Maryland Democrats

Washington - -Democrats in Washington seldom criticized President Barack Obama during his first year in office. But if lawmakers from Maryland are any indication, leading members of his party think it's time for him to step up his game. Obama has tried to take on too many problems, some Marylanders say. And as he shifts emphasis in an election year, they worry that he could wind up punishing a portion of the Democratic base. "I think we pushed the agenda way too quick and tried to do too much too soon, because we were in the majority and he had the bully pulpit.

Gerrymandered map is an abomination Congratulations to both The Baltimore Sun and your fine columnist Jean Marbella on the article dealing with "political cartography" in Maryland ("Political cartography has strange consequences," Nov. 13). I was pleased to see such a complete analysis of the system of outlining congressional districts based on purely political grounds. This practice is not limited to Maryland, or to Democrats or Republicans. As was pointed out in the article, former Rep. Tom DeLay was an active practioner of the art of gerrymandering in Texas, as was Gov. Parris N. Glendening in Maryland.

Just a couple of years ago, when Republican Bob Ehrlich was governor of Maryland and running for re-election, he stood next to Rudy Giuliani at a $2,000-a-plate fundraiser in Baltimore, and the former New York City mayor took questions from reporters. When one brought up Maryland's blue statehood, Ehrlich stepped forward to make a correction. "Light blue," he said, and ha-ha-ha and hee-hee-hee - that Bobby Slots was some funny guy, no? Calling Maryland "light blue," suggesting that Democratic power is thin here, was wishful thinking on Ehrlich's part.

A rift among Maryland's Democrats - with Comptroller Peter Franchot increasingly on the outs - became decidedly more public and bitter yesterday with a tartly worded missive from one of the party's standard-bearers. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, a Prince George's County Democrat who has held his leadership post in the General Assembly for more than two decades, sent a letter to Franchot, the state's elected chief fiscal officer, excoriating him for his "obsession with the press" and "disregard for the relationships you need to be an effective leader."

DENVER - In tapping Delaware's Joe Biden as his running mate, Barack Obama went for everything he is not: a garrulous, back-slapping, old-school pol with more Washington years under his belt than almost anyone in either party. Biden is the first mid-Atlantic candidate on a national ticket since the early 1970s, an Irish-Catholic with working-class credibility and foreign policy expertise. He could enhance Obama's appeal in places, such as Maryland, where the Democrat is already strong.

DENVER - Maryland Democrats cheered yesterday a presidential ticket that will include a senator from neighboring Delaware with family ties to Baltimore, saying Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s knowledge of Chesapeake Bay troubles could spark sorely needed protections. Gov. Martin O'Malley predicted that Biden would become a "critical ally" on the environment if elected, and Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler said the senator has a "keen understanding" of the Chesapeake's needs because he is "from a border state and comes every day through Maryland" during his commute to Washington.

When Gov. Martin O'Malley endorsed Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential primary nearly a year ago, he was throwing his support behind the presumptive front-runner and building on a long-standing relationship with her and her husband's political machine. Moreover, the risk seemed small. Three years earlier, O'Malley had backed Howard Dean, who dropped out of the race, and still landed a coveted speaking role at the Democratic National Convention. But in recent weeks the dynamics of this year's presidential primaries have changed.

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin's telephone began ringing months ago. On the line: representatives of the Democratic presidential contenders soliciting advice on Maryland politics, asking about lessons learned from his 2006 Senate race or just checking in again to gauge his latest thoughts on the campaign. But the callers are after more than his wisdom. As a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention, Cardin will not be bound by the results of next month's Maryland primary election when he casts his vote in Denver this summer, but may back whichever candidate he chooses.

When Arthur Bremer walked out of a Maryland prison earlier this month, it was a history lesson in more ways than one. It was, foremost, a reminder of an unusually violent period in late 20th-century American politics. Lost in the news of Bremer's release was another story, which may come as a surprise to many Marylanders. It was about Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace's other campaign stops in the state, before Bremer shot him in the Laurel Shopping Center. In Hagerstown, police were called in after protesters disrupted his speech.

Maryland Democratic Party Chairman Terry Lierman said last night he is resigning to become chief of staff to House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer. He is leaving after 2 1/2 years and at a high point, having shepherded the Democrats to victory in last year's contentious U.S. Senate and gubernatorial contests. "We took back our state is what we did," said Lierman, 59. "And now I want to have a role in helping take back our nation." On Lierman's watch, Martin O'Malley defeated Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., and then-U.