Retired US Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor testified yesterday before the Maryland Senate yesterday in support of AG Doug Gansler’s proposal to end the election of judges in Maryland.  O’Connor argues that ending the election of judges would help to reinforce confidence in our nation’s courts and end the appearance of corruption innate in judges being forced to seek campaign contributions.

Sounds great.  Appointed judges are so much better.  Right?  Not really.  Appointing judges just moves the politics from out front into the back room.  Maryland Sen. Allan Kittleman (R-Howard) hits the nail right on the head:

If this passes, no longer will any citizen of Maryland have the right to run for judge. If you’re not a favored son of a governor or lawmaker, forget about it. You will have to play the political game.

An excellent, and recent, case in point – Does anyone really believe that Senate Majority Leader Mike Miller’s son would have been appointed a judge IF NOT for his father’s political clout?

While the nation’s “economic pie” can be grown through good economic policies, the “liberty pie” is a zero-sum game – it doesn’t grow or shrink – and there are only two slices:  government power and citizens’ liberty.  If the current notions of centralized health care are enacted, government’s raw power over citizens’ lives will increase, and their liberty will be reduced by the same amount.

So writes Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli in this month’s issue of the American Spectator.  (sorry, the actual article won’t be available online until April)

Cuccinelli is fast becoming one of the leaders of the conservative movement.  While Cuccinelli has been using the power of his office to fight federal tyranny in the courts, he is also using the pen to make a reasoned argument for all that conservatives hold dear.

During the current resurgence of the conservative movement and the semi-conservative populism inherent among the tea parties, some may dismiss the need for the intellectual strength displayed by officials like Cuccinelli.  Don’t be fooled.  Without its intellectual underpinnings, the conservative movement never would have grown beyond the Bob Taft years.

As I have noted here in the past – Yes, it is important to believe the right things.  However, without a firm understanding of WHY we believe what we do, those beliefs will not survive the test of time.  This is precisely why we need elected officials like General Cuccinelli.

Yes, we all know that ObamaCare is bad policy.  We all know that it would be fiscally disastrous.  We all know that the world’s best health care system would be greatly diminished.  Yet, Cuccinelli has managed to succinctly explain why we should fight ObamaCare – even IF these things were not the case.  If we wish to forfeit our God given individual liberty for a promised blanket of economic security then America ceases to be that shining city.  Liberty forfeited is liberty lost forever.

Thanks Ken.

We haven’t written much about PAC-14, Wicomico County’s public access cable channel in quite some time.  Because of that, many of you may think that all is well there.  Sadly, you would be mistaken.  The crew running PAC-14 (along with some of the vocal “supporters”) are just as conniving and deceitful as always.

We have to admit that we made a mistake.  We tried to be fair and allow PAC-14 Executive Director Mike Goodson and a majority of PAC-14’s board the opportunity to do what they said they were going to do.  Instead, this merry little band has decided that giving Wicomico taxpayers the “middle finger” is the best route to obtain their goals – and those goals have little to do with providing viewers an opportunity to watch their government in action and providing citizens the opportunity to produce local content.  No, the goal of the PAC-14 board is to siphon money from the taxpayers and build an entity that will eventually be handed over to Salisbury University so that taxpayers will no longer have even a marginal say as to how a portion of their tax dollars are being spent.

Thanks to elected officials like Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt, Salisbury Mayor Jim Ireton, Salisbury council members Louise Smith, Gary Comegys, and Shanie Shields, along with unelected “volunteers” such as Phil Tilghman, Elizabeth Bellavance and WCBOE President Mark Thompson, expect PAC-14 to blossom into an organization which wastes money (your money) on consultants and plans for grand schemes while refusing to adhere to the basic rules of transparency (which are in their own by-laws).

A Little History -

The scandal which has surrounded PAC-14 began when Goodson and a couple of bureaucratic thugs from SU refused to meet with the legally appointed board and instead engaged in secret negotiations with Pollitt, Smith, then mayor Barrie Tilghman and Wicomico councilman John Cannon to engage a “transitional taskforce” to make PAC-14 “independent” from the city and county governments while still being the recipients of the taxpayers’ largesse.

