VIDEO: Doug Duncan for MoCo Executive & Greg Hall for District 24 Delegate? // Maryland Juice Weighs In on News 8

This morning, Maryland Juice appeared on Bruce DePuyt's News Channel 8 show Newstalk. The two of us had a free-ranging conversation about two hot topics in Maryland politics right now:

1. Former Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan's decision to run for Exec again in 2014
2. The stalled appointment of Greg Hall for the District 24 State House vacancy

For those who are unaware of these stories, let me quickly catch you up. First, MoCo's 2014 County Executive race is heating up, and the newest combatant is former County Exec Doug Duncan. Earlier this week he announced he would be entering the race for the Democratic nomination. In the interview below, I suggest that Duncan surely starts with some name recognition but may have a harder time in a modern MoCo primary than some are acknowledging.

Meanwhile, in neighboring Prince George's County, the fate of the District 24 House seat formerly held by Delegate Tiffany Alston is up in the air. Alston copped a plea after facing charges that she used her State House budget for private purposes. The powers that be have decided that means she was suspended from the legislature. She's lawyered up and is challenging that view. But even still, the vacancy appointment process has proceeded, and a group of elected Prince George's Democratic leaders met to select Alston's replacement. The group's Chair Terry Speigner battled local activist Greg Hall for the appointment, but Hall won by a hair. Shortly thereafter, news reports surfaced of the newly nominated Delegate's violent past. Decades ago, Greg Hall was involved in a drug-related shootout that resulted in the death of a child, though Hall's bullet was not the cause of death. Some are now expressing second-thoughts about his nomination, while Hall's backers make the case for his new life and for belief in "redemption." Governor Martin O'Malley, in the meantime, has asked the P.G. Dems to retract Hall's name. Hall too is has now lawyered up to seek a temporary restraining order. The next decision point should come on Tuesday.

Below Maryland Juice comments on both stories (watch video below):

MD GOP Chair Alex Mooney May Face "No Confidence" Vote // Did MoCo GOP Chair Mark Uncapher Want the Job?

UPDATE: In the comments below, Mark Uncapher denies that he is seeking to displace Alex Mooney. Our source may be full of it, or perhaps the mission may be aborted. We may never know.

BACKGROUND - Below Maryland Juice highlights several tidbits and opinions regarding the fate of the Maryland GOP and their current Chair Alex Mooney. Immediately after Maryland's November 6th elections results were announced, many GOP activists condemned Chairman Mooney and his leadership of the state party. The topic is particularly timely, because after getting their butts kicked at the polls this month, the Free State Republicans are heading into a statewide convention this weekend. Mooney provided details in an announcement message about the event (excerpt below):

ALEX MOONEY: I hereby call the Republican State Central Committee's 2012 Fall Convention to be held at the Turf Valley Hotel and Conference Center on November 30th and December 1st.... We are making great strides because of your efforts.

MOONEY FACING "NO CONFIDENCE" VOTE - In spite of Mooney's optimistic demeanor, it appears that numerous factions of the Maryland GOP will be hoping to influence the direction of the party at this gathering. More to the point, some disgruntled party members appear to be seeking a vote of "no confidence" in Alex Mooney. We previously noted, for example, that the libertarian-minded Republicans in the Maryland Liberty Caucus announced they would be mobilizing supporters at the convention (excerpt below):

MARYLAND LIBERTY CAUCUS: You and I both know that the Maryland Republican Party is run from the top-down. The Republican Establishment doesn’t stand for conservative principles. They don’t appreciate the diverse, energetic, and conservative arm of the Party....

Here in Maryland, the Maryland Liberty Movement will re-brand the Republican Party from the bottom up. We are going to go full-tilt into the Maryland Republican Party Convention on November 30-December 1, 2012 in Howard County....

