A well thought-out and literate editorial in this morning's Daily Times provides the answer. Our District 37 and 38 legislators lack the moral courage and political will to tackle this issue without the cover a referendum would provide.
A referendum is really not necessary. IF Wicomico's state legislators wanted to abolish this antiquated system, they could do so in January.
IF our Republican members are the true conservatives that they claim to be, we shouldn't have any problem securing their support. Why do we? How can one claim to be for a free market and yet refuse to abolish a government monopoly?
As for the Democrat members of the Wicomico legislative contingent, I'm a little more sympathetic. The dispensary system (statewide) has historically been a corrupt perk of days gone by and was even used as a perverse electoral tool prior to the 1960's. Democrats are loathe to give up any tool that once helped them maintain an iron grip on the state house.
As usual, Wicomico's County Executive is straddling he fence giving lip service to the POSSIBILITY of a referendum, while dragging his heels to keep the measure off of November's ballot. Ditto for some members of our county council.
Ultimately, no referendum - no action in Annapolis. That is why we need this measure on November's ballot. Without a vote by the people of Wicomico County, their representatives in Annapolis are simply too scared to touch an issue that should have ceased to be controversial upon ratification of the 21st Amendment.
A referendum itself is not a slam dunk. The Wicomico County Liquor Control Board will not hesitate to spend TAXPAYER MONEY to wage a campaign against its passage. Another corrupt perk of an institution that is no longer relevant.
cross posted at Delmarva Dealings
A referendum is really not necessary. IF Wicomico's state legislators wanted to abolish this antiquated system, they could do so in January.
IF our Republican members are the true conservatives that they claim to be, we shouldn't have any problem securing their support. Why do we? How can one claim to be for a free market and yet refuse to abolish a government monopoly?
As for the Democrat members of the Wicomico legislative contingent, I'm a little more sympathetic. The dispensary system (statewide) has historically been a corrupt perk of days gone by and was even used as a perverse electoral tool prior to the 1960's. Democrats are loathe to give up any tool that once helped them maintain an iron grip on the state house.
As usual, Wicomico's County Executive is straddling he fence giving lip service to the POSSIBILITY of a referendum, while dragging his heels to keep the measure off of November's ballot. Ditto for some members of our county council.
Ultimately, no referendum - no action in Annapolis. That is why we need this measure on November's ballot. Without a vote by the people of Wicomico County, their representatives in Annapolis are simply too scared to touch an issue that should have ceased to be controversial upon ratification of the 21st Amendment.
A referendum itself is not a slam dunk. The Wicomico County Liquor Control Board will not hesitate to spend TAXPAYER MONEY to wage a campaign against its passage. Another corrupt perk of an institution that is no longer relevant.
cross posted at Delmarva Dealings
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Many years ago Worcester county had a referendum and their liquor system did spend a lot of money to put out a lot of misinformation to combat what is constitutionally right. Not long after, their general manager was caught in a scandal that brought him down personally, unfortunately the entity remained.
ReplyDeleteThey also used the same type of fear rhetoric that there will be liquor stores everywhere and it would all just be out of control. This just isn't so, don't buy into a government that feeds misinformation to the public to achieve their agenda goals, that's what got us into the quagmire we call the Iraq War.
If you believe that rhetoric, you have little faith in the law enforcement departments that you already pay dearly for in taxes. Drop government liquors like the bag of dirt that it is, see ya, wouldn't want to be ya!
GA I couldn't agree with you more on this issue. It is past time to dump this antiquated system and let the free market take care of our liquor needs! And I don't even use the outlets we have now.
ReplyDeleteA. Goetz
Nice piece G.A., get this info out there before the propoganda machine gets fired up.
ReplyDeleteYanno what? I might finally agree that you need to do away with the LCB.
ReplyDeleteIf I lived in a city/county with as many problems as yall have, I'd want to drown my sorrows in cheaper liquor too.
If any 5 of you spent half the time looking into your State's Attorney's DWI as you have with this, he would've been gone long ago.
Like I said, yall have MAJOR problems on the shore, and the LCB is probably #10 or 15 on the list, yet it gets more attention than almost all the rest.
Get that cheap rotgut ASAP, so you can forget about the mayor, the lying councilwoman, the bankruptcies, the foreclosures, the sewage spills (TRUST ME - that should be your #1 priority,) the FD falling apart, the murders, the crime, the drugs, etc.
Now I really can see why yall need cheaper liquor.
BC in NC
North Carolina is so backwards they still have prohibtion in some counties. Talk about being lost in the last century? baaaaa
ReplyDeletewa ya'll drink down dare in nort caroliney? some of uncle jud's corn sqeezin's?
ReplyDelete