Democratic candidates in District 42 delegate race rev up the direct mail attack ad machine

A Democratic friend of mine has received two attack mailers in the past week from backers of Oz Bengur, Lori Albin and incumbent Del. Steve Lafferty. And one attack mailer from Oz himself.

To Oz and friends: These ads just make you look desperate. Voters who know your opponents well don't like seeing the sleazy results of your PhotoShop work.

UPDATE: For Bill Frank's response to the mailers, go here.

The looming "education bubble": not on radar screen for Towson U. prof or D42 state senate candidates

At the District 42 state senator debate tonight (Jim Brochin vs. Kevin Carney) there was a question about the higher education bubble. Neither candidate was familiar with the term. Nor was the moderator, Towson University political science professor James C. Roberts.

For them, and anyone else who doesn't read Instapundit, Michael Barone summarizes the concept nicely:

Higher education bubble poised to burst

Imagine that you have a product whose price tag for decades rises faster than inflation. But people keep buying it because they're told that it will make them wealthier in the long run. Then suddenly they find it doesn't. Prices fall sharply, bankruptcies ensue, great institutions disappear.

Sound like the housing market? Yes, but it also sounds like what Glenn Reynolds, creator of instapundit.com, writing in The Examiner, has called "the higher education bubble."

Government-subsidized loans have injected money into higher education, as they did into housing, causing prices to balloon. But at some point people figure out they're not getting their money's worth, and the bubble bursts.

Here's video of Glenn talking about the subject: The Higher Education Bubble, and What Comes Next.

5 reasons why a green Democrat's endorsement of Martin O’Malley is off-base

I recently published a piece on why environmentalists should vote Republican. Shortly after I wrote it, Matt Dernoga of the Diamondback endorsed O’Malley in an article titled, Voting green: the choice is obvious.

His article, though short, supports almost all of my points very nicely. Thanks Matt!

And by the way, it’s not as obvious as you think. Here are five reasons why:

1. Research, analysis and reporting done by green Democrats is often shallow and misleading.

2. Republicans are more skeptical of the environmentalist agenda. Democrats often accept it as an article of faith.

3. Republicans are less likely to impose technology mandates because they know government has a terrible track record.

4. Republicans look more closely at the effects of environmental legislation on business and the economy.

5. A significant majority of key environmental legislation since WWII was passed during Republican administrations.


Dave Greene has worked as energy/environmental policy analyst in DC, helped build a large waste treatment plan in Boston, sat on a Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategies Team and served on the board of a local watershed group in Baltimore County. He also supports Bob Ehrlich for governor of Maryland.

Why you should vote to re-elect Del. Bill Frank to the Maryland General Assembly (District 42)

This is a very important election coming up. I've been active in the campaign for governor of Maryland, supporting Bob Ehrlich.

But this election isn't just about the big statewide offices. All of us need to pay attention to races at all levels, up and down the ballot.

Below is a letter I wrote recently. This past Saturday I hand-delivered it 150 of my neighbors. If you live in District 42, please vote for Bill. If you don't live in our district, please consider writing a similar letter for your favorite local candidate.

Dear neighbor in central Baltimore County,

When you're hiring a person, one of the very best words you can hear from their references is "respected." When people use this word, it’s a strong indicator of character, savvy and effectiveness.

I’ve known Bill Frank for eight years, and can tell you that he is widely respected in our community. He’s also widely respected in Annapolis on both sides of the aisle.

When I first heard Bill at a candidate forum in 2002, he stood out in a large group as the most poised and articulate. Later that year we knocked on doors together for the Ehrlich campaign.

I’ve also logged many hours on the sidelines with Bill. Our boys play baseball and were LTRC teammates for several years.

Here are some things I like about Bill

• He has a clear, consistent belief system.
• He works hard.
• Of all the legislative updates I get (from DC, Towson and Annapolis) his are the best.
• He treats others with respect, allies and opponents alike.
• He's responsive to constituents.

