JuiceBlender: Marriage Equality Leads New Poll, Cardin's $2 Million War Chest, New Anti-Gambling Ad & Youths Get Active

Here's a random blend of political tidbits from recent news, starting with the latest poll results in Maryland's marriage equality battle (Question 6):

JUICE #1: MARRIAGE EQUALITY LEADS 52% TO 43%  -  The Washington Post recently commissioned a poll on Question 6 (marriage equality), and they revealed their results this morning. So far, the pro-civil rights forces continue to lead the way, and Montgomery County (no surprise) is the most supportive County (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: Maryland voters are leaning toward legalizing same-sex marriage next month, something that has never happened at the ballot box anywhere in the nation, a new Washington Post poll finds.

A ballot question on whether to uphold a state law allowing gay nuptials is favored 52 percent to 43 percent among likely voters, according to the poll, reflecting a long-term trend toward greater acceptance of gay unions that has included President Obama’s backing this year....

Across the state, support is highest in Montgomery County, where 65 percent of likely voters back the measure and 31 percent oppose it....

Age also plays a big factor in Marylanders’ views of same-sex marriage. Sixty-four percent of those 18 to 39 support Question 6. That drops to 51 percent of those ages 40 to 64, and 40 percent of those 65 and older.

Maryland Juice's key takeaway -- pro-marriage equality forces need high turnout in Montgomery County and among younger voters. Don't let us down young people/MoCo -- it's time for a generational & regional shift in Maryland politics!


JUICE #2: SEN. BEN CARDIN AMASSES $2 MILLION CASH ON HAND  -  U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, who was last reported to have a comfortable lead over his challengers, now reports $2 million cash on hand as we hit the homestretch. Cardin has faced an onslaught of television advertising from independent candidate Rob Sobhani, who has the ability to self-finance massive television buys. See the press release below:

PRESS RELEASE

CARDIN ENTERS FINAL WEEKS OF CAMPAIGN 2012 WITH

$2 MILLION CASH ON HAND

Baltimore, MD – With his new television ad already on the air throughout Maryland, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) announced that he is ready for the final weeks of his re-election campaign with $2,001,860 cash-on-hand as of September 30. During this third quarter of 2012, Senator Cardin raised $621,875 bringing his cycle-to-date total to $6,347,868.

Senator Cardin has received nearly 13,000 individual contributions over the course of this election cycle, with more than half of those being less than $200.

###

If you want to get a taste of the U.S. Senate battle, today WBAL uploaded videos of all three candidates on the campaign trail. Below you can watch footage of Ben Cardin, Rob Sobhani and Dan Bongino seeking votes in Maryland:







JUICE #3: MARYLAND YOUTHS GET POLITICAL WITH VAN HOLLEN, HOYER & MORE  -  Numerous youth-driven political organizations are getting active this political cycle, including a few new entities. A Maryland Juice reader tipped us off to a relatively new group called Our Time, which is currently featuring videos from two Free State U.S. House members: Rep. Chris Van Hollen & Rep. Steny Hoyer.

Our Time's mission statement highlights a unique goal: "to combine the voting and purchasing power of young Americans so that politicians and businesses represent our needs better.  Currently, they are not doing a good job."





NEXT GENERATION MARYLAND: Meanwhile, some of the key student activists who organized opposition to a Montgomery County youth curfew last year have also launched a voter engagement effort. Their group, Next Generation Maryland, has a message for other young voters:

NEXT GENERATION MARYLAND: We want you to rock the progressive youth vote Marriage equality and the Maryland DREAM Act will both be on the ballot in November. The rights of your fellow Marylanders hinge on these crucial votes. Next Generation Maryland aims to mobilize the youth vote to protect these landmark pieces of legislation.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY STUDENT COALITION: Lastly, Montgomery County high school students are now launching an effort to activate and mobilize students for policy changes in Annapolis, and the Montgomery County County Council and school board. Their effort is called the "Montgomery County Student Coalition," and it appears that one of their top priorities is pushing for full voting rights for the student member of MoCo's Board of Education (excerpt below):

MOCO STUDENT COALITION: Full voting rights for Montgomery County’s Student Member Of The Board of Education is closer than ever to becoming a reality. For 35 years, the student who occupies the eighth seat at the Board table has been left without a vote on such critical matters as the budget, collective bargaining, school openings/closings, issues of redistricting/boundaries, and negative personnel. MC 9-12, a bill that reverses this original certitude now has a renewed chance to become reality this year.

