Rule 11 fiasco: An example of the “Ruling class” at work in Maryland

Update July 22nd: Response to commenter “College Republican” here.

Editor: Below is a guest column written by someone in attendance at the meeting when  it was made clear that certain members of the Maryland GOP disgracefully, and behind closed doors, waived a rule that normally seeks to allow for some neutrality on the part of the Republican Party until after the voters have spoken in the primary.

I urge readers to visit my previous post, Some Republicans disrespect Tea Partiers, demonstrate they are firmly in the “ruling class,” and note that this thoughtful report below demonstrates the disdain that the Maryland Republican “ruling class” has for us, the Conservative “country class.”

New readers, see my earlier post on this issue for background.  Here is an eyewitness account from a trusted source of the MD GOP convention on April 30th of this year:  Pelosi-ites in the Maryland GOP?

“I had the opportunity to attend the GOP Convention this year. I expected to learn much about the GOP and I did. The first thing I learned is that the public can attend these conventions for free, even though they are not members of a Central Committee, and can attend the workshops if they pay the fee. This is not generally known, but needs to be. As the saying goes, sunshine is the best disinfectant.

I started out lukewarm toward Bob Ehrlich. He hadn’t been the Governor many had hoped for but I was unhappy because he took forever to commit to running, insisting on the “maybe, if you beg enough” approach. It didn’t speak well of him. While I hadn’t decided whom to support before the convention, by the end I had become a solid Murphy activist.

The bias toward Ehrlich was apparent from the first moment. As people checked into the convention the registration people were handing blue lanyards imprinted all over with “Ehrlich” to every registrant. These were to hang their name cards with their County Central Committee position. You didn’t have to take one, but you did have to refuse it. Nearly every person at the convention was wearing one. Few wore the elastic band the name tags came with. It was obviously inappropriate.

The Executive meeting of the Central Committee was the first evening of the convention. One of the Central Committee members asked Audrey Scott, MDGOP Chairwoman, to clarify what he was able to do for a governor’s campaign as a Central Committee member since he’d been asked to help with both campaigns. Audrey stated very clearly that he could support any campaign as long as he didn’t do it in the name of his Central Committee. He went on to question the lanyards and their appropriateness since people were attending the convention in their official capacity. Kim Jorns, Maryland Executive Director, explained that the lanyards were donated by the Ehrlich campaign and no money from the GOP was spent on them. The MDGOP lawyer stated that these lanyards were not an endorsement and that no one had to take them if they didn’t want them. Apparently if the GOP didn’t spend money on it and then demand you take it, it wasn’t an endorsement.

At lunch the next day the guest speaker was Bob Ehrlich. Surprise. Audrey Scott introduced Ehrlich as the next governor of Maryland and espoused how great he was. Brian Murphy was in attendance at this luncheon and his name was not mentioned once, not even in passing. There were Ehrlich signs all over, inside the room and around the convention area. There were no Murphy signs. None.

During the convention itself MDGOP’s National Committeewoman, Joyce Terhes, told how great Ehrlich was and how we needed to get him back into office. In her speech she said that every single Republican who would vote for Bob Ehrlich needs to get to the polls during the election. Then, Louis Pope, MDGOP’s National Committeeman, gave his speech. Pope said that one of the governors the Republicans are going to pick up is Bob Ehrlich. He said if you aren’t on board you better GET on board because Ehrlich will be elected. Funny thing is, when he talked about the US Senate race he said how he couldn’t endorse one candidate over another since it was a contested race. Some double standard. Pope talked about how the Tea Party needs to be embraced by the Republicans, but he showed a basic misunderstanding of what much of the Tea Party outrage is about: abuse of power by the political elites. That abuse of power was on full display at the convention.

When the GOP, or rather Scott, Terhes and Pope, recently invoked Rule 11, they showed contempt for Central Committee members across the state by not calling for a vote on this issue at the convention. Rule 11 was already being discussed in whispers by those who could see the writing on the wall. Could it be that these three “big shots” didn’t trust the vote of the Central Committee members to come out as they desired? Can this set well with many Central Committee members across the state? I hope not.

Worse than that, these three showed contempt for Maryland Republican voters as a whole, regardless of whether it was voted on at the convention. They are usurping the voter’s freedom to choose by trying to silence Murphy’s campaign, therefore forcing us to choose Ehrlich because of our likely ignorance of Murphy. “They” know best who should be the one to run against O’Malley. Ehrlich is the only person who can beat O’Malley. Ehrlich’s own track record, however, belies that. Many do not realize, but in 2006 Ehrlich was the only incumbent governor who lost his seat to a Democrat. That was the last Ehrlich-O’Malley show down and it didn’t go so well.

In these days of Tea Parties and anti-incumbency fervor one would think that Ehrlich, who lost his base and therefore his last election, would not be the choice of a party looking to win. It would, however, be a logical choice for a party looking to give political paybacks. Having the ruling elite do end runs around the rules should not set well with Tea Party activists. That is what we are fighting Pelosi, Reid and the liberal elites over. And now we find our own Pelosi-ites right here in Maryland.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop with the MDGOP. The College Republicans changed their rules so that they can endorse Bob Ehrlich in the primary. At a Bel Air Tea Party, Mike Esteve, now Chairman of the College Republicans, spoke publicly about how Brian Murphy needs to get out of the race because he is just in the way of Ehrlich vs. O’Malley. Funny thing, the Special Advisor to the Executive Board of the College Republicans is James Kane. Could that be husband to candidate Lt. Governor Mary Kane, and former GOP head? No conflict of interest there.

[Correction: A reader, College Republican (see comments), has reported that James Kane is not the husband of Mary Kane.  We should have known that since we have written about John Kane, Mary Kane’s husband, a couple of times.   We told you about the federal lawsuit against the Kane Co. regarding a labor dispute here and we told you that he supported the highly controversial Obama appointment of Thomas Perez, friend of the Kanes, for the civil rights division at the Justice Department here.   Apologies for not catching the name differences.  So to College Republican, James Kane is no relation to John Kane?]

Now that the MDGOP has appointed Bob Ehrlich as our candidate, apparently we are all supposed to sit quietly by and dutifully fall in behind ‘our candidate’. I was campaigning at a local carnival and was loudly, verbally attacked because I dared to support Murphy and did not fall in line behind Ehrlich. This was from a woman with close ties to the Ehrlich administration. How dare I exert my freedom to choose!

On the other hand, Brian Murphy, Mrs Murphy and every member of their campaign has been gracious, adult, and professional in their behavior everywhere I have come across them, despite the underhanded and abusive treatment they have received. They have not only my vote, but my greatest respect.

My thanks to Ms. Beiber for her letter.

No REAL Tea Party activist will condone what the GOP has tried to do. Anyone who only cares about the outcome and not the process better look at themselves very closely and realize that is EXACTLY the stance the liberals have taken. The Republican Party has to do better if they are going to win the trust of the voters. The Party has to trust the voters first by allowing candidates an even playing field so the voters can pick the candidate they feel is the right one to represent them. Following our own rules and values is a basic necessity as a party and cannot be overlooked for convenience sake, ever.”

Readers, this isn’t just about Robert Ehrlich and the ruling class in-crowd or Brian Murphy and Tea Partiers (or indeed whether we will have another four years of O’Malley), it is bigger than just this Maryland campaign.  It is about a principle.  What happened at the MD GOP convention has been going on far too long at all levels of government.  All who care about our state and our Nation must be steadfast and brave (just as our correspondent has been here) and speak up or there is no saving us.