Please join me in voting for Bill on November 2nd.


p.s. I hope you’ll also support Bob Ehrlich for governor on November 2nd.

I have volunteered many hours of my time for Bob this year because Maryland needs change and he is the right governor to make it happen.

But he will need help. Fortunately, the GOP has an especially strong slate of folks running this year.

We need state legislators with private sector experience who understand how job creation actually works. People like John Fiastro (restaurant industry), Kevin Carney (home-building) and Sue Aumann (accounting).

I’ve also been very impressed with Steve Bailey (running for State’s Attorney in Baltimore County), and Ken Holt, (running for County Executive). The more I talk to these two and see them in action, the more I like them.

A question for Martin O'Malley

When you talk about working families, who are you leaving out?

If he were honest about it, O'Malley's answer would be "no one."

Almost everyone who hears these words thinks O'Malley is talking about their family. In my view, the phrase is meaningless. Every time I hear it, I think the speaker is trying to pull something over on me.

7 reasons why environmentalists should vote Republican

1. Research, analysis and reporting done by green Democrats is often shallow and misleading.
2. Republicans are more skeptical of the environmentalist agenda. Democrats often accept it as an article of faith.
3. Republicans are less likely to impose technology mandates because they know government has a terrible track record.
4. Republicans look more closely at the effects of environmental legislation on business and the economy.
5. A significant majority of major environmental legislation since WWII was passed during Republican administrations.
6. Republicans tend to focus on results. Democrats tend to focus on effort and good intentions.
7. Republicans push harder for free market solutions that cost less and accomplish more.

Ehrlich supporters massively outnumber O'Malley fans at Towson 4th of July parade

When Martin O'Malley took his first steps at the beginning of the July 4th parade in Towson today, the crowd was mostly quiet.

An hour or so later, the crowd welcomed Bob Ehrlich with smiles, noisy applause and cheers. Parade-watchers stopped him often to have pictures taken with him. His reception seemed to match the one he got in Dundalk earlier in the day:

People all along the parade route were holding and waving Ehrlich signs. At one spot on Liberty Parkway, a dozen people were waving signs and chanting “Bob, Bob, Bob.”

...

But O’Malley signs were rare, and his supporters mostly quiet except for a few boos they gave Ehrlich at the Shipping Place shopping center.

Ehrlich signs in Towson outnumbered O'Malley signs by a huge margin -- perhaps 100 to 1 or more. The bumper stickers handed out by Ehrlich volunteers* went fast too, including plenty of the ones that said "Another Democrat for Ehrlich."

If these Baltimore-area parades are any indication, O'Malley is in for a long uphill slog of a gubernatorial campaign.

More bad news for O'Malley:

O’Malley’s day may not have started out on the best note. Before the parade got underway, his aides were reading a Washington Post editorial that blasted his radio ads against Ehrlich, calling them “distortions” and “low-brow name-calling.” The Baltimore Sun had already criticized the ads.

*Including yours truly

The gaping chasm on jobs policy between Ehrlich and O'Malley

If this bit from Len Lazarick at MarylandReporter.com isn't a clear and significant difference between Bob Ehrlich and Martin O'Malley, I don't know what is:

Republican Ehrlich favors an approach that calls for government to get out of the way of business, cutting taxes and reducing regulations – or at least making them more consistent and business-friendly.

Democrat O’Malley seeks to show what government has done to foster job and business growth by getting involved. He talks about tax credits, spending on education, cracking down on predatory business practices and overcoming the state’s “pathological modesty” about its positive business environment.

The proper role of government in job creation has only two steps:

1. Make the tax structure and regulatory environment as simple, minimal and predictable as possible while still accomplishing the basic/core/necessary tasks of government.
2. Step aside and let the private sector create the jobs.
   

If you care about the economy, employment and job creation, please vote for Ehrlich. To donate or volunteer for his campaign, go here.

