In Prior Montgomery County Republican Party Line  Issues:

July 16, 2011

The Democrats Want to Know: What Else Can We Tax?

Questions Continue About Controversial Baltimore Real Estate Project  

  July 2, 2011

The TV Commercial Obama Can't Run "It's Morning Again in America"

June 18, 2011  

Kid's Lemonade Stand at U.S. Open Fined $500 By Montgomery County

June 4, 2011 

Montgomery County's Elected Officials Set Poor Examples

May 21, 2011   

Montgomery County School Board's Budget Rhetoric Doesn't Pass the "Straight Face" Test

May 7, 2011  

Montgomery County Republican Comment on State Party Voting Rules Change

April 16, 2011   

Paul Ryan's Path to Prosperity is a Blueprint for the Long Haul

April 2, 2011   

Our Reagan Centennial Celebration

March 19, 2011 

O'Malley Proposes Electric Surcharge to Fund Crony's Wind Power Project

March 5, 2011   

Maryland Republicans Offer Solutions - Lets State Avoid Democratic Tax Increases

February 20, 2011   

Democrats Want to Stick It to Maryland Drivers

February 5, 2011  

Battle of the Governors: O'Malley vs. Christie on State Pensions

January 22, 2011  

Montgomery County Must Not Break the Law on Illegal Immigration

January 8, 2011  

Obamacare's Legal Achilles Heel - Severability

December 18, 2010  

Tell the Baltimore Sun - Even ATMs Run Out Money

December 4, 2010   

Blue State Republicans Can't Afford Rose Colored Glasses

November 20, 2010    

Blue State Blues 

Message from the Chairman:

Maryland's Energy Policies Missing Promising Natural Gas Opportunity 

Earlier this past week Maryland's "Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission" held its first meeting at Rocky Gap State Park. Gov. Martin O'Malley appointed the panel last month to study short- and long-term effects of using hydraulic fracturing to extract gas from the Marcellus shale. The Commission's final report is not scheduled to be issued until August 1, 2014. As a result of the pending review, Maryland isn't issuing any shale-gas drilling permits and is unlikely to do so anytime soon.

The Marcellus shale geological formation has become a significant source of new natural gas discoveries and stretches through the subsurface from New York to eastern Tennessee. Marcellus shale in Maryland is found in Washington, Allegany and Garrett counties, which are attracting gas exploration interest. Lease payments, royalties, severance taxes and the economic activity associated with drilling-related jobs could bring significant benefits to these western counties. An industry representative has estimated that as many as 1,600 wells could be drilled in 128,000 acres in Garrett County and another 637 wells in 51,000 drillable acres in Allegany County.

Maryland began its own study even though Congress has already directed the United States Environmental Protection Agency to conduct one too. The EPA expects to publish its interim report by December 2012. So the only apparent purpose for Maryland's study appears to be to justify our exploration standstill.

The appointment of Takoma Park Delegate Heather Mizeur on O'Malley's Commission underscores its primarily political purpose, rather than technical nature.   Mizeur lacks any energy or environmental professional expertise or relevant education. In fact her bio indicates that she attended, but never graduated college after majoring in English Literature. Nevertheless, her website indicates she has already made up her mind, referring to Marcellus shale exploration as "Giant Ponzi schemes leading to an Enron moment."  

Ironically environmentalists have been among the strongest proponents of natural gas because it is the cleanest fossil fuel. Natural gas produces lower levels of NOx, CO2, and particulate emissions, and virtually no SO2 and mercury emissions. According to the Congressional Research Service's 2010 report, Displacing Coal with Generation from Existing Natural-gas-fired power Plants, " if natural-gas combined-cycle plants utilization were to be doubled from 42 percent capacity factor to 85 percent, then the amount of power generated would displace 19 percent of the CO2 emissions attributed to coal-fired electricity generation." Consequently Maryland's delay in natural gas production results in the environmental cost of more reliance on "dirtier" fuels.    

While Maryland drags its feet with its redundant study, consider Pennsylvania.

According to a recent Penn State study, Marcellus producers in that state are generating more than $12.8 billion in value added in 2011 and another $14.5 billion during 2012. Their increased economic activity is generating almost $2.6 billion in additional state and local tax revenues during 2011 and 2012.  New employment in the state has expanded to 156,000 jobs by 2011. The study notes that this dramatic increase in Marcellus drilling activity has occurred even during a recession and relatively low natural gas prices. Natural gas production from the Pennsylvania Marcellus will likely average 3.5 billion cubic feet per day during 2011 and could exceed 6 billion cubic feet per day during 2012.

