MD Gun Rights and Michael Smigiel

[Patrick]

Word has it this morning that this race isn't over.

If anyone wants to do something in a last push, there may be time.

If you are for Mike, you gotta contact the Caroline GOP right away. It looks like there are a lot of interests here, but all I know is that when there is second amendment work to be done, Mike has been at the tip of every spear.

I don't have a phone number for the committee so that people who live there can call. I went to the GOP page for the county, and predictably (for anything MD GOP related) the contact page - is "under construction".

Really?

 

[dblas]

Copied from a Facebook post:




From: Kent County GOP <kentcountyrcc@gmail.com>
Date: August 23, 2013, 12:00:41 AM EDT


A sincere thank you to the 14 candidates for applying for the position of Senator from the 36th District. After many days of interviews and deliberations, a majority of the KCRCC members have indicated their support for Steve Hershey.

Questions regarding this decision should be directed to Matt Gerstung at 443.907.6626 or mattger9876@yahoo.com.

Best wishes,
Sandy Terpeluk

--
Sandra B. Terpeluk
Chair
Kent County Republican Central Committee

That is interesting as their first vote and approval was for Audrey Scott. I guess they got a little pressure and had a reconsideration and picked Del hershey. I wonder what would happen if they got more pressure to reconsider again and vote for Del Smigiel?

 

[dblas]

If you are for Mike, you gotta contact the Caroline GOP right away. It looks like there are a lot of interests here, but all I know is that when there is second amendment work to be done, Mike has been at the tip of every spear.

I don't have a phone number for the committee so that people who live there can call. I went to the GOP page for the county, and predictably (for anything MD GOP related) the contact page - is "under construction".

Really?

This, we need someone on the shore to see if they can find the number for the Caroline County GOP Central Committee.

ALSO.....a very good rumor has it that the Queen Anne County GOP Central Committee will possibly be having a revote this coming Tuesday night. If you have the time, contact them as well.

 

[dblas]

Don't get me wrong, I like Steve Hershey, but I have seen him be wishy washy when it comes to 2A. This past session several of us (myself, Occbrian, and I forget the 3rd person) spent the better part of 90 minutes with Del Hershey on writing a favorable amendment for SB281. It was written up, it was sent to the house floor to be printed and provided to the rest of the House. When it came time for Del Hershey to submit the amendment, he folded. When asked why, his comment was that he didn't feel comfortable bringing an amendment to the floor under that kind of pressure.

Really? He was an Ehrlich appointee, he is an elected Delegate and he couldn't bring a favorable amendment to help support our civil rights in a pressure situation? If he can't pull the trigger under pressure as a Delegate, why would we think he would pull the trigger under even higher pressure in the Senate?

 

[ShoreShooter]

http://redmaryland.blogspot.com/2013/08/breaking-audrey-scott-withdraws-from.html


Audrey Scott is OUT.

Thank heavens.

 

[Brooklyn]

http://redmaryland.blogspot.com/2013/08/breaking-audrey-scott-withdraws-from.html


Audrey Scott is OUT.

Thank heavens.

I am glad to see that the Republican party has declined to hari kari. I am thinking they might still serve some purpose.

 

[Seagrave1963]

http://redmaryland.blogspot.com/2013/08/breaking-audrey-scott-withdraws-from.html


Audrey Scott is OUT.

Thank heavens.

That is very good news!

 

[ShoreShooter]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-gop-strife-20130823,0,5380951.story


Caroline goes with Hershey.

Cecil: Smigiel
Kent: Hershey
Caroline: Hershey
QA: ?? (originally Scott, but she has dropped out)

Hershey is the Delegate for QA. One would think he has at least as good a chance as Mike, though Mike begins with a couple of votes there.

If QA goes with Mike, it is 2 to 2, and I have to believe O'Malley would rather pick Hershey.

If QA goes with Hershey, it is 3 to 1, and it is easy for O'Malley to pick Hershey. He might have to.

If QA goes with some other candidate, O'Malley can pick from the three.

It now favors Hershey, unless QA does something odd. At least that's the way I am seeing it.

 

[Mr H]

Wife just got this today from Maryland Pro-Life Alliance, entitled "Another MIA Delegate: Steve Hershey"...

