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!