Contrast Pennsylvania's energy policy with Maryland's latest example of "crony capitalism." Two weeks ago the state's Board of Board of Public Works approved to a 20 year lease on 250 acres of state land at $128 per acre annually for a wind farm. The wind farm company's principal is Michael Enright, who used to be Governor O'Malley's chief of staff. The project's viability depends on $24 million in federal subsidies.   To his credit, State Comptroller Peter Franchot voted against the contract because he questioned whether the state had negotiated the best deal possible.

So compare Maryland's energy policies with that of other states. Instead of our moving ahead with the production of clean, economical natural gas, we are supporting a project which could never happen without significant tax-payer subsidies.   

Mark Uncapher  

Montgomery County Republican Chairman  

At its July 26th meeting, the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee elected two new officers.  Katja Bullock was elected First Vice Chair and Sylvia Darrow was elected Secretary.    

Katja served as Special Assistant to the President in the Reagan and both Bush Administrations.  In her position, she has been responsible for the recruitment and selection of presidentially appointed personnel

Sylvia Darrow was elected Secretary. A retired teacher with the Montgomery County Public Schools, she is currently Second Vice President of the Maryland Federation of Republican Women. Sylvia has also previously served as the county party's organization chairman.

Vacancies on the Central Committee were also filled. Dwight Patel is elected to an at-large position. Dwight is a high tech executive and serves as an active member of the state Republican Party's Finance Committee. Dwight was a candidate for the State Senate in District 15 in 2010.

Jerry Cave was named to fill a vacancy in district 16. Jerry is founder and CEO of Cave Communications, which publishes Washington Home & Garden magazine. He was a candidate for the State Senate for District 16 in 2010.  

RNC: Not Good Enough

www.gop.com

July Delivers Another Underwhelming Jobs Report As Americans Prepare For Another Obama "Pivot" To Jobs   

