Author: Jonathan

2015 Top Posts: #21-25

Jonathan Milestones ,

Over the course of the week, I’ll be counting down the top 25 posts of 2015 (as of today, there have been 1,453 posts on Maryland Scramble to date). Today we’ll start with 21 through 25. In reverse order, of course - it’s a countdown show, after all.

25. Pena-Melnyk Lit Piece Starting off our countdown, a July 4 post that highlighted the first lit piece in any of the campaigns. An early indication of the hard work and diligence that has seen Joseline Pena-Melnyk earn the lion’s share of the endorsements in the CD4 race.

24. Anti-Semitism In Prince George’s One of the blog’s first big stories, written May 5, about a mail piece that depicted Ike Leggett and Rushern Baker as dogs doing the bidding of Chris Van Hollen, Steny Hoyer and Ben Cardin to keep Donna Edwards from winning the Senate seat.

23. BREAKING: Van Hollen COH The critical July 20 post that established Chris Van Hollen’s complete dominance of the fundraising contest in the Senate race.

22. Is Donna Edwards #McConnelling? A lighthearted November 6 post that also highlighted the role that independent expenditure spending is going to have on the Senate race. If you didn’t know what “B-roll” was, you do now.

21. “MARTIN O’MALLEY IS SO HOT OH MY GOD” This October 14 post, which links to a Buzzfeed article that shows our former governor in a bathing suit, has been consistently viewed ever since. America discovered after the first Democratic debate what we’ve known in Maryland for a long time: the guy looks good with his shirt off.

More tomorrow.

2016 Priority: Paid Sick Leave

Jonathan General Maryland Politics, Labor

For several years, the Maryland General Assembly has been unsuccessful in passing a paid sick leave bill. It’s a national priority for President Obama, Montgomery County did it, and the District of Columbia did it - although Prince George’s County saw its 2015 bill squelched by Council President Mel Franklin.

With the start of the legislative session only ten days away, the Post reports today that 2015 sponsors Senator Catherine Pugh and Delegate Luke Clippinger are preparing to give it another go in 2016.

Democrats will try again in 2016 to make Maryland one of the few states in the nation that require employers to provide paid sick leave for workers.

State Senate Majority Leader Catherine E. Pugh (D-Baltimore) and Del. Luke H. Clippinger (D-Baltimore) said last week that they will propose bills to require businesses with 10 or more employees to provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours of work.

Both lawmakers sponsored similar legislation in 2015, but the measures stalled at the committee level. They said that they will introduce new versions of the bills within the first weeks of the 2016 legislative session, with minor changes to clarify details such as how the rules would apply to businesses that already provide paid sick leave.

“We want to present the best bill possible, but at same time we want to accommodate as many people as we can,” Pugh said.

As always, with Larry Hogan in the governor’s office, it’s about constructing a veto proof majority from the Democratic caucus.

The 141-member House needs 85 votes to overcome a veto, and the 47-member Senate needs 29; Democrats hold 33 seats in the Senate and 91 in the House.

In 2015, 77 delegates and 22 senators co-sponsored the sick-leave bills, eight and seven votes short of a veto-proof majority, respectively.

“There was a feeling last time that the first year of a governor’s term would not be the right time to put this on his desk,” said Melissa Broome, deputy director of the Job Opportunities Task Force. “At this point, there’s really no reason to wait.”

Hogan spokeswoman Shareese DeLeaver Churchill did not offer a position on paid sick days but said the governor will “carefully review any bill that makes it to his desk.”

More than 140 groups have expressed support for Maryland sick-day legislation since October, including unions, businesses, faith-based organizations and public-health advocates.

This should be a party loyalty vote in both chambers. At some point, being a Democrat has to mean something more than just a label. This bill is about fairness, it’s about public health, and it’s about families. Pitch it right and get it done. 

