JuiceBlender: GOP Candidate Alleges Cheating in Van Hollen Race, O'Malley vs. Cuomo on Pot & 2014 MD Governor's Race

Below Maryland Juice highlights a few more post-election articles and analyses from the latest round of press. Sidebar: Sorry for posting so many JuiceBlenders lately, but much of the current punditry happens to be noteworthy right now. In any case, see our round-up below, which begins with sour grapes from a Maryland Republican:

JUICE #1: GOP CANDIDATE KEN TIMMERMAN CLAIMS THERE WAS CHEATING IN REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN'S RE-ELECTION - On November 6, Maryland's 8th District Congressional incumbent won re-election by over 100,000 votes. Most would say the race between Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen and GOP challenger Ken Timmerman was not even close. But that's not stopping Timmerman from alleging there was cheating involved. Check out the outrageous comments from the BethesdaNow site (excerpt below):

KEN TIMMERMAN (VIA BETHESDANOW): The defeated Republican candidate for Rep. Chris Van Hollen’s congressional seat yesterday questioned the accuracy of Montgomery County polling results, filing a Public Information Act request to obtain electronic voting machine records for last week’s election....

He claimed voters in Montgomery County contacted him with “anecdotal evidence of irregularities during early voting and the Nov. 6 general election at various polling stations in Montgomery and Carroll Counties....”

“It won’t change the outcome of this year’s elections,” Timmerman wrote. “But it could mean there will be less cheating in 2014.”

JUICE #2: PUNDIT ANALYSIS OF MARYLAND 2014 GUBERNATORIAL RACE - Gazette columnist Barry Rascovar has an interesting round-up on the candidates for Maryland's 2014 gubernatorial race. Indeed, we've been following the emerging dynamics in the race, and Rascovar provides some context and his take on the candidates. Okay -- more specifically, Rascovar mostly points out the weaknesses of the various candidates. Check out a quick excerpt from his analysis below. The full article is online here.

GAZETTE: One big unknown is the fate of the current governor.... Should the governor serve out his term Brown might have tough sledding. He’ll still have to defend eight years of sometimes-controversial policy decisions....

Gansler has run a large public law firm but has never had to make decisions on raising taxes, cutting social services or how to maneuver a long list of priorities through a rambunctious House and Senate....

Franchot is a political chameleon. His positions often depend on which constituency he’s trying to impress...

Others are looking at the governor’s race, too, including liberal Del. Heather Mizeur of Takoma Park, who got a big boost from her vocal championing of same-sex marriage....

Another wannabe is Howard County Executive Ken Ulman. He’s been a successful chief in that affulent subdivision but translating that into statewide viability could be daunting. There’s not much of a voter base in Howard for Ulman to build upon.

JUICE #3: O'MALLEY VS. CUOMO ON MARIJUANA -  Democratic and Republican politicos around the nation have been re-thinking marijuana policy after two states approved legalized use at the ballot this year. But prior to the election, 2016 White House rivals Martin O'Malley and NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo had staked out differing positions on the issue. O'Malley has threatened to veto even simply medical marijuana in Maryland -- even while it is an uncontroversial issue among voters, who support prescription-use in overwhelming numbers. Last March O'Malley's team told The Baltimore Sun they would likely veto any medical marijuana bills, due to fear of the Feds. Meanwhile, other states (and their voters) are proceeding boldly.

CUOMO BLOCKS PAY RAISES FOR LEGISLATORS DUE TO THEIR HOLD-UP OF POT DECRIMINALIZATION - Days before the November 6th Presidential Election, Cuomo appears to have predicted shifting policy winds (once again). The Village Voice reported that the Governor of New York told legislators he would not help approve pay raises for them unless they approved of his marijuana decriminalization effort (excerpt below):

VILLAGE VOICE: New York State legislators want a pay raise for the first time since 1999. Governor Andrew Cuomo wants young minorities to stop getting screwed by New York's bizarre "public view" marijuana law, and the NYPD's controversial "stop and frisk" policy -- and the governor made it clear yesterday that lawmakers won't get a pay bump until they get to work on decriminalizing "public view" marijuana....

Marijuana was decriminalized in New York in the 1970s thanks to the Marijuana Reform Act, which makes possession of marijuana a ticketable offense, rather than a crime that will go on your permanent record. However, a loophole in the law makes it a misdemeanor to possess weed in "public view...."

