Welcome, Mr. President

Wow, what a long, strange trip it’s been – and tomorrow, that trip comes to an end as Donald Trump – Donald Trump! – is sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. And, once that trip is over, then the journey really begins.

I mean, who’da thunk it? Not me, not at all, at least not until a few months after Mr. Trump had won the GOP Presidential nomination and was heatedly embroiled in the general election campaign against What’s her name Then, and only then, did I think he was going to win.  In fact, at that point, I was regularly predicting it.

Donald Trump was not my first choice in the GOP Presidential Primary – that would be KY Senator, Rand Paul. As a matter of fact, Donald Trump wasn’t even my second choice in said primary – that would be TX Senator, Ted Cruz.

But, as we all know, Trump won.

I sighed and flirted for a while with backing Libertarian Presidential Candidate, Gary Johnson – but then two things happened, kinda “Bang, Bang!” 1) Johnson, inexplicably, spoke favorably about a carbon tax (Are you kidding me?!), and 2) Trump ingeniously hired both Kellyanne Conway and MDGOP National Committeeman, David Bossie, as his Campaign Manager and Deputy Campaign Manager, respectively. With David Bossie on board, I decided then and there that I was backing Trump.

Additionally, as soon as I read about Trump hiring Bossie, my first thought was, “Trump just got elected.” And, from that point on, all kinds of magic started happening, not the least of which was the Trump camp for the most part closing down operations in Virginia and dumping the additional money into other states – like Ohio and Pennsylvania.  I laughed my ass off when I saw and heard countless disparaging comments about Trump “packing it in” and the like from his detractors – as I’m thinking, “Genius! Genius Moves!”

And, as we know, the only candidate who ended up packing it in was What’s Her Name.

So, at noon tomorrow, Friday, January 20th, 2017, Donald Trump gets sworn in as our next president, while What’s Her Name and that rapist husband of hers will be in attendance watching the ceremony.

The thing is, I’d have said what I’m about to say here even IF What’s Her Name had somehow managed to win: Borat Obama is done, thankfully.  Get out, Borat.  No, what I mean to say is “Get the Hell out of the White House, You scum sucker. Take the “wife” of yours and blow out of Dodge.”

The eight year SNL skit, which actually became much more of a tragi-comedy, known as the Obama Administration is closing.  No longer will we debate such important and thought provoking issues about who can go into which bathroom as the world burns around us. Identity Politics: You had a “nice” run, but now you’re done, son.

I’ve occasionally been accused of hating Borat. I don’t hate him – Hell, I don’t hate anybody – but I am sick to death of that walking ball of smarm. This much is true.  And, while it’s true that I never accepted Borat, I “didn’t accept” him in one of the most acceptable ways possible – by mocking and/or attacking him in print and in a few interviews…with words.

Compare this with the manner in which some of those who are, indeed, blinded by hatred and/or simply don’t accept the notion of a Trump presidency are reacting to Trump: With riots, as opposed to words; With threats of violence, as opposed to mockery, and; With all manner of tiresome promises, including a videotaped discussion of when would be the best time to throw acid at some Inaugural celebrants.  It’s gotten so ridiculous it’s become both predictable and more than a bit boring.  Speaking of being predictable and boring – John Lewis, call home!

Seriously, let some of those leftist loonies disrupt or hurt anyone at the Inauguration or any of its parties, and all they will be doing is further marginalizing themselves.  It’s a fairly easy concept, actually, that they seem impossible of being able to grasp. Whatever, there isn’t going to be much of a legacy left for them – or at least for their clown prince, Obozo – so maybe the lunatics figure, “Hell, we might as well tear the roof off this sucker while anyone is paying us any mind, whatsoever.” You’ve got to love the lunatic mindset. Or not.

From what I’m hearing, the way in which President Trump will be coming out of the gate with guns blazing, I’d bet that most of Borat’s “legacy” will be shitcanned by March.  That’s a shame.  Couple that with Trump’s recent pronouncement of making some sizable cuts to the Federal budget and, by this coming summer – if that long – people will be saying, “Borat WHO?!”

In the end, what with all of the unnecessary crap he’s taking, Trump – and make no mistake about it, he is a flawed man – will be President by this time tomorrow.  He’s not your typical “good” man, that’s for damned sure, but I’ve yet to personally meet a man who is both really “good” and “great.”  Donald Trump may in the end prove to be a great man.

Now, just don’t fuck up the obvious and easy ones.

Welcome, Mr. President.