MD Pro-Lifers,

As you might know, Republican Senate Minority Leader E.J. Pipkin, one of the most pro-abortion legislators in the Republican Caucus, resigned recently to move to Texas.

Pro-lifers in Maryland now have the ability to replace a pro-choice legislator with a pro-life legislator.

Sadly, Establishment operatives are trying to push through a "lead from the back" nominee for State Senate appointment.

They're currently on the war path to appoint Delegate Steve Hershey.

In the 2013 Maryland General Assembly, only 17 of 43 Republican Delegates bothered to sponsor or co-sponsor the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (HB-1312).

Delegate Steve Hershey was not among them.

More embarrassing to the M.I.A. Republican Delegate Steve Hershey is that 7 House Democrats also sponsored the legislation.

How did 17 House Republicans and 7 House Democrats get it right and Delegate Steve Hershey could not?

When the most important pro-life bill was presented in the Maryland General Assembly in 2013---Hershey was M.I.A:

Hershey failed to sponsor the legislation.
Hershey failed to even co-sponsor the legislation.
Hershey didn't even make a public statement or pledge to support the bill.
And now he wants to move from State Delegate to State Senator!

Very important:

The Kent and Caroline County Republican Central Committees voted to appoint Steve Hershey, but remember, Central Committees can re-vote and change their decision all the way up to the deadline.
The Queen Anne's County Republican Central Committee will vote this upcoming week on an appointment.
The Cecil County Republican Central Committee voted for Delegate Mike Smigiel to serve the rest of the term in the Senate.
The deadline to submit a name to Governor O'Malley for appointment is September 12, 2013.
Delegate Mike Smigiel, Hershey's top competitor, was one of the 17 Republicans to sponsor the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.

Please call these Republican Central Committees today and ask them to force Steve Hershey to answer for his non-leadership on pro-life issues:

Caroline County

George Bacorn
(410) 829-3515
gbacorn@gmail.com

Bryan Gadow
(410) 673-7793
shore72@yahoo.com

Richard Garner
(410) 739-8215
rgarner@carolinemd.org

Matthew Proud
(410) 430-8746
mproud@mattproud.com

Mike Savage
mikesavagemco@aol.com

Steve Stouffer
(410) 482-6502
tammysolderthansteve@hotmail.com

Robert Willoughby
(410) 754-0014
rwilloughby@robwilloughby.com

James Wright
(443) 786-5840
Jawright1@loyola.edu

Kent County

Aaron Bramble
(410) 708-9590
dabmarina@aol.com

Matthew Gerstung
(443) 907-6626
mattger9876@yahoo.com

Peter Metcalf
(443) 480-0467
usmcyes@gmail.com

Wendy Moore
(410) 778-2346
wmoore@dukesmoore.com

Hank Piasecki
(443) 480-4002
hc.piasecki@gmail.com

Sandra Terpeluk
(410) 708-8814
kentcountyrcc@gmail.com

Queen Anne's County

Andi Morony, Chair
(410) 490-2734
andimorony@gmail.com

Mary Dietz, Vice Chair
(410) 643-3339
dietz.mary1@gmail.com

Kevin Waterman, Secretary
(410) 490-3176
kevin@watermanrealty.com

Karl Milligan, Treasurer
(443) 951-8353
kmilligan@patriotsecuritygroup.com

Mike Cogan
(443) 926-4953
b24@atlanticbb.net

Lindsay Dodd
(410) 490-5487
lindsayanndodd@gmail.com

John Morony
(410) 739-7503
jm1710@yahoo.com

The non-actions of Steve Hershey indicate one thing:

a failure to lead on the front lines for the pro-life movement in Maryland.

How are we going to beat the O'Malley abortion-on-demand agenda with lack-luster Republican "non-leadership" from Delegate Steve Hershey?

Every single Republican legislator in both Houses should be not only sponsoring the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, but should be aggressively championing our cause in Annapolis.

Maryland Pro-Life Alliance is the no-compromise, single issue anti-abortion group in Maryland.

We encourage you to join with us today and sign our petition in SUPPORT of the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.

You can also sign our petition to prohibit all taxpayer funding for abortion in Maryland.

Every time you sign an MPLA petition we place your name, city, and state on a postcard and get that to your legislator.

The one thing most important to a politician is getting re-elected.

Angry, mobilized voters from within a politician's district catch their attention!