JUICE #4: NEW TELEVISION AD FROM GAMBLING EXPANSION OPPONENTS  -  The forces opposing Maryland's Question 7 (gambling expansion) are out with a new television advertisement. In the spot below, the advocates continue to try and undermine the idea that more gambling in Maryland will lead to increased education funding. Watch below:



Meanwhile, Maryland Juice has heard from one reader that boxer Oscar De La Hoya has launched a robocall promoting gambling expansion in Maryland. Hmm.

OMG: 3rd Term for MoCo Executive Ike Leggett? // Plus, County Analyst Calls Lockheed Martin Welfare Plan "Inappropriate"

UPDATE: The rumors about Mr. Leggett weighing a third term must be true. Maryland Juice just received an email indicating a new blog has emerged called "Leggett Watch." The only substantive post so far complains about Mr. Leggett trying to pass an ambulance fee after it was rejected at the ballot. But the introductory post provides some clues:

Welcome to www.LeggettWatch.com. This blog will serve as a collection and reference point for all of the shady things that Montgomery County exec, Isiah Leggett, does. Good old Ike is constantly doing shady things and yet always seems to get a pass from the media and the citizens of Montgomery County. Hopefully having a record of his shenanigans will help voters make a better decision come election time. Don’t forget folks, the county executive in Montgomery County has no term limits!

Amazingly, rumors are swirling that Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett is currently floating trial balloons to see if he is viable to run for re-election as County Executive. Yesterday, Maryland Juice celebrated 300,000 pageviews on our blog, but we also took the opportunity to preview a few 2014 primary match-ups -- including the Montgomery County Executive's race. Two readers quickly mentioned that in spite of past statements indicating he would not seek a third term, Mr. Leggett is now considering just that. Wow.

Below Maryland Juice discusses the horrifying possibility of a third term from Mr. Leggett (or Doug Duncan for that matter), and we also update readers on Mr. Leggett's current obsession with corporate welfare for Lockheed Martin.

Why the Youth Vote is Important to Democrats // Plus, Join Maryland Juice & Media Figures in Rockville TONIGHT

UPDATE: Board of Education At-Large candidate Morris Panner has published an op-ed in the Chevy Chase Patch supporting Sen. Brian Frosh in his decision to squash youth voting rights on the school board. *cough*

Today, The Washington Post's political bloggers at The Fix provide a worthwhile dissection of America's youth vote. Political reporters Chris Cilizza and Aaron Blake today have an instructive article showing why young voters are central to President Barack Obama's re-election strategy. The POTUS is currently touring colleges around the nation, in an attempt to highlight his record on trying to make higher education affordable. But why would the President spend so much effort wooing a small and unreliable voting population? See one explanation below, along with a quick comment from Maryland Juice tying this issue to local races.

SIZE VS. COHESION: The old saying goes that strength comes in numbers. But in politics, it may be equally true that strength comes with cohesion. Indeed, parties often gain not just by large numbers of their voters turning out, but also by racking up huge vote gaps among defined populations. Maryland Juice recently noted, for example, that polling indicates women in swing Congressional districts are breaking disproportionately for Democrats, and this could severely hamper Republican candidates around the nation. But it is much easier to understand why women would be central to the Democratic Party strategy than smaller groups, given that women consistently comprise a majority of voter turnout.

The Fix explains (excerpt below):

...As the president travels to Colorado today to kick off a tour of college campuses to promote the extension of lower interest rates for student loans ... it’s worth re-examining what happened among young people in the 2008 election and whether he can re-create that magic in 2012.

The most common misconception about 2008 is that Obama grew the youth vote — defined for our purposes as those between 18 and 29 years old — by any significant measure as compared to past elections. He didn’t....

Young voters comprised 18 percent of the electorate in 2008, a one-point improvement from their share of the electorate in 2004, 2000 and 1996, but nowhere near the heights they reached in the 1980s.