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Governor Steffen?!

Either this past Sunday or Monday, I really can’t remember which day just now, I sent Maryland Governor, Larry Hogan, a courtesy message letting him know that I was very seriously – and I can’t stress that enough – very seriously considering running against him for Governor in the 2018 MDGOP primary for Governor.

What kind of moronic, egotistical. basket case would even dare to consider running against a popular Governor in the primary?  This kind of moronic, egotistical, basket case, is who.  This guy, right here.

Yeah, yeah, yeah – I know. Seriously, what are the odds of me (or anyone) beating a Governor with a 70-something approval rating in his own party’s primary? 10% (1 out of 10), 1% (1 out of 100), 1/1oth of 1% (1 out of 1000)?  To which I say: So what? To quote John Belushi’s character, Bluto, in the greatest comedy movie of all-time, “Animal House”…

“Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?”

Which more or less leads me to my reason for so strongly considering putting my name on the ballot: Why not? Seriously, it’s not like they can find any further dirt on me, is it? I mean, I guess they could make shit up and the like, but who cares? I don’t. Couple that with how much fun it would be…and judging from some of the encouragement and open support my giving it thought has already garnered – not to mention some of the folks who’ve offered to be my LG candidate (5 people so far, 3 of whom are well known MDGOP commodities) it would be a blast!

Anyway, besides “Why not?,” the next biggest reason for my considering a run is that – in addition to my belief that no one should get a free ride, ever – Larry Hogan (whom I really do like, personally) needed to do SOMETHING besides reduce a few tolls and issue an Executive Order on when schools can start. And, I’m not talking about the “manufactured crisis” du jour regarding air conditioning in schools.  I’m talking about how he could have and should have cut the damned budget – which, in Maryland, the governor can do (and there ain’t much the legislature can do about it) – how he could have issued an executive order on CCW turning MD from a “may issue” to a “shall issue” state.

And, don’t even start me on the fact that Planned Parenthood has yet to be defunded in the once “Free State” of Maryland…as it has been in New Jersey, where Larry Hogan’s pal, Governor Chris Christie holds court.  In the “not exactly a bastion of rightwing extremism” of New Jersey, Christie has defunded Planned Parenthood  – and yet, magically perhaps, somehow both Chris Christie and PP continue to exist up yonder.

So, why hasn’t Larry Hogan done the same thing in Maryland?

Again, I’m considering a run – and, in writing about it here, I’ve just listed my top three issues should I do so: Budget, CCW and letting Planned Parenthood fend for themselves. After that, I’d probably take a nap and leave y’all alone.

I will likely make my decision within a month or so of this November’s Presidential Election and, should I run, I’ll very likely announce my candidacy right around the start of the legislative session. I’m just that kind of guy.

What would Andy Kaufman do?

What a Major Wuss…

My first blog posting in just about two months is a posting I made on Facebook yesterday.  I toyed with the idea of blogging it, and had so much encouragement to do so, here it is:

“It’s interesting how things come and go in cycles, isn’t it? Despite the fact that it’s been 12 years since I got blown up politically, I still hear about that a lot.   In fact, over the last 6 or 7 days, I’ve twice been asked about (1) Why do I hate former MD Governor Bob Ehrlich – for whom I worked, and (2) What REALLY happened that got me blown up in the media? Well, I’m going to address those things right here and now – hopefully for the last time.

To begin with, I don’t hate Bob Ehrlich.  Not in the least.  Hell, I don’t even dislike Bob Ehrlich.

But, what I do have is zero respect for Bob Ehrlich at this point.

After taking the bullet for his administration for allegedly spreading rumors concerning then-Mayor O’Malley’s alleged sex life as concerns extra-marital relationships online (which is something I definitely did NOT do – go onto Free Republic and check it out for yourself, if it’s still up. My screen name was “NCPAC.” In fact, as NCPAC, I told MD4BUSH to “stay away” from O’Malley’s personal life when bashing him.), I received a death threat. A phone message was left – in a distorted voice so you couldn’t even make out the gender of the caller – told us (my daughter and me) to not be in our apartment between this day and that day – something like 48 hours – or else someone would end up getting hurt, or worse, killed.

We immediately called Baltimore County Police and had a detective assigned to us. We played the tape for them, and law enforcement gave us something like 30 minutes to get out of there.  Also, we were told to definitely NOT be there during the timeframe described in the threat.  The next calls I made were to the late Steve Kreseski – Governor Ehrlich’s Chief of Staff and Richard Cross – Ehrlich’s speech writer. I told both of them about the death threat – and Steve Kreseski actually had the nerve to chew me out for not calling the State Police because the county police were under “Democrat control.” It seemed lost on him that my life had just been threatened.

