Partisan Politics

WASHINGTON -- Leading Republican lawmakers clipped on their microphones in television studios around town yesterday to attack President Clinton for formally invoking executive privilege to block grand jury testimony of senior White House aides in the Monica Lewinsky inquiry.White House officials countered that the Republicans were playing partisan politics.Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott called Clinton's decision "a mistake" that would damage his credibility. "It looks like they are hiding something," the Mississippi Republican said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

I'm beginning to wonder if there is a connection between the Super Bowl and heightened feminist frenzy. Last year, it was the Tebows' commercial celebrating life and the gift of children that had feminists all in a lather. This year it revolves around the Susan B. Komen Foundation's decision (and then the retraction of that decision) to stop funding Planned Parenthood. My wife and I are contributors to the Komen Foundation, and our decision to continue or discontinue contributing will depend on whether the foundation remains true to its mission.

WASHINGTON -- Like a John LeCarre spy story, the unraveling of Anthony Lake is a complicated tale.And yet, an increasingly familiar theme emerged at the end. Lake's nomination to head the CIA was done in, ultimately, by the Democratic fund-raising affair."

What you have described is a bad case of partisan politics, not the participatory political zone where citizens live and breathe ("The $47 million deal," Oct. 27). Politics is where ever citizens get together, talk together, disagree together. Open and transparent free speech and peaceable assembly. Not the behind the doors push and pull of lobbyists and seasoned arm twisters. That you would bring this to the attention of your readers, I applaud. That you condone it and in fact suggest that the new test for your approval is whether it serves the common good of some who may or may not need the swag is what's shocking to me. I would like to know how you draw the conclusion that nothing "would happen in a legislative body that abstains from politics," by which you evidently mean partisan politics.

As we continue another year of debate over in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants, complete with the legal and moral issues, I wish to suggest to our representatives in the state legislature a different approach. Why not propose a bill creating a partnership between Maryland and the federal government that would mandate that each non-resident student complete, as part of his or her college or technical school admission, the requirements for U.S. citizenship? Trained naturalization instructors certified by the United States government would educate students in the requirements of gaining citizenship.

Regarding Howard County Executive Ken Ulman's recent criticism of the Board of Education as "dysfunctional," I respectfully disagree. As one often outspoken member of the board, I will be the first to acknowledge that current board members possess varied and often profoundly different opinions on how to best carry out the mandate of our citizens. That said, I view the diversity of opinion on the board as a strength, not a "dysfunction. " The current board has consistently worked within tight budget constraints to address a wide variety of critical issues impacting Howard County's children, the treasures for whom we board members are stewards, and ever mindful of protecting our frequently overlooked but most essential asset: Howard County's public school classroom teachers and support staff.

What you have described is a bad case of partisan politics, not the participatory political zone where citizens live and breathe ("The $47 million deal," Oct. 27). Politics is where ever citizens get together, talk together, disagree together. Open and transparent free speech and peaceable assembly. Not the behind the doors push and pull of lobbyists and seasoned arm twisters. That you would bring this to the attention of your readers, I applaud. That you condone it and in fact suggest that the new test for your approval is whether it serves the common good of some who may or may not need the swag is what's shocking to me. I would like to know how you draw the conclusion that nothing "would happen in a legislative body that abstains from politics," by which you evidently mean partisan politics.

Partisan politics has ruined racing If I were a civics professor, I could not find a better example of partisan politics for my students than the slots/race track debacle ("Md. tracks on auction block," March 6). In all four years of his one-term tenure, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a Republican governor facing a Democratic-controlled legislature, fought to get a slots bill passed to help bail an anemic Maryland thoroughbred industry and to fund the Thornton education law. In each legislative session he hit a Democratic leadership stonewall and slots went nowhere.

Former Annapolis mayor Dennis M. Callahan "jumped ship and ran away"when he decided to become an independent instead of working to improve the Democratic party, the party's city chairman says.Michael T. Brown, who heads the city's Democratic Central Committee, called Callahan's decision to leave the party a purely political move aimed atincreasing his chances of winning the 1993 mayor's race.Callahan, who says he may run for mayor again in 1993, lost Democratic primaries in his bid for re-election and in his race for the county executive's seat.