Once this became public Pollitt, Smith, and Cannon all ran for cover claiming that they knew nothing about these “goings on” and definitely never took part in these meetings.  Despite contrary claims from members of the “transitional taskforce” we made the mistake of taking these upstanding citizens at their word.  After much hand wringing and shirt tearing, Pollitt and Ireton appointed a board largely composed of the same people want a PAC-14 which sucks scarce resources from taxpayers while refusing to allow any transparency or accountability to the same public which is expected to foot the bill.  Tilghman also appointed board members, but we never expected her to do the right thing.

Bellavance Calls for Deceiving the Taxpayers -

Oddly, the nastiest piece of work on the PAC-14 board has come in the form of Elizabeth Bellavance.  Bellavance, the joint city / county appointee and a member of the library board has argued that board members who serve on the Wicomico and Salisbury councils should deceive both their fellows on council AND the taxpayers.

Last summer, it was pointed out by Salisbury councilwoman Debbie Campbell that the proposed budgets for PAC-14 (both for the current fiscal year and their long term planning budget) did not include ANY sources of revenue other than from the taxpayers and in-kind contributions from SU (also from the taxpayers).  Campbell noted that the primary purpose given by Phil Tilghman, et al in their argument for making PAC-14 “independent” from the city and county governments was the need to fundraise.

Bellavance responded that this was the problem with having elected officials on the board.  She then admonished Campbell (and Wicomico councilwoman Stevie Prettyman) that they had a responsibility as board members not to share this with either their council colleagues OR the public.  Prettyman immediately tore into Ms. Bellavance explaining that she had NO intention of deceiving either he colleagues on council or any member of the public.  Campbell concurred.

It should be noted that while Bellavance was having her little tirade, PAC-14’s $20,000 consultant, Sue Buske, was chiming in agreeing with Bellavance.  A majority of the other board members, including the WCBOE’s Mark Thompson, were either nodding in agreement or speaking out in favor of Bellavance’s malignant statement that the public should be lied to.

At a later meeting Bellavance claimed that ANYONE who though that she meant that the public should be deceived was mistaken.  Sure, Liz.  I was there.  You said what you said.  Oh – and the recording from that meeting  ironically doesn’t work either.

It is also reported that Bellavance has threatened that PAC-14 should cease to broadcast Wicomico Council meetings if the county DARES to cut their appropriation this year.  This may sound radical, but I’m not surprised.  I have personally heard Goodson make the same statement to a group of supporters after a Salisbury City Council meeting.

If You Put the Taxpayers Before PAC-14 … Leave -

Sadly, I haven’t been able to attend any board meetings since this summer.  However, it looks like I’ll have to make time now.  The taxpayers of Salisbury and Wicomico County no longer have anyone looking out for their interests on the PAC-14 board and I have learned that a majority of the board cannot be trusted to keep their word.

It seems that Phil Tilghman and the PAC-14 executive board have decided that both Campbell and Prettyman have to go.  According to Tilghman (in emails to both Smith and Pollitt):

… during the past few months, actions taken by this Board member clearly demonstrate intentions that are counter to the vision and goals of the Board. Thus, we request that the Council appoint another representative who will find our respective visions and goals for the future more compatible with his/hers.

In other words, Prettyman and Campbell believe that the PAC-14 board should be held to the promises made by Tilghman, and others, that PAC-14 would begin raising money on their own AND would stick to their core mission.  Instead, Tilghman, et al, want the taxpayer to foot the bill while they pursue such pie in the sky proposals as a “Community Media Center” (which would duplicate many of the services of the public library).  Perhaps, PAC-14 should be placed under the control of the library?

In addition to Tilghman’s claim that neither Campbell or Prettyman share the same “vision and goals” as he does (thank goodness for Wicomico taxpayers), Tilghman falsely claimed that Campbell missed three meetings in a row and that Prettyman missed excessive meetings.  Of course, when Tilghman moves board meeting dates around – including scheduling them in conflict with council meetings – I’m not surprised.  I also find it ironic that Tilghman had to cancel the last meeting because he would have had to resign if he missed this last meeting.  Needless to say, rules only apply when you don’t share Phil Tilghman’s “vision and goals”.