Anyway, I asked Steve to make sure he told Ehrlich about the threat I’d received – and he told me he “definitely” would tell him.  I never heard a single word from Ehrlich or anyone else associated with the Administration as a result of this. Not one single word.

When we arrived back at the apartment after the days prescribed in the threat, it was very apparent to me that someone had, indeed, been in there snooping around. I told law enforcement and we were told that, for our own safety, we needed to move out of there within 30 days. We did and when we (my daughter and I) moved, a uniformed police officer stood watch outside the door. It was surreal.  I told Steve Kreseski about THAT as well and told me that he’d tell Bob Ehrlich…and still, in the end, not one word from the Administration regarding the threat or the aftermath.

So, after working for him for 7 years at that point – and after doing all manner of things in/on his behalf, I knew what my very life was worth to him: Not even one single, solitary, phone call – much less any offer of assistance (Of course, any offer of assistance in THAT regard probably would have carried as much weight as the other offers of assistance – “We’ll help you in just a few months” – I’d received for taking the bullet when I’d first gotten set-up…which was no weight, whatsoever, as the Ehrlich Administration never did shit for me for taking the fall.)

Another thing I’d like to make clear here and now is that – as stated above – I did not spread rumors about Martin O’Malley’s personal life online. Not to say I was totally innocent of everything – far from it.  I was guilty as Hell of doing a lot of other shit – but not THAT, and yet, THAT is what they nailed me on. That truly was quite the “hit.” Despite being its recipient, I chuckle about it to this very day. As for what I have done politically that’s untoward, under the advice of counsel, I cannot divulge anything – so don’t ask. Plus, being a big believer in karma, I got back everything I’d done to others and more.

And, there you have it. More or less, anyway.

Again, I don’t hate Bob Ehrlich. It’s just that it’s really tough to have any respect for someone who doesn’t have the spine or concern enough to call someone (who’d worked for you for 7 years and had known you for 15 years) who’s just taken a bullet for you -even, if not especially, after they’ve received a death threat.

What a major Wuss.

I don’t like talking about this any longer, and hopefully – having written this – I’ll no longer be asked about it. Hopefully.”

Helen Bentley and a Few Other Things

This post will be relatively short and, as the title says, touch on a few things.

To begin with, Hail Brittania! I could not be any happier or prouder.

To quote my friend, Mitchell Toland, “Happy Independence Day, Britain.”

Speaking of Great Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, I’m sure that President Borat is hating it. That’s a shame.  In fact, he’s had a rough stretch of days here, hasn’t he?

Let’s see, there was the Senate Democrats doing their best Chris Davis impersonation by going 0 for 4 on recent votes to further restrict your rights to bear arms, restricting your right to bear arms being an Obama wet dream. And, there was the Supreme Court striking down his executive order on immigration. “Heartbreaking,” Obama called it.  And, then there were those idiots in the House of Representatives who decided to stage a “Sit-in” in the House – the design of which was to take away your due process rights…only to have their ridiculous ploy go nuclear in their own faces.  AND, finally, last night there was Great Britain’s decision to flip leftist/statists the world over the bird by leaving the EU. A healthy number of folks pointed to “resentment” at Obama as playing a part in why they voted to leave the Union.  Precious and priceless, to be sure!

And now, onto the main reason I’m writing this post…

As you’ve likely heard, former Maryland Congresswoman, Helen Bentley, has entered hospice care.

Congresswoman Bentley, who is 92 years of age, served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1985 to 1995, the year she ran for Governor and opened up the Congressional seat for Bob Ehrlich.

Anyway, the Congresswoman and I had some run-ins over the years, going all the way back to 1982 when she ran against (and was defeated by) then Congressman Clarence Long. I’m not going to get into any of those run-ins right now because, well, the Congresswoman has indeed just entered Hospice Care, and we all know what that means.

All I want to say at this point is that Congresswoman Helen Bentley is a Maryland legend and a Maryland Treasure. She really is. If you wanted a fight, she’d give you one.  I never knew her once to back down on anything.  She literally WAS the type of legislator that Senator Barbara Mikulski has always dreamed of being.

To Congresswoman Bentley, I wish for and pray that you have peace, painlessness and acceptance. You did it, Congresswoman.  You really did do it – and we are all the richer for it and for you.