If you're not already active in your local community, please start now, find out how your legislator has been voting on pro-life policies and hold that legislator accountable to our principles.

Feel free to contact us at info@mdprolife.com or by phone at 410-756-0557 if you'd like to volunteer for Maryland Pro-Life Alliance or have questions.

We appreciate everything you do to protect the unborn in Maryland!

For Life,

MPLA Team

P.S. Republicans like Delegate Steve Hershey should be fighting the abortionists in Annapolis.

Help MPLA assemble a strong pro-life force in the Maryland General Assembly by donating today--click here.


- - - - - - -

Maryland Pro-Life Alliance
686 Holly Circle
Aberdeen, MD 21001
Email: info@mdprolife.com
Phone: 410-756-0557

 

[ShoreShooter]

From Facebook:


Andi Morony

As Chairman of the Queen Anne's County Republican Committee, and in accordance with the motion made by the committee on Tuesday for the Chairman to release the results of the vote: immediately upon Audrey Scott's withdrawal from consideration of the Senate seat, the only other votes having been cast were for Delegate Mike Smigiel. Therefore, as of time of the withdrawal of candidate Audrey Scott, Queen Anne Annes County gives their support to Delegate Mike Smigiel for the appointment to the Senate Seat.

 

[dblas]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-gop-strife-20130823,0,5380951.story


Caroline goes with Hershey.

Cecil: Smigiel
Kent: Hershey
Caroline: Hershey
QA: ?? (originally Scott, but she has dropped out)

Hershey is the Delegate for QA. One would think he has at least as good a chance as Mike, though Mike begins with a couple of votes there.

If QA goes with Mike, it is 2 to 2, and I have to believe O'Malley would rather pick Hershey.

If QA goes with Hershey, it is 3 to 1, and it is easy for O'Malley to pick Hershey. He might have to.

If QA goes with some other candidate, O'Malley can pick from the three.

It now favors Hershey, unless QA does something odd. At least that's the way I am seeing it.

Why does QA have to revote, just because the winner stepped out of the race? Since when do people have a revote in politics when the front runner/winner steps down before being seated?

QA had a vote, 4 voted for Scott, 3 voted for Smigiel, no one else got any votes. Scott backed out, thus Smigiel gets the spot as runner-up.

 

[ShoreShooter]

Why does QA have to revote, just because the winner stepped out of the race? Since when do people have a revote in politics when the front runner/winner steps down before being seated?

QA had a vote, 4 voted for Scott, 3 voted for Smigiel, no one else got any votes. Scott backed out, thus Smigiel gets the spot as runner-up.

Pretty much everyone in QA is dismayed that Morony seems to have chosen to unilaterally announce, in a forum like Facebook no less, that she has interpreted the situation as it now stands to throw it to Smigiel. This might have hurt Mike much more than helped him. It just doesn't feel or sound right. It feels illegitimate.

 

[ShoreShooter]

http://chestertownspy.com/2013/08/2...-senate-race-at-odds-with-central-committees/



It seems like no matter what, the next election is going to have a huge field of candidates.

This district has too many viable conservative candidates. Most other MD districts have too few.

 

[ShoreShooter]

Posted on Facebook


Kevin Waterman

Just to clarify some of the rumors that are going around, the Queen Anne's County Republican Central Committee has a meeting scheduled for Tuesday at 7:30 to re-vote on the choice of our committee for the person to serve the remainder of Sen. Pipkin's term.

While our meetings are open, due to the lack of other business, as of now our plan is to immediately enter executive session once the meeting is called to order so that we can discuss and vote on the selection.

 

[Biggfoot44]

Ok , I am a one issue voter and proud of it, and advocate for it. I am not ignorant of the other issues, and even have opinions on a lot of them. But in the specifics here :

Every other issue already has strong advocates on both sides. 2A just has *Us* , and any dilution is a critical loss.

And in this instance opinions on 2A issues are largely a bellwether on their philosophy , and aproach to numerous other issues.

 

[rseymorejr]

I use gun rights as my litmus test and find that most people who are against the second amendment usually disagree with me on many issues. Other issues such as gay marriage and abortion just aren't that high on my giveadamn scale. Mike Smigel is a lawyer and a politician (I know that's 2 strikes right there) but I honestly believe that he has fought and will fight harder for our gun rights than anyone else in Annapolis.