ANOTHER MONTH AND ANOTHER JOBS REPORT THAT HIGHLIGHTS THE PAIN CAUSED BY THE OBAMA ECONOMY

• The Washington Post's Ezra Klein: "Better Than Expected Is Not Good Enough." (MSNBC's, "Morning Joe," 8/5/11)
• Ezra Klein: "This Is Terrible - It's A Terrible Jobs Number After A Terrible Three Years." (MSNBC's "Morning Joe," 8/5/11)
• CNN's Christine Romans: "[I] don't mean to throw the cold water on the whole thing but we've got to have like 130,000 to 150,000 jobs created just to absorb new people into the economy. It's not good enough." (CNN's "American Morning," 8/5/11)
• CNBC's Steve Liesman: "Definitely Weak, These Numbers Are Not Good..." (CNBC's, "Squawk Box," 8/5/11)
• The Wall Street Journal: The Unemployment Rate "Still Leaves Almost 14 Million Americans Who Would Like To Work Without A Job." "The unemployment rate, which is obtained from a separate household survey, dropped to 9.1% last month from 9.2% in June. That still leaves almost 14 million Americans who would like to work without a job." (Luca di Leo and Jeffrey Sparshott, "Payrolls Grow As Unemployment Ticks Down," The Wall Street Journal, 8/5/11)
• WSJ: "[T]he Labor Market Remains Weak (Luca di Leo and Jeffrey Sparshott, "Payrolls Grow As Unemployment Ticks Down," The Wall Street Journal, 8/5/11)
• The Associated Press: "The Economy Needs Twice As Many Net Jobs Per Month To Rapidly Reduce Unemployment." "Still, the economy needs twice as many net jobs per month to rapidly reduce unemployment. The rate has topped 9 percent in every month except two since the recession officially ended in June 2009." ("Unemployment rate dips to 9.1% as U.S. economy adds 117,000 jobs in July," The Associated Press, 8/5/11)
• AP: "The Unemployment Rate Fell Partly Because Some Unemployed Workers Stopped Looking For Work. That Means They Are No Longer Counted As Unemployed." ("Unemployment rate dips to 9.1% as U.S. economy adds 117,000 jobs in July," The Associated Press, 8/5/11)
• AP: "The Report Follows A String Of Gloomy Data That Shows The Economy Has Weakened." ("Unemployment rate dips to 9.1% as U.S. economy adds 117,000 jobs in July," The Associated Press, 8/5/11)
• 14 MILLION AMERICANS REMAIN OUT OF WORK AS THEY WAIT FOR OBAMA'S RECOVERY
• Since President Obama Took Office The Nation Has Lost 2.4 Million Jobs And The Unemployment Rate Has Increased From 7.8 Percent To 9.1 Percent. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, BLS.gov, Accessed 8/5/11)
• Obama's Economic Advisors Predicted That The Stimulus Would Keep The Unemployment Rate Below 8 Percent With Stimulus. (Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein, "The Job Impact Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Plan," 1/9/09)
• "The Jobless Rate Has Stayed Above 8% For 30 Straight Months, The Longest Stretch Of High Unemployment Since The Great Depression In The 1930s." (Jeffry Bartash, "U.S. Economy Gains 117, 000 Jobs In July," Market Watch, 8/5/11)
• "The Jobs Report Friday Showed 44.4% Of Unemployed Americans, Or 6.2 Million People, Were Out Of Work For More Than Six Months In July." (Luca di Leo and Jeffrey Sparshott, "Payrolls Grow As Unemployment Ticks Down," The Wall Street Journal, 8/5/11)
• Labor Force Participation Is At Its Lowest Levels In A Generation After 193,000 Workers Dropped Out Of Labor Force In July. "The jobless rate declined as 193,000 people left the labor force and the number of unemployed dropped by 156,000. The share of the eligible population holding a job declined to 58.1 percent, the lowest since July 1983." (Bob Willis, "U.S. Payrolls Rose In July," Bloomberg, 8/5/11)
• Americans Are Still Waiting For Obama's Long-Promised Pivot To Jobs
• NOW - AUGUST 2011: Politico's Playbook: "DEMS PLAN PIVOT TO JOBS." (Mike Allen, "DEMS PLAN PIVOT TO JOBS: Transportation, Infrastructure, Tax Breaks On Fall Agenda," Politico's "Playbook", 12/23/09)
• THEN - DECEMBER 2009: Politico's Playbook: "SIREN: White House Plans 'Very Hard Pivot To Jobs' Next Month." (Mike Allen, "SIREN: White House Plans 'Very Hard Pivot To Jobs' Next Month -- Will Be 'Prescriptive'," Politico's "Playbook", 12/23/09)
• MSNBC's Chuck Todd: "I Feel Like My Head Is Spinning How Many Times, 'This Is The Time The White House Was Gonna To Pivot To Jobs.' "How many times, though - I feel like my head is spinning how many times, 'this is the time the White House was gonna to pivot to jobs.' I mean it is it is sort of a recurring thing. What is it that he can do?" (MSNBC's "Daily Rundown," 8/3/11)
• ABC's Jake Tapper: "It Feels Like Every Couple Of Months I Am Reporting That The White House Is Announcing That They Are Pivoting To A Jobs Agenda ..." "For the last two and a half years here as the White House correspondent for ABC News, it feels like every couple of months I am reporting that the White House is announcing that they are pivoting to a jobs agenda, and something else happens. ... But here we are again saying it. And, of course, unemployment is staggeringly high -- much higher than anybody thought it would be at this point." (Michael Falcone, "Testing The Fragile Front-Runner Theory: Mitt Romeny's Opponents Take Aim," ABC's "The Note", 8/3/11)
• Tapper Asked The White House What Exactly Obama Was Doing Different To Address The Jobs And Economy. TAPPER: "But what is the President doing?  What is -- we know that he went to a -- he went to fundraisers last night.  What is he doing today? ...  What is he doing -- ...  He stood up there and hectored Congress about all the stuff that needs to be done to help create jobs, and this needs to take place --and then he flew off to Chicago.  What's he doing today? ... So the same stuff he was doing a couple of months ago, calling on Congress to pass things? ...  Has he called Mitch McConnell?  Has he called John Boehner?  Has he -- is he working on things that they can do?  If every -- ... You're the one that's always saying the President can walk and chew gum at the same time. ... What is he doing? ... Other than calling on Congress to pass things that you've been calling on Congress to pass for months -- what is he doing to help the economy?" (White House Press Briefing, 8/4/11)

