COPING WITH POLITICAL LOSS: Tina Reed of the Capital-Gazette reports that, in life, there are stages of grief. The same apparently goes for elections. “At first, there is the shock and the surprise,” said Matt Patton, a political science and psychology professor at Anne Arundel Community College. “Eventually, most people find their way to making sense of it.”Every election leaves behind voters whose hopes were wrecked.
SEARCHING FOR RELEVANCE: Fresh from decisive losses in seven of Maryland’s eight congressional districts and its worst performance ever in a U.S. Senate race, the Maryland Republican Party is searching for answers to stop its slide into irrelevance in the increasingly deep-blue state, reports David Hill for the Washington Times.
Red Maryland posts its radio blog, in which the hosts – sounding like they are down a well – assess the election, and address topics such as why Dan Bongino deserved better than this; a gauntlet thrown to the Vichy Republicans who supported Rob Sobhani and why the State Party let us down.
PRESIDENTIAL PORTFOLIO: The Maryland Watch column in the Dagger writes that the victory of Question 6 gives Gov. Martin O’Malley a major plank in his portfolio of accomplishments for his presidential run, along with opening the door to major donors.
O’MALLEY’S GRAND SLAM: Once again, Gov. O’Malley has shown why he’s one of the very best at running and winning an election campaign. He did it again this week by pulling off a difficult grand slam — securing a second term for Barack Obama and mounting a successful defense of bills permitting gay marriage, a casino in Prince George’s County and in-state tuition for kids of illegal immigrants, opines columnist Barry Rascovar in the Gazette. His loser list brings up the rear.
BIG LOSERS: Gazette columnist Blair Lee also gives the big win to O’Malley, plus others including the liberal media, then outlines who the big losers are, including Penn National and the Catholic Church.
EASY REFERENDUMS? Rachel Baye of the Washington Examiner reports that, shortly after Maryland voters legalized same-sex marriage and passed the Maryland Dream Act, allowing some illegal immigrants to pay in-state rates at Maryland colleges, Gov. Martin O’Malley said the process for getting those measures on the ballot was “a little too easy.”
Here the story by WBAL-AM’s Robert Lang, complete with audio on the right hand side.
REFERENDUMS: Marc Steiner of WEAA-FM hosts a roundtable discussion on the ballot initiatives and the money that was poured into them, with particular emphasis on Question 6 on Marriage Equality and Question 7 on the expansion of gaming in Maryland.
JAN. 4 FOR MARRIAGE: With the passage this week of Question 6, Maryland’s law allowing gay couples to wed will take effect on Jan. 1 — but, reports John Wagner in the Post, under existing marriage law in Maryland, a license does not take effect until 48 hours after it is issued and since Jan. 1 is a state holiday, the earliest a marriage license could be in effect would be Jan. 4.
Columnist Joshua Dowling of the Diamondback writes a highly personal piece in which he says that on “Tuesday, I was surrounded by my friends and loved ones, and felt an incredible sense of warmth and security as it became clear the people of this state had voted to make me a fuller, more equal citizen under the law.”
MARRIAGE VOTE: Tuesday’s results on gay marriage challenge conventional wisdom about black voters in Maryland, Daniel Leaderman writes in the Gazette.
TABLE GAMES BEGIN … Cheryl Mattix of the Cecil Whig reports that Cecil County residents should not expect table games to begin at Hollywood Casino Perryville in the next month or two, even though 52% of Maryland voters approved a referendum Tuesday to expand gambling statewide.
CAESARS’ CITY PLAN: Caesars Entertainment officials had previously advertised a Harrah’s casino with slots only for downtown Baltimore City. But now they plan to build a Horseshoe-brand facility, with additional offerings such as blackjack and roulette, as well as a poker room and more restaurants, reports John Wagner in the Post. “This changes the project significantly,” said Caesers’ John Payne.
The Las Vegas-based company had long hinted it would invest more if Maryland expanded gambling because it believes it will draw dedicated cardplayers from around the country to the casino, which now will feature a World Series of Poker room and host series events, reports Steve Kilar and Chris Korman for the Sun.
MILLER BLAMES PENN NATIONAL: The Pennsylvania-based gaming company that spent millions fighting Question 7 is now behind a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the ballot question, says state Senate President Mike Miller. The plaintiffs identified in the lawsuit filed last week in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court are eight slot machine opponents from Prince George’s County, writes Tim Prudente of the Capital-Gazette. But Miller said Penn National Gaming Inc. is pulling the strings.
MILLER MUM: Now that voters have given their blessing to an expanded gambling program in Maryland, Senate Pres Miller, who pushed for the change and was an early supporter of building a casino at Rosecroft Raceway, is staying mum on where a casino should be built in Prince George’s County. In an interview Thursday, Miller said he “could support either site.”
FREDERICK CHARTER GOV’T: The results are in, and they were stunning, opines the editorial board for the Frederick News-Post. And with those results, the path of Frederick County’s 264-year history has been changed. Voters have fundamentally altered the way the county will be run. Now it’s time for charter home rule.
REV. JACKSON ON JUVIE FACILITY: Activists fighting a state plan to build a new $70 million juvenile detention facility in Baltimore received some high-profile backing Thursday night, as the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson joined their cause, reports Kevin Rector in the Sun. A video report accompanies the story.
NOTEBOOK: The Gazette’s Reporters Notebook has items on the campaign, Buzzfeed, campaign signs, Brian Frosh’s fundraiser and write-in candidates.
TUITION QUESTION: Advocates and opponents of the state’s Dream Act attribute an 8-point swing in favor of it to a large volunteer effort that put the undocumented students face-to-face with the public, Holly Nunn reports in the Gazette.
PHARMACY REGS: In response to an outbreak of meningitis linked to tainted drugs from a Massachusetts company, the Maryland Board of Pharmacy is looking to strengthen its regulations on out-of-state facilities permitted to do business in the state.
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