Tomorrow is TEA Party day

By Michael Swartz | 07/03/09

On Wednesday I had some fun being creative in another way, as a bunch of concerned local citizens associated with the Americans for Prosperity local chapter got together to make signs for Saturday morning's big event. It wasn't a large group (perhaps eight people, I wasn't sitting there counting) but we cranked out quite a few neat little signs. This was the first one I created. This is the group photo I took as we were somewhat hard at... read more »

Time for accountability once again

By Michael Swartz | 07/03/09

I ask that the editors of the other Maryland Red County sites permit me their kind indulgence. Normally I stick to my own Wicomico County site (with the occasional foray into the National arena) but this is important for all Marylanders. In the culmination of several weeks' worth of research and compilation, at noon today I will reveal the 2009 edition of the monoblogue Accountability Project, where I grade all 188 members of the... read more »

Next up for Frank: health care

By Michael Swartz | 06/30/09

There were a lot of people who were anywhere from disappointed to outraged that our recently-elected Congressman, Frank Kratovil, was one of those who voted in favor of the Waxman-Markey "cap and trade" bill, better thought of as the "energy tax". While 44 mostly "Blue Dog" Democrats (a group Kratovil likes to consider himself a part of) voted "nay", Frank decided to send a bill that hadn't even been... read more »

Fun Facts on Fuel

By Michael Swartz | 06/30/09

A set of commercials I occasionally hear on the airwaves comes from the GEICO gecko discussing "fun facts" about the company. My friend Jane Van Ryan at API sent me their own version of "fun facts" embodied in an Energy IQ quiz. (They even stole my favorite format: 10 questions!) Now I think I'm a reasonably smart guy, but I only got 6 right! Admittedly I overestimated on some so the brain trust at API must have figured me... read more »

Panic in Detroit

By Michael Swartz | 06/24/09

And in a lot of other places too; that is if the Waxman-Markey "cap and trade" bill (H.R. 2454 - fair warning: the bill is a 1,092 page .pdf file) gets through the House and on to the Senate. Here's just some of the reaction. Let me start with the Americans for Limited Government group:  Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today strongly urged Congress to reject legislation "that will deliberately... read more »

Wicomico County Republican Club meeting - June 2009

By Michael Swartz | 06/23/09

After a month off because our normal meeting date fell on Memorial Day, the Wicomico County Republican Club reconvened this evening with our first announced candidate for 2010 to address the group. As always, we took care of club business first with a couple twists. After the Lord's Prayer and Pledge of Allegiance, club Secretary Dave Parker gave us a summary of April's meeting and we received a quick rundown of income and expenses in the... read more »

Progress made

By Michael Swartz | 06/21/09

This is a heads-up...boy July 4th is coming quickly. Those of you who have been reading this site regularly for the last year or so - or those of you who may have stumbled across because of a mention someplace else - may recall that last year I embarked on the monoblogue Accountability Project. In my original rendition, each of the 188 members of our General Assembly was ranked and graded on votes they took over the 2007 and 2008 sessions,... read more »

Republicans Push for Alternative to Cap and Tax

By Michael Swartz | 06/20/09

Most people are aware of the following facts: Gasoline prices have increased on a fairly constant basis since the first of the year. Back in January we were locally paying $1.60 a gallon or so, now it's close to a dollar more per gallon. That's at least a $10 difference every time we fill up - for trucks that can be $20 or more. Last year the ban on offshore oil exploration was allowed to expire by Congress in the wake of $4 a gallon... read more »

Observations for prosperity

By Michael Swartz | 06/17/09

Last night I attended what I believe is the third meeting of the local chapter of Americans for Prosperity. (As I often ask, who are the Americans against prosperity?) This post isn't meant to be a blow-by-blow account as I try to do with Wicomico County Republican Club meetings but a few highlights from last night's gathering combined with my thoughts on the organization. While local residents Joe Collins and Julie Brewington are the pair who... read more »

Odds and ends #3 for RCW readers

By Michael Swartz | 06/15/09

It's been awhile since my last installment but that e-mail box keeps being stuffed with interesting tidbits which merit a paragraph or two, so we'll start the week off with those and see where they take us. A lot of people have made the case that the Republican Party needs to move to the center politically. I don't happen to agree with them as I think the GOP principles truly inhabit the political center and what's ran the party into trouble... read more »