Campbell has been forced off of the board.  Louise Smith intends to appoint Shanie Shields to Campbell’s spot.  It will be interesting to see if Phil screams to have Shanie removed after she fails to show up.  Shields doesn’t have a very good record of attending the meetings of boards which she has been appointed to.

Tilghman is vainly trying to get Prettyman off.  Fortunately, I understand that Wicomico Council President Gail Bartkovich has made a stand.  If Pollitt possessed a spine, he would demand that Tilghman and Bellavance resign or threaten withdrawal of all county support.  Tilghman forgets that the channel belongs to the citizens of Wicomico and Salisbury.  PAC-14 is merely the steward.  So far, they have proven to be no better a steward of taxpayer funds than their pals Louise Smith, Gary Comegys, Shainie Shields, and Jim Ireton.

Sadly, we should pay much closer attention to the actions of PAC-14 from now on.  Tilghman, and cronies such as Bellavance and Thompson have proven that they cannot be trusted.  They have proven their disdain for those that pay the bills – namely the taxpayers of Wicomico County.  It’s time for them to go.  They clearly don’t share the same “vision” as the taxpayers.

Barack Obama lectures the Supreme Court (and lies while doing so).  Lefties throughout the land whine about “special interest” money.  Maryland Dem chairwoman Susan Turnbull even has the gall to rail against the “Citizens United” decision.  Yet, MDDEM’s couldn’t survive without corporate and union cash.

Maryland Democrats … How’s that hypocrisy thing going?

Thanks to Red Maryland for this excellent video.

Red State has a great piece about Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) (along with Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN)) being the only person to stand up and fight the extension of the Obama PORKULUS.  Bunning deserves our gratitude.

While his colleagues were watching the Olympics or fundraising, it was Bunning who stood firm and kept objecting to attempts by the Senate majority to sleaze through more wasteful spending.  I wonder where his colleague and fellow Kentuckian Mitch McConnell was?

As Salisbury councilwoman noted on the radio this morning, today’s Salisbury City Council work session is “relatively meaty”.    While I haven’t talked to councilwoman Debbie Campbell today, it’s a decent bet that she won’t be there.  Why?  Campbell has to work for a living.  So does Cohen, but fortunately she is self-employed.

The “council majority” of Louise Smith, Gary Comegys, and Shanie Shields don’t work for a living.  They live off of the teat of the taxpayer.  Therefore, why not move work sessions to the morning.  The meetings aren’t televised.  Working citizens can’t attend.  Campbell can’t attend many.  Cohen will undoubtedly miss a few because she has to earn a living.

By this action alone Smith, et al provide an excellent argument for not allowing anyone on a PUBLIC pension to hold elected office.  No – I’m not advocating that action.  I’m just noting that there is an argument to be made when people like Smith, Comegys, and Shields behave as they do.

Coupled with their action to make work sessions difficult for Campbell (and Cohen), these shining examples of public service are also attempting to void Campbell’s and Cohen’s access to health insurance through the city.  The city’s ethics commission has asked the city government to specifically include health insurance within the portfolio of the compensation commission which recommends the salary of both the mayor and council.  Sadly, the “council majority” has recently refused to do that as well.

I can make an excellent argument for not providing the mayor or council members with access to the city’s health insurance.  I can also make an excellent argument for allowing them access, but making them pay full freight.

However, that’s not what this is about.  As soon as Shields discovered that she could get her insurance through the state pool it was time to go after Campbell and Cohen.  Why not?  The taxpayers are footing the bill for Smith, Comegys and Shields – just not on the same account.  They got theirs, so why not screw their political opponents?

Here’s the message coming from the city council offices – working people need not apply.  Only those who are retired or living off of the taxpayers should be able to hold public office in Salisbury.

As I noted above, I can make an argument for taking away health insurance from Campbell and Cohen.  However, if the city wants to do that they should also not pick up the tab for any travel – particularly Comegys’s MML expenses.  There is one thing for certain.  The taxpayers of Salisbury benefit far more from the presence of Campbell and Cohen on council than they do by paying for Comegys to glad hand around Maryland.

Salisbury citizens need working people to be able to serve on the city council council.  They also need retired men and women to be able to serve.  They just don’t need vindictive individuals like Smith, Comegys, and Shields.