Godspeed, Congresswoman.

 

 

A New MDGOP “IN” and “OUT” List

An interesting thing about lists is that most everybody makes them over damned near everything: Grocery lists, song lists, “What to do about that itch?” lists… You know what I’m talking about. Anyway, this not-so-subtle prelude is to a list I’m going to write below. Can you dig it?  Of course, you can.

This list is of who and/or what is now “in” and now “out” as concerns the influencers of the MDGOP – as a result of the great change that took place at last weekend’s MDGOP convention in which Citizens United’s David Bossie ousted Longtime MDGOP National Committeeman, Louis Pope. Yeah, yeah, yeah…I know what you’re thinking:  “Come on, Steffen, what is it with all of this “inside-baseball” stuff lately?”  Well, I can go a bit harder and higher with an inside fastball or two, if you’d like, but I don’t think that THAT’s really necessary.

Anyway, I repeat, this is nothing other than my list of who is “in” and who is “out” as concerns being an influencer in, to and for, the state MDGOP hierarchy as a result of what went down at last week’s MDGOP convention.

Ready? Good, because here is the list of the “Ins…”

IN:

David Bossie (MDGOP National Committeeman-Elect), Nicolee Ambrose (MDGOP National Committeewoman), Insurgents within the GOP, the New Kids on the Block (not the band, but think: Delegate Robin Grammer, Christina Trotta and the like…) The Liberty Movement, Boxing Gloves with which to do battle, Conservative Republicanism, Fearlessness  and a few other things I’ve likely missed.

Now, for the “Out” list…

OUT:

Defeated MDGOP National Committeeman, Louis Pope (who, believe it or not, had someone request that he be placed on the Rules Committee for this summer’s National GOP Convention at yesterday’s delegation meeting – a request that was met with a resounding “Hell no!”), MDGOP State Chair Diana Waterman, the Establishment within the MDGOP, Kid Gloves, which had been used to play Patty-Cake with (rather than trying to slap your opponents silly), Rockefeller Republicanism, Fearfulness, and a few other things I’ve likely missed.

The biggest “OUT” I hadn’t listed above is Maryland’s Republican Governor Larry Hogan. Yes, it’s a bit strange calling a GOP Governor with an incredibly high approval rating “OUT,” but I do have my reasons for calling him an “OUT” as concerns being an influencer with the MDGOP apparatus – the first of which is that he is “OUT” compared to where he previously stood with said apparatus.

Formerly, I could see the MDGOP Executive Committee bowing to any/all demands Larry and his administration may have had. Larry Hogan was both the King AND the King-Maker. Now, or at least once the new Executive Committee takes office following this summer’s National Convention in Cleveland, not so much.  This new Executive Committee will, I predict, call things as it sees them for the good of the party as a whole – and not specifically for any one man/woman or King over all others.

The second reason I am calling Larry Hogan an “OUT” right now is that his administration did itself no favors by having/allowing the LG, Boyd Rutherford, to nominate/endorse Louis Pope for re-election against Committeeman-Elect, David Bossie. It really didn’t. And, as I wrote a week ago, Bossie knocking off Pope, though just one change – changes EVERYTHING as concerns the votes on the MDGOP Executive Committee.  It completely swings the balance of power.

I’m not saying that David Bossie specifically or the Executive Committee as a whole is going to buck Larry Hogan for the sake of bucking him – no, not at all.  Politics is politics and, once the dust settles, everyone still needs to work together and all of that nicey-nice stuff.  But, I am saying that I think that anything Larry Hogan may want or says he needs – just like anything else that will come across the Executive Committee’s table – will now be looked at without a rubber stamp attached.

And, there you have it. Thus concludes this little exercise in list making….

…For what it’s worth.

What the Hell?!

My mother always tried to instill in me that old saying that goes: “If you don’t have anything nice to say (about someone), then don’t say anything at all.”

I guess it’s a good thing I never really listened to my mother. Or not.

Whatever, here I was yesterday (May 19), ready to write a piece about how, some differences I may have with her or not, it was probably time for all Maryland Republicans to rally around House Minority Whip and U.S. Senate candidate, Kathy Szeliga – because, you know, she’s running against Nancy Pelosi’s lap-bitch, Congressman Chris Van Hollen to take over for retiring dwarf, Senator Barbara Mikulski.

