Baltimore County GOP – Say No to Gas Tax
The Baltimore County Republican Central Committee voted unanimously in their January meeting to approve a resolution opposing raising gas taxes in Maryland. As I was present at said meeting, I'll tell you this - a) there was no debate and b) no question that everyone in that room opposed the gas tax. It was a good meeting to attend. Here's the text of the press release:
The Baltimore County Republican Central Committee unanimously approved a resolution opposing tax increases on transportation during the 2012 session of the Maryland General Assembly, citing that, like the citizens of Maryland do every day, government must live within its means. Particularly hurt by this increase would be families who commute through one of the Baltimore area's three toll plazas each day to get to and from work.
In 2007, Martin O'Malley and Democrat cohorts forced the largest single tax increase in the history of the State of Maryland. Most of that revenue came from sales and use taxes, and according to 2010 Maryland State budget data, citizens of Baltimore County pay a greater share of sales and use tax than any other county in Maryland.
The total impact of the 2011-2012 transportation tax increases for commuters who drive through one of the Baltimore area's three toll plazas to get to work every day, estimated at $750, would be proportionally over six times greater than the 2007 tax increases. The gas tax alone is over two times greater.
"Martin O'Malley and his league of limousine liberals are once again waging class warfare against Maryland's working people. These regressive taxes add an unreasonable burden to a category of Baltimore County's people who travel south to their work in the Baltimore-Washington corridor," said Steve Kolbe, Chairman of the Baltimore County Republican Central Committee. "Since Martin O'Malley says he stands for the working people of Maryland, perhaps he should find ways to balance the budget that doesn't hurt the very people he claims to stand for."
FOLLOWUP: Audrey Scott Opposes the Gas Tax
About a week ago, former Maryland GOP Chair Audrey Scott attended a rally that included a number of gas tax supporters showing her opposition to raiding the transportation fund. The local media added her to the name of people in support of the gas tax. Not so, says Scott. She released the following statement on the matter:
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
It has come to my attention that there is an effort underway to discredit and misrepresent my attendance at an event in Annapolis last week. I think it is important to tell you the facts of the situation.
Last Thursday there was a rally at Lawyers Mall to protest the perpetual raiding of the Transportation Trust Fund by Governors to benefit the State's general operating budget. Since our State requires a balanced budget, Governors have repeatedly raided the Trust Fund for cash (so they don’t have to cut the budget).
Unfortunately, Gov. O'Malley has not repaid the Trust Fund, instead he wants to use it's depletion as a gimmick to gain the public's approval to raise taxes. In other words, to use the revenue from the new taxes to fill up the Trust Fund (which he will then raid again and again and again).
Who suffers? We do. The Transportation Trust Fund is used to pay for road and bridge construction and repairs of which much goes directly to Counties and Municipalities. There has not been a new road or bridge project in the Transportation Trust Fund for 2 years, and every existing project in the Trust Fund has been pushed back indefinitely. Our State is now sitting on a ticking time bomb – to the tune of $1.5 billion in urgent road and bridge repairs.
As a former Mayor and County Councilwoman, I know firsthand that cessation of transportation projects in our state is 1) a public safety issue and 2) has driven multiple companies out of business and thousands of workers into unemployment.
Republicans in the Legislature are in the process of introducing legislation to enforce that Transportation Trust Fund dollars must be used to finance transportation projects. I strongly support this legislation.
My goal in attending the event was to support the Republican Trust Fund legislation. We must put the "Trust back in the Trust Fund."
Some people are stating that my support to put the "trust back in the Trust Fund" means that I support a gas tax. This is dishonest and wrong. I do not support tax increases. I support cutting the budget. Period.
Supporting the Trust Fund does not mean you support a gas tax. I reject these kind of "gotcha politics" and it has no place in our Party and has no place in the race for National Committeewoman.
Rather, we need to focus our attention on fighting the Democrats … not each other!
I will confront any distortions about my record or my actions head on and I welcome your phone call to answer any of your questions.
Sincerely,
Audrey E. Scott
I'm glad she issued this clarification. As I said in my original post:
Scott needs to clarify her participation in this event and, frankly, should not be supporting a gas tax hike. Period.
