Monday, December 31, 2012
Friday, December 28, 2012
Don Dwyer will run for re-election. Let's beat this joker
If you haven't heard of Del. Don Dwyer (R-Harundale Pasadena), you're missing out.
The word "obsession" comes to mind when I think about how he's fought against marriage equality. He's done just about everything he can other than physically blocking the doorway of the State House a la George Wallace:
What he HAS done includes trying to impeach a circuit court judge for finding in favor of a gay couple and banning the mere discussion of same-sex marriage in schools, along with the usual barrage of bills banning marriage equality.
Dwyer made the news again in 2012 by drunk-driving a boat and sending nine people to the hospital. He even freely admits he was drunk. Look at that, an honest politician!
The driver of the other boat has also been charged, but unlike Dwyer, none of his charges are alcohol-related. Dwyer's response? He's "gratified that the findings do not reflect blame for the accident on me." So much for taking responsibility.
The delegate was, up until this point, still planning to run for state Senate in District 31, but has now decided to run for re-election as a delegate instead, presumably so that nobody would notice he was still in office. He has also moved from Harundale to Pasadena, which should (theoretically) make it easier for him to win, as Harundale is now in District 31A, which is a good Democratic pickup opportunity in 2014.
However it should be clear by now that Don Dwyer needs to be sent packing. A less-insane Republican in the Pasadena/Lake Shore area should seize this opportunity and run against Dwyer in the primary election. If Dwyer happens to win then it's up to Democrats to field a good candidate to defeat him in the general (although his district is so heavily Republican they might re-elect Dwyer out of spite). Either way, the end result is an ex-delegate keeping his hate-filled rhetoric out of Annapolis, hopefully sober.
The word "obsession" comes to mind when I think about how he's fought against marriage equality. He's done just about everything he can other than physically blocking the doorway of the State House a la George Wallace:
What he HAS done includes trying to impeach a circuit court judge for finding in favor of a gay couple and banning the mere discussion of same-sex marriage in schools, along with the usual barrage of bills banning marriage equality.
Dwyer made the news again in 2012 by drunk-driving a boat and sending nine people to the hospital. He even freely admits he was drunk. Look at that, an honest politician!
This is the face of honesty.
The driver of the other boat has also been charged, but unlike Dwyer, none of his charges are alcohol-related. Dwyer's response? He's "gratified that the findings do not reflect blame for the accident on me." So much for taking responsibility.
The delegate was, up until this point, still planning to run for state Senate in District 31, but has now decided to run for re-election as a delegate instead, presumably so that nobody would notice he was still in office. He has also moved from Harundale to Pasadena, which should (theoretically) make it easier for him to win, as Harundale is now in District 31A, which is a good Democratic pickup opportunity in 2014.
However it should be clear by now that Don Dwyer needs to be sent packing. A less-insane Republican in the Pasadena/Lake Shore area should seize this opportunity and run against Dwyer in the primary election. If Dwyer happens to win then it's up to Democrats to field a good candidate to defeat him in the general (although his district is so heavily Republican they might re-elect Dwyer out of spite). Either way, the end result is an ex-delegate keeping his hate-filled rhetoric out of Annapolis, hopefully sober.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Friday, December 21, 2012
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Precinct Results: State Ballot Questions 4 and 6 - Anne Arundel County
Anne Arundel County is a pretty socially-liberal place. Even many of the Republicans are socially liberal, or at least more so than the average Republican voter in the US. So, I decided to test that theory by mapping out the results of the two socially-oriented state questions on the ballot in November: Question 4 (tuition for immigrants) and Question 6 (marriage rights for gays).
The biggest thing that surprised me was the stark difference between the Severna Park/Arnold area vs. the Pasadana/Lake Shore area. While both capes are reliably Republican, Lake Shore is far more socially conservative than Arnold. Nearly every precinct between the Severn and Magothy rivers voted in favor of marriage equality, while there were only three between the Magothy and the Patapsco.
Another fact that struck me from the maps was that Crofton is very similar in this way to Severna Park and Arnold. Every single Crofton precinct voted in favor of question 6, even though the town is a toss-up politically (49% Obama in 2012). In addition, no Crofton precinct voted for question 4 by less than 48%.
Voters in Maryland's 33rd legislative district and the 5th councilmanic district should take note. For a pretty socially liberal electorate, their elected officials are currently very conservative.
The same cannot be said for Crofton's more reliably Democratic neighbor, Odenton. Over 57% of Odenton went for Obama in 2012, but it appears to be more socially conservative than Crofton. The Maple Ridge precinct (04-003) voted against question 6, and they were joined by King's Ransom (04-012) and East Piney Orchard (04-023) in their opposition to question 4.
Other than that, everything was as expected. West county and Annapolis vote liberal, south and northeast county vote conservative. The south continues its leftward trend, due to "spillover" from PG county and trends towards Democrats in Shady Side. However it will be quite some time before the south turns "blue."
Data file (CSV) from Maryland Board of Elections
Question 4
Question 6
The biggest thing that surprised me was the stark difference between the Severna Park/Arnold area vs. the Pasadana/Lake Shore area. While both capes are reliably Republican, Lake Shore is far more socially conservative than Arnold. Nearly every precinct between the Severn and Magothy rivers voted in favor of marriage equality, while there were only three between the Magothy and the Patapsco.
Another fact that struck me from the maps was that Crofton is very similar in this way to Severna Park and Arnold. Every single Crofton precinct voted in favor of question 6, even though the town is a toss-up politically (49% Obama in 2012). In addition, no Crofton precinct voted for question 4 by less than 48%.
Voters in Maryland's 33rd legislative district and the 5th councilmanic district should take note. For a pretty socially liberal electorate, their elected officials are currently very conservative.
The same cannot be said for Crofton's more reliably Democratic neighbor, Odenton. Over 57% of Odenton went for Obama in 2012, but it appears to be more socially conservative than Crofton. The Maple Ridge precinct (04-003) voted against question 6, and they were joined by King's Ransom (04-012) and East Piney Orchard (04-023) in their opposition to question 4.
Other than that, everything was as expected. West county and Annapolis vote liberal, south and northeast county vote conservative. The south continues its leftward trend, due to "spillover" from PG county and trends towards Democrats in Shady Side. However it will be quite some time before the south turns "blue."
Data file (CSV) from Maryland Board of Elections
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