And, then, I read a story yesterday about how Kathy Szeliga is urging that the U.S. Senate take a vote on Borat Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, the “honorable” Merrick Garland. In her statement, Szeliga said:

“A Supreme Court nominee should be given a fair hearing and should either be approved or rejected based on their merits. An automatic rubber stamp of yes or no based on your political allegiance is not good governing,”

What the Hell?!

In a perfect world, maybe what Kathy Szeliga is calling for might make some sense. But this isn’t anywhere near being a perfect world.  This is politics – which makes it about as far removed from being a perfect world as you can get.

So, at a time, when Ms. Szeliga should be highlighting the differences between herself and her opponent, Congressman Van Hollen, she agrees with him on something that is beyond a minor issue: Voting on Obama’s Supreme Court nominee.

Now, understand, IF the U.S. Senate were to vote on Borat’s nominee, Garland, he would very likely be voted down in the Republican-led Senate. But, that’s not the point of this article. The point of THIS article is WHY in The Hell would ANY Republican want to give the Socialists THAT wedge issue – of voting down a President’s nominee – going into a Presidential election year.

I guess Mrs. Szeliga is merely pandering to Maryland’s more…how shall I word this… “liberal” ideological bent, but at what cost? From what I can see, she can’t afford to be losing any Republican votes.  And, yet, she goes and says this bullshit as quoted above.

I guess Kathy Szeliga is playing that old Bob Ehrlich game of thinking “Where ELSE are Republican voters going to go?” in this election year. Whatever game she’s playing, however, it sucks.  This is one of those things that – even if she really does believe Merrick Garland deserves a vote – it’s better to simply keep your damned mouth shut.

At the MDOP convention last weekend, I got into a conversation about Kathy Szeliga – in which, a fellow attendee began it by saying, “Well, she’s not really a conservative, but Kathy Szeliga is all we’ve got…”

By saying she’s “all we’ve got,” he meant he was going to vote for her since she is the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate this year.

I agreed with him on both of his points.

That being said, despite our earlier differences on policy, I’d like to be able to vote for you, Kathy – but damn! Although there is no way in Hell I’d ever vote for Pelosi’s lap-bitch, you are making this one Hell of a lot more difficult than it needs to be.

Ka-BOOM!

I’ve been involved in Politics, Professional and otherwise, for the past 35 or so years, and I’ve never before witnessed such a grand and glorious version of political theater than I saw take place yesterday (Saturday, May 14^th) at the MDGOP Spring Convention.  It was stunning and it was beautiful. You could call it stunningly beautiful and beautifully stunning – either descriptor would work just fine.

To begin with, MDGOP National Committeewoman, Nicolee Ambrose, was re-elected for another four year term which commences at this year’s GOP Convention in Cleveland.  She was re-elected by acclamation – and to an absolutely deafening, thunderous, applause.

And then…

It was time to put MDGOP Committeeman, Louis Pope, on the spit and baste him in his effort to hang on to his seat against the challenge of Citizens United’s David Bossie. And this is where the political theater picked up in intensity – as if Ambrose’s victory via acclamation wasn’t intense enough.

Bossie’s first nominating speech was delivered by 1^st District GOP Congressman, Andy Harris – the only GOP Congressman in the state of Maryland.  And, it was delivered very nicely, too.  Harris recounted a lot of Bossie’s achievements both on the national level and going all the way back to David Bossie’s time as MD CFYR Presidency.

And this is where the political theater blew through the roof and into the stratosphere. It came time for David Bossie’s second nominating speech.  And, MDGOP National Committeewoman, Nicolee Ambrose – who’d just won re-election by acclamation – took to the microphone.

The “WHOAS!” that went through the crowd were audible and strong. The shift of the energy level on the convention floor was palpable.  Louis Pope was sitting there looking as though he’d just befouled himself.  This was unheard of: Pope’s female counterpart on the same committee was going to nominate his challenger to come along and kick his ass.

It was beautifully stunning.

And, did Nicolee Ambrose ever deliver a knockout of a speech. I’ll tell you what – Ms. Ambrose’s sense of timing and passion are impeccable.  And was she ever impassioned!  She did not denigrate Mr. Pope in the least – but what she did was sold David Bossie to the masses the left no question as to who should win.  Furthermore, the ending of her comments were incredible, when she looked out at where David Bossie was standing and shouted out, “David, Bring it!”  It was a magnificent and masterful performance – so much so, that a number of attendees told Ms. Ambrose that her speech convinced them to vote for David Bossie.