Red State’s Erick Erickson writes that Florida Gov. Charlie Crist may be bolting the GOP to run for the Senate seat Crist arrogantly believes is his by right.  If he does so, the conservative response should be a simple one – marshal every resource possible to elect Marco Rubio and THEN (after the election) make it our mission to destroy Crist politically so that he can never run for office again or benefit financially from his service as Florida’s governor.

Now, this may seem hard hearted.  It is.  However, if you play the game you should play by the rules.  If Crist bolts or campaigns for the Democrat nominee he has left the realm of civil political behavior and should be handled as such.

Erickson writes:

Here’s what will happen if Charlie Crist leaves the GOP. The DC-GOP Establishment crowd will attack RedState, Jim DeMint, and Marco Rubio for shrinking the GOP. Instead of pointing out that moderate Republicans are sore loser who don’t play well with conservatives, conservatives will be attacked for chasing Crist out of the party.

Sadly, this brings to mind two things:

Doug Hoffman sought the GOP nod to run in NY-23.  He lost.  Then, he ran on the Conservative line.  Now we all know what a toad Dede Scozzafava was.  We know the rules for nominating a candidate were bad.  That said, I have to ask if Hoffman signed the blood oath.  This is fairly normal under such circumstances; you pledge to support the GOP nominee no matter what.  If Hoffman did, then he certainly isn’t the hero that many conservatives portray him as.  He’s no better than Crist (if he bolts).  Let’s not forget that honor is one of those values we claim to believe in preserving.

Second, Erick is absolutely right that the DC-GOP establishment doesn’t play well.  However, I will argue that it has nothing to do with philosophy.  It’s about power.  Erickson and DeMint believe in a core set of principles.  DeMint has already been attacked by NRSC chair John Cornyn (R-TX) for not towing the “party line” on several races.

There is only one solution.  Conservatives need to take back the GOP.  If your state chair, committeeman or committeewoman voted for Michael Steele (for RNC chair), they should be challenged and defeated.  If your local and district chairs aren’t conservative they should be challenged as well.  If your state party is organized in such a way that it can be nothing more than irrelevant (see Maryland for a prime example), plan and execute the long battle of reforming it.

Sadly, we have to be careful for what we wish for.  The  Jeff Frederick debacle at RPV is an excellent case on point.  Frederick decided he wanted to be RPV chair.  He attempted to portray the incumbent chair (former Virginia Lt. Gov. John Hager) as some kind of raving lefty.  Hager is a great conservative with an outstanding record of service to his state, his country and his party.  Hager just isn’t as rabidly doctrinaire on some issues as Frederick and his supporter would have liked.  So, what was the result?  They attempted to destroy the character of one of the finest men I have ever known.  Frederick was elected and then proceeded to pillage and burn.  Fortunately, the RPV State Central Committee (hardly a bunch of moderates) had the good judgment and intestinal fortitude to remove Frederick.

As conservatives, we need to stand firm.  We need to fight hard.  We also have to exercise good judgment in the battles we wage AND … be careful what we wish for.

When elected officials waste your tax dollars your recourse is limited.  You can complain.  You can lobby your officials.  Ultimately, you can vote those persons out in the next election.  One of the wonders of our great nation is our willingness and ability to replace politicians with the ballot rather than the bullet.

Sadly, there are instances in our local, state, and federal governments when officials steal from the taxpayer – either through embezzlement or spending public monies that are not lawfully appropriated.  Do we resort to the bullet?  Of course not.  This is America; that’s what prisons are for.

During the fascist regime of the former Queen of Barrieland, Salisbury taxpayers witnessed a constant, and consistent, stream of spending public funds without lawful appropriations.  When current Salisbury mayor Jim Ireton ran for his present post he promised voters that this type of behavior would not be repeated under an Ireton regime.  Sadly, this has proven NOT to be the case.

At last Monday’s Salisbury council meeting, Councilwoman Terry Cohen presented a chronology of the illegal spending of almost $100,000 for a dump truck.  While the Barrie Comegys faction of council heaped abuse on Cohen, the Ireton administration has stood idly by and refused to accept responsibility for the lion’s share of this debacle.