MOCO GOP CHAIR MARK UNCAPHER MOUNTING A CHALLENGE TO MOONEY? - Even with all the visible anger, many GOP pundits have been wondering whether anyone would even want Mooney's job. One Maryland Juice source on the right commented (anonymously):

ANONYMOUS SOURCE: ...although people want to kick him out, there’s no one to replace him. It’s an unpaid position. So someone has to be retired or independently wealthy. It will be interesting to see what happens now with Mooney – he had been at State Party part time and part time on Bartlett’s congressional staff. Now he lost that job, how will he earn a living while volunteering at the State Party?

MoCo JuiceBlender: Doug Duncan Enters Race for County Exec, Maryland Juice Live Tomorrow at Young Dems & Much More!

Sorry for the unannounced break from the blog, but Maryland Juice had some work to catch up on! But since I last posted, a few chess pieces have advanced on Montgomery County's political playing field. Below we highlight a few random tidbits relating to MoCo politics:

JUICE #1: TOMORROW JOIN MARYLAND JUICE LIVE WITH MOCO YOUNG DEMS - Let me get this shameless plug out of the way. Tomorrow night Maryland Juice will be appearing live in Bethesda, MD for an exciting panel discussion with the Montgomery County Young Democrats. Please join us as we discuss the 2012 election results. Details below:

Montgomery County Young Democrats November Membership Meeting
Election Wrap-Up, Thursday - 7:00pm until 8:30pm

Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center
4805 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda, Maryland 20814 

We'll be analyzing the election results with local and state leaders at our November membership meeting. Moderator: Valeria Carranza

Panelists:

• Anne Kaiser, Montgomery County House Delegation Chair
• David Sloan, Maryland Democratic Party Executive Director
• David Moon, Maryland Juice

JUICE #2: DOUG DUNCAN ENTERS 2014 MONTGOMERY COUNTY EXECUTIVE RACE - Have you heard the news yet? Former Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan has finally stopped dicking around and decided that he wanted his old job back. Indeed, the one-time gubernatorial candidate has now announced that he is entering the 2014 race for MoCo Executive. A source forwarded us the following report from the North Potomac Patch (excerpt below):

NORTH POTOMAC PATCH: After months of strategizing, Douglas M. Duncan has told supporters he has decided to run for an unprecedented fourth term in Montgomery County's highest political office, marking his return to politics after a six year-hiatus.

Duncan, 57, met privately yesterday morning with political advisers and supporters in Gaithersburg to discuss his run for county executive and weigh the results of a recent poll by Harrison Hickman.... Duncan told attendees that he would be entering the 2014 race, according to an email sent yesterday afternoon to supporters.

JUICE #3: IKE LEGGETT RECONSIDERS 2014 MONTGOMERY COUNTY EXECUTIVE RACE - Perhaps the return of Doug Duncan had something to do with it, but just a couple days ago, sitting County Executive Ike Leggett had yet another change of mind about his future. After being out then in then out of the 2014 race, The Examiner reported Sunday that Leggett is again considering a third term. But this time, he has at least put a timeline on his decision (excerpt below):

EXAMINER: Leggett told The Washington Examiner he might "reconsider" his 2010 position as community members and friends have been urging him to seek re-election.

"At this point, it's still no," he said. "But I'm going to think about it after Jan. 1."

JUICE #4: INTERESTING T-SHIRT: "VALERIE ERVIN FOR MONTGOMERY COUNTY"  - A MoCo politico pointed Maryland Juice in the direction of some interesting photos on the Facebook page of Councilmember Valerie Ervin. The Silver Spring-based Democrat has been known to be weighing a 2014 County Executive campaign, and her new T-shirts seem to confirm the rumor. The hint is that Ervin is a District Councilmember who is now framing herself as a Countywide figure. The photos below were taken at the Silver Spring Thanksgiving Day parade and were found on Ervin's Facebook page:

Backside of T-shirt

Ervin for Montgomery County T-Shirts

Note that County Councilmembers Phil Andrews & George Leventhal have both announced they are plotting 2014 runs for Executive.

More on the emerging MoCo Exec dynamics soon!