Sanders Haul: $33 Million

Jonathan Fundraising, President 2016 ,

Bernie Sanders announced yesterday that he has raised $33 million in the fourth quarter of 2015, all of it for his primary campaign. By comparison, Hillary Clinton raised $37 million for her primary campaign, but also an additional $18 million for the Democratic Party in the general election. Sanders had a very high burn rate for the quarter, spending 96% of what he took in, around $31.7 million.

Fairly or unfairly, Sanders’ failure to raise any money at all for the party is a weakness, even given the recent hostilities between the campaign and the DNC. Party stalwarts already viewed the non-Democrat with suspicion, and this information won’t help. Money for the party is ultimately critical in the general election, not just for the nominee but for broader campaign activities as well. This passage won’t help heal the rifts, either.

While Clinton has coordinated with the National Democratic Committee to raise an additional $18 million, Sanders has not replicated those efforts, despite an arrangement with the national party that allows him to do so.

Sanders and the DNC have had a turbulent relationship in recent months, punctuated by a lawsuit Sanders filed against the DNC in the wake of a controversy over a breach in a DNC voter database committed by several Sanders staffers.

“We remain happy to work with them,” Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs said Saturday, when asked about joint fundraising efforts. “The party hasn’t given us any dates for events.”

For the year, Clinton raised $112 million to Sanders’ $73 million. Clinton has $38 million in the bank heading into 2016, compared to Sanders’ $28 million.

Changing Of The Guard In Baltimore?

Jonathan Baltimore, Baltimore Mayor

While much of the focus has rightly gone to the presidential, senatorial and congressional races happening in Maryland this year, the biggest changes coming in 2016 may well be on the Baltimore scene. There’s an open seat race for mayor, several council members are running for mayor, some are retiring, and virtually every city council seat is being contested in the Democratic primary. The Sun has just posted a rundown of the contested races coming up this spring.

The Baltimore City Council - a body some hope will help bring change to a beleaguered city - is likely to experience significant turnover in next year’s election.

Already, four of the council’s 15 members have said they will not seek re-election, while several others are considering stepping down or face formidable challengers. The result could be a younger council that analysts say might feel an urgency to address the persistent problems, including Baltimore’s entrenched poverty, lead poisoning, housing segregation and drugs, which drew international attention after Freddie Gray’s death in police custody.

“We’re going to see the most turnover we’ve seen in years,” said Catalina Byrd, a Baltimore-based political consultant. “This is going to be a historic year for the council.”

There’s a host of interesting candidates running, but I want to exercise my personal prerogative to highlight the District 13 race. Shannon Sneed lost to incumbent Warren Branch in the primary in 2011 by 43 votes, then ran a spirited write in campaign in the general election and only lost by 225 votes. The Sun writes

Sneed, 35, a former broadcast journalist who works as a volunteer recruiter for a nonprofit, has been knocking on doors in the district and attending community events to spread the word about her campaign.

“My neighbors have my phone number. I will be present,” Sneed said. “We need a voice for people to advocate for us, for good jobs that have benefits and pensions.”

I’m hosting a fundraiser for her here at my house next Saturday, January 9. She’s the real deal. I’ll have more on the event this week, but if you’re looking to support a strong candidate who will be an advocate for change, Shannon Sneed is as good as it gets.

To my Baltimore readers: I need to know more about the goings on in your fair city. Shoot me an email and let me know the whispers and rumors.

Hillary Clinton Rakes It In

Jonathan Fundraising, Journalism, President 2016 , , ,

Earlier in the week, the media was abuzz with news that Ted Cruz raised $19 million in the fourth quarter of 2015. Hillary Clinton has a comment: “Dude, that’s like a rounding error for my fundraising.”

Hillary Clinton’s campaign announced Friday that it raised $55 million in the final fundraising period of 2015, and $112 million in primary-election funds for the year. Clinton brought in $37 million in money specifically for use in the primary during the fourth quarter of 2015.

Clinton also raised $3 million for the general election. Her annual total is the most for any non-incumbent in a non-election year and roughly equal to what President Obama raised as a sitting president ahead of the 2012 election, the campaign said.