Yeah, I know.  It’s not even $100,000.  When Jim Ireton proposes raising your taxes in a couple of months, I hope you’re still smiling.  These little boo-boo’s add up.

Some folks want the head of Councilwoman Louise Smith.  Sadly, I have to report that Smith’s share of the blame is minimal – in this instance.

According to Cohen’s documentation, Smith signed off on the contract for purchasing a 3 ton dump truck.  The award of bid was approved by council.  Yes, Cohen notified  City Administrator John Pick that she thought a budget amendment would be required.  Yes, Pick confirmed that one would be needed.  Yes, I’m confident that Smith received copies of these emails.

Here’s the rub.  It was Internal Services chief Pam Oland that affirmed on the contract that an adequate appropriation existed.  IF Pick notified Oland that a budget amendment would be needed, Oland is chiefly responsible and should forfeit her job.  IF Pick DID NOT notify Oland, then Pick bears the brunt and should be sacrificed.

Yes, Smith probably should have known.  However, Louise Smith is “dumber than a sack of hair”.  She can’t even follow her own council rules.  Oland and city solicitor Paul Wilber have provided Smith with adequate cover.  No one would like to see her hang for something like this more than I.  However, I believe that we are better than people like Smith and Barrie Tilghman.  Therefore, let’s hang her for something with a little more substance.

Some have pointed with glee to Wilber’s signature as proof to his complicity in this brewing mini-scandal.  If you are a longtime reader, you are well aware that Delmarva Dealings has never hesitated to express a negative opinion of Wilber’s supposed service to Salisbury’s taxpayers.  That said, it’s not Wilber’s job to check the budget every time he reviews a contract.  I’m assuming that this contract is legally correct (outside of the lack of a legal appropriation).  Therefore, Wilber did his job regarding this matter.  Regardless of how much abuse I would love to heap on Wilber for past sins, he doesn’t appear to be guilty of anything in this particular case.

SO – who is really to blame in the GREAT DUMP TRUCK DEBACLE OF 2010?  As noted above, the real blame seems to rest with either Pick or Oland.  Sadly, Ireton has decided to turn a problem into a full blown scandal.  Rather than finding out who is to blame, getting rid of the problem, and apologizing, my friend Jim has decided to take a darker path.

Much to their credit, Cohen and fellow Councilwoman Debbie Campbell refuse to vote for an ex post facto budget amendment.  As we witnessed in the infamous Chief Webster affair, Ireton lacks the intestinal fortitude to point out the culprit and dismiss them.  Now Ireton has a new toy for his public works department, purchased illegally with public funds.  The truck is titled and tagged.  It appears that Ireton is waiting things out until the fourth quarter so he can move the funds WITHOUT council approval.  This is where my friend Jim has lost my support forever.

OK.  Jim’s a nice guy.  Jim doesn’t like to fight.  I though Ireton told us that he would “speak truth to power”.  I guess that means anyone EXCEPT the despotic bureaucracy he inherited.  Ireton’s refusal to tackle this matter makes him NO BETTER than the tyrant he replaced.  Ireton’s version of fascism may be kinder and gentler, but putting a smiley face on despotism does not negate the tyranny.

I know – it’s ONLY A DUMP TRUCK.  As noted above, THIS IS AMERICA.  Contrary to the protestations of Ireton hero’s like Barack Obama, we are EXCEPTIONAL.  One of the principles that make America exceptional is our belief in the RULE OF LAW.  Without the rule of law, we revert to Thomas Hobbes’s “state of war”.  Without the rule of law, we are no better than some tin horn, third world dictatorship.  Is this Ireton’s vision for Salisbury?

Sadly, the evidence is mounting.  Taxpayers are already footing the bill so that one incompetent and possibly corrupt official is being paid to fade into the sunset.  Now monies are being spent without being appropriated.  Are we sure Barrie Tilghman didn’t just cut her hair and change her wardrobe?

Liberals never learn.  They cling to the discredited belief that all you need to do to raise government revenue is raise tax rates.  Wealthy Marylanders are showing Gov. Martin O’Malley that they have options too.  They can move to a more tax friendly state.