NO ISSUE FACING this nation is important enough to remove it from partisan politics. That's the message Senate Republicans send by blocking almost every nomination to fill a federal court vacancy made by President Clinton. They stall whether the nominee is liberal, conservative or moderate. The result is an overwhelmed court system with too few judges to handle the huge docket that stems from drug cases and civil suits.Mr. Clinton decried the partisan politics in his radio address Saturday, but he must share the blame for the judicial appointments morass.

Regarding Howard County Executive Ken Ulman's recent criticism of the Board of Education as "dysfunctional," I respectfully disagree. As one often outspoken member of the board, I will be the first to acknowledge that current board members possess varied and often profoundly different opinions on how to best carry out the mandate of our citizens. That said, I view the diversity of opinion on the board as a strength, not a "dysfunction. " The current board has consistently worked within tight budget constraints to address a wide variety of critical issues impacting Howard County's children, the treasures for whom we board members are stewards, and ever mindful of protecting our frequently overlooked but most essential asset: Howard County's public school classroom teachers and support staff.

As we continue another year of debate over in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants, complete with the legal and moral issues, I wish to suggest to our representatives in the state legislature a different approach. Why not propose a bill creating a partnership between Maryland and the federal government that would mandate that each non-resident student complete, as part of his or her college or technical school admission, the requirements for U.S. citizenship? Trained naturalization instructors certified by the United States government would educate students in the requirements of gaining citizenship.

If there is any lesson to be drawn from Baltimore City Democratic Del. Curt Anderson's quixotic foray into the House of Delegates Tea Party Caucus, it is this: Cynicism and the pursuit of political self-interest are alive and well in Annapolis. Veteran lawmakers like to talk about a time when Republicans and Democrats fought ferociously during the election season but then put partisan politics behind them when the time came to govern. If that was ever really true, it is certainly not now. Mr. Anderson has something of a point in his explanation for why he, a fairly liberal Democrat and head of the city's very liberal House delegation, would join a group that takes its name from the strongest force in contemporary conservative politics.

Last week, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg dipped his toe in Maryland's political waters to bestow his blessing upon Gov. Martin O'Malley's re-election bid. A day later, the National Rifle Association announced its backing for 1st District Congressman Frank Kratovil, one of the most endangered House Democrats in the country. What should we make of the impact of these developments? Not much, frankly. The endorsements may help Messrs. O'Malley and Kratovil a little. But their electoral fates will not be determined by endorsements — and, in any event, there won't be many political surprises in Maryland this November.

Much has been written in praise of former U.S. Sen. Charles "Mac" Mathias Jr. since his death Monday from complications of Parkinson's disease, and all of it is deserved. As much as anyone who has represented this state in Congress, the Republican from Frederick exhibited a fierce independent streak and a keen disinterest in partisan politics. The 87-year-old left behind an impressive legacy: three terms in the U.S. Senate and four in the U.S. House of Representatives, a strong record in civil rights, a willingness to buck his party's increasingly influential conservative wing, a place on Richard Nixon's enemies list, opposition to the Vietnam War. Marylanders loved him for his thoughtful statesmanship and pragmatism even as he was ostracized by his own party for daring to harbor so many left-of-center views.

Partisan politics has ruined racing If I were a civics professor, I could not find a better example of partisan politics for my students than the slots/race track debacle ("Md. tracks on auction block," March 6). In all four years of his one-term tenure, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a Republican governor facing a Democratic-controlled legislature, fought to get a slots bill passed to help bail an anemic Maryland thoroughbred industry and to fund the Thornton education law. In each legislative session he hit a Democratic leadership stonewall and slots went nowhere.

Maryland's two oldest living former governors decried the current high level of partisanship in Annapolis during a panel discussion yesterday hosted by a leading state business group. Marvin Mandel and Comptroller William Donald Schaefer said the state capital is far different from when they served as governors from 1969-1979 and 1987-1995, respectively. "Partisan politics is changing Maryland. There's no doubt about it. It's descending on us from Washington," said Mandel, 85, speaking to business leaders and General Assembly members at a breakfast meeting of Maryland Business for Responsive Government.

Washington - Think of Barack Obama's political organization as a Maserati, a luxury, high-performance vehicle that lapped the competition this year. The president-elect hasn't indicated precisely what he'll do with his baby, which he's called, perhaps accurately, the best ever built. One thing he's unlikely to do is put it away in the garage for the next four years. Modern presidents typically shut their campaigns down, bring their political advisers into the government and run their political operations out of the White House and national party headquarters in Washington.