Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

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Who Will Replace Weiner? - now that the NY Representative has announced his resignation in the wake a sexting scandal, the question is who will replace the Democrat. What is interesting is New york is losing two seats due to redistricting - you can bet this seat will be one of them. Politico.com has more here.

With Anthony Weiner out of work, Hustler Magazine Publisher Larry Flynt has offered him a job. The Huffington Post has more here.

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Generic Republican Candidate Beats Obama - in the latest Gallup poll, respondents favored any Republican candidate over President Obama 44% - 39%. Not a significant statistical difference, but troublesome nonetheless. Gallup.com has more here.

Sixteen months remain prior to the 2012 election and anything can happen between now and then. However, President Obama must focus like a laser beam on the economy and reduce unemployment if he expects to be reelected.

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International Monetary Fund Warn U.S. - in their most recent report, they warned European countries and the U.S. they must take steps to reduce budget deficits. Reuters.com has more here.

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Greece Default Looming - the government led by Prime Minister George Papandreou is hanging on by a thread as he replaces his Finance Minister. The financial collapse of Greece will have worldwide implications. The Washington Post has more here.

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California Governor Jerry Brown Vetoes Budget - not satisfied with what the Democratic controlled state legislature had passed, the Governor vetoed, sending it back to the legislature to continue negotiations to bridge a 10 billion gap. The NY Times has more here.

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Feingold a Hit at Netroots Nation Conference - the former Democratic Wisconsin Senator warned that Democrats forming Super-PACs was like "dancing with the devil". Feingold was a major force in campaign finance reform which was recently gutted by the split Supreme court "Citizens United" decision. TPM.com has more here.

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Privatization Effort A Boondoggle for Frederick County Maryland

George Wenschhof

The much ballyhooed privatization report presentation by PPP Associates, LLC took place yesterday and as a result, the board of county commissioners would be wise to slow down and scrutinize fully the ideas espoused by Oliver Porter.

For, it is Oliver Porter and his company who stand to benefit the most if the county would move to implement the changes outlined in the report.

The aw, shucks southern drawl from Mr. Porter included references to how well the county currently is providing services, but how his suggestions, if implemented would provide savings up to 109 million. Of course, if his firm was selected to provide consultation services, they would be willing to do the work for free if no savings resulted from the effort. If, savings did result, they would be willing to only take 1%. All the while, Board president Blaine Young was gulping the kool-aid as it was being poured by Porter.

Let’s see, 1% of 109 million is 1 million and 90 thousand dollars – not a bad consultation fee.

Of course, with PPS Associates, LLC providing the consultation, there would be no conflict of interest, would there? Porter also has to be hoping the national exposure he would receive as a result of Frederick County government hiring his company, would lead other far right wing leaning local governments to retain his firm.

After the presentation, only two commissioners expressed reservations. Commissioner David Gray correctly pointed out comparing Sandy Springs, Georgia to Frederick County was an inaccurate approach as Sandy Springs was a breakaway city from a county which was starting up from scratch. Paul Smith wanted to meet with department heads to discuss more in depth and rightfully suggested taking time to review what had been proposed.

Commissioners Kirby Delauter and Billy Shreve, who are becoming the real life version of Tweedledum and Tweedledee, said nothing as they continue to act in lockstep with their friend, Board president Blaine Young, whose coattails they rode into office.

When public comments were allowed, long term Frederick county resident Margaret Hindman pointed out the Libertarian ties Mr. Porter is known to have and that the private firm he had contracted with to provide services for the City of Sandy Springs was not retained when the contract expired. All of which are legitimate concerns.

Additional public testimony included a good point relating to the proposed selling of county owned equipment, after a private contractor was retained to provide services. If the services provided by the private contractor were not satisfactory and the decision was made to move back to the county providing the service, it would become a costly proposition.

All of which begs the question, if this privatization plan is so great, why only a few small municipalities across the country have chosen to take this route in providing needed services in their communities.

A change as drastic as the one proposed by PPP Associates, LLC is also one in which all voters should have the opportunity to weigh in on. Like a change to charter government, a change to privatization of government services should go to referendum and be placed on a ballot for the voters to decide.