Del. Jon Cardin Announces 2014 Attorney General Fundraiser // HMM: Democrat Applauds Dream Act Win But Voted Against It

An anonymous source tells Maryland Juice that today Delegate Jon Cardin announced a fundraiser for 2014 Attorney General. So far, the Baltimore-area Democrat would be taking on only Senator Brian Frosh of Montgomery County, though others are known to be thinking about the race. In the email blast below, Cardin announces a December 4th "Jon Cardin for AG cocktail reception," but our source also points out that strangely, Cardin applauds passage of the Maryland Dream Act. This is unusual, because Jon Cardin voted against the Dream Act in the Maryland House.

DELEGATE JON CARDIN HAILS DREAM ACT BUT VOTED AGAINST IT: In what doubles as a "post election 2012" report, Cardin states that "by supporting the Dream Act, Marylanders advanced the State’s longstanding principle that access to education is the key to strengthening the State. I am proud of Maryland voters, and I am confident that Maryland will continue to lead the way in providing equal rights and equal opportunities to all of its residents."

Too bad Marylanders can't rely on Cardin to lead the way on these issues. Our source points out that Delegate Jon Cardin joined Tea Party members and voted against the Dream Act during the House of Delegates floor vote last year. Prior to the floor vote, the Dream Act was debated in the House Ways & Means committee where Cardin is a member. He abstained from voting on the bill in committee. This is hardly a profile in legislative courage, and it borders on outrageous for him to now applaud passage of something he opposed. See Cardin's email blast below, followed by a few excerpts from the legislative record for the Dream Act:

Cardin Annapolis Reports: Post Election 2012   November 20, 2012 Dear Juice, After two years of hard fought campaigning on both the State and federal levels, the election is finally over. Maryland has approved every ballot question including expanded gaming, affirming same sex marriage, and passing the Maryland Dream Act. On the federal level, President Obama has been re-elected with a mandate to balance the budget and return bipartisanship to Congress while Maryland again elected a strong delegation of Congressmen, including one new Representative, John Delaney, to Maryland’s 6th District. In approving all ballot measures, Marylanders sent the Governor and General Assembly two clear messages. First, by affirming the Dream Act and becoming the first state in the Union to pass same sex marriage by referendum on their first try, Marylanders have spoken for equal rights and fairness for all Maryland’s residents. Further, by supporting the Dream Act, Marylanders advanced the State’s longstanding principle that access to education is the key to strengthening the State. I am proud of Maryland voters, and I am confident that Maryland will continue to lead the way in providing equal rights and equal opportunities to all of its residents. Second, by approving expanded gambling, including table games, and a sixth casino site to be located at Prince George’s County’s National Harbor, Marylanders reminded government that when citizens are choosing where to spend their disposable income, government should not restrict their options.  Furthermore, they reasserted to lawmakers that they are serious about raising revenues in the State. This measure will keep Maryland money in Maryland while creating jobs for Maryland residents. As a result of approving these ballot measures, Maryland looks forward to adding $200 million in revenues from expanded gaming, an estimated $66 million from the Dream Act and millions of dollars from new marriage licenses and the lucrative wedding industry. These new revenues have put Maryland in its strongest budget position in years with the real possibility of balancing the operating budget without significant cuts this coming legislative session. The message is clear, and I plan to continue working to grow industry in Maryland to raise revenues and continue to get my constituents back to work. This session, I plan to introduce research and development legislation to spur business investment in Maryland, including incentivizing existing business growth and creating new business opportunities, particularly in green industries such as wind and solar power. Finally, it is clear that voters in both our State and our country want to see lawmakers from both sides of the aisle working together to find and create innovative solutions to our big problems. I have always been committed to working with constituents and leaders from all sides and collaborating with the entire legislature to create solutions to our problems. Moving forward, please know that I am always open to new ideas and innovative solutions no matter where they come from. DON’T FORGET TO ATTEND THE RECEPTION FOR MY EXPLORATORY COMMITTEE TO BECOME MARYLAND’S ATTORNEY GENERAL ON DECEMBER 4, 2012 AT THE HOME OR ROBB COHEN AND GAIL SCHWARTZ. PLEASE CONTACT STEVE HURVITZ AT (703) 340-4497 OR STEVE@STEVEHURVITZ TO RSVP, JOIN OUR HOST COMMITTEE OR WITH ANY OTHER QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE. You can always reach me at jon.cardin@house.state.md.us.  I am proud to be representing you in Annapolis and to be working with Delegates Dana Stein and Dan Morhaim and Senator Bobby Zirkin as part of the District 11 legislative team. Sincerely,   Delegate Jon S. Cardin

