22 at MDGOP headquarters. Please spread the word and have
the applicants e-mail their resumes to me at jpelura@mdgop.org
by Monday, April 21, 2008.


Dr. Jim Pelura
Chairman
Maryland Republican Party

Keeping an eye on Alaska

I noted that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin should be on Senator McCain's short list to be his running mate this fall, and Governor Palin's push for a cleaner Republican Party continues:

A state Republican convention that could have unified a troubled party descended into infighting Friday, with the lieutenant governor announcing his intention to unseat a congressman and the governor calling for changes in GOP leadership.

Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell said he would challenge U.S. Rep. Don Young, the 18-term incumbent who's the subject of a federal investigation that includes his campaign finance practices.

"The days of unquestioning loyalty are gone," Parnell said a few hours later after filing candidacy paperwork. "It's time for principled leadership."

Gov. Sarah Palin escorted Parnell into the Division of Elections office and immediately endorsed him over Young. She gave no thought to the protocol of an endorsement months before the August primary, she said.

"When something's right, it's right," she said. "There's no time like the present to state your case and speak candidly about what you believe it. And I believe in his candidacy."

This is fantastic news in a state where there is a pretty good shot that incumbent Republican Senator Ted Stevens and Congressman Young could both go down in a mire of pork-barrel projects and scandal-related news.

The fact that Governor Palin is willing to stand-up to her party's leadership and show loyalty to the core ideas of our party as opposed to loyalty to the party apparatus is something that all Republicans should take to heart.

Hard to argue with this logic

People need to get in the game, and apparently they needed some....er, extra motivation:

House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) challenged Republicans on Tuesday to get off their "dead asses" and start raising money for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

And the Republican leader wasn't the only lawmaker berating his GOP colleagues to raise more money for the committee's March 12 fundraising dinner: According to sources in the room, NRCC Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) also used a closed-door session at the Capitol Hill Club on Tuesday to challenge Republicans to raise more campaign cash.

The normally upbeat Cole told Republicans that if they don't start raising more money for the committee, they should get used to life in the minority. Blunt told his colleagues that Sen. John McCain's spot atop the ballot should give Republicans the opening they need to regain their majority.

Well, it's a sad state of affairs if the party in Congress cannot get motivated to try and win back the majority. But these members of Congress do have a responsibility to try to work to restore the majority the way it should be. A lot of these members are Congress are the ones who got us into this mess; they need to do the work to try to get our party and our nation out of this hole.

Of course, one could also argue that if we're having a hard time getting our Representatives motivated, that's probably not a good sign for getting the base motivated. I just hope that notion is incorrect...

Today, we close ranks

"Let's grow up Conservatives. If we want to take this party back, and I think we can, let's get to work." - Barry Goldwater, 1960 Republican National Convention

OK folks, the primary here in Maryland is over. The two most contested races that we have seen are over.

John McCain will be the Republican standard bearer for President in the 2008 Election.

Andy Harris is the Republican nominee for Congress in the 1st Congressional District.

We have seen a lot of fur fly over the past year, particularly between the warring factions in the 1st District Scrum. But if we are serious about being a viable party in Maryland, if we are serious about preserving the voice of conservatism for the long haul, and if we as Republicans in the state of Maryland are in it to win it, today we close ranks around John McCain, Andy Harris, and our other Republican candidates. Starting today, we must stand united behind the nominees of our party and start working together towards the 2008 General Election.

Some may not be happy with the nominees. Some people may have had their feelings hurt. But like they say, politics 'aint beanbag. Today, we invoke one of Ronald Reagan's other famous sayings:

The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally — not a 20 percent traitor.

Maryland....let's get to work.

John Flynn's Warped World

If this quote is even close to accurate.....:

Before the first vote is cast Tuesday in Maryland's primary, the state's Grand Old Party has already declared its mission accomplished.

Republican Party Executive Director John Flynn said the GOP put more emphasis on staying competitive across Maryland this year, rather than letting Democrats run unopposed in left-leaning districts.

.....then we're in bigger trouble than I thought we were. I almost spit water on my keyboard when I read that because it is so patently absurd that it's ridiculous. I'm not sure what emphasis there is on staying competitive, because we basically have let Democrats run unopposed in at least one left-leaning district.

