Marylander of the Year Nominations from the Tea Party, Robin Ficker & Saqib Ali

[ See All of the "Marylander of the Year" Nominations ]  

 
Maryland Juice is launching our inaugural Marylander of the Year project. In the spirit of TIME Magazine's annual "Person of the Year" article, we will be asking various Marylanders for their thoughts on who has been most influential or impactful in the amazing Free State/Old Line State. Contact Maryland Juice to share your own thoughts (either anonymously or publicly).

Below, we print our first three nominations. They come from 6th District Congressional candidate Robin Ficker, former State Delegate Saqib Ali and Potomac Tea Party Report editor Ann Corcoran:

Maryland Juice Milestone: 100,000 Pageviews

Maryland Juice woke up today to discover that this blog has reached a new milestone: 100,000 pageviews since our kickoff in August:

Thanks to everyone for reading -- and most importantly, thanks to the numerous readers and sources who send in story leads, tips and political gossip. Amazingly, at Maryland Juice readers themselves provide almost as many leads as the more hardcore politico crew (ie: elected officials, political aides, and journalists).

In 2012, we'll be rolling out some seriously weird new initiatives. In the meantime:

• Follow us on Twitter
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Thanks again for reading folks!

Maryland Delegate Jill Carter: Put People Before Party

Maryland Juice occasionally highlights random interactions on Twitter. See a recent comment from Maryland lawmaker Jill Carter in response to a Democratic Party press release about House GOP Minority Leader Tony O'Donnell:

Follow the conversation on Twitter: #mdpolitics

PHOTO: Rep. Chris Van Hollen Stumps in the New 8th Congressional District // Frederick Plowman & Fisherman Event

Former Frederick Mayoral candidate Jason Judd emailed Maryland Juice the following photographic evidence of Rep. Chris Van Hollen stumping in his new district.

Mr. Judd included the following caption:

Cong. Van Hollen at the Frederick County Plowman and Fisherman fundraiser tonight. Big crowd--120+. Benefits Frederick Co. Democratic Party.

Juice Blender: MD House GOP Members Meeting to Discuss Leadership Future // Del. Tiffany Alston Faces More Charges

UPDATE: A Maryland Juice reader has written a rather feisty defense of Del. Tiffany Alston. Here is a short clip, but I urge you to read the full tirade: "Maybe House Seaker Busch could be a better mentor rather than attacking her though. When Sam Arora flipped on gay marriage, he got a stern talking to and a trip to India! Delegate Alston pissed off the speaker, she gots multiple indictments."

Here's a random blend of political tidbits starting with a development in Annapolis. Yesterday we wrote about MD House Minority Leader Tony O'Donnell's entry into the 5th Congressional District race. We also noted that Tea Party leader Del. Mike Smigiel called on Mr. O'Donnell to resign his GOP leadership position while campaigning for Congress. Today, a Maryland Juice reader who happens to work as a legislative aide in Annapolis sent us the following news:

Juice #1: The GOP House caucus is meeting right now. Potential leadership change. Smigiel is angling.... Also, Smigiel is running for a Judgeship, so I dont know what his deal is. http://www.elections.state.md.us/elections/2012/primary_candidates/statecandidateslist.aspx. Scroll down to "Circuit Court - Judicial Circuit 2."

Juice #2: Meanwhile, The Washington Post reports on another twist in the case against Del. Tiffany Alston:

MoCo Juice Blender: Leggett Joins Lowes Protest, #1 Influential Councilmember, Huge Police Overtime & Corporate Welfare

UPDATE: Maryland Juice just received the following email from a CD6 GOP candidate: "Robin Ficker for Congress and Jobs will join his friend Saqib in the protest on Sunday too!" Interesting that a GOP candidate from Montgomery should reject extremist fear-mongering and join a protest against Islamophobia. 

Also, earlier today, Maryland Juice reader Dave Kunes sent us a Klout influence ranking for Montgomery County's State Legislators. #1: Heather Mizeur.

Here's a random blend of political tidbits from recent Montgomery County news, starting with an update from former Delegate Saqib Ali on his protest against Lowes:

Juice #1: Saqib Ali's Email Message Announcing Ike Leggett Joins Lowes Protest: Last week Lowes Hardware store caved in to rank Islamophobia by withdrawing its commercials that were scheduled to run during the TLC TV show "All American Muslims." Lowes did this because a fringe right-wing hate-group called the "Florida Family Association"  complained that the depiction of American Muslims as normal people was actually “propaganda clearly designed to counter legitimate and present-day concerns about many Muslims who are advancing Islamic fundamentalism and Sharia law." Lowes' shameful decision has sparked a huge national controversy. You can read about it here.

This decision has been condemned by prominent people from Rap Moghul Russel Simmons to Actress Mia Farrow to Newark Mayor Corey Booker. People from all walks of life are outraged that Lowe's kow-towed to such un-American demands. Imagine for a second if Lowes had pulled its commercials from a show just because it depicted Catholics or Jews as normal people. This is no different.

Maryland Juice Adds a Panel to the 2015 Aids Quilt

Find out more about the 2015 Aids Quilt:

Find out more: http://www.2015quilt.com/Home#p=37785