Meet the Real Bob Ehrlich -- Then Un-Elect HimIf there were any naive souls who still believed Bob Ehrlich's 2002 campaign-trail rhetoric of "compassionate conservatism," they came to their senses last week. Because last week Gov. Ehrlich vetoed the minimum wage hike. He vetoed the Fair Share Health Care bill. He vetoed the medical decision-making bill. He even vetoed the early voting in elections bill. Read all the gory details in this week's In Focus essay below. But let's not whine about Ehrlich. And let's not succumb to the great sin of American liberalism: paralysis by analysis. Let's unelect this guy. Click here now to donate to Progressive Maryland. Most of the time we're working to educate the public and pass legislation. But as we get closer to 2006, Progressive Maryland will work more and more on elections. By opposing Ehrlich's right-wing agenda over the past three years, Progressive Maryland has done more than any organization in the state to expose Ehrlich for what he was and remains: a loyal lieutenant to Tom DeLay and Newt Gingrich. But don't take my word for it -- just read Progressive Maryland in the News below to see how we are educating voters about the Ehrlich record -- including front-page pieces in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Baltimore Sun. If you truly care about Maryland's future, then unelecting Bob Ehrlich should be your top priority. Over the next 16 months, gubernatorial challengers to Ehrlich will be bashing each other in the primary, not bashing Ehrlich. So it is imperative that somebody over the next 16 months focus attention on Ehrlich's disgraceful record of incompetence, flip-flops, and right-wing extremism. That somebody is Progressive Maryland. Progressive Maryland already lands more political punches on Ehrlich than any other organization in the state. But we can land a lot more with your help. Don't sit back. Don't whine. Don't analyze. Join Progressive Maryland in unelecting Maryland's Governor DeLay. Click here now to give us the resources to win. Tom Hucker Top Stories
In FocusMaryland's Gov. DeLay
Gov. Bob Ehrlich looks proud having just denied health care coverage to thousands of hardworking Maryland families by vetoing the Fair Share Health Care bill last week in Princess Anne. His patron, Wal-Mart Chief Operating Officer Eduardo Castro-Wright (blue suit on Ehrlich's left), cheerfully applauds in the knowledge that Wal-Mart's $40,000 December fundraiser for Ehrlich is paying good dividends to the world's biggest corporation. In 2002, Bob Ehrlich ran for office as a moderate, as a "compassionate conservative." But once in office, he changed his tune, governing as a conservative of the Tom DeLay stripe. Last week, he confirmed his hard-right credentials by vetoing Progressive Maryland's bill to raise the minimum wage, the Fair Share Health Care bill, and a slew of other commonsense, mainstream bills. Read on to learn what we can do right now to reverse the damage of Ehrlich's vetos -- and what we can do over the next 18 months to make sure that vetoes like these never happen again in Maryland, this most azure of blue states. Progressive Maryland in the NewsEhrlich: Wal-Mart bill is anti-business"Political theater played out Thursday in Somerset County, as Gov. Robert Ehrlich arrived to veto a bill that would have forced Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to spend 8 percent of its payroll in the state on health care... Tom Hucker, executive director of Progressive Maryland, praised two Lower Shore Democratic lawmakers who voted for the bill..." By James Fisher, Delmarvanow.com Wal-Mart to delay Somerset centerWal-Mart Stores Inc. said yesterday that it would delay for three to four years the construction of an 800-job distribution center planned for Somerset County... Tom Hucker, executive director of Progressive Maryland, a nonprofit that worked on the bill, stood on the street corner opposite the governor and said that his group spends close to 20 percent of its payroll on health-care costs. "If we can afford it, Wal-Mart sure can," he said. By Jamie Smith Hopkins, The Baltimore Sun Ehrlich vetoes so-called 'Wal-Mart' health bill"Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. today vetoed a bill he says is anti-business -- the so-called 'Wal-Mart bill' -- in a splashy news conference in this lower Eastern Shore town, where the retail giant plans to build a distribution center... Lobbyists with Progressive Maryland say there is enough support in the legislature to override Ehrlich's veto. But the liberal lobbying group will campaign this summer for residents to contact their legislators in support of the bill..." By Gretchen Parker, Associated Press Governor Vetoes Health Care Bill"Maryland Governor Bob Ehrlich vetoed a bill on health care in Princess Anne Thursday. More than 100 people turned out to see the Governor sign the veto, about 30 of them were protestors... ...Protester Tom Hucker disagrees with Ehrlich's stance. 'Wal-Mart's doing fine. I run a small business. If I can provide health care for my employees, Wal-Mart can,' says Hucker..." Medical rights bill for gays is vetoed"Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. vetoed yesterday a measure allowing same-sex couples to make medical decisions for each other, overturning legislation passed earlier this year to the cheers of gay activists and over opposition from religious conservatives... ...The governor also vetoed a $1-an-hour increase in the minimum wage, attempts to reform the state's troubled juvenile justice system and bills backers said would make voting more convenient... ...Tom Hucker, executive director of Progressive Maryland, a liberal-leaning group, said Ehrlich's veto of the minimum wage and Wal-Mart bills shows he sides with big business instead of working Marylanders." By Andrew A. Green, The Baltimore Sun Ehrlich Vetoes Bill Extending Rights to Gay Couples: Increase in Minimum Wage Among 24 Measures Rejected"Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. vetoed a bill yesterday that would have granted rights to gay partners who register with the state, concluding after weeks of intense deliberations that the legislation threatened "the sanctity of traditional marriage." The emotionally charged bill was among 24 that Ehrlich (R) rejected yesterday afternoon, including legislation to raise the state's minimum wage by $1, allow early voting in elections and heighten oversight of the state's troubled juvenile justice system... ...'I think it's just breathtaking that he's casting his lot with the right wing of his party,' said Tom Hucker, executive director of Progressive Maryland, an advocacy group that pushed for the minimum wage bill as well as legislation Ehrlich vetoed Thursday that would have effectively required Wal-Mart to spend more on employee health benefits. "He ran for governor as the moderate, affable son of an automobile dealer who would stick up for working-class families.'