For an example:

Ron Paul supporter Richard Pryce Matthews, an Orchard Beach Republican, will be challenging four-year Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger of Timonium in the 2nd District race. Mr. Matthews, who has raised no money, is campaigning on a platform of abolishing the Internal Revenue Service and the federal Department of Education as well as ending the war in Iraq and repealing the Patriot Act.

Patently absurd. If the Party recruited this joker, John Flynn should be fired. If we didn't recruit this joker, John Flynn should be fired.

John Flynn's complete failure as Executive Director is getting even harder to put up with, and he should have been replaced months ago with somebody who can actually get the job done. I'm not saying that being Executive Director of the Maryland GOP is all milk and honey, but Flynn is clearly not up to the task...

John Leopold's Self-Love

Man, in today's Gazette John Leopold really pours the love on himself:

A review of his first year in office, however, shows an aggressive record of strictly enforcing environmental laws, slashing government spending, cracking down on panhandlers and illegal immigrants, and managing growth ahead of a major expansion of jobs at Fort Meade.

''The best campaign is a good performance in office and our first year record of accomplishment speaks for itself," he said. ''It's not a record to stand on, it's a record to build on."

It's not really a record that I would want to run on, because while Leopold claims to be slashing government spending, the fact of the matter is that government is continuing to grow in Anne Arundel County. Not only the size of government, but the scope of government as well. We have noted a lot of this stuff, his hypocrisy on panhandling laws, his seeming inability to manage the growth, his support of shutting citizens out of participating in the School Board process, and of course now jumping into bed with the developers who he said he would never accept money from. He raised taxes on seniors, tried to implement a rental car tax, and publicly supported Martin O'Malley's tax increases. Is this really a record that John Leopold is proud of? If you listen to Leopold's Self-love it is.

Of course, Leopold's Self Love-in didn't preclude him from proposing more tax hikes:

The county administration last night proposed an enormous increase to the fees levied on new homes and buildings, in some cases suggesting fees more than 10 times higher than those currently charged.

County officials say current impact fees are artificially low and the higher ones are needed to prevent taxpayers from further subsidizing new development's impact on schools, roads and public safety services - problems that helped lead to a $1.5 billion backlog of school construction and crowded roads.

Builders say the new fees are so high that it may shut down building in Anne Arundel.

Of course Leopold rights it off as being something that a "consultant" proposed. But get real, it's just Leopold doing what he loves to do: raise taxes.

What the Republican Party in Anne Arundel County really needs is not a liberal Republican to continue to defy our values as conservatives, but we need an honest-to-god conservative Republican to challenge John Leopold in the 2010 primary....

It's about competence, not ideology

Without calling me out by name, Mike Netherland has called me out and accused me of trying to "smear" Jim Pelura and John Flynn.

Mike however completely misses the point and tries to turn this into an issue of ideology over performance:

The folks I have spoken with personally have no doubt as to what motivates the current smear-merchants. Vengeance and ideology, it turns out are on their agendas. Those currently on the Executive Committee, privy to embargoed documents such as financial statements, budgets and letters clearly marked "Confidential," seek to replace a principled conservative with a squishy, bring-home-the-bacon moderate. I don't know Mr. Redmer but I'm sure he would resent such a characterization. Also, members of this cadre who are not on the Executive Committee seek to right many perceived wrongs against them, the latest of which involved the unpleasantness on the Anne Arundel State Central Committee, by smearing county conservatives.

The argument for the replacement of Pelura and Flynn has little to do with ideology, at least in my perspective, because I am as conservative as they are on the issues. But the fact of the matter is that we can have the most conservative, most dyed-in-the-wool Republicans out there in positions of leadership, but if the leadership cannot display competence, that leadership must be replaced.

I'm not sure what the motivations are of all of those who are opposed to the Pelura/Flynn team. It's not personal to me, I have always been very fond of Jim Pelura. It's not about vengeance, because if it were I have a much longer list of folks to be paying attention to. But what it is about is the success and the failure of the party. It is about the party being in the black or being in the red. It is about the party being viable in 2010 or not being viable in 2010. To assume that there are other motivations behind my call for change is nothing short of myopic.

