Tag Archives: Justin Ready

2020 elections, Republicans

MD Republicans Promoting False Election Fraud Claims

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has provided a refreshing bit of sanity and leadership by refusing to join the chorus of his fellow Republicans claiming that Democrats stole the presidential election and congratulating President-Elect Joe Biden.

Unfortunately, Maryland Republicans are not following his lead. As the Washington Post reported, U.S. House Rep. Andy Harris (R-1) is propagating unsubstantiated allegations:

Secret unobserved vote counting in the swing states means that we will have to wait until a court unravels what really went on. When that thorough investigation is over, and we know that only legal votes have been counted then we will know who the real winner is – and then and only then we need to move on.

All of Trump’s claims regarding observers have been dismissed around the country. Just a reminder of what happened in the Philadelphia case:

during a hearing for a federal version of that suit on Thursday, Judge Paul Diamond of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania pressed a lawyer for Mr. Trump on whether the campaign’s observers did, in fact, have access to the facility. The lawyer said, grudgingly, that there were “a nonzero number” of people in the room.

Oops.

Meanwhile, Seventh District Republican Nominee Kim Klacik has been promoting groundless claims in Baltimore:

There is voter fraud whether people want to admit it or not. Just so you know, there are people looking into my race as well, and as soon as I have information, I’ll share that.

More on Twitter:

Yes, Kim Klacik is alleging that people were stealing votes for Kweisi Mfume in her race. She’s also claiming that people are looking into it, which sounds equally fanciful. I bet the gumshoes on Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? were more active. Mfume beat Klacik by over 130,000 votes or 43% in this heavily Democratic district.

Meanwhile, as I look around Twitter and Facebook pages of Republican members of the General Assembly, I keep coming up empty in my search for someone who echoes the Governor’s thoughts in congratulating President-Elect Biden. (Hope springs eternal, let me know if I missed someone.) I found plenty who touted Republican gains–funny how there was never any fraud mentioned in those elections.

Del. Justin Ready impugned Philadelphia elections without any basis even though he admits it probably won’t change the outcome:

Except there is no evidence of any “irregularities” or “shenanigans” beyond the deep abnormality of the failure to concede the election and invented claims of a stolen election designed to delegitimize the President-Elect and our democracy.

Sen. Steve Hershey is looking to help elect the two Republicans to the U.S. Senate in Georgia–the same two with corrupt stock trades who have now demanded the resignation of Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State at Trump’s behest because he ran an election in which Trump lost.

Though Hershey is clearly more interested in golfing:

It’s almost a Klacik level of commitment.

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Carroll County

Carroll County RCC Follies Continue

The Carroll County Republican Central Committee (CCRCC) is really doing its best to stay in the news.

Whence We Last Left Our Story

The CCRCC originally recommending voter-rejected, far-right Robin Frazier for the Senate vacancy caused by Sen. Joe Getty’s move to the administration. Under heavy pressure from the Hogan administration, who for some reason didn’t want to make every Democratic political operative feel like Christmas came early, the CCRCC acceded to his request to submit three names, including Del. Justin Ready, who Hogan then promptly appointed.

Delegate Vacancy

So now the CCRCC has a delegate vacancy to fill. Apparently, there was much wangling earlier in the week about whether to continue to comply with Hogan’s demand for three names, instead of one:

During a special meeting of the central committee Thursday, [Amy] Gilford introduced a motion to recommend just one name, which was seconded by [Kathy] Fuller. Their argument is the Carroll committee is the only such committee in the state that has complied with the governor’s request for multiple names. Washington, Frederick and Anne Arundel counties have thus far denied the governor’s request, Fuller said.

The motion did not carry, going down in a 5-4 vote.

Karen Leatherwood, a member of the central committee, then introduced a motion to submit three names, which was amended to include the provision that if six of the members selected the same applicant as their first choice, the committee would submit that one name only.

The motion passed by a vote of 5-4.

Fuller and Gilford said they will continue to participate in the process but are doing so “under duress.” Jim Reter, member of the central committee, said the second motion constitutes an illegal process.