I’m beginning to like this whole Year of the Woman thing. Except for Carly Fiorina’s shameless pandering on the Rose Bowl yesterday, which backfired horribly.

Seriously, Clinton raised more money than incumbent Barack Obama in 2012. Think about that. And then gaze in glassy-eyed stupefaction at moron Chris Cillizza’s having awarded Clinton the Worst Year of 2015, along with Jeb Bush. That’s 55 million new reasons why Cillizza is a pathetic joke. I also highly recommend this screed listing by month all the incisive and prescient analysis conducted by Cillizza throughout 2015. What’s even more pathetic is Cillizza’s effort just this week to defend (after a month of savage attacks) his lumping the presumptive Democratic nominee with the latest failed Bush family scion.

Another emerging narrative for the New Year: just how much will the Washington Post embarrass itself in 2016? The Bezos Boys are off to a flying start so far.

The Year Of The Woman

Jonathan Maryland CD4, Maryland CD8, Maryland Senate, Women's Issues , ,

One day into the New Year, and the branding has already begun. It’s the Year of the Woman in Maryland politics. 

Women voters in Maryland are being targeted with television ads about the two candidates running in the state’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, underscoring the battle underway for a demographic that will play a key role in choosing a successor to Barbara A. Mikulski, the pathbreaking dean of the Senate women.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Montgomery County began airing a new commercial this week promoting his record on women’s issues. The spot comes as a powerful national women’s group with a history in Maryland politics is running $1 million in advertising for his primary opponent, Rep. Donna F. Edwards of Prince George’s County.

In races across the state, candidates are working aggressively to reach women, who typically account for about 60 percent of the turnout in Maryland Democratic primaries — and who observers believe will be energized by Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign to vote in larger numbers this year.

“There are many women who are looking at her candidacy as historic,” said Steve Raabe, president of the Annapolis-based polling firm OpinionWorks. “That certainly isn’t going to hurt the turnout among women.”

And it’s not just the Senate race, either. It’s happening in both open House races as well.

In the 8th Congressional District, which includes parts of Montgomery, Frederick and Carroll counties, former television news anchor Kathleen Matthews focused her first position paper on what she described as women’s issues, including paid family leave and equal pay.

State Sen. Jamie Raskin, also running for the Democratic nomination in the 8th District, announced a group of female supporters early in his campaign that will help organize other women to back the campaign.

Several women’s political organizations, meanwhile, have endorsed state Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk in her bid in the 4th Congressional District, which includes Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties. Another candidate in the 4th, former Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Glenn Ivey, launched a group of women supporters in December.

Given the statistics on turnout, appealing to women is critical. Moreover, there is a natural fit between certain issues that matter  to women - pay equity, family leave, child care - and economic justice issues generally that are of critical importance to the increasing progressive left wing of the party’s electorate. If you’re a candidate with a real and meaningful track record on these issues, then you’re in the game.

But let’s be brutally honest in a way that John Fritze perhaps can’t be: being a female candidate in 2016 is an advantage. It’s Donna Edwards’ calling card - if she wins, it will be because she argues that she brings a unique perspective as a black woman (race isn’t exactly relevant, either, prtixularly in the Senate contest). Kathleen Matthews and Joseline Pena-Melnyk are surging because they’re working hard and running good campaigns, but part of their appeal is that they’re women.

It’s a fine line. Nobody should be elected solely because of their identity: race, gender, ethnicity, generational, etc. But it is a factor. 

“Vote for me because I understand what it’s like to be a woman.”

“We need more voices that will speak to women’s issues and concerns.”

If being a woman is all you’ve got, then you’re not going to succeed. But the women in all three races have extensive and impressive track records, and being women only enhances that appeal. How it all plays out in the end will be one of the key story lines between now and April 26.

2015 By The Numbers

Jonathan Milestones ,

Maryland Scramble was born on March 21, so as of midnight last night it’s 285 days old. In that just over nine month period, the squalling, colicky infant made an awful lot of noise:

  

And the month of December was by far the best month yet. Here’s the monthly trends in terms of page views.

