Maverick misnomer

State Sen. James Brochin is the type of legislator we should all want representing us, especially independent minded and progressive Marylanders.

According to this Baltimore Sun article, Sen. Brochin has run into some 
trouble with the Democratic majority for "giving them no votes' according to 
Senate President "Mike" Miller. Miller, not surprisingly got petty over  
Sen. Brochin's perceived lack of support for the Democratic agenda by 
moving his seat to the back of the Senate Chamber.

I'm not sure why the Sun labels a legislator who listens to constituents, has principles and acts on them and is not afraid to confront his party's agenda is a "maverick". Frankly we need more such mavericks and fewer lemmings who tow the party line with every single vote whether Democratic or Republican. Realistically, no single party has the best solution/policy for each and every issue. Whether you lean toward one agenda or another is understandable, but blindly following party leadership as Miller seems to be promoting is nonsense.

So let's hope more independent thinking politicians such as James Brochin and Wayne Gilchrist (we should mourn his loss in the primary) are re-elected and stay in office. 

This Session's best idea (and bill) yet

It's amazing but there is finally a bill that is useful to Maryland Citizens that looks like it may actually pass during this lightweight Session. The bill would create a database linked website that would allow Marylanders to discover what the State government is spending our money on. The bill has gathered support from both sides and is very likely to pass. Full Sun article at this link Click, browse, follow the money

I can personally attest to the inability to find budget documents in a format that would allow analysis and accountability. Let's say you wanted to (as I did for a blog post) determine how State revenue has grown over the past ten years and plot that along with population growth to discover if government growth is outpacing population growth? Right now you would have to download a series of PDF documents , enter all the numbers manually in a spreadsheet program and generate the charts.

Not to mention that State government websites, including the General Assembly's are dreadfully designed, poorly implemented and totally divergent in functionality across agencies/departments. Communicating with citizens has never been easier nor as inexpensive (using the web) yet this bill is the first attempt to create a user friendly interface on a State Government website. Case in point, try to find the aforementioned bill at the General Assembly website! Please let me know if you do.

Yes, you can legislate morality

The cell phone use while driving fracas in the General Assembly just won't go away. We knew this would be a session light on substance and the attention focused on such legislation seems to confirm that. These laws are hanging on despite research that shows other distractions are equally or more likely to cause accidents according to AAA. But there are some interesting aspects to the argument not simply related to cell phone use in vehicles...

In the Sun article (link above) Senator Nancy Jacobs, a Republican who represents Cecil and Harford counties is quoted as saying "It's legislating common sense," "People should be responsible adults and know how to behave and act reasonably. Next we're going to be telling people what radio station they can listen to and how loud they can listen to it."

I think we can all anecdotally agree that "common sense isn't so common". For instance, all I had to do during my morning commute was take a look at the number of cars weaving, not staying in lanes and cutting me off. These drivers were using cell phones. On any given trip in a car this happens repeatedly.

So from this little example (not to mention what we see in the news headlines everyday) it appears that we are not responsible or reasonable on our own. In our selfish culture we lack the morality and/or ethics to determine that using a cell phone while driving is unsafe and endangers others. The reasons for the moral decline are numerous but for one we are less religious. Religion has always been and will be a source of moral guidance for some. But without such guidance, we need paternalistic laws to tell us how to behave. The fact that there is a law forces us to comply with what otherwise should be determined by reason or common sense mainly because we fear a financial penalty/fine. Read more on a good discussion on the distinction between ethics, morals and laws.

As our culture's moral and ethical foundation crumbles and individuals are unwilling and unable to consider their obligations to others, more and more laws that regulate behavior will continue to be brought up in the State House. I don't see much of an end in sight... we'll continue to use the Legislative Session to create laws regulating behavior unless the majority of people in our State and culture begin to consider other's interests and not just their own. So yes, you can legislate morality and unfortunately, we need to.

Bad News for GOP

Moderate Republicans who supported Wayne Gilchrest in the 1st Congressional District have indicated they may support the Democratic challenger Queen Anne's County State's Attorney Frank Kratovil according to this article in the The Daily Times (Salisbury). A group called Republicans for Kratovil is sponsoring a Breakfast event next week (details).

The backlash against Andy Harris' highly negative campaign and conservative policy positions should have been something the Maryland GOP saw coming. Harris' support from Dr. James Dobson probably hurts more than it helps in the General Election. Gilchrist had broad appeal while still holding fairly conservative to moderate policy positions. He was certainly not a "liberal". To refute that Harris charge, all you'd have to do is check his voting record. Harris comes across as a conservative demogouge to many Republicans which will likely make this a very close race.

We'll keep an eye on this interesting story and post more info as it develops over the summer.