When we touched down yesterday at Bee Wee I was surprised to find that it was warmer here than it was in Florida. I also noticed that the tree pollen had arrived in full force. Thankfully, last nights wind and rain washed some of it off so I my eyeballs aren’t quite as itchy this morning.
Last night as I worked my way through about 200 unanswered emails, I was struck by one I received from a supporter of Jon Weinstein. Jon is running for one of the House of Delegates seats in District 9A that are currently held by Gail Bates and Warren Miller. The supporter sent me a link to this article by Douglas Tallman in The Gazette about the 20 most influential and least influential state representatives in Annapolis. Gail Bates was ranked as the 9th least influential state delegate.
That isn’t what struck me though. What really caught my eye was Shane Pendergrass. Shane was ranked as the 15th most influential state delegate.
That was downright scary. In my not so humble opinion Shane Pendergrass is one of the most anti business representatives in the state. For me, her ranking negated the credibility of the whole list. Then again, the Gazette openly acknowledged that the list was somewhat less than scientific.
“We asked a select group of State House observers who has, and who lacks, influence. Influence, of course, is in the eye of the beholder. Maybe it's the parliamentary prowess to pass a bill, or the legislative legerdemain to kill another. It could mean the brains to master a complex issue, or a good sense of timing — when to stand and when to stand pat.
The result is a highly unscientific poll. The margin of error is plus or minus a whole lot.”
I certainly hope so.
Less than twenty four hours of settling back into HoCo I’m getting back on the road again. This time it’s off to Pittsburgh for the wedding of one of my college knucklehead buddies.
More news later.
F ³: Competitions: Are We Winning Yet?
2 hours ago
5 comments:
The irrelevance of Gail Bates is is no suprise to her constituents. Those who don't swim in Del. Bates's immediate circle understand that it's pure folly to expect her support on any issues of substance.
Ms. Bates is a mean spirited Tea Bagger whose greatest accomplishment has been getting reelected. Fortunately, those days will be coming to a close as the western county demographics evolve.
I'm in Bates's district and see her as putting her constituents above party, a rare politician these days.
Anon 12:43, since you're obviously swimming in the circle, please enlighten us with Del. Bates's achevements since being handed the seat (after Bob Kittleman moved to the Senate in 2002).
Wikipedia's profile,
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:IIp5UBN96xoJ:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gail_H._Bates+gail+bates+91&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
has the following documented quote, "As a conservative, Bates has spent much of her time working to amend the Maryland Constitution to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman".
That about sums up the Party of No.
I think you're talking to me so I'll answer. Gail Bates does more than work against gay marriage which I have no problem with, but also, gay marriage not a major issue for me.
I'm talking about her ability to break with the Republican party and vote with constituents, though I wish everyone would do that more often.
You didn't answer the question - Specifically, when has Bates voted with constituents and against the Republican party? And how do you define that? I'm her constituent and I'm all for gay marriage.
That's nothing more than a line party politickers like to use to make themselves sound independent in thought. The reality is that no election politician serves all their constituents. After election and until 6 months before reelection, they serve only their own interests.
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