Gay rights activists, religious leaders and politicians are gearing up for two months of campaigning on the Maryland referendum to strike down same-sex marriage legislation that passed in March.
Hot off the political conventions in Tampa and Charlotte, volunteers will be staffing nightly phone banks, canvassing door-to-door and finding ways to make same-sex marriage a personal issue for voters.
State Dems drop a bombshell as Wendy Rosen resigns from challenging U.S. Rep. Harris amid allegations she voted in national elections in both Maryland and Florida. Dems notify prosecutors and the GOP calls the state Democratic Party corrupt; Gov. O’Malley plans another trip to Israel; MGM throws in $3 million to get casino referendum passed; non-religious people unite in lobby effort; and Ken Ulman on race for the governor’s house.
Forty-six early voting centers will open Oct. 27 in Maryland for the 2012 presidential election, but it is not clear that the convenience is worth the $2.6 million price tag taxpayers are paying for the new benefit.
Overall, voter turnout has not increased, and one national study suggests early voting may have depressed turnout in several states, possibly because election day loses its stimulating effect on non-voters.
Even if voters reject the new congressional redistricting plan, those districts will remain in place until the 2014 election; more gambling money won’t necessarily translate into more education money; gambling addicts join exclusion program; Viking blasts Del. Burns on gay marriage, free speech over Ravens linebacker stance and Burns walks back on his position; jobs imbalance clogs roadways with Marylanders heading to work in D.C.-Virginia area; defense contractors worry about job loss; and an independent gets enough signatures to run against U.S. Sen. Cardin and Dan Bongino.
With the party conventions over, it is safe to predict that all the fuss and blather have changed the minds of very few people. Same goes for all the political coverage of the conventions. Campaigns are important, but what are much more important are the fundamentals of governing. That’s why it’s important to understand Professor Allan Lichtman’s 13 “Keys to the White House,” now out in a new 2012 edition, “Predicting the Next President”. He has successfully predicted the winner since 1980, long before the conventions.
Conventions are worth the expense, Maryland Dems say; VA GOP Gov. McDonnell invades Charlotte ala O’Malley in Tampa; Gov. O’Malley says he will wait till after general election to begin pondering future; U.S. Rep. Donna Edwards among long list of Marylanders in convention spotlight; atheists unite to form political lobby; judge upholds wording on redistricting ballot question; and U.S. Rep. Bartlett apologizes for Holocaust remark.
Hoopla, hooch and horse manure are all in abundance at conventions of either political party.
But why do thousands of people spend all that time, effort and millions of their own money and taxpayer dollars to come together every four years for an extended infomercial? Experienced Democratic politicos from Maryland who’ve been to as many as a dozen national political conventions say they’re worth the expense.
Virginia’s Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell was dispatched to the Democratic National Convention Thursday to open fire on the Obama administration, a role much like that his neighbor Gov. Martin O’Malley played last week at the GOP convention.
Amid tepid reviews, Gov. O’Malley translates convention speech into stumping for something; Mikulski urges voters to back women candidates; Van Hollen takes a swipe at Romney-Ryan ticket; Maryland DREAM Act supporters wary of Romney’s immigration stance; in other news, state casino take drops by $3 million in July; state Sen. Brochin blasts judge for comments in domestic violence case; and Leopold accusations continue to burble to the surface.
It was another Maryland night Wednesday at the Democratic National Convention as a third of the party’s members of Congress had speaking roles, though none with a primetime national audience as Gov. Martin O’Malley had Tuesday.
For the large Maryland delegation, it was all hands on deck to show its support for Sen. Barbara Mikulski, Rep. Steny Hoyer and Chris Van Hollen.
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