July 1, 2008 - 4:30pm
Steele, on the stump for Harris, says ‘Republican brand quite frankly sucks’
By Danny Reiter
Category: President, House, LocalTags: MD-1, Michael Steele, Frank Kratovil, Barack Obama, Andy Harris
EASTON – Former Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (R) joined state Sen. Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville) for a fundraiser last night in Easton. The cost of admission to the Denny family’s house party was $250 for couples. VIP entrance was priced at $1,000, which included a photo with Steele.
The former lieutenant governor and chair of GOPAC opened the event for Harris. He began by praising key Republican operatives.
“It’s important work, its hard work. Particularly in this climate, in which the Republican brand quite frankly sucks,” Steele said. “I mean it stinks, it’s ugly, it’s painful, but in all that I see opportunity.”
The former lieutenant governor also took a moment to mock U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Mechanicsville).
“I don’t know if you’ve seen the comments of Steny Hoyer who bragged ‘oh-heck-gee’ we can get two congressional seats,” he told the crowd. “Go ahead Steny - keep talkin, keep talkin. We’ve got a thing for you and it’s called Andy Harris.”
After yielding the Denny family’s living room floor to Harris, the MD-1 Republican nominee began discussing energy. “Explore for it [oil] here, don’t depend on enemies of the United States for energy,” Harris told the crowd.
He also touched on earmarks: “Just say no to earmarks.”
“Our politicians in Washington are addicted to earmarks, and you can’t just do a little bit of it, you gotta say no to it in its entirety,” he said.
The state Senator also took a moment to comment on U.S. Sen. Barack Obama: “People use the word ‘scared’ to talk about Barack Obama,” said Harris. “That kind of intensity is unusual.”
Further into his speech, Harris said that he would meet the campaign’s second financial quarter goals, but did not say how much he had risen specifically.
Andy Harris is currently running for congress in Maryland’s 1st Congressional District against state's Attorney Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville). The race is seen by some observers as one of the most competitive in the country. Although the district trends Republican, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has seen an opportunity to pick up the seat, and has added Harris’s opponent to its Red-to-Blue program. MD-1 includes 12 of the 24 counties in the state, which encompasses all of the Eastern Shore and portions of Harford and Baltimore counties.
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Disputing Dr. A
Hey good Doc, care to explain how Republicans mismanaged this state when Democrats have a super majority?
Care to explain that even when we had a Republican Governor the state was still heavily Democratic and there was always a super majority?
Care to explain how the state has actually been mismanaged for decades under the Democrats?
Also care to explain how it is that all major cities that are Democratically controlled have high crime rates and high taxes?
The brand was wrong nationally and you are right it was the Republican's policies. They acted like liberal Democrats with out of control spending and hand over fist pork. If they had acted like conservatives they would still be in power.
Ask Gilchrest.
Agree with Dr. A.
This race has absolutely nothing to do with 2010. If you believe that Harris is like Ehrlich, you are naive, to say the least. And if you believe Kratovil is like O'Malley, you really don't know these folks.
Harris is a right wing ideologue, enamored with his own ideas and unwilling to listen to anything/anyone who disagrees with him. At the League of Women Voter Forum during the primary, the woman next to me (who I did not know) kept saying over and over "Gawd, what an @sshole, every time Harris responded (or failed to respond) to an audience question. When challenged on his "facts," Harris responded by repeating his original point more loudly.
Kratovil on the other hand, does not toe the party line on many issues. While he and O'Malley are certainly friends and admire each other, they do not always agree. Immigration is one specific area I can point to where their views diverge. Kratovil is a law and order guy and believes that we need to, first and foremost, enforce the law. Kratovil,like Gilchrest, is a pragmatist and will make decisions based on reasoning and what is best for his constituents, not what Party leadership dictates.
The GOP will try to paint Kratovil as a "liberal," but how much meaning does that have when he painted his GOP primary opponents as liberals? If you want to know how far to the right Harris leans, look at his donors. I also find it curious that an individual supported by big oil is proposing that we let big oil have access to even more of our resources in which to drill.
Have you looked at this guy's “prescription for pain at the pump?” Here’s an analysis.
Point 1 -- temporarily suspend the 42 cents in federal and state gas taxes through Labor Day. As the State of Illinois found out, the only ones that benefit from this is the oil industry. They drop the price a few cents, pocket the difference, and when the “holiday” ends, the prices jump by the full amount of the tax. Who loses? We the people.
Point 2 -- temporarily cut the number of different gasoline blends from 40 to four. The reason for different blends is state laws. Since Congress is unwilling to mandate nationwide regulations that reduce the level of environmental pollution for the most severe areas, States do it on their own. Is he now against State's rights?
Point 3 -- allow drilling in Alaska and on the continental shelf. The oil industry already holds leases on millions of acres both on and off-shore and about 70% is sitting idle. Giving them more leases will not bring down the price, now or in the future. This is just a way for them to get control of more area before the current oil friendly administration leaves.
Point 4 -- fast-track permitting for refinery expansions. The US has 10 of the top 25 producing refineries in the world (4 owned by Exxon/Mobil). The next closest is S. Korea with 3. The issue isn’t refineries; it’s control of supply by a few companies.
Point 5 -- provide incentives for new energy technologies. Haven't we been doing that with our $200 billion subsidiy to the oil industry?
How many Congressmen have campaigned on getting rid of earmarks? ALL OF THEM. When the rubber meets the road, however, it's a different story. They scratch each other's back and the public pays the bill. The difference is that with Kratovil, we'll pay it today and with Harris our children and grandchildren will pay it.
Sucks
Oh, that is funny. Maybe we can get Steele into Western Maryland to campaign for Roscoe Bartlett as well.
Why does the brand suck?
I love how Republican elected officials (or former elected officials in this case) like to blame the brand instead of failed policies.
The brand doesn't suck "just because." It sucks because Republicans mismanaged this state and this country for six years. They paid for it in 2006 and will pay for it again in 2008.
Not true at all
This is a race between two very different candidates who will represent the first congressional district in very different ways.
I will not let who I may or may not vote for as Governor in 2010 decide who I will vote for to represent me in Congress in 2008.
The bottom line is that if
The bottom line is that if you want Bob Ehrlich in 2010 then you pick Harris, if you want Martin O'Malley in 2010 then you pick Kratovil. It is really a proxy battle between O'Malley and Ehrlich than anything else.
Sure they're both good candidates--state senator with a track record and crusading young state's attorney, but really they're just the opening act for what appears to be a big year of fireworks.
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