Then, it came Louis Pope’s turn – well, his nominating speaker’s turns, anyway – and up to the podium stepped MD Lieutenant Governor, Boyd Rutherford – who more or less mumbled his way through the basic bio of Pope and how he (Rutherford) and Pope were friends, that sort of thing.

After Ambrose’s electrifying performance in those 10 minutes that have forever altered the fortunes of the MDGOP, no matter what Rutherford may have said, it would have proven to be dramatically undramatic – as anti-climactic as anti-climactic can be.

Well, after Ambrose’s victory via acclamation, David Bossie smoked, as in absolutely crushed, Louis Pope by a total of 385-178. It was amazing and breathtakingly spectacular. Crushed, as he was, Pope left the convention floor – never to return.

And, those two votes change EVERYTHING for the MDGOP.

To begin with, there are the votes the three members will cast with the Republican National Committee. Such votes had been cast by Committeewoman Ambrose, Committeeman Pope, and State Chair Diana Waterman.  Normally – I said NORMALLY, not every time – the votes would come down 2-1 with Nicolee Ambrose being the “1.”Now, I predict these 2-1 votes will come down with Waterman being the “1” more often than not as I see Ambrose and Bossie, conservative political soulmates, voting the same way 90% of the time.

Secondly, there is what will happen on the MDGOP Executive Board, as with the new executive board, with the addition, of David Bossie, the conservatives rather than the old hack machine will now be in control. This is huge as the MDGOP Executive Board will no longer allow the state party to be used as a backstop.  Instead, I fully expect the MDGOP will be in the game – wholeheartedly and fully – for as long as both Ambrose and Bossie sit in control.  Between Nicolee Ambrose’s street smarts and enthusiasm for grassroots activism – see her Super Saturday successes – and David Bossie’s knowledge of  and friends on the national and local level to kick start funding for the MDGOP, I see a winning combination.

It’s interesting, but I see more losers than merely Louis Pope left in the wake of Saturday’s monumental votes and the thunderous applause which accompanied both of them. I also see the loss suffered by The Hogan Administration – who’s own LG endorsed Pope in his losing effort.  I heard a veritable boatload of people talking about “the embarrassment to the Administration” that Pope’s resounding loss to Bossie was.

Couple that with the insolence Governor Hogan has shown in refusing to get behind the Party’s Presumptive Presidential nominee, Donald Trump – who still rolled through MD on the way to winning the state on primary day, despite Hogan’s refusal to endorse him – and THAT embarrassment, when added to the Pope embarrassment, has me questioning the Hogan Administration’s most basic political instincts.

And, the answer ain’t good.

Whatever, there is now NO DOUBT who controls the MDGOP. Yeah, yeah, yeah – Larry Hogan may be the Governor and Diana Waterman may be the State Chair, but the control of the state party now lies in the very capable hands of Committeewoman Ambrose and Committeeman-Elect, Bossie.  They will have the votes, they will have the power. It’s really that simple.  And, judging from the reactions of the convention attendees, they couldn’t be happier.

The days of the MDGOP walking on its own grassroots activists are over. The days of the MDGOP being a laughingstock are over.

There is a new power – and it is here, now, and the new committee will be in position in a few short months. And it couldn’t have come to pass any sooner.

 

Louis…Rhymes with “Dope.”

Louis Pope, the current and soon to be no more MDGOP National Committeeman is an idiot.

After I published my most recent piece on how Current and Soon to be Again MD National Committeewoman, Nicolee Ambrose, and Pope’s Challenger and Soon to be MDGOP National Committeeman, Citizens United’s Head Honcho David Bossie, will soon be raising the bar on what it means to be a committee “team,”I started receiving a virtual ton of messages and information concerning Louis Pope’s actions on the RNC Rules Committee of 4 years ago – and how bad they’ve proven to be for the GOP.

One of the pieces I received was copy of an email sent by Louis Pope, in which he felt at the time as appreciated as a Hillary Clinton supporter at a Berne Sanders rally, said someone had sent out a “very slanderous email” about him (Pope) in which the writer had condemned Pope’s very actions.

This makes Louis Pope – the soon to be finished MDGOP National Committeeman and Vice Chairman of the RNC Rules Committee – an idiot, because it is libel, not slander, when any defamatory comment is put in writing. Remember kiddie, slander is spoken, whereas libel is written and/or put out in most other forms of publication…such as this blog.