• The New York Times: "The Unrelenting Negative Economic News Of The Past Two Weeks Has Painted A Picture Of A United States Economy That Fell Further And Recovered Less Than We Had Thought." (Floyd Norris, "Double-Dip Recession May Be Returning," The New York Times, 8/4/11)
• NYT: "In June, More American Manufacturers Said New Orders Fell Than Rose, According To A Survey By The Institute For Supply Management." (Floyd Norris, "Double-Dip Recession May Be Returning," The New York Times, 8/4/11)
• With Manufacturing Numbers, "The Economic Signs Have Turned Increasingly Grim." "Indeed, the economic signs have turned increasingly grim. A report on manufacturing Monday noted that growth in that sector had dropped back to the rate of two years ago, just at the point the U.S. was technically exiting the recession." (Editorial, "A Still Sick Economy Needs More Than Debt Ceiling Deal," Detroit Free Press, 8/2/11)
• "Household Finances Remain Stressed By Lackluster Hiring And High Unemployment." "Consumer spending-which accounts for 70% of economic activity -decreased 0.2% in June, compared with a 0.1% increase in May, the biggest drop since September 2009, the Commerce Department said Tuesday in a report that showed household finances remain stressed by lackluster hiring and high unemployment." (Conor Dougherty and Jeff Bater, "Data Reinforce Economic Malaise," The Wall Street Journal, 8/2/11)
• The Stock Market Has Declined For Nine Straight Sessions For The First Time Since The Carter Administration. "The stock market is poised today to do something it has not done in over 33 years: decline for nine straight sessions. The last time the Dow Jones Industrial did that, in fact, was Feb. 22, 1978, when Jimmy Carter was president and the country was struggling to come to grips with a period of anemic economic growth and high inflation." (Mark Hulbert, "Dow's Losing Streak Now In Ninth Day," MarketWatch, 8/4/11)
• The Associated Press: "The Economy Slowed In The First Six Months Of 2011 To Its Weakest Pace Since The Recession Ended." ("U.S. Economy Slowed Sharply In First Half Of 2011," The Associated Press, 7/29/11)T

By: Gabriel Brey

Did you know that only about 5% of all the people that have lived on the earth have lived under freedom? This is proof that God has truly blessed this great country and it's just another reason for me to be proud to be an American every single day. The fact that we live under such rare conditions is due to many reasons but there are two reasons that are the most important. They are our strong foundation for religion and our incredible determination to work hard.

When our founding fathers were planning this country they knew that this group of people were some of the most reverent, charitable, and caring people on the earth. They knew that this county would last centuries and centuries to come because the people of the colonies had the values and principles that would allow them to govern themselves because God was the most important thing in their lives and God's law comes before any government's law.

The other reason we have such exceptional freedom in the United States is because of our incredible determination to work hard and to have the American dream. Ever since people started coming over to America in 1607, people learned the mentality that hard work is the key to success in life. This is the reason that millions immigrants have come here for the opportunity to have a great life. My freedom is priceless and I just can't imagine how lucky I am to live in a country where people die every day just so I can choose what I want to wear or what I want to speak.

The Choice Ahead

 by Marta Hummel Mossburg

Maryland is a state used to taking other people's money. It is a way of life here because of its proximity to Washington and the presence of so many federal agencies and contractors.

Winning an oversize share of federal tax receipts has worked for a long time because the rest of the country was making a lot of money and didn't pay attention to its bills. Besides, what happened in Washington didn't really seem to impact them. Until now.

The federal debt crisis has changed everything. Even if our elected officials resolve their differences on the debt ceiling, it's obvious that the federal government needs to spend less and generate more money, putting Maryland's most favored status in limbo.

The situation should awaken to reality Maryland legislators, who are seeing firsthand the impact of unsustainable spending and who may be forced by a potential credit downgrade to scale back school and road building because of increased borrowing costs.

Like federal legislators, they must acknowledge that more people working and making money is the only viable solution to budget problems. Higher taxes being discussed for the October special session may fix the budget for a year but will not eliminate long-term deficits in the same way previous tax hikes only delayed problems.

Republican Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann had it right when she said last week, "Part of the problem is today, only 53 percent pay any federal income tax at all; 47 percent pay nothing. ... We need to broaden the base so that everybody pays something, even if it's a dollar."

As recent job statistics show, Maryland is moving in the wrong direction in that regard. For the past two months the state has been the worst or almost worst at creating jobs among the 50 states and has lost about 15,000 positions in the past year.

If people are not working, they do not pay taxes. That is a fact President Bill Clinton understood well. By championing welfare reform he turned thousands of people in each state from recipients of aid into contributors to the system.

Only policies that seek to maximize taxpayers will make the U.S. and Maryland thrive. Playing class warfare games as both President Barack Obama and Gov. Martin O'Malley are fond of doing may rally voters but make those who create jobs wary of hiring.

As Las Vegas businessman Steve Wynn, a Democrat and CEO of Wynn Resorts, said last week, "This administration is the greatest wet blanket to business, and progress and job creation in my lifetime." No influential business owner in Maryland has been so blunt with his or her criticism, but the ever-shrinking number of millionaires in the state and steady loss of people to lower-taxed places speaks for itself.

Maryland will suffer as a result of a smaller federal government. The only question is whether state legislators will allow the state to find a new identity as a magnet for business -- or cling tighter to Washington and manage decline.