WOMEN CRITICIZE

BILL FRICK APPOINTMENT

AS FEMALE LEGISLATORS IN

ANNAPOLIS CONTINUE TO

BE REPLACED BY MEN

In Each Case, Democratic Committee Chose

Male Candidates Over Qualified Women

Montgomery County Democratic delegate Karen S. Montgomery and others criticized again the 2007 appointments of the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee, which replaced retired or deceased women with male legislators.

Maryland has now dropped from 1st place nationwide to 8th in the number of female legislators serving in the State House and Senate.

District 16's controversy erupted when Marilyn Goldwater retired in 2007, after failing to cast a single vote that year. Most Democrats supported Regina Oldak as her replacement. This made sense not only in terms of gender, but also because of Ms. Oldak's almost-successful 2006 primary campaign in which she almost defeated Goldwater fair-and-square. In other words, she had actually run for the office, acquitted herself well in the results, and had a base of support among actual District 16 Democratic voters.

In a shocking turn of events, the Democratic Central Committee selected "The Gambler," C. William Frick. Mr. Frick's law firm is well-known for its strong lobbying efforts before Congress on behalf of the gaming industry. Obviously, Democratic activists were outraged, but those in charge apparently believed they would come back aboard by 2010.

Now the controversy has reignited as all departing women have been replaced by men.

‘‘It’s kind of like a crisis now,” said Del. Mary Ann Love (D-Dist. 32) of Glen Burnie, in today's Gazette.

It's no wonder women's issues such as healthcare and job training for low-income pregnant mothers, and domestic violence have been on the backburner in recent years in Annapolis.

HUCKABEE IS RIGHT:

THERE IS

"A WORLD OF HURT"

OUT THERE

Jobs Go Abroad, Housing Out of Reach;

Annapolis and Washington Out of Touch

When Gov. Mike Huckabee speaks about his concern for the "people who carry the bags, who drive the trucks," he is addressing real issues that have been ignored by other Republicans.

As I repeatedly said during my 2006 campaign, we have a housing and employment crisis in our area. Of course, the wealthy don't know it's happening, because it doesn't impact them. And, believe it or not, not everyone in Montgomery County is wealthy!

Our Democratic delegates have done nothing on the issue of affordable housing. And they have not protected jobs in our district nor in our state. The latest large employer to close is Ourisman Ford right here in Bethesda! So now they've not only chased our GM plant out of the state, but the dealerships are next!! It's outrageous. And it was assisted by the passage of the Clean Cars Act, which raised the price of the average vehicle by $3000 at a time when auto sales were already in a slump.

You hear much about jobs. Well, the real jobs are going, and the "job creation" is limited to "McJobs:" minimum wage service jobs, retail & restaurant jobs, administrative assistant, secretary, sales jobs, etc. John McCain's apparently winning message, that the jobs aren't coming back, and he will "retrain workers" hurt by the now-obvious damage of NAFTA, makes little sense in real terms. Are we going to retrain well-paid auto factory workers to do these "McJobs?" Or are they going to get free medical and law school tuition?

Sometimes you just have to acknowledge the facts. Not only the fact that we have to rebuild our industrial sector and restore solid backing to the U.S. dollar. But the facts about good jobs going overseas and ending the American Dream for many who played by the rules, only to be victimized by "globalization," NAFTA, and an economy built on a fantasy stock market and Google ads.

Well here are some facts:

According to USA Today, we lost 212,000 factory jobs in the last year. Those are 212,000 people who may have lost their homes, can't pay the bills, and whose tax contributions have disappeared from the federal and state treasuries. You can push the "little guy" around only so long before the economy takes a hit.

That's why tax cuts are so vital, but also why we are headed into, at best, a tough recession. Unless the American people buy into the propaganda on CNBC and "get back in the market on Monday," a strategic gambit that has worked like magic so many times before for the status quo. Remember, when the market starts to tank a certain amount now, the computers shut down and stop all trading. This allows the CNBC/media machine to work that magic so you'll be ready to "get back in" when they turn the computers back on the next day.

It appears that, to preserve the status quo, the status quo is going to decide the election before 90% of Americans have even voted. On this course, it is hard to believe we will restore our industrial base.

So it is up to the states. That's why I have proposed ways we can preserve and restore factory jobs in Maryland. And create high-paying jobs by building needed rail-transit infrastructure and developing new industries.

I am pleased to report that help is on the way. In the future, I will be unveiling proposals to develop two new high-tech industries in Maryland, one of which will have research facilities based in our I-270 corridor. These will create jobs with high-wages and career potential. And we will be turning kids from neighborhoods where there seems to be no future into the scientists of tomorrow. Most importantly, we will be doing this with private-sector funds for the most part.

This is exciting. This is innovative. This is leadership. Stay tuned.