Below you can see the 2011 House of Delegates roll call vote for the Dream Act, followed by the Dream Act Ways & Means roll call vote:

Voting Yea - 74
Speaker Busch	Cullison	Hixson	Mitchell	Stukes
Alston	Davis	Holmes	Mizeur	Summers
Anderson	Dumais	Howard	Murphy	Tarrant
Arora	Feldman	Hubbard	Nathan-Pulliam	Turner, F.
Barkley	Frick	Hucker	Niemann	Turner, V.
Barnes	Frush	Ivey	Oaks	Valderrama
Barve	Gaines	Jones	Pena-Melnyk	Valentino-Smith
Bobo	Gilchrist	Kaiser	Pendergrass	Vallario
Branch	Glenn	Kelly, A.	Proctor	Vaughn
Braveboy	Griffith	Kramer	Reznik	Waldstreicher
Cane	Gutierrez	Lee	Robinson, B.	Walker
Carr	Guzzone	Love	Robinson, S.	Washington
Carter	Harrison	Luedtke	Rosenberg	Wilson
Clippinger	Haynes	McIntosh	Ross	Zucker
Conaway	Healey	Miller, A.	Simmons
Voting Nay - 66
Afzali	DeBoy	Impallaria	McHale	Serafini
Aumann	Donoghue	Jacobs	McMillan	Smigiel
Bates	Dwyer	James	Miller, W.	Sophocleus
Beidle	Eckardt	Jameson	Morhaim	Stein
Beitzel	Elliott	Kach	Myers	Stifler
Bohanan	Fisher	Kelly, K.	Norman	Stocksdale
Boteler	Frank	Kipke	O'Donnell	Szeliga
Bromwell	George	Krebs	Olszewski	Vitale
Burns	Glass	Lafferty	Otto	Weir
Cardin	Haddaway-Riccio	Malone	Parrott	Wood
Clagett	Hammen	McComas	Ready
Cluster	Hershey	McConkey	Rudolph
Conway	Hogan	McDermott	Schuh
Costa	Hough	McDonough	Schulz

Dream Act - 2011 MD House Ways & Means Roll Call

2014 MD GOVERNOR: Anthony Brown Poll Shows Early Lead Over Gansler, Franchot, Ulman // BATTLEGROUND: DC Burbs

All signs indicate that Maryland's 2014 statewide races are ramping up, and so far no office is more hotly contested than the Free State's upcoming contest to succeed Gov. Martin O'Malley. Today Maryland Juice received a copy of internal polling results from a source within Lt. Governor Anthony Brown's campaign, and they purport to reveal three things:

1. Brown starts the race with a clear lead,
2. the Washington suburbs will be Maryland's battleground region in 2014, and
3. nearly one in three Democrats have not yet formed an opinion on the race.

Note that this poll was conducted in September 2012 and only surveyed voters about Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, Comptroller Peter Franchot, Attorney General Doug Gansler, and Howard County Executive Ken Ulman. The survey did not seem to ask voters about Delegate Heather Mizeur, who is now campaigning for and exploring a run for Governor. The polling firm was GarinHartYang, which has also done work for Gov. O'Malley and some of the Maryland ballot question campaigns this November. Below you can see the summary results and polling memo, but I start by highlighting a few of the key figures and findings.

1. Brown has higher name id, positives, and intensity of support than his competitors. 63% of voters know him, compared with only 54% for both Franchot and Gansler,
2. If Franchot gets out of the race, the dynamics of the race do not change significantly. His supporters break roughly evenly between Brown and Gansler.

