I never really gave a thought about political parties until the news coverage of the runup to the republican nominating convention. Newsies were talking about party rules committee and what could be done procedurally to block Trump's nomination. I then realized that parties are NOT government organizations. They are glorified fraternities, with members doing whatever they want. As a point of honor, there should, IMHO, be NO mention or recognition in public law of political parties. It's essentially taking decisions out of the hands of elected (and answerable?) officials and placing it in the hands of persons who are appointed by ( ?) and not answerable to the citizens of MD.
Voting on Question 1 of ballot -Appointments to Fill Vacancies for AG and Comptroller
- Thread starter danb
- Start date
The #1 community for Gun Owners of the Northeast
Member Benefits:
No ad networks! Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership Discuss anti-gun legislation Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses Discover free outdoor shooting areas View up to date on firearm-related events Share photos & video with other members ...and so much more!
Member Benefits:
danb
dont be a dumbass
So, yeah, there was a lot of electioneering and salesmanship about this at the voting location. Multiple people and heavy pressure. My tinfoil is officially humming about this. Something is afoot.
Good reason to use an absentee ballot. That and you can take your time and research something you don't know about.
I will be voting "HELL NO" !!!!
Not to be contrarian but I think I'm with Boondock on this. Sure it might be perceived as a slap against Hogan. But he's a rare bird. Most governors in MD are going to be Democrats, and if passed this bill remains law. So the usual case will be a sitting Dem gov. If the vacancy is another Dem then the outcome is predetermined. However if the vacancy is a Republican, then a Dem governor would be forced, with this bill, to retain the R seat. Otherwise he/she will replace the R with a D.
Think long term; think strategic. I'm leaning towards yes - specifically because I want to protect Republican seats.
ajusog
Member
I think this is a great state, too, which is why I am having nightmares of Nov 8th. I'll be an election voting judge, so I'm imagining fistfights in line or the parking lots over miniscule interpretations and opinions of obscure laws.
danb
dont be a dumbass
Epic logic fail here guys.
Frosh is 70. Odds are pretty good they are pushing this because he needs to retire.
If you vote yes, Hogan needs to appoint a Dem.
Epic fail!
snakep
Ultimate Member
voted..Nope
So I think my logic is sound but upon further reflection there is a problem with my former position in practice.
The logic is you don't write laws for the specific; you write them for the general. Crafting a law for one man, even a man as bad as Frosh, is not a good precedence. The Office will outlast the man and, as previously stated, since we'll have more D governors then R govs, in theory this bill should help protect rare R seats.
An example on the flip side is look what O'Malley did for Cathy Vitale. Whereas you would normally expect him to appoint pure Dems, he elevated a pro-2A Republican Delegate to the 5th Circuit Court. So replacement along party lines works both ways.
But here's the breakdown in the plan, from a practical perspective. This isn't about judges or delegates or senators, it is about two offices only: the Attorney General and the Comptroller. I checked out the history of the Maryland Attorney General and of the Comptroller. Republicans were last elected to those seats in 1952 and in 1898, respectively - before I was born. This is a solid Democratic state and has been since before the Civil War. And while we might get some General Assembly R members, and a rare R governor, almost no one cares about the Attorney General and the Comptroller, so those offices almost always go to the default party - the Democrats.
Bottom line: it is once in a lifetime, if that, that we'll ever see a Republican elected to those two specific offices, and even rarer that you'd see a vacancy occur allowing for an R to be replaced by an R under a D gov under this bill. Which means: this really is all about Frosh, and the general case is the never case.
Changed my mind: I'm voting "no".
- Jun 28, 2009
- 4,172
how do we find out who proposed the amendment?
The wording comes from the General Assembly. Considering the General Assembly is super-majority Dem and likely to stay that way, it's no accident the amendment is worded the way it is. The amendment is designed to keep power firmly cemented with Dems regardless to what extent that MD's Dem politicians are found to be corrupt.
Okletsfish
Ultimate Member
- Sep 15, 2015
- 4,526
My motto is always vote them down!
NO
Wife and I both voted NO.
When did either one of these positions have a Republican? This is clearly written to keep their own party in power. Vote NO. You will not protect any Republican interests by allowing the Democrats to decide who gets these positions. Frosh wanted to run for Governor and they promised him AG to not run.
Z_Man
Ultimate Member
I'm voting no, entirely because it's directed to prevent Hogan from picking people to appoint, and if a den govenor gets elected again what a to prevent the assembly from trying to repeal this, or just ignoring it when it is in their favor.
2nd=Good+Substantial
Ultimate Member
Agreed. Big NO!
To me, the party affiliation of the existing person is irrelevant to the replacement. The replacement SHOULD be the best qualified person. I know it is rare, but the governor should be able to pick the best replacement, not someone from a manipulated list of party loyalists. I know there are more issues with this than that, but there are privileges with winning the state house, republican or democrat, and this amendment just reinforces the one party rule in MD. The likelihood of said politician being something other than democrat is extremely low. This would give the ruling party just one more avenue to control things.
Users who are viewing this thread
Latest posts
Forum statistics
Latest threads
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Tennessee legislature passes bill to arm teachers; leftist lose their minds- Started by jc1240
- Replies: 42