  
December exceeded the best prior month (October) by almost 12%. It would have been much higher but for the holiday drop off the past 10 days or so.
But it was in unique visitors that we broke the bank in December. The prior high (again from October) was 5,160. In December, buoyed by the unusual letter writing stylings of Senate President Mike Miller and Comptroller Peter Franchot, Maryland Scramble saw 7,918 unique visitors, exceeding the old record by a whopping 53%.

  
 What’s next? Well, the sky’s the limit. Each month brings new readers and new stories and new sources. I want to expand the use of guest posts: if you have something to share with the class, let me know. If you agree (or even better, disagree) with something I wrote, write it up yourself. If you think I’m spending too little time on an issue, speak up.

I’ll have a top 25 posts of 2015 up later today, so you can reminisce on your favorite pieces or maybe catch up on ones you missed. In the meantime, thank you for being part of this half-accidental, always exciting, never boring, slightly out of control thrill ride. Here’s hoping that we can make 2016 even more fun than last year. 

Fred Hiatt Strikes Again

Jonathan Journalism, Labor

The next person who calls it the “liberal Washington Post” really needs to have his or her head examined.

Fred Hiatt, the Washington Post’s editorial page editor, has fired columnist Harold Meyerson, one of the nation’s finest journalists and perhaps the only self-proclaimed socialist to write a weekly column for a major American newspaper during the past decade or two.

At a time when America is experiencing an upsurge of progressive organizing and activism — from Occupy Wall Street, to Black Lives Matter, to the growing movement among low-wage workers demanding higher minimum wages, to Bernie Sanders’ campaign for president — we need a regular columnist who can explain what’s going on, why it’s happening, and what it means.

More than any other columnist for a major U.S. newspaper, Meyerson provided ongoing coverage and incisive analysis of the nation’s labor movement and other progressive causes as well as the changing economy and the increasing aggressiveness of big business in American politics. He was one of the few columnists in the country who knew labor leaders and grassroots activists by name, and who could write sympathetically and knowledgeably about working people’s experiences in their workplaces and communities.

Since Steve Greenhouse retired last year as the New York Times’ brilliant labor reporter, no other major paper has a reporter who covers unions and working people on a full-time basis. Now with Meyerson’s firing, there’s not one weekly columnist who understands the ins and outs of organized (and disorganized) labor.

So why did Hiatt fire Meyerson? Here’s a clue:

  
Yeah, it’s like I always say - if there’s one thing I hate about the national media, it’s the excessive focus on labor issues.

Meanwhile, across the op-ed page, George Will is soiling his bedclothes with verbal diarrhea like this (George doesn’t realize he’s chasing the kids off of a lawn that exists only in his demented mind. Anecdote/data fallacy, etc.). And Robert Samuelson continues to write the same anti-entitlements column over and over again.

Let’s be real here, folks: Meyerson got fired because Hiatt doesn’t believe labor is worth writing about. Period.

I’m really hoping my next Post endorsement interview is with Fred Hiatt (the one with fellow neo-con Charles Lane was a surreal hoot). Suggestion to Hiatt: wear some fire retardant clothing.

Bringing Down The Curtain

Jonathan General Maryland Politics ,

2015 was quite a year, huh? A year ago everyone knew that Barbara Mikulski and Stephanie Rawlings-Blake were both running for reelection, Freddie Gray was still alive, Jeb Bush was going to win the Republican nomination, Donald Trump was an eccentric businessman, and Bernie Sanders was a not very well known senator from Vermont.

Not only that, but Maryland Scramble DIDN’T EVEN EXIST. Contemplate that, if you can.

Now comes 2016. Gonna be “yuuuuuuuuuge.” 117 days to the MD primary, 105 days to early voting. More blogging, more excitement, more fun than ever. Promise.

As always in politics, it’s the craziness that makes it so interesting. Like the sign says:  

I hope your 2015 ended well, and your 2016 is even better. Happy New Year. Stick around - the clowns and the jokers are just getting started.