Instead of moving forward, as board president Young is doing; scheduling required public meetings leading to a vote by the board of commissioners on the matter, the wise move to make at this point is considerable research into privatization efforts as well as other innovative approaches to providing county services.

A better approach by the county commissioners would have been to commission an independent think tank, which does not stand to benefit from the analysis provided, such as The University of Maryland School of Public Policy, to provide an analysis of different ways to provide services by county government; comparing privatization, costs and efficiencies. It is not too late for the board to do so.

But, then again to ultra conservatives focused on ending government as we know it, a quick vote is the answer. After all, this representative democracy stuff is a really ineffective system. The current commissioners realizing this already have already reduced the number of board of commissioners meetings by fifty per cent.

The decision by Blaine Young and Company to pay PPP Associates, LLC $25,000 to provide a report which the firm stands to benefit financially from is not only bad form, it is taxpayer money ill spent.

At this point, moving forward with a vote on privatizing county services by the board of commissioners would be a boondoggle of monumental proportions for the county.

Frederick County residents deserve better representation– they should demand it.

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Frederick County Privatization Report

George Wenschhof

The report has been released by the county government just hours before the scheduled public hearing and can be read in it's entirety here.

Frederick County, Maryland Commissioners, led by President Blaine Young (R) have come under criticism for withholding the report from the public prior to the scheduled public meeting at 1:00 PM ET today.

Republican Commissioner David Gray provided the report prepared by PPP Associates LLC, last night to the Frederick News Post. Savings of 109 million over a five year period are projected in the report according to the article.

Criticism has centered on the fact the twenty-five thousand dollar report was prepared by a company that favors privatization and would therefore hardly prepare a fair and balanced analysis.

Stay tuned...

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Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

al-Zawahiri New Leader of al-Qaeda - in an announcement posted on a militant website, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was named as the replacement for Osama bin-Laden. In a widely anticipated move, the second in command is now the leader of the movement. BBC News has more here.

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Obama Administration Pushes Back on Libya - the White House sent a detailed 32 page report to Congress addressing their expressed concerns about u.S. military action in Libya. The White House, is claiming, in part, that sense the U.S. involvement is limited with no "boots on the ground", it does not fall under the War Powers Act and consequently does not require congressional approval. The Washington Post has more here.

Nice try by the White House, but their argument is weak and goes against the intent of the War Powers Act, which was passed to prohibit a sitting president from involving the U.S. in a lengthy military action without debate and passage by Congress.

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Republicans Head to The Big Easy - the annual Republican Leadership Conference begins today in New Orleans. Expect a lot of Obama bashing. Chris Cillizza has his take on what to expect here.

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House Democrats Say Republicans Censoring Their Mail - a bit of a stretch, but the claim is being made by some Democratic Representatives, who say they are not able to refer to rep. Paul Ryan's Medicare plan as a private voucher proposal. Mailings by Congressmen are reviewed by a bi-partisan Franking Commission. To date, the mailings in questions have been handled by staff and not voted on by the full commission. TheHill.com has more here. Stay tuned..

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Giffords Released from Hospital - five months after being shot in the head, the Congresswoman has been released from a rehabilitation facility and is now at home with her husband. She will continue to receive out patient rehabilitation treatment. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) verbal and cognitive skills continue to improve, but a decision on whether to run for reelection is a long way off. the deadline for candidates to file is May of next year. CNN.com has more here.

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Say Bye Bye Weiner - in the latest of the on-going Capitol sexcapades, a porn actress says Representative Anthony Weiner (D-NY) asked her to lie. The twitter/email story just continues to get weirder. Speculation is swirling the Congressman will announce his resignation as early as today. Reuters.com has more here.

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New Rules on Derivatives Trading Slow in Coming - ever since the passage of the Dodd-Frank bill last year aimed at making changes to the finance industry, the financial industry lobby has worked hard to keep rules from coming into effect. The Security and Exchange Commission now says the changes scheduled to go into effect July 1, will not have to be met as the rules have not been written. So much for finance reform. The NY Times has more here.

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