Robert Dyer voters can give thanks that they are on the record voting against high electricity bills and higher taxes on the poor. My opponents haven't even been sworn in again yet, and two of the things I spoke out against during the campaign are already happening.

First, Pepco rates are going up. Again. That's not a misprint, Pepco is raising your rates again. There's no competition, and now there certainly won't be with Delegates Bronrott, Lee, and Goldwater back in office.

Second, the health care partial plan that doesn't cover everyone - and raises taxes on the poor to pay for it(!) - is one of the first pieces of legislation that will come before the new General Assembly.

Clearly, the poor and elderly are two of the biggest losers in this election; they now get to pay higher utility bills and higher taxes. Imagine, raising taxes on the poor for a plan that won't cover them. And they say Democrats tax the rich to help the poor? Not in Maryland. Meanwhile, my universal health insurance access plan and other initiatives to help the poor and middle class have been tabled as the status quo emerged temporarily victorious in the election.

The Washington Post and Gazette are biased. We knew that. But what we found out during this election is that the Post and Gazette are irrelevant. Non factors. Despite their desperate endorsements, many of their candidates lost. Their positions on the ballot questions were overridden by the ones listed on the Democratic Party's sample ballot (I've already given my analysis of the success of that sample ballot at the polls in a previous entry, although I'll have updates on that in the future).

We also found out that this is not the Post we knew. There are serious questions about the editorial and reporting staff at the paper. Quite frankly, I'm surprised that Bob Woodward continues to associate his name with the Post. The reporters do not return voice mails. I'm serious. Ann Marimow alone was contacted by my campaign 5 times since August, and has never once returned a voice mail or email. The Post never covered the unprecedented story of 3 members of the same family running for office on the same ballot. That is simply unbelievable. They didn't even cover the General Assembly races. When you consider the puff pieces and filth that the Metro section is usually comprised of, there is no excuse for the lack of coverage of my campaign.

Then there is the ethical question of the downright lies that were printed in the endorsements. It's one thing to not endorse us, but there is absolutely no reason or justification for lying about us. Specifically, I was lumped together with my Republican running mates as having a "thin agenda." That is a lie. That is preposterous. Visit my website and read my massive agenda, with more details than any other candidate in Maryland ever offered in this election. The Washington Post lied, period. When I called one of the editors, he had no credible explanations, mostly just giggles. So, we are definitely dealing with a new type of editorial and journalistic standard at the Post.

I was upset about the lies and lack of coverage at the time, and wrote a letter to the Editor. Which they didn't print. I knew they wouldn't. But after the results came in, I realized there's not any reason to be upset - the Post is irrelevant. Irrelevant. And the Gazette is irrelevant. Irrelevant. It serves them right for trying to change the outcome of the election.

Not an encouraging start to the process of rebuilding the Republican Party at any level this week. In addition, there are still many in denial about what went wrong in the election. Karl Rove is the most prominent of these, and the fact is that his strategy failed. The "Democrats are weak on terrorism" argument just didn't work. And, again, the tidal wave explanation is not supported by the results. Many Republicans were reelected. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Tom Davis. Not exactly conservative territory, California and Northern Virginia. Bob Corker won in Tennessee. Was there a tidal wave in all three of those states? It takes more than annoying phone calls to get people out to vote. It takes at least one volunteer at each polling place handing out Republican sample ballots. It takes a compelling, inclusive message and agenda, not the divisive tactics of recent years. And it takes a state Party that supports the candidates strategically and financially. Just ask the Democrats.

It is notable that many of the new Democrats who won nationally were relatively moderate or even conservative. So our base is still there. The Reagan Democrats are still there. Where we didn't win, people have to admit that they didn't get out the vote, and didn't make the case for why Democrats should cross over. With zero help from our state Party, I was able to do this on a very small scale. Here is the latest article about a Republican who did this on a very large scale, who I've been referring to all year, and who Republicans in Maryland could learn a lot from:

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger - a Republican - Wins

Ken Mehlman has the right idea - step down. In my lifetime, I can't recall an election in Montgomery County where every Republican lost. The strategy was a complete failure. To paraphrase Governor Ehrlich, microtargeting is bunk. The architects behind this strategy should be held accountable. I can tell you that as a candidate, we had no support from Annapolis or the national party. Now it's time those people were held accountable. It's time to step down.

We had only our most diehard precinct chairs at their posts. Democrats were laughing at me all day, when the subject of Republican volunteers at the polls came up. Angry, determined Democrats were passing me all day as they stomped into the polling places. I managed to obtain a Democratic sample ballot. Paid for by the state Democratic party, these easy to use guides were handed out at the polls and had an edition for each district. The bad news is, Republicans weren't handing out sample ballots. The even worse news is, we had a sample ballot but never utilized it! I know because my brother created it! The state Party never stepped up to the plate. All funds were directed to Ehrlich, Steele, and favored candidates. All of whom lost, by the way. I find the approval of even the most nonsensical ballot questions followed the answers given in that Democratic sample ballot. So obviously, those ballots affected the outcome. The psychological effect alone of not having someone at least handing out a ballot at each polling place was clearly demonstrated. I'm skeptical of the benefit of literature at the polling place; rarely does anyone stop at those now-disappearing tables and most have made up their mind already. I think it would be sufficient to have the information neatly summarized on a sample ballot. It seemed to work well for the Democrats. We need to have at least one person handing out such a ballot at each polling place.

Besides microtargeting, we heard much about volunteers and volunteers who would sweep into Montgomery County on Election Day from out-of-state. And they would "bring out the base!" Anytime now, guys.

The Republican Party is now totally irrelevant in Montgomery County until 2010. I can't think of a more compelling argument for a new direction. It will be days or weeks before the full data can be analyzed as to who came out to vote, but I can tell you a bit about one of a number of groups supporting me. They are comprised of Republicans, Reagan Democrats, and Independents. People who, when you mention the Republican Party, think of Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan. Leaders who knew what was great about this country and this Party. Who were more concerned with breaking down walls than building new ones. Who knew that everyone had to have stake in the outcome in order to preserve our nation. The divisive tactics of recent years have been an utter failure. The number of Latinos voting for Republicans was essentially halved in this election. Ironically, Latinos, African-Americans, Asians, and other ethnic groups share the essence of our true Republican values of family, ownership societies, and market economics. We must return to those values. Without, importantly, sacrificing other values such as the defense of life and our Constitutional rights, as some desperate opportunists are recommending in recent days. We've got to respectfully make the case that we represent a majority in this county and this state, however hard that may be to believe after Tuesday.

I was able to bring out small numbers of this group and many other groups through my own hard work. Often they were not touched -and certainly not motivated - by party efforts. What could we have accomplished had the state and national parties used a real strategy and, most importantly, not sacrificed the rest of us for the financial benefit of a few campaigns?

"We were hit by a tidal wave!" "It's all Bush's fault!" Hogwash. If so, how were Tom Davis, Frank Wolf, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and other Republicans reelected? It's time for the leaders of this debacle, this catastrophe, to stop the excuses, be accountable, and step down.

Thank you to all who voted for me! Your support is much appreciated. I have enjoyed meeting all of you as I went door-to-door for the last three months, and at the many events. Thank you for your votes, putting out signs, and telling others about my campaign. Your support gave me the energy to keep campaigning until the last hour. I rang my final doorbell as the sun was setting Monday evening, and picked up a final vote. There will be much more to write about, but I thought it was important to thank all of you right away. There were problems with turnout statewide, but no problems with my supporters: all of you came out to vote for Robert Dyer, and I am honored to have your vote. So this is just my first chance to thank you here. And those of you who voted for my dad, he equally appreciates your support.