Obama's New Music Video

Well, okay not really. But who doesn't like a good music video?

What's With The Ron Paul Hatred?

Red Maryland is a great blog.

However, last Friday Red Maryland fell into the nationwide pattern of Ron Paul bashing by the GOP.

If you check out Townhall any given day you will find plenty of commentators mocking Mr. Paul.

So what gives? Mr. Paul wants to limit the size of government and limit our interventions overseas. Seems like tradition Republican ideas to me.

Look, the rising support for Ron Paul is a symptom of the cancer of overseas intervention in the Republican party. So if you folks dislike Ron Paul change our overseas policy. It is as simple as that.

Leaks Galore?

Now, I am relatively new to this blogging thing. But I am a long time reader of blogs. Think of me as a "long time reader, first time blogger."

One of my favorite blogs is The Monoblogue (catchy title eh?). Monoblogue is a great one concerning politics here in the Old Line state. Right now they are blogging about the Republican state convention.

The post is fascinating behind the scenes look and has some great pictures.

However, the line that really stood out is the following:

My thought on the RWB dinner aside, there was some animosity shown by (Jim) Pelura about what he termed “leaks galore” to the blogs, who were putting out “garbage.” To him it was “unacceptable,” and he threatened to withhold word about meetings and the budget until he was gently reminded that the by-laws didn’t allow that. Still, he felt his “trust (had been) betrayed.”

Wow, the Republican leadership just doesn't get it! Get used to it folks. If you guys are having trouble managing the party than people are going to complain about it.

And perhaps I might blog a little bit about it.

A cult not a party

(Okay, so the song doesn't EXACTLY relate to this post. But check out Arsenio!)

The GOP is not really a political party in Maryland... it is more like a little cult.But then again... with our "Republican" representatives acting like liberals it is not a very well disciplined cult.

The GOP in Maryland needs to have substantial painful changes.

The bad news is with this nation's changing demographics the Republican party nationally could look like the Republican party in Maryland.

The good news is that Maryland can be a great state for starting with steering the GOP ship to victory in the future.

And how do we do that? Bottom line is that we have to go into communities that we are usually afraid to go into... minority and poor areas of the state. There is no reason we should just allow more than 90% of blacks to vote for the Democratic candidate.

We need to fight for those votes.

1.) Emphasive school choice.

2.) Fight inner city crime. Black on black crime. (In the recent Republican presidential debate I felt that most candidates punted on this question).

3.) Show how government programs such as social security are racist and benefit whites over blacks (whites live longer than blacks on average and thus take more out of social security in the long run).

4.) Fight for Faith Based Initiatives.

We need to get real in the state of Maryland. If we don't start the changes now the future of the GOP will be rough. But we can do it!

Red Maryland's Facebook Group

Anyone who uses facebook should check out Red Maryland's group.

Starkman For Congress

I have recently come across a website for Michael Starkman. He is running for Congress for the 4th District.




The 4th District... hmm....where is that exactly? Let's look at our handy map.

Damn! That has to be a tough district for a traditional Republican (ones not following EMT principles).

But at least we have someone running. A lot of times theGOP doesn't even have a warm body occupying a space in the election.

Then again this doesn't look very encouraging (from the FAQ on Starkman's website):

Didn't you run in 2006? What is different now?

In 2006 I was the campaign manager for someone running in Maryland's 8th district. Meanwhile, because no candidate had filed in the fourth district, Montgomery and Prince George's County Central Committees asked me to be their nominee for the upcoming election.

I was neither prepared or ready to run a competitive campaign but accepted the nomination to give voters a choice and begin the long fight to keep what is working in place and bring meaningful changes where we can do better.

Wait, what the hell? "I was neither prepared or ready to run a competitive campaign"?

Now look, this isn't Starkman's fault. He was... in essence, drafted by the GOP to fill that district spot.

But the fact that Starkman is running does point to the fact that the GOP in Maryland is completely leaderless and without a game plan.

I wish Mr. Starkman the best and I am impressed by his guts. However, real change in Maryland won't occur until the GOP leadership gets a clue.

Promises, Promises, Promises

You made me promises promises
Knowing I'd believe
Promises promises
You knew you'd never keep
-- "Promises" by Eyes Naked

Well, the GOP leadership is at it again pretending to make amends for its unconservative like behavior. It amazes me that the author has the arrogance to say that in the next few months Republicans are going to "earn" the trust of the party's base again through tough talk and new policies.

What about the previous 6 years? What about when the GOP had control of Congress?

GOP LEADERSHIP: Actions not words... and certainly no promises you won't keep.

Karl Rove Ruined the GOP

Well, Karl Rove has left the White House and of course people are talking about it.

I found one really interesting article written by James Carville.

From the article:

The March poll from the Pew Research Center showed that 50 per cent of Americans identify as Democrats while only 35 per cent say they are Republican. The June NBC-Wall Street Journal poll showed 52 per cent of Americans would prefer a Democratic president while only 31 per cent would support a Republican, the largest gap in the 20-year history of the survey.

What is fascinating is that Carville claims that "Rove appealed to the base of the Republican Party."