What Obama did do — good grammar! — is win young voters by a far greater margin than any Democratic presidential nominee in modern times.

Again, we turn to a chart looking at the percentages the Democratic and Republican nominees won among 18-29-year-old voters:

Source: Washington Post, The Fix 4/24/12

Obama’s 34-point margin among young people was almost double the next best showing by a Democratic nominee; Bill Clinton won 18-29-year-old voters by 19 points in his sweeping 1996 reelection victory. 

The youth turnout then was far less consequential to Obama’s victory than the consolidation of the 18-29-year-old vote behind his candidacy....

Polling provides a muddled picture of whether Obama can hope to recreate that sort of margin. 

Obama’s favorable ratings among young people have fallen since 2009, but they have fallen less quickly and less precipitously than with other age groups.

DOWN-TICKET IMPACT: Notably, around the nation Congressional candidates of both parties are being held hostage to the dynamics of the Presidential race. After all, most voters this November will turnout to make a statement about the Obama-Romney battle, and downticket races will be afterthoughts to a large portion of voters. How Obama and Romney treat different groups (ie: women, youths, etc) can in some ways overshadow many elements of individual candidate messaging in the Congressional races. Last week Maryland Juice noted, for example, that in the key Congressional races where Democrats hope to pick-up GOP-held seats, Republicans are doing better among youth voters. See the poll snapshot below from Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, a firm launched by Bill Clinton's former pollster:

UNFORCED ERRORS: The youth vote, for example, is often taken for granted because it is assumed that not enough young people vote to make it worth pursuing their votes. Unlike women, youths comprise a much smaller portion of the electorate. But stopping your analysis there is a surefire way to miss electoral opportunities and longterm investments in future voters. Indeed, Maryland Juice believes that area Democrats often shoot themselves in the foot (for no reason) with key constituencies like young voters.

Recent unforced errors from Montgomery County Dems include proposing a youth curfew in the midst of a crime decline, along with squashing a bill to expand voting rights for MoCo's student school board member. Today, Maryland Reporter also notes that University of Maryland students are panicking over possible tuition hikes resulting from Senate President Mike Miller's hijacking of the state budget process.

Maryland Juice hopes that Democrats are beginning to get the picture here. You cannot take young people for granted, and I think it is a shame that I even have to write a post showing that this in our Party's electoral interest. In reality, the merits of youth-driven policymaking should be obvious for Democrats who care about policy. After all, young people are not wedded to the institutions and practices of the older generation. They are part of what keeps the Democratic policy circuit forward-thinking, and I truly believe this is a value for the nation (and progressives).


P.S. JOIN MARYLAND JUICE TONIGHT - Speaking of the youth vote, please come to the Montgomery County Young Democrats meeting in Rockville, Maryland tonight at 7:30 pm. All are welcome to attend a special panel discussion featuring Maryland Juice, Center Maryland's Josh Kurtz, and WTOP's Kate Ryan. Former CNN producer Evan Glass will moderate.

After MoCo Curfew Fail, County Executive Ike Leggett Issues Tirade // Councilmember Rice Consults Robert's Rules

Maryland Juice earlier today reported on the Montgomery County Council's decision to indefinitely table the County Executive's controversial youth curfew proposal. Since then numerous outlets have reported on Mr. Leggett's harsh response to the curfew's demise, but I'm not sure I've seen any of them print the response in its entirety. It is fairly wild (see the full document below).

We also reported on some procedural drama that arose as the Council was about to table the curfew proposal, when Councilmember Craig Rice argued that the body couldn't table the bill indefinitely and had to take a vote. The Washington Post's Victor Zapana follows up with a surreal article that even consults the author's of Robert's Rules of Order (former student government parliamentarians around the nation are gushing):

BREAKING: Montgomery County Council Votes to Table Curfew & Loitering Proposals // Procedural Drama!

After nearly six months of debate, County Executive Ike Leggett's controversial youth curfew proposal appears to have died. Today, the County Council voted 6-3 to table the proposal, and immediately voted to table an alternative loitering proposal as well. You can read Maryland Juice's curfew archives, but honestly, aren't you sick of the issue by now? If not, further details on the vote below...