Anyway, onto Louis Pope’s actions of 4 years ago and why they will prove to be the final nail in the coffin of his reelection efforts. (If I may for just one second – I am shocked that Louis Pope has the audacity to consider running for reelection, or even leave his damned house after some of this, but what the Hell?  I can only assume he is hoping that MDGOP Central Committee Members have either had their heads in the sand or very short memories.)

If you’re a grass roots kind of activist, you’ve got to hate this stuff – and, if you pay attention you already know just how destructive Pope’s helping ram through those changes has been to any type of grassroots activism having a chance of victory in the future. It likely made Louis Pope the Democrats favorite GOP Committeeman.

What happened was…

Between 2008 and the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, FL, many in the RNC had been pushing for rules changes that would restore power to those in the grassroots – which, as most anyone knows, constitute the foot soldiers out in the field.

These rules changed were designed to make GOP Primary elections more open and transparent for those who wanted genuine change, rather than for those who want to retain power in the hands of a few in the RNC.

Not only did the RNC accept the rules changes, they voted unanimously to approve them.

So, the week before the convention, with Mitt Romney already having the GOP Nomination for President well in hand, the Rules Committee began to deliberate the rules changes to adopt on the floor.

Attorney Ben Ginsburg, the representative from Mitts Campaign, on the Rules Committee, began introducing amendments – amendments which repealed all of the positive pro-grassroots changes.

The Rules Committee members (Hello, Louis Pope!) went along with these negative changes in order as brought forth by Ginsburg. I remember well that MDGOP National Committeewoman, Nicolee Ambrose, risked the wrath of Priebus by vocally – in front of the entire RNC – voicing her displeasure and disgust at the screwing over of the grassroots by the RNC elites.

Sources on the Rules Committee reported that Louis Pope voted every damned time to do Ginsburg’s bidding against the best interests of the grassroots activists. So good was Pope at his sabotage, he was personally thanked for his work on the rules changes by none-other than John Sununu who served as chairman of that very committee.

These rules changes were widely condemned by conservative leaders nationwide, including Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin and Sarah Palin.

In other words, not bright enough to decide what to do, Louis Pope allowed himself to be used as a battering ram for the Republican Party Establishment—doing whatever they demanded and to Hell with the Grassroots activists!

In the words of the great Virginia GOP National Committeeman and conservative icon, Morton Blackwell, Louis Pope – who served as the Vice Chair of the Rules Committee is an “Establishment Hack” and currently “unattached sycophant”.

To my way of thinking, Blackwell is being kind.

The MDGOP deserves better.

So, if you’re an MDGOP central committee member, you know what to do. It’s time to dump this “unattached sycophant,” Pope, for a Real Boss(ie) Man.

Ambrose and Bossie: Raising the Bar

I’ve known David Bossie, the Head Honcho at Citizens United, for 30 years now. We met back in 1986 when we were both working on Linda Chavez’s campaign for US Senate in Maryland.

I swear, I knew way back then that David Bossie was – and was going to be – something special. I really did. He had “Superstar” written all over him.

Damn, did I EVER nail that one. This man knows everyone on the right side of the political spectrum. EVERYONE, from Ted Cruz to Donald Trump – both of whom David Bossie considers to be friends – seemingly love him.  In fact, I was joking around yesterday that David Bossie was the only thing those two (Cruz and Trump) agree on. For proof, look no further than here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE4CeK1E_2I

Anyway, as I’m sure most of you dear readers know by now, David Bossie has announced that he is running for the position of MDGOP National Committeeman against the soon-to-be-former MDGOP National Committeeman, Louis Pope – of whom I’ll be writing more within the next week.

I’m not going to rehash what you’ve likely already read about David – Mr. Citizens United, married, a father of some young ‘uns, that kind of thing. What I am going to say is that Maryland is about to set the new, incredibly high, bar for what it means for the GOP of a given state to have as its National Committee team to the RNC.

Think about it. MD already has a spectacular National Committeewoman in Nicolee Ambrose. She is relentless in her pursuit of making MD a true two party state and has pretty much re-defined what it means to be a national committeewoman to the RNC. If you don’t yet know, Nicolee Ambrose – whom I’ve now known for almost 8 years – is constantly strategizing,  holding fundraisers at her home and heading up her acclaimed “Super Saturdays” in which she targets certain neighborhoods in certain districts and organizes door-to-door armies to, well, go door to door.  I personally credit her efforts for helping put the GOP Mayor of Annapolis, Mike Pantelides  -who won by 59 votes – over the top.