..." By John Wagner, The Washington Post Progressives to come 'out of the woodwork': Group seeks to counter conservatism in county"...Together, the rural Baltimore County neighbors are forming the first gathering of the Progressives of Northern Maryland, a coalition being formed to cut across the political grain of the largely conservative bastion north of Hunt Valley... ...Tom Hucker, executive director of Progressive Maryland, a liberal advocacy group not affiliated with the event, says of the Sparks festival, 'This is how things change.'..." By Laura Barnhardt, The Baltimore Sun Governor Releases 25 Bill Vetoes: Vetoes Anger Bill Proponents, Surprise Observers"Gov. Bob Ehrlich's vetoes of proposed new laws announced Friday drew harsh criticism from bill proponents... ...'He has really cast his lot with the far right wing of American politics,' Tom Hucker, executive director of Progressive Maryland, said when told that Ehrlich had vetoed the bill that would increase the minimum wage by $1 to $6.15 an hour..." Local, state governments turn to cell phones for tax revenue"Last year, the city council in Baltimore faced a budget shortfall so bad that it considered laying off 186 city police officers, reducing some fire-department operations and scaling back trash collection. Then it found an untapped honey pot: cell phones... Progressive Maryland, a nonprofit group that promotes 'pro-working-family legislation,' said Maryland lawmakers should raise their corporate tax and scale back taxes on consumers..." By Ken Belson, The New York Times Left and right raising same points about health care"A conservative think tank's new book on health care in Maryland is drawing fire from liberal activists. But with health care costs putting the pressure on the state's budget, some Democratic leaders are voicing some of the same concerns as the book's authors... Sean Dobson, deputy director of the social advocacy group Progressive Maryland, praised Firey's tort reform chapter for looking at the role the insurance industry plays in raising doctors' malpractice insurance premiums, as well as for raising concerns about legitimately injured patients who fail to receive compensation..." |
Take ActionTell the General Assembly to override Gov. Ehrlich's veto of the Minimum Wage Bill!The Maryland General Assembly recently followed the lead of 15 other states by passing a bill to raise the minimum wage in our state above the shameful federal level of $5.15 per hour. Despite popular support for this common sense legislation, Gov. Ehrlich vetoed it. Click here now to tell the General Assembly to override Gov. Ehrlich's veto so that the Minimum Wage Bill becomes law and low-wage workers can better feed their families. It only takes 30 seconds and the customizable email automatically goes to your own lawmakers, so click here now to make a difference! Speaking Out“Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes that you can do these things. Among them are a few Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or businessman from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid.” "For thin-skinned paranoia, the Ehrlichs are beginning to make William Donald Schaefer look like Cindy Loo Who." Links of the WeekCheck out this great new online service from the National Priorities Project that makes it incredibly easy to see how much federal tax cuts for the rich are costing Maryland in a variety of different specific social program areas. Click here to read the latest edition of Sam Pizzagati's Too Much, a new online newsletter.
Sample another hilarious comic from Tom Tomorrow's strip, This Modern World.
Planning the Progressive ComebackFor Hire and MoreFrom Our Readers"...If schools could cut out the bureaucracy and really try and help each child, if they cared about learning, and if they did not become complacent with current standards, then charter schools would be unnecessary. Unfortunately, our country is sorely lacking in mathematics and the sciences. Most children have to wait until graduate studies to actually learn...I bet that charter schools will do more to forward improvements in public schooling than talking about it or complaining about having to give each child his due. "...Public schools ARE different from the U.S. Army. Both private armies and private schools have already been tried. Private armies do not work, but private schools do. I have close friends who are educators. And the problem is that public schools are too focused on perpetuating the bureaucracy and in promoting the latest social fad, and not on what really works in educating kids for work in the real world. My private school days were focused on challenging my brain and finding how to stretch my abilities. Watching my kids go through public schooling, I found a few teachers who held to that same standard of excellence. However, far too many were more concerned with dealing with the public school politics and provided mediocre education. Even my then 12-year-old son recognized this and asked us to transfer him to a different school where he could learn. Upper income citizens can afford to send their kids to private school like I was (my dad was in upper management at Westinghouse). However, most of us do not have the luxury to be able to afford this option. So tell me this. If conservative Republicans most likely CAN afford to send their kids to private school, and most lower income families in the big urban areas are Democrats who can NOT afford a private school education, why is it that REPUBLICANS are calling for better access to quality private schools while Democrats are trying to block this benefit for 'the common man'?" New and Noteworthy2nd Annual Standing for Justice Fundraising DinnerThe Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR MD VA) encourages the local community to attend the 2nd Annual Standing for Justice Fundraising Dinner organized by MAS Freedom Foundation and the Muslim Civil Rights Center on Sunday, May 22nd, 2005. Guest Speakers include Imam Siraj Wahhaj and Dr. Ron Daniels, Executive Director for the Center for Constitutional Rights. Contact the Freedom Foundation at (202) 496-1288 for more information. Tickets for the banquet are $ 60.00 per person, $ 95.00 per couple, and $1000 for a reserved Table. Purchase Tickets at www.cairmd.org or call (301) 986-1900. Note that CAIR Events have sold out in the past. Please buy your tickets early. Babysitting is available strictly by reservation ($15 per child/$25 per infant). |
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