We must destroy this village in order to save it

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Consensus Reached on Pelura Successor

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

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

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

Things in CD-3

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

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

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

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

The MD GOP's proposed 2008 budget

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

Some thoughts:

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

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

More MD GOP inside baseball

Still more from the rumor mill:

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

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

BREAKING: 10 am GOP insiders meeting Tuesday morning

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

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

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

More info as it becomes available...

Full Circle

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

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

As Michael notes:

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

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

Good News, Bad News on Spending Cuts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You've heard this before

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

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

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

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

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

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

Good Riddance

Next:

Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) will resign as general chairman of the Republican Party today, saying he wants to spend more time on his work as Florida's GOP senator, Politico has learned.

Martinez, who took the job nine months ago as the public face of the national GOP, steps down during a tough time for the Republican party, out of power on Capitol Hill and trying to gain traction in the national campaign under the shadow of an unpopular, lame duck president. Martinez, who publicly parted ways with GOP congressional leaders earlier this year on immigration issues, will not be replaced as general chairman.

The day to day duties of running the Republican Party's political operation will be left to chairman Mike Duncan, the current chairman of the Republican National Committee.

I said last year that this was a bad idea. So now that we've all been proven right, can somebody please call Michael Steele?

An idea that's all wet

It's getting harder and harder to tell the Republicans from the Democrats at the County level without a scorecard when you hear about stuff like this:

Of course, protecting her firefighter husband from harm is an added benefit of the mandatory fire sprinkler initiative Councilman Cathy Vitale plans to push this month.

But the reason she wants every new home in Anne Arundel County to come with sprinklers springs from a story he once told her after a heart breaking day on the job.....

....For the past month, she has floated a plan to join the growing ranks of nearly 20 other jurisdictions that require every new home to come with sprinklers.

At least six counties have the rule, from neighboring Prince George's County - which passed the ordinance in 1992 and since then has not seen a fire death in any of the 50,000 homes with sprinklers - to Talbot County, where an ordinance passed last week followed the death of a family of three.

Ms. Vitale has shopped her plan to fellow councilmen, who appear largely supportive, firefighters who have been longing for a sprinkler policy since the 1970s and to the homebuilders association, which generally oppose such measures.

This is the type of liberal nannystatism that you would expect from Democrats, not a veteran Republican County Councilwoman in the county's most conservative Councilmanic District. And certainly not from a politician looking for a promotion in 2010. Voters remember when politicians add at least $1 per square foot to the costs of their new home.

And Vitale isn't even the only alleged conservative who is gung ho for this idea:

Councilman Ed Reilly, R-Crofton, is an insurance agent and said the sprinklers will diminish the cost of insurance policies.

"I'm very much in favor of it, and I'm embarrassed we haven't done anything before," Mr. Reilly said at the hearing.

And the real question on everybody's mind is how in the world the residents of this county are going to pay for this?

For example, neighborhoods on wells must also install holding tanks to make sure the sprinklers have enough pressure to work.

Who is going to pay for that? Is the county going to force new communities to build holding tanks, thus artificially inflating the prices of these new homes?

Additionally if people currently want sprinklers, they can have sprinklers. The market is already giving people the option. And the market seems to be taking care of this:

Today, people building custom homes order sprinklers, but it is rare for the builder of a subdivision to voluntarily install them in a new home, said Larry Cate, the vice president of Absolute Fire Protection in Severna Park who has been installing sprinkling systems in Anne Arundel for two decades.

"You won't close a tough sell," Mr. Cate said of sprinkler skeptics. "It's usually black or white. You either believe in it and you want it, or you don't."

The extra costs put builders constructing neighborhoods at a competitive disadvantage, but Mr. Cate suspects that if every home was forced to have it, the playing field would be even.

Which is also a completely ridiculous statement from Mr. Cate. The playing field is already even. Some builders choose to install sprinklers. Some don't. The consumer gets to make that choice as it is.

We all agree that deaths from fires in the home are a tragic loss to a family and a tragic loss to the community. But this idea is all wet. What is the benefit to the consumer if such systems are mandated? What are the chances that a home is going to be involved in a fire? Do we really want to pass such a cost on to homeowners, who are already going to be expected to pay more and more under the