In 2007 O’Malley and his leftist pals in the legislature instituted the so-called “millionaires surcharge”.  Montgomery County is learning that if you raise taxes they will leave:

County officials estimate next year’s budget deficit will be more than $761 million. Much of the shortfall is tied to a few residents who have either lost money in the economy, died or fled Maryland’s new millionaire tax.

County records show Montgomery lost $4.6 billion in taxable income between tax years 2007 and 2008. The number of income tax returns above $1 million declined by 27 percent during that time.

Despite this “shocking revelation” of basic economics, those stalwarts of fiscal sanity – the Democrat majority of the Maryland General Assembly – are considering extending the “surcharge”, which is set to expire next year.  Perhaps O’Malley should call newly elected New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and ask him how many high earners abandoned the Garden State under the tax and spend policies of Christie’s predecessor – Gov. John Corzine.

Go ahead Marty – dance while Maryland burns.

MPPI Senior Fellow Marta Hummel Mossburg tags RNC chair Michael Steele for the rank hypocrisy of his book – "Right Now: A 12-step Program for Defeating the Obama Agenda".  While Mossburg hits Steele on many of the right specifics, she should have expounded more on her “Ignatius Reilly” theory of the Michael Steele persona.

Steele’s problem is a simple one – he believes in nothing.  Michael Steele has shown himself willing to pander to almost any audience at the drop of a dime.  He’s conservative.  He’s cool.  He’ll use scarce RNC resources to back an unapologetic left-winger in the NY-23 race.  He’ll take credit for the victories in Virginia and New Jersey, when he had absolutely nothing to do with them (and the RNC’s contribution was an appreciated one of finance and a few bodies).

Michael Steele is the embodiment for why tea party activists, and the conservative movement in general, should look at the GOP as ONLY a means to an end and hold them off with a ten foot poll.  Sure, various state parties (such as RPV) should be looked on as allies.  Some state parties, such as MDGOP, should be viewed as irrelevant except for their easy access to the ballot.

If grass roots conservatives are serious about enacting positive change, they should start by ensuring that their state and local parties are run on conservative principles and by people who have, at least, some clue about grassroots politics and how to win races.  As an example –

I recently attended a meeting of a local GOP central committee.  When one individual (not a member) brought up the need to reach out to groups like the tea partiers and AFP, the response from several members was:

Why should we?  They need us.

NO!  As Republicans WE NEED THEM.  Honestly, if the two men who made that statement had not been elderly, I would have punched them both in the mouth.

Yet, this is the underlying attitude from too many in the GOP.  Sure, they want tea partiers and AFP members to knock on doors, make phone calls, write letters, and stuff envelopes.  Then, they want those people to go home.  It’s 1975 – 1980 in the GOP all over again.

Sure Michael Steel will pander; so will many other “GOP leaders”.  However, if we are serious about electing good, solid, fiscally responsible candidates who respect the Constitution then we need to take control of local and state parties where conservatives are not respected (but not demand some ideological purity test).  We then need to demand of state party chairs and their national committeemen and women that we need REAL conservative leadership at the RNC.  That means dumping Steele.  If some RNC members were moved by racial concerns, they should be reminded that Ken Blackwell (a true conservative candidate for RNC chair) was black the last time I checked.  While Blackwell was my number 2 choice in the race that saw Steele elected, he surely wasn’t a distant two and was (and would be) someone that conservatives would be proud to call as their national chairman.

Michael Steele is worse than Ed Gillespie (an RNC chair under George W. Bush).  At least Gillespie is an accomplished political operative.  He just isn’t a conservative.  However, Gillespie reflects a view of the Republican party which is sadly shared by Michael Steele:

According to the Union-Leader, Gillespie "said in no uncertain terms that the days of Reaganesque Republican railings against the expansion of federal government are over. . . . No, today the Republican Party stands for giving the American people whatever the latest polls say they want. . . . The party’s unofficial but clear message to conservatives is: Where else are you going to go? To the Democrats? To the Libertarians? They don’t think so."

No Ed.  No Mike.  Conservatives will simply work for conservative candidates and tell the rest of the GOP to pound salt in other races.  The ball is in the GOP’s court.  With leadership like Steele’s I think that grassroots conservative activists are in for a very sad surprise if they believe that the GOP is really on the side of Reagan conservative coalition.