Here's a quick excerpt from the polling memo's conclusion section (excerpt below)

GARIN-HART-YANG: The Washington, D.C., media market is looking like the battleground (especially if both Montgomery County candidates decide to run for governor), but even in trial heats with Gansler and Franchot, who have longer track records in this jurisdiction, the Lt. Governor leads in the Washington, D.C., area (admittedly narrowly) in BOTH the four-way trial heat and the three-way trial heat (without Franchot), and even in a one-on-one match up with the attorney general.

In summary, the polling data indicates that Lt. Governor Brown is best positioned to win the 2014 Democratic nomination, and the data are further encouraging about his prospects to EXPAND his support. While it is not unexpected that a sizeable proportion of Democratic primary voters (33%) have yet to make up their mind for an election that is almost two years away, the data also show that Lt. Governor Brown is well positioned to appeal to undecided voters....

MY QUICK THOUGHTS: It seems to me that with this first shot, Brown is declaring himself the front-runner in this race. Maryland Juice agrees with that conclusion for numerous reasons, but I note that this race could turn upside-down easily. For one, money, campaigns and issues do matter -- especially in a Democratic Primary. Moreover, this polling was done before any candidates' media buys have been able to define the contenders and issues. On that note, it is hard to ignore the huge multi-million dollar cash lead Gansler is starting the race with, and the unsettled nature of the candidate field. Consider, for example, that early presidential polls have had high-name-id candidates like Joe Lieberman and Joe Biden scoring high among voters -- and yet, I think neither of them could likely win a Democratic Primary for President. I suspect there is at least a little bit of that effect going on here. With those caveats, check out the Anthony Brown polling memo below:
Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown 2014 Governor's Race Polling Memo - September 2012

HOLY MACKEREL: Gov. O'Malley Asks Prince George's Dems to Withdraw Greg Hall's Name For Tiffany Alston's MD House Seat

BACKGROUND: Just days ago, local news outlets were abuzz with news that Greg Hall, the choice of the Prince George's Democratic Central Committee (PGDCC) to replace Delegate Tiffany Alston (D24), had previously been involved in a drug-dealing gun-shootout that resulted in a dead child. The PG Democratic Central Committee had appointed Hall to replace Alston after she copped a plea on criminal charges involving misuse of government resources. Maryland Juice highlighted a few news articles indicating that the PG Dems were uncomfortable with the revelations and began changing their vacancy appointment process to preempt this kind of a problem in the future.

O'MALLEY ASKS PG CENTRAL COMMITTEE TO WITHDRAW HALL'S NAME: But now, The Washington Post is reporting that Governor Martin O'Malley is asking the Prince George's Democratic Central Committee to withdraw Hall's name for the District 24 seat, and it sounds like they are inclined to listen (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley has asked Prince George’s County Democrats to withdraw the name of businessman Greg Hall to replace Tiffany Alston in the House of Delegates until the state’s attorney general rules on whether the seat is actually vacant....

Assistant States’s Attorney General Dan Friedman had advised the General Assembly that Alston’s seat was vacant upon her conviction. But an Anne Arundel County judge last week agreed to modify Alston’s one-year suspended jail sentence to probation before judgment, essentially striking her conviction....

[PGDCC Chair Terry] Speigner said the 24-member panel is already scheduled to meet Tuesday. At that meeting, he said “we will comply with the governor’s request to rescind Hall’s nomination.” He said the committee would do what O’Malley asked.

O'MALLEY DODGES BULLET: Governor O'Malley may have caught a very lucky break with the sudden legal ambiguities about whether Tiffany Alston has been suspended from the legislature or not. After all, if Hall's nomination for the vacancy had proceeded, O'Malley himself would have had to ultimately appointment him to the D24 seat. It seems pretty easy to imagine how O'Malley's rivals could have used this issue either in a primary or a general election.

Even more interesting to think about is what will happen to Tiffany Alston. Did she just find a way to stay in office? We shall know soon enough!

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?