Last week, when I appeared on the Marc Steiner show after the first Ehrlich – O’Malley debate, I commented on the use of the term “New Americans” by O’Malley. I know that illegal immigration in Baltimore has helped to increase unemployment rates among African-Americans. In 2007, according to the American Community Survey data from the US Census Bureau, black unemployment in Baltimore (ages 16-64) was 6.2% which was 2.4 % higher than the 3.8% average of the overall population. In three...

As a teacher of political science at a local university, and having a strong interest for Governor Ehrlich to win in November, I have been watching the gubernatorial campaign closely. According to a couple of polls (Rasmussen and The Washington Post), Ehrlich trails O’Malley by 8 to 11 points. This week, Ehrlich started his electronic media buys in the DC suburbs so that should level out the playing field but there a few suggestions i would like to offer… 1) Change the Mindset Within...

Happy Sunday everyone! I have a few points to bring up for the beginning of the week (and to end last week)… 1) THANK YOU! On Tuesday, September 14th, I won the race for the Chairmanship of the Baltimore County Republican Central Committee. With 99.1% of the vote in, I won by about 1,000 votes out of 30,000 cast. The good news for Republicans is that our turnout in the primary was higher than four years ago and much higher than the Democrat voter turnout. Hopefully, our motivated voter...

This year, the Maryland Republican Party could not find a candidate to run for Attorney General. This means that the incumbent, Doug Gansler has no opposition on the ballot in November. Unfortunately, this will leave him free to meddle in competitive races across Maryland. Today, Politico reports the first salvo of the Gansler crusade to clean up elections. The ban on campaign materials that he deems is misleading. Right now, the ban only impacts Democratic candidates in Prince Georges County....

Every once in a while I like to take out my mostly trusty crystal ball and peer into the future. A Gallup poll released yesterday reports a 10 point advantage for generic Republican candidates for Congress over the Democratic opponents. What does this mean in the real world? In my opinion, Nancy Pelosi is fired as Speaker, probably replaced by John Boehner. On the Senate side, the Democrats may hold onto a one vote majority. However, the difference between a change in the upper house may come...

Every ten years, after the national census, the Constitution mandates that two issues of representation are dealt with: reapportionment and redistricting. Reapportionment deals with the shift in population from state to state. The number of the members of the House of Representatives is capped at 435. If Pennsylvania loses population and Florida gains residents, Florida would gain one seat and Pennsylvania would lose one. Redistricting involves the drawing of the lines of Congressional and State...

Here are a couple of things that have caught my attention this week: President Obama is a Muslim – According to a poll by the Pew Center, nearly 1 out of 5 people (18%) think that the President is a Muslim while 34% think he is a Christian and 48% have not got a clue what faith he may have. It is amazing to me that this is a story coming from a country that has systematically erased tenets of Christianity from every organization of government. In recent years, their have been lawsuits that have...

There are few things that really annoy me in politics anymore. Congratulations, Senator Harry Reid you hit the jackpot! Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) made the following statement: “I don’t know how anyone of Hispanic heritage could be a Republican, OK?” Reid said. “Do I need to say more?” Why is it that the race / ethnicity card is played by Democrats who are in trouble during election years? I seem to remember familiar phrases used by Democrats...

I received this letter today from a concerned citizen in Baltimore County. The issue being addressed is the possible voiding of votes of our brave men and women in uniform who are deployed overseas in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places around the world. Here is the letter: Dear Representatives and Senator, Can any one explain to me why Governor O’Malley is requesting a waiver to the MOVE act, the federal Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment act. This would in effect impede the ability...

Courtesy: guardian.co.uk I have been not writing on national politics lately because I filed to run for local office in Baltimore so I have been a bit busy. I did not watch the President on “The View” yesterday but watched a few of the clips online. The President, in a discussion about race during the interview, made the following statement: “We are sort of a mongrel people. I mean we’re all kinds of mixed up,” Obama said. “That’s actually true of white...

Hello all. I just got back from two weeks of National Guard duty so I was out of the political loop for a little while. Well, the fall campaign in season for Maryland just got more interesting with the naming of Bob Ehrlich’s running mate Mary Kane. I like Bob Ehrlich. I campaigned with him in 2002 when he won. I interned for him back in the 1990s. I know he was and will be a better governor than the pseudo rock and roll star current governor of our state. However, there are times I...

It seems that President Obama has labor union problem. As unlikely as it sounds, the candidate who was pushed over the top by several labor unions in 2008 was on opposite sides of the Arkansas democratic primary less than two years later. After the primary dust settled, both sides had shots to fire across the bow warning of another conflict. The White House said “Organized labor just flushed $10 million of their members’ money down the toilet on a pointless exercise” while...

Took a week or so off from blogging. This morning, however, I have a few rants on the topics of the day. Helen Thomas: what is the big deal? Just because she said that Jewish people should move back to Europe. White folks in the south, as well as black separatists, have been saying that black people should go back to Africa for almost two hundred years (see Liberia). Helen Thomas does not make policy for the United States. The outrage is better served to be centered on the BP spill than a 90...