To me, this clarifies her position and sounds as though she opposes the gas tax hike. I for one am glad to hear it.
HT to Mark Newgent
Ambrose Supports Open Primaries
Since I criticized Scott yesterday, I'll bring up this regarding her opponent in the bid for Republican National Committeewoman from Maryland. Nicolee Ambrose supports open primaries in Maryland. Here's the quote:
The foremost thing to understand about my run for National Committee Woman is that I don’t feel that I should be one of three votes that decides everything for the MD GOP. For an issue such as voting in primaries, I believe whether or not they are open to Independents should only be decided by the vote of an entire MD GOP Convention = all of the Central Committee members from all of Maryland’s counties.
If you are asking for my personal opinion, I think we would have a net gain by allowing I’s to vote in the GOP primaries. Given the disparity in voter registration favoring Dems, I think any measure that engages "out-party" voters and generates excitement in the GOP is beneficial. (Please note, I would feel quite differently if we lived in a state like NH or SC, where we were blessed with an engaged electorate that had significant weight in determining the nation’s GOP Presidential Candidate.) Minimally in Maryland, I think a party-wide discussion of this issue - its pros & cons - and other possible strategies to attract newly affiliated GOP voters is all desirable.
Generating excitement for the GOP is one thing; allowing people who are not members of the party to vote in our primary is another entirely. I disagree with this on a fundamental level. First, what's the incentive for joining the Republican Party if you can vote in the primary as an Independent? One of the draws of affiliating is the fact that you can vote in a primary. Take that incentive away and we may actually see a drop in membership.
Secondly, what benefit have open primaries wrought in other states? We've seen the rise of candidates who are outside the norm of the party faithful. We see candidates who would not support the general party platform succeeding in the primary. We see the potential for a standard bearer who does not represent the mindset of the average party member. It becomes worse if we allow Democrats to vote in the Republican primary as well.
I support closed primaries, everywhere, but starting here at home we should keep them that way. Both this and the gas tax support from Audrey Scott are problematic to me. But, there is a difference. The first is a difference in policy - party positions rarely have an impact on policy. The second is a function of how the party operates. That one has a direct bearing on an internal party position, therefore will have a greater bearing on whom I'd be ready to support for this position.
Governor O’Malley Ignores Baltimore County GOP Request
The Baltimore County Board of Elections has one Republican and one Republican alternate appointed by the Governor. The way the process, generally works, is that the Baltimore County GOP selects who they wish to be the appointee, an alternate, and a third name. Historically, the first person listed, as requested by the local GOP, is selected to be the voting member of the Baltimore County BoE. This year, O'Malley decided against that tradition. He ignored the person picked by the County Committee to represent them and selected their alternate choice to the committee and their third choice as the alternate. The Dundalk Patch has more on this situation. Here's an excerpt from that article:
The county Republican Party voted in November to oust Marge Neuman, a long-time board member, and replace her with Bruce Robinson, who was at the time a board alternate.Neuman, long respected inside the county party, was the apparent victim of some intra-party squabbling in which central committee members turned against her in favor of another candidate.
The party was required to submit three names for O'Malley to consider. GOP party officials submitted Robinson as its top pick for the one regular board slot. Joseph Karey, who was the attorney to the election board, was the second name. The central committee rounded out its recommendations with Neuman, thinking that she would not be picked.
Campbell said past governors typically take the top two names on the list. "That's the way it usually works," Campbell said in an interview. "The governor defers to the local jurisdiction, to the local party selection."
But O'Malley did not defer. Instead, he jumped over Robinson and named Karey to fill the Republican party spot on the three-member board. Neuman was named as the Republican's alternate.
Campbell said he believes Robinson was passed over for political reasons. "They know he would have questioned some things going on at the Board of Elections," Campbell said.