Three Academics Dissect Montgomery County Curfew Proposal: County Should Table Plan Indefinitely

Yesterday, The Washington Post published an op-ed from three academics highlighting numerous problems with Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett's youth curfew proposal: 1) Catherine Gallagher, Director of the Cochrane Collaboration College for Policy, Associate Professor of Criminology, Law and Society at George Mason University, 2) Stephen Farnsworth, Associate Professor of Communication at George Mason University, and 3) Joel Censer, Public Affairs Officer at the Cochrane Collaboration College for Policy.

Their article might be the first commentary from professors that we've seen specifically addressing the MoCo proposal (excerpt below):

Three strikes on the Montgomery curfew

On Tuesday, the Montgomery County Council is scheduled to take up a much-debated proposal to establish a curfew for youths under 18. Such curfews hold appeal to many people, but there are reports the council is considering setting aside the plan indefinitely. There are three primary reasons that would be the smart thing to do.

First, youth curfews get the crime problem wrong. They target the wrong time of day, the wrong age group and the wrong type of crime....

Second, curfews aren’t effective. The Prince George’s evaluation found no significant drop in victimization and arrests among the targeted age group in the targeted time periods. This finding has been replicated in other analyses, some rigorous, some not as rigorous.

Finally, curfews in general — and the Montgomery County proposal in particular — get application, enforcement and punishment wrong.

Montgomery County Public Safety Committee Votes 2-0-1 to Oppose Youth Curfew Proposal

UPDATE: Here is a quick roundup of the latest MoCo curfew coverage -- 1) Washington Post: "Montgomery legislators may throw curfew into limbo," 2) Gazette: "Montgomery’s curfew proposal likely to fizzle," and 3) Kensington Patch: "Montgomery County Curfew Bill On Its Last Leg." 

BREAKING: The Montgomery County Council's Public Safety committee voted 2-0-1 to oppose County Executive Ike Leggett's controversial youth curfew proposal. The committee's three members include Councilmember Phil Andrews (Committee Chair), Roger Berliner (Council Vice President) and Marc Elrich. Mr. Andrews and Berliner voted to OPPOSE the curfew, and Mr. Elrich ABSTAINED. During the course of the committee meeting, the three Councilmembers conveyed the following views:

Apolitical Juice Blender: Pay Raises for PG Politicians, Shorter Sentences for MoCo Criminals // Plus, a Curfew Update

UPDATE: The Washington Blade has additional details about the Howard County gender discrimination bill, as well as its supporters and opposition (which includes former candidate for D14 Delegate Vanessa Ali from MoCo).

Here's a random blend of apolitical tidbits from recent news, starting with a Washington Post article discussing a scheduled pay raise for politicians in Prince George's County and other area governments:

Apolitical Juice #1: The Prince George’s County Council and county executive, already among the highest paid county government officials in Maryland, are due for a 3.4 percent raise next month. The increase comes at a time when public employees are enduring pay freezes and unpaid furloughs to plug local government budget gaps....

In Prince George’s, three council members said they will return their raises or donate them to charity. County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D), whose salary is slated to increase from $174,539 to $180,473, said Tuesday that he will either turn back the raise to the government or donate it to a nonprofit group.... Prince George’s council members are paid $96,417.... In Prince George’s, council members have taken different approaches to handling the raise....

The Post proceeded to compare Prince George's handling of elected officials' pay raises with the actions of Montgomery and Howard Counties:

LAST CALL FOR COMMENTS: Montgomery County Council to Vote on Youth Curfew - TUESDAY 12/6

The Washington Post's new MoCo beat reporter Victor Zapana reports that Montgomery County Councilmembers will vote on the County Executive's proposed youth curfew on Tuesday, December 6th:

This is your last chance to email your thoughts to officials: 

testimony@stopthecurfew.net  

(Note: this will send your email to all nine Councilmembers as a public comment).

Maryland Juice has said enough on this issue, and now it is up to the political process to play out. If you want to read my past rantings, check our "curfew" archives.

