NEWS
October 10, 2009
The Sun's Laura Vozzella reported this week that Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith is selling his house in Reisterstown and moving to an apartment in Cockeysville, with the thought of possibly running for state Senate in the 7th District (now represented by Sen. Andy Harris, who is probably going to run for Congress). Really? When Dutch Ruppersberger finished his two terms as Baltimore County executive, there was a strain of thought that saw Congress as a step down - much less the General Assembly.
NEWS
By Larry Carson | September 20, 2009
The bright red and blue-lettered T-shirts worn by some Washington-bound protesters Saturday morning set the tone for the day of denouncing big government, high spending and President Barack Obama's agenda. "I'll keep my guns, freedom and money" was in red lettering. "You can keep the change" was in blue. Howard Del. Warren E. Miller, a Republican who later also showed up in a news photo taken at the march carrying a sign that said "Liar, Liar, pants on fire," wore one of the T-shirts. Loretta Shields, former GOP party leader in Howard, wore another that said "Proud member of the angry mob, and I vote."
NEWS
By Paul West | August 6, 2009
Washington - -A photograph of Maryland Rep. Frank Kratovil Jr. being hanged in effigy is prominently featured in a new national Democratic Party Web video that claims that public outbursts over President Barack Obama's health care overhaul plan are being manufactured by opponents. The anti-Kratovil episode, during a small protest outside his Salisbury district office last week, gained notice at the time on the Internet and in the local news media. But the Democratic Party ad, and related comments by White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, figure to generate wider, and unwanted, attention on the freshman lawmaker, already one of the most vulnerable House Democrats in the country.
NEWS
By Laura Smitherman | June 21, 2009
An admittedly nervous public speaker, Susan Turnbull addressed about 800 Democratic faithful at a swank annual gala last week. The new party chairwoman proceeded to confuse the two Mikes who lead the chambers of the Maryland General Assembly and flub the title of Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, calling him attorney general. "Whoa," Turnbull exclaimed, waving both arms as if she were teetering on an edge. "Doug has probably already gotten a message on his BlackBerry," she said, referring to Douglas F. Gansler, who actually holds the state's top legal post.
NEWS
April 9, 2009
Protect firefighters with decaBDE ban The Baltimore Sun's article "Looking out for the consumer" (April 5) suggested that it is unclear if the flame retardant chemical decabrominated diphenyl ether, also known as decaBDE, is harmful. While decaBDE is a chemical flame retardant that was developed to save lives, its use certainly has some harmful and unintended consequences. Like many other modern chemical substances, when decaBDE burns in a structure fire, it creates dense black smoke that reduces the visibility of firefighters.
NEWS
By PAUL WEST | March 22, 2009
Washington - Upstate New York, a cradle of modern party politics, is the unlikely site of a showdown between a couple of Maryland pols, Michael Steele and Chris Van Hollen. Their minidrama is playing out in the background of the first voter test of Barack Obama's presidency, a special election to fill a vacancy in the House of Representatives. It opened up when then-Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat, had the good fortune to get appointed to Hillary Clinton's spot in the U.S. Senate.
NEWS
By Laura Smitherman | February 22, 2009
These are especially trying times for Maryland Republicans. They suffered crushing defeats in the most recent election. They are outnumbered and often sidelined in Annapolis. They are having trouble raising campaign cash. And internal tensions are simmering at the state party's headquarters. But they also see an opportunity in this General Assembly session. There the GOP is honing a critique of Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley's fiscal stewardship, and they are hammering topics such as rising electricity rates, driver's licenses for illegal immigrants and a proposed death penalty repeal, issues on which they see themselves as aligned with mainstream Marylanders.
NEWS
By Frederick N. Rasmussen | February 19, 2009
S. Ronald Ellison, a prominent Baltimore attorney and partner in the law firm of Fedder and Garten who was also active in local Democratic Party circles, died Tuesday of lung cancer at Union Memorial Hospital. He was 68. Born and raised in West Baltimore, Mr. Ellison was a 1957 graduate of City College. He earned a bachelor's degree from the Johns Hopkins University in 1961 and his law degree in 1964 from the University of Maryland School of Law. "Ronnie enjoyed gambling and liked telling the story that he put himself through Hopkins playing pinochle," said Joann Rodgers, a cousin who lives in Baltimore.
NEWS
By THOMAS F. SCHALLER | November 18, 2008
Just four years ago, a flood of books and essays hit newsstands and shelves, all diagnosing what went wrong with the Democratic Party and how to fix it. A cottage industry emerged, of which my own book was a small part. What a difference a few years makes. After the 2006 midterm and 2008 presidential election cycles, a new set of analyses is emergent, asking the same question but of the other major party: What's wrong with the Republicans? In those back-to-back cycles, the Republicans have lost not only the White House but also a dozen U.S. senators and more than 50 House seats, seven net governorships and hundreds of state legislative seats.
NEWS
By Patt Morrison | November 11, 2008
The election's over; should political parties be over too? Is it time to junk the D's and the R's after politicians' names, and all the baggage that comes with them? How meaningful and relevant are candidates' political parties anymore? When a New England Republican can be more progressive than a Texas Democrat, when millions regard themselves as independents and occupy the takeout-menu middle on political issues, why do we need to belong to parties? Barack Obama is in the Democratic Party but in some ways seems not to be of it. He built his own political operation and fundraising mechanisms, and so - unlike Bill Clinton, who constructed his political machine within the party framework - owes less to the Democratic edifice than he does to the support of an even bigger tent full of Americans.