While technically not a violation of any statute, it is a violation of trust. The local committee has always been allowed to select it's representative to the BoE. This time, the Governor skipped over the leading choice of the local party. It's unsurprising, but still irritating that the Governor decided to ignore general practice and, frankly, the opinion of the people who this appointed person will represent. Baltimore County GOP Chair Tony Campbell had the following to say on the matter,
Unfortunately, this was not an April Fools prank, it is business as usual in the State of Maryland...he unbridled partisanship of this decision is a clear example of the folly of one party government in Maryland. The fact that Governor O’Malley made this explicit decision of a board that is two to one Democrat shows the level of contempt he has for the voters in Baltimore County. We on the Baltimore County Republican Central Committee are amazed, but not surprised, by this action of a Governor who would put party over fair play.
Guest Post: Fixing the Baltimore City GOP
This is a guest post written on the state of the Baltimore City GOP by commenter VoxClamantis
Baltimore is a one party town. Registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by an overwhelming number and that will not change anytime soon. But my question is, why do Republicans have to make it so easy for them? Anyone who has ever been to a Baltimore City GOP meeting knows what I’m talking about. Although well meaning, this dysfunctional group of activists cannot get out of their own way. Here is a list of five easy steps the City Party can undertake to assert itself immediately and begin to build a greater share of the conversation. Once it has shown proficiency for these activities, it will have a foundation upon which it can build its activities:
1. Answer the damn phone: Sounds simple right, but anyone who has ever left a message on the Party’s phone knows that they don’t get returned. Of course, that is assuming the voicemail box isn’t full. Until recently, you couldn’t even leave a message because it was full all the time.
2. Update the web site: A web site is the communications hub for your efforts to engage and interact with current Party members, prospective members, and media. From the web site you push out content to Facebook and other social media applications. The best thing about web sites, Facebook, Twitter, and the rest: they are free. It won’t affect the budget and you can gain a national following, but you need to be engaged actively with new content.
3. Follow through on decisions: Too often an issue is raised or a decision made and nothing ever happens. Debates are fine, but make them time limited, force a vote, and implement the decision. It is tradition in politics that things go to committee to die, but in some instances issues/ideas are supposed to return. Not here. A subcommittee referral is a black hole from which nothing emerges.
4. Engage the media: There are only a couple reporters at the Baltimore Sun who cover local politics. Call them. Ask for a meeting. Explain the Party’s position on the issues they cover. Ask the reporter to come to you for comment. When possible give comment. It is a really simple formula. In the beginning the reporters might not include you, but it provides new content for the web site and social media channels to rally the faithful. Here are three issues in the last month upon which the Party could have provided comment:
· The city budget;
· The redistricting of the Council prior to census data being released;
· The culture of corruption that exists from the Mayor’s office to the cops on the street.5. Dump the chairman: Whoa, this rant just got serious. Yep, the Chairman may be a nice guy, but he is ineffective. The lack of basic on engagement on the above four issues has happened on his watch. Find somebody young and committed who understands how campaigns have changed in the last several years.
I hope the Baltimore City GOP will respond to this, but since it is posted on a blog supported by a Twitter feed, I’m pretty sure there is no one there who will ever see it.
I thank VoxClamantis for his honest candor on the state of the Baltimore City GOP. If a representative from the City GOP would like to respond, feel free to leave a comment below and let me know.
Maryland Blogs / Sites
- Augie "Citizen Watchdog"
- Baltimore County GOP
- Inside Charm City
- Maryland Public Policy Institute
- Maryland Reporter
- Maryland Society of Patriots
- MD Conservative Action Network
- monoblogue
- Potomac Tea Party Report
- PVRC Blog
- Red Maryland
- Right Coast Conservative
National Blogs / Sites
- 2012 Candidates on Twitter
- Anthropocon
- Bearing Drift
- Moe Lane
- Musings – It's Zarf-tastic!
- Oddly Said
- Other McCain
- Pithy Title Goes Here
- Pundit League
- Race42012
- Ramblings…
- RedState
- RightKlik
- Ruby Slippers
- Secular ProLife
- Sundries Shack
- The Quinton Report
- TORARADICALcom
Religious Blogs / Sites
- Challies.com
- Coleen York
- Ed Stetzer
- Edgemere Baptist Church
- Just1Word
- SBC Voices
- Star Wars & Spirituality
- Tally Wilgis
- The 140 Bible
- The Girl On The Road To Self Discovery
- Thom Rainer
- TroyStouffer.com
