Who's the next Governor of Maryland (California, North Beach: 2015, mover, tax)

[InvaderBryce]

Originally Posted by MidValleyDad

I've started wondering if I could do more by changing parties and trying to drag the Democrats back to the middle. Especially since I'm now in a Democrat Congressional district

I really wish we could move back to the middle. The Progressives and Liberal Democrats have really screwed up the party.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by MidValleyDad

I've started wondering if I could do more by changing parties and trying to drag the Democrats back to the middle. Especially since I'm now in a Democrat Congressional district

You have it backwards.
It's the Republicans who need to be dragged back to the middle.

Originally Posted by InvaderBryce

I really wish we could move back to the middle.
The Progressives and Liberal Democrats have really screwed up the party.

What you're seeing is defense of gains achieved against those who will attempt to re-fight
their lost battles from decades past over and over and over again hoping to gain one small
crumb of their agenda at a time.

Originally Posted by InvaderBryce

Black people can be very hypocritical at times. We to were once denied the right to marry
and yet we sit here today and deny others the right all because a pastor tell us too.
I swear it's like there are some of us who can't think for themselves w/o the church telling them how to.

And the Republican leadership is more than happy to have you make their illogical fight for them.
If the Republicans were to abandon these hot button social issues or at least to (genuinely!)
set them aside as political rallying cries then the debate might be able to focus on the fiscal
and administrative policy matters that government is supposed to be about.

By allowing the zealots on the right to become the leaders and by that leadership force
the party to focus on these peripheral and social issues... you (in turn) force the zealots
on the left to defend against encroachment of their hard won rights.

Being divisive and obstinate for it's own sake seems to be preferred to governance.
It's political terrorism right out of the PLO handbook.

[reiflame]

Originally Posted by MrRational

You have it backwards.
It's the Republicans who need to be dragged back to the middle.

In Maryland, the Democrats need to be dragged back into the middle as much as the Republicans do.

[North Beach Person]

Going back a couple post about Blacks, Republicans and gay marriage. The Republicans were disinvited from the petition to referendum drive on that law. The disinvitation came from the Black ministers and churches that spearheaded the petition drive.

As a note, Republicans and the Black establishment worked together on the MD Dream Act petition drive as well as, to an extent, the redistricting petition.

[InvaderBryce]

I read a nice editorial in the Washington Post on Saturday which said that O'Malley and the Democrats in this state are basically doing what the GOP has done in other states by effectively making it into a 1-party state through redistricting.

Here is the editorial: Righting the tilted system of a gerrymandered map in Maryland - The Washington Post

MD's new Congressional Districts: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv...map/index.html

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by InvaderBryce

I read a nice editorial in the Washington Post on Saturday which said that O'Malley and the Democrats in this state are basically doing what the GOP has done in other states by effectively making it into a 1-party state through redistricting.

I'm in one of those states now.
A tongue in cheek world wide perspective on it:

[westsideboy]

Franchot is campaigning very hard out here in Western Maryland. He is breaking with the Governor on issues like coal mining and taxes. He is doing more stumping out here than he probably should considering how few Democrats we have compared to the rest of the state.

I suspect he has done the math and sees some angle in being the champion of the more rural counties in the state. I have a hard time seeing that being a winning plan in a Dem primary, but maybe he sees the race breaking down along geographic and racial lines. Brown and Gansler spliting the vote in the "big three" counties and Franchot winning the smaller counties handily and eeking out victory.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by westsideboy

Franchot is campaigning very hard out here in Western Maryland. He is breaking with the Governor on issues like coal mining and taxes. He is doing more stumping out here than he probably should considering how few Democrats we have compared to the rest of the state.

I suspect he has done the math and sees some angle in being the champion of the more rural counties in the state. I have a hard time seeing that being a winning plan in a Dem primary, but maybe he sees the race breaking down along geographic and racial lines. Brown and Gansler spliting the vote in the "big three" counties and Franchot winning the smaller counties handily and eeking out victory.

I suspect you're right. I didn't know he was heading out your way much, he's been a real fixture here the last year or so (we have a building dedication, rather a re-dedication (a real long story), tomorrow and he's on the RSVP guest list. I don't know whether he's going to speak or not). He also was real high profile at the MD Municipal League Conventions the last few years.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by westsideboy

Brown and Gansler spliting ... and Franchot...

rock, paper, scissors


Rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock..... - YouTube

[westsideboy]

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

I suspect you're right. I didn't know he was heading out your way much, he's been a real fixture here the last year or so (we have a building dedication, rather a re-dedication (a real long story), tomorrow and he's on the RSVP guest list. I don't know whether he's going to speak or not). He also was real high profile at the MD Municipal League Conventions the last few years.

Interesting. Franchot has been out here at least twice for high profile visits this year, including at a Maryland Coal Association meeting, followed by meet and greet with the local Democratic movers and shakers.

2014 would be a great year for an open primary (I know, keep dreaming ,) I would vote the Dem primary ticket if a Pro-Business Dem had a shot at the Governor's Mansion.