My guess is that the CCRCC members who really want to see Robin Frazier in the legislature don’t have six votes, which should make Gov. Larry Hogan sleep a whole lot easier. Catering to the Republican Tea Party activists who support Frazier is a sure and steady path to making his term both unsuccessful and his last.

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Carroll County, Larry Hogan

Ready in for Senate, Frazier to House?

Towards the end of last month, the Carroll County Republican Central Committee (CCRCC) acceded to Gov. Larry Hogan’s request to nominate three people for the District 5 Senate seat left vacant by Sen. Joe Getty’s move to the administration:

The Carroll County Republican Central Committee recommended former County Commissioner Robin Bartlett Frazier, Del. Justin Ready, R-District 5, and David Wallace for the now-vacant Senate seat in District 5.

Wallace was an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. House against Chris Van Hollen and has run for other public offices in the past.

So other than Del. Justin Ready, recently easily reelected by the voters, the CCRCC confirmed its penchant for selecting political losers, hardly a necessity in a county filled with Republicans who have actually won office. Once again, the process was completely secret, likely to protect the innocent from having to watch how the CCRCC makes decisions.

To no one’s surprise, Hogan appointed his preferred choice: Justin Ready. He has now been appointed and sworn into the Senate, much to the relief of all concerned. Many were adamantly opposed to the CCRCC’s original sole nomination of loopy Robin Frazier, who lost reelection to her county commission seat in the primary and the general–so don’t blame Carroll voters.

But is Robin Frazier Still in the Mix for Delegate?

Justin Ready’s move to the Senate now leaves open his House seat. And by now you can probably guess what benighted group of Addams Family values Republicans gets to nominate his replacement: the CCRCC.

Rumors are circulating around State Circle that Gov. Larry Hogan agreed to appoint Robin Frazier to the House of Delegates in exchange for getting his choice of Ready for the Senate. If so, this is a true Faustian bargain, as Frazier will be the gift that keeps on giving to Democrats every time she opens her mouth. And she has no love lost for the Hogan administration after they torpedoed her Senate appointment, so her crazy fire would go off in all directions. I look forward to the  founding of her YouTube channel.

Moreover, such an appointment would show incredible weakness on the part of Hogan. Less than a month after his inauguration, the Republican who carried his party to victory in deep blue Maryland would show he can’t even get his own party, let along the Democratic General Assembly, to go along with him.

Hogan has aspirations to build the Maryland GOP. If Robin Frazier is the answer, what was the question? Let’s hope that the rumor mill is, once again, wrong.

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Carroll County, senate

Bizarro World of Carroll County GOP Politics

Former Carroll County Commissioner Robin Frazier made herself blogger bait when she decided to sing part of the 2014 State of the County address. Unfortunately, her oeuvre has been taken down from YouTube and now, I fear, lost to posterity.

Frazier made the big time news when she violated a court order (follow link for video) regarding prayer at Commission meetings:

Carroll County Commissioner Robin Frazier opened a meeting of the Commission with a prayer invoking Jesus Christ despite a federal court order. She views the order as a wrongly issued violation of her First Amendment rights.

Frazier is “willing to go to jail” and said that America will soon be “all the way to Communism if we don’t start standing up and saying no.” She lumped the anti-prayer ruling with plots to take away guns, palm scan her children, and take away property rights through Plan Maryland.

As I mentioned at the time, her raving looney views (rather than her commitment to religion) and odd behavior placed her in electoral danger even in a Republican primary. Indeed, this former member of the Ehrlich administration lost the primary to Stephen Wantz by 56% to 38%–a sound thrashing for the incumbent.

But nobody puts crazy in the corner.

Highly regarded Sen. Joe Getty is giving up his Senate seat to work in the Hogan administration. According to Maryland’s process for filling General Assembly vacancies, the Carroll County Republican Central Committee chooses his replacement. And they’ve selected Frazier over Del. Justin Ready.

Please tell me that only Carroll Republican Central Committee members think that an incumbent losing renomination after acting like a guest star on Law & Order or the latest Nancy Grace vehicle is grounds for promotion to a Maryland Senate seat. You can’t blame Carroll’s Republican voters–they tried and now they will be “represented” by Frazier in the General Assembly for the next four years.

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