 

[ShoreShooter]

Guys, I hate to break it to you, but there are A LOT of important conservative issues important to voters on the Shore.

Mike knows that, as do the other candidates.

Frankly, the conservative candidate that votes the right way on 2A issues is pretty likely to vote the right way on the rest of the laundry list.

I would strongly suggest that folks here open the eyes a bit beyond pure 2A, and here is a very practical reason why: 2A may be YOUR hot button, but what matters is ANY conservative hot button that will get a voter to the polls and vote in a conservative candidate. It does not matter one bit whether the issue that gets it done is 2A or not. As long as the candidate is conservative (of any party) and will generally support the conservative side of things, then its all good.

Folks here need to learn to pile on and help in fights on other issues. If there is some liberal Dem district where there is a local stir on something non-2A, if there is a chance to show up and support the conservative voice, then do it.

Here on the Shore we have a lot of issues that get different conservatives wound up:
* Environment: the Bay Foundation is killing the Shore, without doing much to help the Bay.
* Land use / Zoning: very hot topic. Basically, you can't get a permit to do much of anything with your own land over here. The idea is no growth in people = keep the land and Bay pure. So we have experienced a legislated and intentional continuing depression for 6 years.
* Bridge toll & gas taxes: folks here drive a lot of miles, to everything. Don't think the cost of gas hasn't hurt marinas and the boat business too.
* Farm / Ag issues: you simply would not believe the constant torture farmers are subjected to. Poultry in particular, but all farmers for sure.
* Unfunded mandates of all kinds: schools account for half to two-thirds of most county budgets, and mandates on spending out of Annapolis, all the while state funding for all sorts of county costs has been slashed over the years.

A lot of those issues are about dinner on the table for a lot of families. 2A takes a back seat to keeping a roof over the family's head and food on the table.

Each of those interests hits a different single-interest voter. The most successful candidate is the one that hits them all, attracts the support of each of those groups, and can get elected and re-elected each season. None of this is news to Mike or anyone else on the better side of the Bridge.



Edited to add:

Remember that pretty much everyone on the Shore is maybe 30 minutes to Delaware. All big ticket items are purchased there, due to sales taxes in MD, which also means life is tougher for MD merchants. Raise tobacco taxes? Who cares, since tobacco has been so much cheaper in DE for so many years, no one buys any in MD except when desperate and out of the stash between trips to DE.

Maryland has driven so much cash out of the state and into DE, you would have to see it to believe it. And in the end, that hurts local Marylanders.

 

[Mark75H]

* Land use / Zoning: very hot topic. Basically, you can't get a permit to do much of anything with your own land over here. The idea is no growth in people = keep the land and Bay pure. So we have experienced a legislated and intentional continuing depression for 6 years.
* Bridge toll & gas taxes: folks here drive a lot of miles, to everything. Don't think the cost of gas hasn't hurt marinas and the boat business too.
* Farm / Ag issues: you simply would not believe the constant torture farmers are subjected to. Poultry in particular, but all farmers for sure.

While condo and apartment development in PG & Howard Counties basically goes unchecked- thousands of new units, across the street from me, 24 new McMansions, proposed 3 houses up, 120 new condos ... as if their sczhit doesn't steenk ... its not no growth, its no medium price single family homes

The "leaders" want you working class peons living in barracks, not your own house with your own yard, no matter how small

 

[ShoreShooter]

From Facebook:


Michael Smigiel

Thank you to the Queen Anne's Cnty Republican Central Committee who voted tonight to nominate me for Senator.




Tied, 2 to 2

Kent and Caroline to Hershey
QA and Cecil to Smigiel.

Unless something changes ... again ... it goes to O'Malley to decide. Who do you think he's likely to favor?

 

[BeerHunter]

From Facebook:


Michael Smigiel

Thank you to the Queen Anne's Cnty Republican Central Committee who voted tonight to nominate me for Senator.




Tied, 2 to 2

Kent and Caroline to Hershey
QA and Cecil to Smigiel.

Unless something changes ... again ... it goes to O'Malley to decide. Who do you think he's likely to favor?

Since Hershey appears to have more views that align with MOM, my guess is he'll pick Hershey. Bad luck for us if that's the outcome.