Well, that is the conventional wisdom but of course it isn't true. The reason why young people don't want to become Republicans is because the party IGNORES the base and is led around on a leash by corporate America.

African Americans Getting Ripped Off On Healthcare

A fascinating article can be found in the Washington Post.

178: Crime Out Of Control In Baltimore

From the USA Today Article:

Outraged at the number of violent deaths in the city, the Baltimore branch of the NAACP is calling for residents and businesses to post the 2007 murder count in their windows.

Social Security, Personal Accounts, And African Americans

One area that Republicans can can work harder at is marketing personal social security accounts to African Americans.

Why? Well, simply stated African Americans are getting screwed under the current system. Sadly, the current form of social security hurts African Americans but Democrats seem not to care. That is a moral and a political failure.

From an article:
It is revealing that Democrats continuously block Social Security reform, even though the current system is unfair to blacks who lose, on average, $10,000 in the system because blacks have a shorter life expectancy than whites by five years.

A study by the RAND Corporation showed that if black Americans were allowed to voluntarily put part of their money into personal savings accounts, they would benefit enormously. Personal savings accounts would make it possible for black Americans to generate wealth that could be passed on to their heirs, something that is not allowed under the current system.

And those who now receive benefits under the current system would not lose benefits. Those nearing retirement could structure their personal savings accounts to reduce risks from market fluctuations, just as is being done by the 3.1 million federal government employees under the Thrift Savings Plan that was started in 1983 as a substitute for Social Security.

Under the Thrift Savings Plan, federal employees receive $4,500 per month compared to the $1,300 per month for Social Security recipients.

Maryland Voters Deserve More From Their Political Leaders

An excellent article concerning Maryland voters... and the Democrats that fail them.

But just because the Democrats fail them doesn't mean that Maryland voters will turn to an alternative.

UNLESS WE GIVE THEM A REASON TO DO SO!

GOP Leaderhsip Doesn't Listen To The Base

Another reason why I started this blog, aside from looking at why some citizens have NEVER voted for a Republican before, is to understand why so many traditional Republicans are feeling unmotivated about going out to vote.

One recent example of how GOP leadership has turned away from the everyday voter can be seen in the recent illegal immigration debate. That debate showed the power of big business in America... a power that doesn't give a damn about borders. Click here for a fascinating article on the topic.

Ask African Americans For Their Votes

I came across this article the other day. I know that it is a little old but the article holds many truths about the GOP's marketing to the African American community.

The biggest suggestion from the article? Actually sit down and ASK African Americans for their votes.

Take a few minutes and read the article.

Maryland's Republican Party And African Americans

Maryland's Republican Party has problem with African American voters. Okay, okay, this isn't much of a news flash and it is unfair to just mock Maryland's Republican party for its failure in this area. Republicans all over the country can't seem to get African Americans to vote for them.

It is infuriating for me that Republicans have chosen to give up in marketing their message to African Americans. If we truly believe that our message of personal responsibility, small government, and free enterprise is valuable to all Americans it is a sin to neglect African Americans just because their votes will be a little bit harder to get.

It is tragic that we don't offer a competing political view. As Republicans we believe in choices and competition yet we allow Democrats to present a monopoly of ideas in the minority communities around the country. In some communities it has been years since a Republican has come and visited.

What can we do to remedy this? Well, it certainly will be a lot of hard work and could perhaps take many years but we need to emphasize these ideas:

1.) Personal Ownership: From personal social security accounts to home ownership this could be a winning issue. African Americans have long been at a disadvantage at acquiring wealth in this country because of past discrimination.

2.) Education: If Republicans truly believe that an individual can help themselves achieve we need to be the leading advocates of education and school choice. An education is the only thing that can help African Americans move up the economic ladder. That means we can't back down from those who are against school choice in the form of vouchers.

3.) Strong Laws Prohibiting Discrimination: We can't remain silent when hard working African Americans are shut out of jobs because of the color of their skin and where they grew up. We can't pretend that everyone can succeed in America if these barriers still exist.

4.) Fair and Effective Crime Enforcement in African American Communities: We must be sure to cut down on the skyrocketing crimes rates in cities like Baltimore. One of the first steps is addressing the concerns of the African American community and abuses from the police force. Only when the community works hand in hand with the police can crime be cut.

5.) Faith-Based Initiatives: Get the money for social problems out of the hands of the government and give it to community churches and private groups that are driven to help their neighbors.

But the most important thing Republicans can do is to sit down and truly listen to African Americans. Truly care what they want and show them how Republican principles can achive it. It might seem like common sense but we haven't been doing it.

Earning Maryland's Trust

Welcome! I am happy you stumbled upon my little blog.

Earning Maryland's Trust is a hope that I have for the Republican party in Maryland. Currently the party is in shambles from the wipeout of the election in 2006. This wipeout can be attributed to two failures:

1.) The trust that was broken between the traditional Republican voters and RINO(Republican In Name Only) candidates and

2.) The trust that was never established between the Republican party and the minority community.

There are many that believe that the Republican party in Maryland is in critical condition. We EMTs (Earning Maryland's Trust) hope to revive it through the hard work of establishing a strong relationship between the party and the voters of Maryland.

I look forward to the discussion that we have on this blog.