The loophole has led to the disproportionate arrests of young minorities (of the roughly 50,000 people arrested each year in New York for low-level marijuana offenses, 87 percent are black or Hispanic), who fall victim to the law because of "Stop and Frisk...."

NO PLANS FOR REFORM IN MARYLAND? - Indeed, New York is proceeding with decriminalization and other states are moving to outright legalization. But in Maryland, our law does not even create a clear vehicle for cancer patients to have access to marijuana. Though legislators want to change that, The Gazette is reporting that right now, there are no clear plans to revive the debate in the next legislative session:

GAZETTE: Sen. David Brinkley (R-Dist. 4) ... said marijuana laws need reforming, but he is not optimistic anything will be done in the next session.... [The] effort to allow medical marijuana to be sold at pharmacies regulated by the state failed this year after a veto threat from Gov. Martin O’Malley (D)....

Sen. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Dist. 20) of Silver Spring said the state is moving toward taking a “more rational” approach to marijuana, and the passage of the two ballot issues in other states will help with that.... The voters are moving faster than the politicians on the issue, Raskin said. “This is not dangerous politically to be talking about anymore,” he said....

[Brinkley] said he was criticized by a fellow conservative senator who opposes medical marijuana.... I told him I was just trying to create another cash crop for the tobacco farmers in his district,” Brinkley quipped.

MARYLAND IS AN OUTLIER AMONG DEMOCRATIC STATES - Wikipedia has a map showing how states have proceeded on marijuana (see below). You can see that once again, the west coast and northeast parts of the United States are once again proving to be the kickstarters for progressive reform:

The map above does not show that Maryland is an outlier compared to the United States -- but it does show that Maryland is an outlier compared to Democratic strongholds. WTF?

JuiceBlender: Daily Kos Prefers O'Malley to Cuomo, Cuomo Hesitates on Dream Act, Bartlett Slams Obama on Immigration

Here's a random blend of political tidbits from recent news, starting with commentary from journalists and pundits comparing MD Governor Martin O'Malley with NY Governor Andrew Cuomo:

JUICE #1: DIFFERING RESPONSES FROM O'MALLEY & CUOMO TO OBAMA DREAM ACT ANNOUNCEMENT - Maryland Juice recently reported on President Barack Obama's major announcement that his administration would halt the deportation of young undocumented residents (aka Dreamers). This week, Politico's Maggie Haberman covered the differing responses to the new policy development from Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo -- two rivals in the 2016 Democratic White House race.

Initially, Haberman wrote about O'Malley's support for Obama's actions, compared to Cuomo's silence. But days later, Cuomo is now praising Obama's immigration position. Notably, Gov. O'Malley had backed a Maryland version of the Dream Act which provides for in-state college tuition for all high school graduates, regardless of their immigration status. Gov. Cuomo apparently did not support the New York version of this legislation. See excerpts from the pair of articles below:

NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo Advances Marijuana Decriminalization for "Racial Justice" // Dems Losing Races Over "War on Drugs"

Cuomo Trailblazes Another Issue for 2016 White House Run

UPDATE: MarylandReporter.com today published a long piece about racial disparities in the Free State's prison system. Like much of the United States, people of color in Maryland are disproportionately targeted by law enforcement. The article comes after a Maryland committee heard testimony about the problem of overincarceration in Maryland. Can the timing of Mr. Cuomo's effort be a coincidence? I think not! See this excerpt from Maryland Reporter:

White House 2016: Congressional Redistricing Boosts Martin O'Malley Over NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo // MD Gov. Helped Dems

Maryland Juice just stumbled upon an interesting take on the White House 2016 battle between MD Gov. Martin O'Malley and NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo (Hat tip: Governor's Journal). Roll Call notes that O'Malley's aggressive plan to create a new Democratic seat for U.S. House Democrats will be looked upon favorably in the lead-up to 2016. Apparently Cuomo did not seek out advice from the Party, and therefore did not assist New York's House Democrats:

ROLL CALL: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley are considered Democratic frontrunners for a 2016 presidential bid.

But the way both men handled this cycle’s prickly process of Congressional redistricting in their respective states is already being discussed as an early differentiating factor.

Political JuiceBlender: O'Malley White House Update, Pundit Analysis of CD6 Democratic Battle, Blaine Young for Governor

Here's a random blend of political tidbits, starting with an update on Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley's status in the 2016 White House field.