Anyway, if you couple Nicolee Ambrose’s “take it to the streets” style of Committeewoman-ing with David Bossie’s knowledge and friendship of and with the national players – which could mean great fundraising possibilities for the MDGOP –  you’ve got an amazing and unbeatable team.

An amazing and unbeatable team…I became acutely aware of that while watching both of them strut their stuff at Wednesday night’s GOP Harford County Central Committee meeting.

Now, yes, I am fully aware that, for that team to become a reality, there is the formality of an election – in David Bossie’s case and a re-election – in Nicolee Ambrose’s case.

That formality will take place on May 14, 2016 at the MD State GOP Convention. Nicolee has already proven that she could be a giant killer – 4 years ago when she was first elected.  I have no doubt – none, whatsoever – that David will do the same running, as he is, against an opponent who, 4 years ago, shot himself in the foot (again, more on that next week).

Nicolee Ambrose has already raised the bar of what it means to be a Committeeperson. The two of them together, Nicolee Ambrose and David Bossie, will now further raise that bar –  well into the stratosphere, and ALL to Maryland’s benefit.

 

Larry Hogan’s Belly Flop

I haven’t blogged in quite a while, I know.  The main reason for my lack of blogging isn’t because I haven’t had things to say – far from it.  The reason for my lack of blogging is due to the fact I’ve been furiously working on a piece of writing, my 4^th novel (with my 3^rd novel set to be published late this month), for which I chance getting paid some fairly decent compensation, and I hate cross-writing, form one genre (fiction) to another (political commentary).  But some things, well, you just can’t let them go without comment.  This is one of those things.

The MD legislature and the Governor’s office celebrated Sine Die last night, to celebrate the drawing to a close the 2016 legislative session. This will likely be the last Sine Die I blow off for a while, for a couple of personal reasons.

And, while those jokers in Annapolis, are backslapping one another for another screw-job having been perpetrated against Maryland’s citizenry, what do we have to show for their efforts?

Well, to begin with, Concealed Carry is still a relative “no-no” in Maryland, thanks to the strong showing of gutlessness offered by the Governor’s office. And, Larry, if you’re reading this….this ain’t rocket science bud: If anyone who wants a gun can carry a gun, and no one knows who happens to be packing heat, crime rates drop. Period.

Speaking of Governor Larry, have you seen what his campaign group, Change Maryland, has put out? The little meme bragging about the fact that there have been no tax increases for two consecutive years?  Does this mean we may expect a tax increase next year?  Whatever it may mean, not increasing taxes is NOT an accomplishment.  Cutting and/or abolishing taxes IS an accomplishment. No income taxes were cut this past session, meaning the Maryland tax payer is getting screwed just as hard as ever.

Common core, that toilet bowl-ish excess being thrust down our kid’s throats in school is still around, too. It should have been bounced from the classrooms statewide.  The fact that it hasn’t been is nothing short of a disgrace.

Speaking of disgraces, there is the budget that just passed. Here, you have Governor Larry showing off a video of him chopping a block of wood in half, but did he chop the budget at all – even in the least?  Hell, no, he didn’t. In fact, he increased the budget 4%.  For a guy who ran against Martin O’Malley’s record as a high taxer and big spender 2 years ago…well, Larry Hogan is now, for the 2^nd consecutive year, the biggest spending Governor in the history of the state of Maryland.  So much for fiscal conservatism, I guess.

As I’ve stated a million or so times, and will state again right here and now, I like Larry Hogan. He is quite a humorous guy and a fun guy to talk with.  But, that doesn’t change the fact he’s accomplished nothing of any real merit, outside of cutting a few tolls, since taking over as Maryland’s Governor last year…and yet his approval ratings are staggering – nearly 70%, despite the fact that his performance in office can best me described as a belly flop: Did you see THAT splash? Yeah, but did you notice how he hit the water?

That being said, a few folks have approached me with the possibility of mounting a primary challenge against him in 2018. Not a ton of folks, but a few. Running to the right of Larry Hogan in a gubernatorial primary could actually be a lot of fun, but…

What would be the chances of me winning? One in one hundred? One in one thousand? I don’t know and frankly I don’t really care.  The only reason I even give myself odds that high is because, with my name on the ballot, anything CAN happen – even if that anything is a 1 in 1000 shot.  While I’m not saying I will run, the possibility does intrigue me.  I’ve gotten my doors blown off for a lot lesser reasons before in my life.

I guess it will come down to what goes on over the next year or so.

Oh, and don’t fuck with her.