Jared DeMarinis has a bad idea

Jared is director of "Candidacy and Campaign Finance" for the Maryland State Board of Elections. He and Linda Lamone seem to have plans for regulating the use social networking sites by political campaigns:

A push to pass the new rules in time for the current election cycle could place Maryland among the first in the country to oversee how campaigns use social networking sites. California and Wisconsin are considering similar measures but have faced opposition from groups that fear an infringement on First Amendment rights.

The board is to vote on the rules today, but final approval from a state legislative committee will still be required. DeMarinis says he is fast-tracking the approval process in hopes of getting the rules in place for November.

Maryland does not need more limitations on political speech.

Books I'd like to read: "Stealing Elections" by John Fund

From an Amazon review of Stealing Elections:

I was hooked from page one ...

Fund chronicles a rash of voter scandals from across the country ...

Funds [looks at electoral law through Thomas Sowell's lens of] competing visions of human nature ...

One need not be a member of a particular party to appreciate [the arguments in] the book ...

Fund provide[s] some key insights into what really happened in Florida once the dust settled [after the Bush-Gore election of 2000] ...

Fund discusses [...] recent election reforms prompted by the Help Americans Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA)

Fund is a clear, level-headed thinker. He also wrote a good series of articles a few years ago about the Yale Taliban.

Coleman's lead shrinks in Minnesota Senate race -- before recount has even started

John Lott investigates. He doesn't like what he sees.

Election bonanza for triple-dipping Baltimore County employees

Did Baltimore County employees serving as election judges last week get paid 2.5 to 7 times as much as regular folks who did the same work?

It certainly looks that way.

When I asked a county employee why so many of his county government cohorts had signed up as election judges in our precinct, he told me that Jim Smith offered them a sweet deal. Apparently they got the regular poll-worker pay of $162.50 PLUS their regular salary for the day PLUS an extra vacation day.

If you assume county fringe benefits amount to 50% of salary, then an employee making $21k in salary would get the equivalent of $402. That's 2.5 times the amount paid to regular folks. And someone making $85,000 in salary would take in a whopping $1,122 for one day of work at the polls. That's 7 times the amount paid to regular folks.

Somehow, that doesn't sound fair.

Some good points Blair Lee made this morning

During his hour with Kendel and Bob Ehrlich:

• The slots amendment to the Maryland constitution that we just voted in has no "maintenance of effort" clause. Which means we have no guarantee that funds from slots will go to education as promised by the pro-slots folks.
• Redistricting reform (to prevent gerrymandering) should be a top-burner* issue in Maryland.
• Early voting is a solution looking for a problem. When tried in other states it has not increased voter turnout.
• Loosened criteria for obtaining absentee ballots are an invitation to fraud.

*Anyone interested in reforming the redistricting process should be aware that the rules for updating US Congressonal districts in Maryland are controlled at the state level by our state senators and state delegates.

"Think" vs. "Know": wordclouds from Obama-McCain debates

Here's Obama from debate #2:


And McCain from debate #2:


I'm not sure what these mean, but they seem to confirm the notions of McCain as an aggressive pilot who makes quick decisions (but has crashed several fighter jets and rubs many people the wrong way) and Obama as a temperate lawyer who digs methodically through the pro's and con's (but hasn't accomplished much other than getting many people to like and elect him).

In any event, I watched only the first half of the 2nd debate last night. It was dull and not very informative.

Then, from 23/6 ("some of the news, most of the time") here's a one-minute video wordcloud of the first debate:

Del. Frank hits Sun for 'selective outrage' on election fraud

Del. Bill Frank (R-42) wonders why a Baltimore Sun editorial on election fraud focuses entirely on Republican tricks and leaves out any mention of ACORN's electoral misconduct.

Well done, Bill.

Give the Sun credit for printing his letter. But the GOP tricks mentioned in the editorial are so ridiculous they probably have little effect anyway. Ironically, such tricks may benefit the left in the long run because loud responses from Democrats tend to get good play in the press.