More Opposition to the Montgomery County Curfew Proposal // Huffington Post & Youths Want Positive Solutions

UPDATE: It seems that the County Council members are clarifying that they are not adopting the Executive's punitive approach. A reader points out that just over a week ago, the County Council unanimously passed a resolution affirming their commitment to:

"support, fund and pursue public-private partnerships to  finance positive youth development programs as part of a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach to meet the  County's youth needs, reduce crime and violence involving minors, and promote community safety."

The resolution was introduced by Councilmember Navarro and co-sponsored by the entire body. The "Background" notes accompanying the resolution also noted: 

• During the last three fiscal  years, many programs that are part of  the [Positive Youth Development Initiative]  have been cut due to the global economic recession's impact on Montgomery County. 
• The  County  Executive  has  expressed  concerns regarding  "increased  gang  activity, violence, and crime involving minors in the County." 

Alright young people, it is not often that politicians pass resolutions affirming their commitment to fund something in the future (especially nowadays). Go get your funding!

This week several new voices are speaking out against Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett's youth curfew proposal. We already mentioned the big news that the County's coalition of PTA's voted to issue a resolution against the curfew proposal. Now ordinary students themselves are asking for positive solutions, and even the Huffington Post is now writing about this silly policy proposal. Huffpo writer Peter Orvetti recently commented:

It's a funny thing: For all our politicians' talk of acting "for the children," they rarely give a thought to children's rights. But it's not a surprise. After all, kids can't vote....

It's safe to conclude that, yes, keeping young people inside at night keeps them from being the victims of crime. And if the city banned gays from going out after midnight, there'd be less gay-bashing; if women were locked down, there'd be fewer rapes.

But enough from the grownups. Back to hearing from the young people. Here is a particularly intelligent comment from a writer at the "My High School Journalism" website:

Montgomery County Parents Reject County Executive Ike Leggett's Curfew Proposal // Council of PTA's Votes NO on Curfew

The Examiner today reports that Montgomery County's Council of PTA's has passed a resolution opposing County Executive Ike Leggett's youth curfew proposal:

Montgomery parents called County Executive Ike Leggett's controversial youth curfew proposal "unjustifiable," passing a resolution against the legislation. 

The Montgomery County Council of Parent-Teacher Associations said that the 50 percent decline in gang-related crime since 2008 showed existing strategies were already effective, and pointed to laws already on the books to check suspicious behavior. 

"Imposing a law on the entire population of Montgomery County youth when the culprit exists in a small segment of the county is unjustifiable," the resolution reads." As an organization representative of 50,000, these positions are a clear sign that our community is very much engaged in critical school and youth-related issues," President Kristin Trible said.

The resolution comes after other negative developments for the Leggett plan. Maryland Juice earlier this week reported that two Councilmembers introduced an alternative bill, while two County-appointed advisory boards representing areas targeted for curfew enforcement refused to rubber-stamp the curfew plan.

HELP: Silver Spring's Blair High School Students Turn to GLEE for Music Funds // Plus, Flashback to Raskin's '06 Campaign

A Maryland Juice reader contacted us on Facebook today with a plea to help out Silver Spring's Montgomery Blair High School. It turns out the popular television show Glee (yes, I do watch it) is giving away $1,000,000 to at-risk music programs, with up to $50,000 per school. They are asking students to submit videos, and those with the most votes will get a slice of the money. Montgomery Blair has the following submission. Please watch their video, vote for it (every day), and forward the link to your friends.

Vote for this video and forward it to your friends!

So why am I helping out students at a high school that I did not attend? You see, I have a strange relationship with Montgomery Blair High School, and I feel I owe it to them to help. If you've worked on a campaign in downcounty MoCo, chances are Blair Young Dems knocked doors, made calls, stuffed envelopes and helped you cross the finish line. Before they could even vote, they had our backs -- and I think loyalty demands that we stand up for them.

Here's my story, and a flashback to Senator Jamie Raskin's 2006 Democratic Primary campaign:

Montgomery Executive Ike Leggett's Youth Curfew Proposal Sinking // Anti-Loitering Alternative Emerges

Down with Curfew, Up with Big Boy

UPDATE: Just Up the Pike blogger Dan Reed discusses the anti-loitering alternative and notes the following: "County Executive Leggett worries that the loitering bill was 'overly broad' and could encourage racial profiling. Ironically, Leggett's concerns are the same raised by curfew opponents." It isn't so fun when it applies to all of us, is it?  