JUICE #1 // O'MALLEY WHITE HOUSE UPDATE: The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza has created a 2016 Presidential "bracket" and has named Gov. O'Malley the #2 seed in the race, one step behind New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (who Maryland Juice thinks is generally a douche). Unfortunately, the match-ups are a little uneven, as Gov. O'Malley is paired off against Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the first round. NY Gov. Cuomo, on the other hand, is paired off against the Montana Governor. Cillizza writes the following about his White House bracket effort:

CHRIS CILLIZZA: In our bracket we have seeded the top eight Democrats and top eight Republicans considered — by us — to be their party’s leading presidential candidates in 2016....

Here’s how the Sweet 2016 will work. Check out our bracket. Then vote in our first round matchups. Voting is open through Wednesday at 7 pm. We’ll tabulate the winners and then move on to the Elite Eight on Thursday. After narrowing the field to a Final Four on Monday, we’ll pick a winner on April 2, the day of the national championship game.

[ FILL OUT YOUR BRACKET CHOICES ]

O'MALLEY ON THE RADAR: There is no doubt that there are several reasons Governor O'Malley is constantly mentioned as a top 2016 Presidential contender. First, he has the natural advantage of representing the Washington media market -- which leads to unnaturally amplified and leveraged national political coverage, by virtue of a shared media market with the Congressional beat. Moreover, O'Malley has smartly chosen a number of tipping point issues to work on that are either priorities of the national party base or national Democratic leaders (ie: marriage equality, Dream Act and millionaires tax issues). His profile has also been elevated by strong back-to-back electoral performances in 2006 and 2010 and his leadership at the helm of the Democratic Governors Association. O'Malley's attendance at last week's White House "State Dinner" with U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron did not go unnoticed by those of us at home. Politico reports that not too many politicians were invited to the exclusive event, but Gov. O'Malley was there alongside George Clooney and the band Mumford and Sons.


JUICE #2 // MORE PUNDIT ANALYSIS OF CD6 DEM RACE: Josh Kurtz from the Center Maryland website has a scorching column today that condemns the leading candidates in the 6th Congressional District Democratic Primary. While blasting Rob Garagiola and John Delaney, Kurtz draws attention to the candidacy of military doctor Milad Pooran:

JOSH KURTZ: ...what does it say about our political system that the two leading Democratic contenders are the ultimate Annapolis insider, who has bent state fundraising rules and had the seat handed to him on a silver platter — and may still fumble the opportunity — and a very wealthy guy who is trying to buy the seat, and political credibility, aided by a Washington Post editorial board that’s on one of its unfathomable crusades?

And what does it say that both men — at the advice of their high-priced advisers — see their path to victory as a race to the bottom....

Garagiola had a legitimate claim on this Congressional seat, once the lines were drawn the way they were. But he’s made a pact with the devil — really, several devils — as he’s waged his campaign.

The first devil, of course, was Senate President Mike Miller, who was loudest among party leaders in insisting that the new 6th district be drawn just so — with Garagiola’s home in it, and other prominent Democrats out. Garagiola has considerable political talents of his own, but it only reinforced the notion, unfair but unavoidable, that he owes his entire political rise to Miller and Miller alone. Now Garagiola has the chutzpah to say he’d favor national redistricting reform....

This is clearly a case of Garagiola having to sleep in the bed that he’s made for himself. Worse, from a purely tactical perspective, he has teed up his candidacy for an unending series of attacks from the Washington Post editorial writers, who hate Mike Miller and Annapolis lobbyists almost as much as they hate unions — who, by the way, have also gotten behind Garagiola’s candidacy.

Which brings us to the Post’s favored candidate, Delaney. He seems like a good guy, and money shouldn’t be a disqualifier when considering a candidate’s merits. But haven’t we seen this movie too many times before?

Who the hell is John Delaney? Would we be giving his candidacy a moment’s thought if he didn’t have the ability to open his wallet to build a campaign apparatus? Would he have snared President Clinton’s endorsement if he hadn’t raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Hillary Clinton’s White House bid? Would the Post editorial writers even be returning his phone calls if they didn’t see his candidacy as a vehicle to knock the unions down a peg or two? And what about that contribution to Andy Harris, anyway?

Which brings us last, but not least, to Milad Pooran, a man with an interesting story to tell and solid progressive ideals. His family emigrated to the U.S. from Iran when he was 6 years old. “I’ve walked the long path to citizenship,” he says.

