Maryland Sixth District Primary Nears

George Wenschhof

Last Friday, I published current sixth district voter registration data in a column where I suggest a change in the manner redistricting is conducted nationwide.

The current voter registration numbers in the sixth (rounded off):

Democratic - 183,000
Republican - 141,000
Unaffiliated/Other - 90,000

I thought it would be interesting to look back to the 1992 election, the year Republican Roscoe Bartlett was elected to compare the voter registration numbers. Numbers were taken from Maryland Board of Elections website.

Democratic - 139,922
Republican - 140,979
Unaffiliated/Other - 29,677
Total - 310,578

Thomas Hattery (D) received 46% of the vote - 106,224
Roscoe Bartlett (R) received 54% of the vote - 125,564

Democratic voter turnout was 85%, Republican 84% and Unaffiliated/Other 81%.

It is interesting to note, the even registration between Republicans and Democrats in 1992 and the very high voter turnout in that election.

As the primary nears, the bickering and rumor mongering abounds among the top three Democratic candidates.

State Senate Majority Leader Rob Garagiola, who some believe was handpicked by state senate president Thomas V. Mike Miller, is the front runner among five Democrats vying to unseat Rep. Roscoe Bartlett.

Some Democrats, from the old portions of the sixth district, after suffering for 20 years without Democratic Party support, are resentful Garagiola is from the new portion of the district.

Garagiola has put his years as a state senator and his voting record to work for him as he has racked up endorsements from elected officials throughout the sixth district.

Leaving, Democratic challengers John Delaney and Dr. Milad Pooran to counter with national level endorsements from former President Bill Clinton and former Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean respectfully.

The Pooran campaign is hopeful for a split in the vote between Delaney and Garagiola which would allow them to eke out a victory with a plurality of the vote.

Over, the next three weeks, Democratic voters will need to look past the sniping that often occurs between hotly contested campaigns and focus on the positions the candidates have on the issues important to them.

Democratic voters should plan to visit their websites and attend any remaining forums.

Below are links to Democratic candidates websites:

Rob Garagiola: http://www.robgaragiola.com/
John Delaney: http://www.delaney2012.com/
Milad Pooran: http://miladforcongress.com/
Charles Bailey: http://charlesbaileyforcongress.com/
Ron Little: http://ronlittle4congress.com/

Republicans, recognizing the voter registration disparity in the district, will try to capitalize on Democratic in-fighting, to help their nominee win on November 6.

Perhaps, wishful thinking on their part, but one only needs to look at the 2002 Maryland Governor election between Democrat Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and Republican Robert Ehrlich in which Ehrlich emerged as the upset winner.

After, an unremarkable 20 year term in office by Roscoe Bartlett, it is time for a change.

Democratic candidates and voters, mindful of the Townsend and Hattery defeat, should focus on the prize.

Stay Tuned...

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Daily Political Wire 12-5-2010

George Wenschhof

Candy Crowley of CNN gives a preview of "State of The Union" Today.



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Tax extension for Middle Class Fails in Senate - as expected, the symbolic votes put forward by Democrats failed yesterday. The first vote, to extend tax cuts for those making $250,000 or less failed by a vote of 53-36 and the second vote to extend tax cuts for those making less than one million failed 53-37. Note, both votes passed the majority threshold, but failed to break a 60 vote filibuster threshold, necessary by Republican opposition.

President Obama said he was disappointed in the vote but was open to a compromise of an extension of all the tax cuts for two years if it also included a one year extension of benefits for the long term unemployed. A compromise everyone knew was coming. Reuters.com has more here.

Not hard to understand why voters are so turned off by Congress.

What is not also understood is the Bush tax cuts were instituted while he committed the U.S. to two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The two unfunded wars lead the federal debt to double under the eight years George W. Bush was in office. These wars continue to contribute to the 1.3 Trillion annual budget deficit that exists today. And...... I did not mention the economic policies instituted under the Bush administration that led to the financial meltdown.

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Obama Signs Continuing Resolution to keep Government Running - lost in all the bluster over the extension of the Bush tax cuts was the two week extension of the government budget. Seeing Congress is unable to agree on much of anything, the federal budget has not been passed. Another extension, this time for two weeks (ending December 18) was signed by President Obama yesterday. Politico.com has more here.

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State Debt Next financial Crisis - state and municipal debt continues to be a major worry as the U.S. economy struggles to climb out of the worst recession since the Great Depression. Large lay-offs and huge reduction of services are expected across the country. The NY Times has more here.

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Federal employees forbidden to Read Wikileaks - an order that gives credence to those who claim government issues ridiculous regulations. Government employees without a security clearance were sent a memo informing them they could not read the diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks.org from either their work or home computers. Huh? The Washington Post has more here.

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Diplomatic Cables show Middle East Resistant to Cutting flow of Cash to Terrorists - more disclosures from the released diplomatic cables from wikileaks.org is a major concern as America battles to stem the flow of money to terrorist groups. The NY Times has more here.

Makes you wonder; will the government send another memo to employees prohibiting them from reading the NY Times?

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Separation of Church and State - an issue revisited in an op-ed penned by Kathleen Kennedy Townsend in the Washington Post. She takes Sarah Palin to task for her position on the issue. You can read it here.

Townsend was recently named as chair of a new liberal PAC named "American Bridge" and has been making the rounds on all the liberal cable news shows.

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Daily Political Wire 11-23-2010

George Wenschhof

North and South Korea exchange Artillery fire - the latest in long standing differences between the countries. South Korea had been test firing artillery near the North Korea border when North Korea responded with shots to a island of South Korea, killing several soldiers. The NY Times has more here.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs issued a statement calling on North Korea to halt it's belligerent action and to honor the 1953 armistice agreement. The Washington Post has more here.

Another test for the Obama administration.

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Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad faces Impeachment - an interesting development as the parliament indicated they wished to impeach but have refrained from doing so due to the wishes of Supreme Leader Allatollah Ali Khamenei. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

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Kathleen Kennedy Townsend to chair "American Bridge" - a liberal counterpart to conservative groups such as "American Crossroads". David Brock, a Democratic political operative, has set up the group and former Maryland Lt. Governor Townsend has agreed to chair the committee. The committee will support Democratic candidates in the 2012 election and already has 4 million in pledges, including one million from George Soros. You can read more here.

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Four House Races still Undecided - Republicans added another win yesterday when Democrat Representative Solomon Ortiz conceded to Blake Farenthold in Texas. Two races in New York and two in California remain to be decided. Democrats lead in 3 of the remaining races. Republicans have now picked up a total of 62 seats. TheHill.com has more here.

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Miller Sues to Halt Murkowski Senate Victory - Joe Miller backed by Sarah Palin and a tea party favorite, has filed another lawsuit challenging the write in victory of Senator Lisa Murkowski. At issue, the legal definition of the state statute which spells out what is acceptable for a write-in. His argument will be the name has to be spelled correctly and intent is not good enough. Stay tuned... Reuters.com has more here.

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Axelrod to Leave White House after "State of The Union" - the senior adviser to President Obama will be replace by David Plouffe. Plouffe is expected to arrive soon and work for the next month or more with David Axelrod before he leaves. Axelrod will essentially be changing roles with Plouffe, who was the Obama campaign manager in 2008. Politico.com has more here.

One of the problems with the Obama administration is there has been no good spokesperson after the president. Axelrod is one of a long list; a smart individual, but poor appearance and delivery of positions on issues. Don't look to see Plouffe be the answer.

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Jurors Deliberating in Tad DeLay Money Laundering Case - a long time coming in the case involving the former Republican House Majority Leader. CNN.com has more here.

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