Besides, if Mr. Leggett is concerned about his police force racially profiling adults, I don't understand how he wants us to trust them with defenseless minors. Look at this preview of curfew enforcement from the Washington Post:

A group of about 15 young men exited the Silver Spring Metro station on a recent Friday night, heading toward the area’s bustling open-air restaurant district. 

Just before 10 p.m. they passed a police lieutenant. No hellos or smiles, but plenty of tattoos and stares. 

“My hunch is that’s not a good crowd,” Montgomery County police Lt. Robert Carter said, calling into his radio to alert fellow officers to keep track of them. 

For 38 minutes they watched. The group made its way to Dixon Avenue, a darkened street just off the main strip. Officers confronted them and started asking questions.... 

When officers approached the group on Dixon Avenue, the teenagers answered questions and had their pockets searched and their tattoos photographed. Police found no weapons or drugs and didn’t charge anyone. 

“They just automatically assumed we were thugs, or we were about to cause some trouble or go fight,” said Mike Brown, 18, a James Hubert Blake High School student who ended his junior year with a 3.1 GPA and thinks the youths were targeted because they are black.

The key fixation of County Executive Ike Leggett's PR machine, a youth curfew proposal, appears to be sinking under the weight of its own controversy. The Washington Post today reported that Councilmembers Phil Andrews and George Leventhal are offering up their own alternative to singling out youths: a broad anti-loitering proposal that applies to everyone. Interesting move. I'll leave it to Maryland Juice readers to decide which proposal they like or dislike more, and I'll keep my own opinions to myself this time. You can read the full anti-loitering proposal at the bottom of this post.

This is certainly not the fatal or final blow to Mr. Leggett's attack on innocent county youths (and their parents' rights to raise their own kids) -- but it certainly makes his case much more difficult. For those that weren't paying attention to the legislative process, let me give you a refresher that will help you understand procedurally why the votes appear to be slipping away from the curfew....

Occupy Sesame Street: Subversive Messages from Slovenia to DC

Maryland Juice decided to take a break from politics and check out some subversive art this week. I caught populist musical Les Misérables in DC, as well as the psychedelic dance-cirque Fuerza Bruta in NYC. Les Mis is running at the Kennedy Center through the end of the month, and for those who are unfamiliar with the plot, it kicks off with a man serving years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread. Not a bad time for this story to roll through Washington....

Fuerza Bruta, on the other hand, has no words but still manages to condemn worker-exploitation in NYC's fashion industry (check out their Youtube trailer at the bottom of this post). It is hard for me to avoid noticing these subversive themes in current pop culture, given the waves of protest seemingly sweeping the globe. Indeed, Les Mis itself is a tale of class oppression in France, by way of a British musical that spread around the globe. Fuerza Bruta was developed by Argentinians, before making its way to New York.

Today, protestors are gravitating toward a new icon of subversion: Sesame Street. I caught the photo below on a certain former Maryland blogger's Facebook page:

Image Source: http://imgur.com/e2CgR?tags

FU: Montgomery County Censors Net with Dumb Robots // Plus, Will Senators Cardin & Mikulski Help Fight Patriot Act Abuse?

Ironic title, no?

Earlier today, Maryland Juice published an article about residents' views on transportation funding. In it, we linked to an amusing website (FUH2.com) about gas-guzzling H2 SUV's.

After sending the article out, I received the following message from a Montgomery County government employee: "I clicked the link to FUH2.com and Montgomery County blocked it, said it was porn."  

Excuse me? Maryland Juice does not link to porn. I asked this source to email me a screencap of the censorship:

MoCo Curfew Review // Plus, Ike Leggett Won't Give Up County SUV, While Agencies Beg for Donations

UPDATE: Check out the website of the over 6,000 high school students organizing against the Montgomery County curfew: www.StoptheCurfew.net

WARNING - This is a very long post that discusses three of County Executive Ike Leggett's recent policy decisions: raising money for government programs from private businesses, driving a taxpayer-funded SUV (with free gas and repairs), and my favorite - Montgomery County's curfew.