While I have the greatest respect for my friend (and SbyNEWS publisher) Joe Albero, I feel obligated to offer a different take on Saturday’s meeting with District 38-B delegates Norm Conway and Jim Mathias at the Wicomico County Public Library. I don’t disagree with Albero’s assessment that these two gentlemen mean well and are attempting to do their best in representing their constituents.
Why wouldn’t they? Consciously and deliberately working against the best interest of one’s own constituents is a fast track to defeat at the polls. I also appreciate these two gentlemen taking time to meet with us.
That said, I have some severe policy disagreements with these two “good guys”. Their seeming belief that government somehow creates wealth (which is the engine of real economic growth), their quid pro quo approach to state spending and policy, and their hypocritical approach to working with our agricultural community are all areas of great concern.
Contrary to Albero’s concerns, disagreement is not attack. Belief in the principles of limited government and fiscal restraint are not negative. Demanding that our elected officials STAND UP for a core set of values is not denigrating their character.
19 comments:
way to go GA well said
Thanks for posting this he is right on!
I firmly believe Joe will re-evaluate his attitude once I email him the photographs of Conways BOE salary + his Maryland Legislature salary which he has drawn on simultaneously.
Not to mention the cushy position that was created for his wife at the BOE.
I do not believe Joe has not seen any of this data.
I hate to disagree with Joe Albero, to tell you the truth sometimes a bit worried to, but I think this account of the meeting is a tad more accurate.
I not only agree with Mr Harrison but also tip my hat that he has enough hope that there's even a slight possibility that either one of these delegates could refrain from their records of tax and spend. We need deep, drastic and REAL cuts in spending and taxes. I dont think they could do it in their best days let alone now without the stamina or wind.
Anyone who follows MD politics and especially MD Dem politics and politician knows that they simply do not break rank when it comes to voting on legislations, regardless of wether they make any sense, help or harm their cosntituents and state. So wether they are nice, mean, honest or corrupt makes no difference cause at the end of the day, they VOTE the same.
Mr Harrison
I had not seen your site until today. It is very professional looking and I a bit time there reading some of your articles. They were all very well written, even the ones I did not agree with 100%. It was pleasant reading and you have a knack with words to get your point across, without being vile or down right nutty sounding.
Your views of Conway/Mathias are more to my way of thinking. Mr Albero apparently had a change of heart during the meeting as he is now coming across that they are the best politicians ever. I commented to Joe yesterday that he sounded as if Conway and Mathias already had him in their pocket.
Anyway, thanks for your point of view. Do hope Joe doen't get in a snit for you not agreeing with him.
For Delegate Mathias to claim that he and Delegate Conway "tried very hard to get building permits for the chicken houses" is a definite stretch, if not a flat out lie. Building permits are not the problem; they are issued by the local counties. These two delegates have no idea what kind of permits are being required nor by what agencies, what the requirements are to obtain these permits, or even the history of the issue.
"disagreement is not attack"
Tell that to the three scoundrels on the Salisbury city council.
Watching the way they treated Cohen and Campbell on PAC14 last night was disgraceful. Worse, that Smith woman tried to cover up discussion about an illegal contract that she and the city attorney signed!
Joe or G.A., what's the story on that? All I could get out of it was that it involved a dump truck. Is this the landfill all over again?
Well said G.A. Well said. When your original premise is wrong (gov't creating jobs,wealth etc) then there's no where to go but downhill.
I dedided not to vote to reelect either one of this dynamic duo when they didn't speak out against the waste of tax money by Rick Pollitt and the "gang of four" (McLoud, Cannon, Hughes and McCain) to by land for parking at the Civic Center for $300,000 per acre with "free state money".
don't forget both of conway's retirement packages from the wboe (along with his wifes) and the state!
on another note, for the writer of the article shown here. The poultry farmers have done it to themsleves. speading copious amounts of chicken litter on every field each spring to run off unchecked into our local waterways has done immense harm to the environment. You're ability to make a living shouldn't impact my or my childrens ability to enjoy our local waters! How about I open a dump right next to your property and let all the polluted water leech onto your property! how would you like that? didn't think so!
GA. I believe your perspective is right on target. Good writing.
Consumption + Investment + Government Spending + Exports − Imports = Gross Domestic Product
Wish you would spend more time on local government matters -- just heard they are now trying to dump Campbell and Prettyman from the PAC 14 board.
1:33 Very little of this litter reaches the waterways, but there is no need for me to say it, because your mind is already made up. If you want to do something to clean up the waterways, move everyone out of the watershed. That's not going to happen either.
OK, I have taken the time to read your article and much like I said at lunch the other day, if you want to attack/challenge these gentlemen, do so ON TOPIC and do NOT expand beyond what was openly discussed in the Town Hall Meeting.
Sure GA, many of your topics are true. However, you may gain attention and even anger out of our readers but for the 99.99% of the people here that weren't present, you are steering them wrong.
You do NOT expand as to WHY so many things have changed here on the Eastern Shore, even though Mathias and Conway explained very carefully how that has worked. I agree with them in the sense that considering the odds they are up against, they have covered the Shore extremely well.
I will be producing an article probably tomorrow of my experience in Annapolis today. In fact GA, I invite you to go to some of these meetings and see what's really going on in Maryland. I say that because I also attended another very important meeting earlier this morning that would have blown your mind.
I sat in on the meeting where Maryland Democrats asked the Republicans for an alternative budget proposal. I'm just going to give you one example of one item they discussed.
The proposed budget for road upgrades in Maryland for next year is something like $110,000,000.00. Now get this. Of the $110 million, $100 million will go to Baltimore City. The rest will go out to the rest of the Counties in the entire state. Now how messed up is that!
You see, what GA doesn't mention is that it only takes 71 delegates to pass something. There are only TEN votes on the entire Eastern Shore. That being said, how much money do you think the Eastern Shore will get on that road program, next to NOTHING!
I guess that's Norm Conway and Jim Mathias' fault too, right GA?
That being said, someone from the Western Shore says, Poultry Farmers are pouluting the Bay. Jim and Norm say, hey, that's not true. Then someone from the Western Shore produces legislation stating they want more regulations on the Poultry Industry. Jim and Norm have to convince at least 61 other Delegates that they will destroy the biggest Industry on the Eastern Shore, not an easy task. So IF they cannot do so, I guess it's their fault, right GA????
To propose these guys are out to get us here on the Eastern Shore is just ridiculous. Paint the whole picture GA and educate everyone reading this article because right now I truly do not feel you're being fair.
I don't have time right now to go paragraph by paragraph but I will simply say I got one hell of an education in Annapolis today, as well as last Saturday afternoon.
Dead on.
Vote em out. They are part of the problem, and good examples of how we got to where we are today.
We can't find "representatives" that already don't have numerous government pensions?
If we don't vote em out this next election, then WE DESERVE THEM!
Anon 1620 -
GDP does not equal wealth. Government spending is merely a transfer from the productive portions of an economy to the government. PRODUCTION builds wealth. Government produces nothing. Since you either failed your intro econ class or your professor was a raging socialist, I suggest that you attempt reading Henry Hazlitt's classic "Economics in One Lesson". (it was a personal favorite of Ronald Reagan's).
Joe -
With all due respect, I never blamed either Conway or Mathias for what is appropriated in Baltimore ... unless they voted for it. Sadly, I'm willing to bet they did.
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