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast (especially New Orleans), a particular political log jam occurred between the Democratic Governor Kathleen Blanco and President George W. Bush (R). Of course, the media was outraged that Bush took so long to respond to aftermath of the storm. Little has been said about the role Blanco played in refusing federal assistance because of her stance of wanting to maintain control because of state sovereignty issues. Five weeks ago, a BP oil rig exploded...

Liberals actually did what conservatives have done for the past decade or so – they ousted an incumbent because he or she wasn’t liberal enough. Arlen Specter lost yesterday because he did not meet the litmus test of liberal Democratic voters of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Republicans are used to inter-party squabbles over whether a particular candidate (or elected official) is not conservative enough. Case in point, the Republican Congressional primary in MD-1 in 2008 when...

“The Sky is Falling. The Sky is Falling.” – I can imagine a bunch of Chicken Little’s running around K Street and Capitol Hill last night after the dust settled from yesterday’s primaries. There is one problem with the doom and gloom pundits who are announcing the death of the Democratic Party in May, it doesn’t add up. What is going on? Are these election results a demonstration of anti-incumbency, anti-party, anti-Congress or anti-Obama? Let me try to explain...

The era of the Big O is over, not Oprah but Obama. I am simply amazed that Barack Obama has messed up so fast. In the 2008 general election, Obama and the Democratic Party was unbeatable with the remnants of the GOP being split into factions led by Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh. In less than two years, Obama and the Democratic Party are vulnerable to the point that party primary elections are on the verge of knocking out career Senators like Arlen Specter (D-Pa). What happened to the Big O? ...

I have a funny feeling about tomorrow’s primary in Pennsylvania. My gut is telling me that incumbent U.S. Senator Arlen Specter will lose to Rep. Joe Sestak but it won’t matter. Why? It won’t matter because Arlen thinks he is smarter than the electorate and he will simply not give up the seat just because of a pesky primary defeat. We can blame Joe Lieberman for this contingency plan of Specter’s. In 2006, Lieberman lost the Connecticut Democratic primary against Ned...

If yesterday’s primary result is any indication, Pennsylvania might have a new senior Senator in January of 2011. In bordering West Virginia, 14-term Representative Alan Mollohan (D-1st) lost his primary fight to State Senator Mike Oliverio. Mollohan’s family had held that seat before men landed on the moon and was voting on legislation when the Beatles was still putting out albums. According to Real Clear Politics, the seat was not even in play until recently. Mollohan’s loss...

Politics and sports are frequently connected by overarching issues in society, especially when dealing with race and money. On the issue of money, I agree with J.A. Adande (ESPN’s “Around the Horn”) that sports and politics are connected in fiscal matters surrounding the public financing of sports stadiums. On the question of the Arizona Immigration Law, my question is: Should a sports team or professional sports league impact legislation of a sovereign state? Was the Phoenix...

Dora the Explorer (Nick Jr.) In the aftermath of Arizona’s immigration law, I want to know if Dora the Explorer can stay on the airwaves in the state. After all, we know she is Hispanic and probably not a U.S. citizen. I think the law is stupid not to mention unconstitutional. If it gets enacted before a federal judge hears it, probably the Supreme Court, I will be very surprised. Every Mexican in Arizona should leave and let’s see if Arizonans will take up the slack by burping...

It appears that not every Republican wants embattled RNC chair Michael Steele’s head on a platter. Yesterday, former House speaker Newt Gingrich and 2008 Republican V.P. nominee Sarah Palin, came to Steele’s defense for different reasons. Gingrich, being the pragmatist that he is, correctly assessed the situation regarding Steele’s tenure at the RNC. Gingrich’s point is that Republicans should be focusing its energy on winning a majority in the House and the Senate in 2010,...

Since Michael Steele has been chairman, a succession of disasters have occurred to negatively impact the RNC on his watch. Contrary to Steele’s assertion last week that race is one of the driving reasons behind the scrutiny, I am convinced that race is the only reason why he is still the RNC chair. The RNC simply is afraid of the political fallout of firing Steele so close to the 2010 mid-terms. The Democratic Party is in a win-win situation. If the Republican Party gets rid of Steele they...

Although it is not official, it appears that Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. will put his name before voters again in the much anticipated rematch with Martin O’Malley for the office of Governor of the State of Maryland on April 7th. Unlike most pundits, I believe Ehrlich has a better than average shot of beating O’Malley. However, the key is not going to be running against Obama, or even O’Malley, the biggest challenge will be to use the energy and anger of the tea party people with a...

Ten Commandments Movie Poster In the politically ironic story of the week, it appears that the RNC this week has been caught with its’ hand in the proverbial cookie jar at a risque night club in LA. This week is Easter, but it is also the week of Passover for people of the Jewish faith. The political irony is that Republicans (who are supposedly more moral than their left wing counterparts) are being ridiculed for re-reimbursing an event at a bondage themed club during Passover week –...