He’s a military doctor who has seen the horrors of war – and poverty – up close. He supports achieving universal health care coverage in this country and does not rule out the possibility of pushing for a single payer system. He’s been endorsed by Howard Dean and the co-chairmen of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

GOOD ONE MIKE MILLER - Maryland Juice continues to blame Senate President Mike Miller for artificially limiting the viable options in the 6th Congressional District. Way to go! Score one for democracy by the Democratic Party leader in the Senate. I'm not even talking about redistricting -- I'm talking about him using fear to squelch potential candidacies. You know, because he's so "good" at being a Party Boss. HaHaHa. Uh, will somebody show this guy the door already? Anyways, back to Kurtz' tirade. I'm not surprised at all that pundits and voters both should be disappointed in the way the CD6 race is developing. This doesn't look like a grand debate about the future of the Democratic Party or its issues in CD6, does it? Speaking of old news, did you catch Josh Kurtz's article noting that Delaney endorser Doug Duncan is thinking about running for Montgomery County Executive in 2014? Rolling my eyes.


JUICE #3 // FREDERICK NEWSPAPER DISSES BLAINE YOUNG FOR GOV: A few days ago, Maryland Juice flagged news coverage indicating that Frederick County politician and Tea Party leader Blaine Young had announced an exploratory effort for Governor. Thankfully, The Frederick News-Post does not rate his chances well. Also thankfully, Mr. Young has promised to serve only one term on the Board of County Commissioners. Maybe we'll be rid of him for good!

FREDERICK NEWS-POST: Frankly, it's hard to imagine how Maryland's electoral math could turn his way. Not even former Gov. Bob Ehrlich could pull off a second term, and he was, for all intents and purposes, a moderate. We'll be interested to see if this goes beyond the exploratory stage. To be honest, we doubt it.

Young, despite having once been a Democrat then flipping parties after he decided not to run again for Frederick city alderman, is about as conservative a conservative as Frederick County has to offer.

On the plus side, now is as good a time as any for a Republican to float a potential run, however....

And Young certainly is prominent, if controversial. He and his fellow commissioners gathered statewide recognition with their most recent vote to make English the official language of Frederick County government....

But it's the negative side of the ledger that Young will have most trouble with. It's unlikely the public persona -- Frederick's youngest good ol' boy -- will resonate in Montgomery, Prince George's and Baltimore counties. No Republican will be elected in Maryland without siphoning off Democratic voters in those areas.

The harsh spotlight of a run for public office can be a terrifying thing. It shows up flaws and failures in stunning high definition. No doubt the issue of the Frederick madam's Black Book -- and Young's listing in it -- will be floated and floated again in grainy black and white with ominous music and a gravelly voiceover attacking Young's credibility for office.

Governor O'Malley Announces 2012 Legislative Priorities // Pundits Speculate on 2016 Presidential Implications

The Center Maryland news aggregator recently flagged an article about Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley's subtle jockeying with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for the Democratic Party's 2016 Presidential nomination. The Politicker NY article was titled Meet The Cuomo Clog: Is Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley The Only Thing Standing Between Andrew Cuomo and The White House? The piece contains some interesting punditry about Maryland's Governor, albeit from a New York perspective. Here are some choice excerpts:

You can’t get from New York to the White House, however, without going through the state of Maryland, and sitting in the Revolutionary War-era statehouse there is another governor. His name is Martin O’Malley, and although five years is a millennium away in political time, he has emerged as perhaps the single biggest threat to Andrew Cuomo’s well-documented political ambitions....

Advisers to Mr. O’Malley think that he will play better on the national stage than his New York counterpart, who will come across as too New York for the heartland....

Mr. O’Malley, meanwhile, has kept up an aggressive touring schedule, and regularly appears on the Sunday morning talk shows, mostly due to his official duties as head of the Democratic Governor’s Association, a job that has introduced him to the bigwig donors to the Democratic Party and has led him to occasionally cross paths with Mr. Cuomo....

“He is essentially in the Roosevelt/LBJ social Democratic tradition,” said Mr. Raskovar. “He believes in government as a vehicle to assist people in need in society.”

The article above hints at some of the dynamics between Governor O'Malley's legislative agenda and his 2016 strategy. The Washington Post's John Wagner expounds upon this in greater detail today, with his discussions of Mr. O'Malley's 2012 legislative priorities: