Just when we thought we’d never get to see a presidential candidate in Maryland in the six weeks left before Election Day, the National Guard comes to the rescue.
This afternoon Arizona Sen. John McCain will address the annual conference of the National Guard Association of the United States meeting at the Baltimore Convention Center. Monday morning, Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden Jr., the Democratic vice president nominee, will address the group, which expects about 4,000 guard officers and guests at the conference.
The convention will be an opportunity for McCain to turn away from the bad economic news that has refocused the campaign this week and return, however briefly, to the military and foreign affairs subjects he is more familiar with. However, the guardsmen will want to hear from the former Navy combat pilot and POW how he will deal with the tremendous pressures that have been placed on the Guard and Reserves by the Iraq war — the multiple deployments for these part-time citizen soldiers and the diversion of the heavy equipment the soldiers use in their home states to cope with disasters.
For a full report on McCain’s speech at the guard convention, visit baltimoreexaminer.com again this evening.
Buses for Obama
At least three busloads of volunteers for the Barack Obama-Biden ticket headed out to Virginia and Pennsylvania from Columbia Saturday morning, and caravans of cars were leaving from other locations in Maryland. Two buses went to Leesburg, Va., and Fredericksburg, Va., and one was sent to York, Pa.
Democratic Party spokesman David Paulson said similar buses and caravans will be heading across the border every Saturday and Sunday until Election Day in a coordinated effort with the Obama campaign.
The Democrats also officially opened an Obama office at Franklin and Eutaw streets in Baltimore on Friday. The party’s goal is to sign up as many new voters as possible, and it looks like it might be easier than it thought. With tables set up on the street, the Dems signed up 400 new voters — double their daily goal.
Dems have an edge
Democrats are clearly increasing their edge in Maryland, figures from the State Board of Elections confirm.
According to the board, as of Thursday, there are 120,000 more registered Democrats in the state than there were at the beginning of the year. That’s also 200,000 more Democrats than in the 2004 presidential election.
The Democrats also are increasing their margin over Republicans. In 2004 and 2006, Democrats were about 55 percent of registered voters, and as of Thursday they made up 56 percent of the electorate. Republicans were about 29 percent of voters in those earlier years, but last week they made up slightly less than 28 percent.
These numbers verify the persistent complaint on conservative talk radio that Maryland is becoming more Democratic. In 2004, there was 1.87 Democrats for every Republican. Now the ratio is more than 2 to 1.
From the 2006 election, in which incumbent Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich Jr. lost, until January, Republicans actually lost 20,000 voters, only recently regaining them. Maybe it is true, as people tell Gov. Bob on his radio show, they really are moving out of state.
Deadline for registration is Oct. 14.
Forum, environment, schools
- The crowd for last Monday’s forum at Chizuk Amuno Congregation was a shocker for veteran politicos who have been to scores of candidate nights where the volunteers and staff outnumber the “real people” in the audience. There were 800 to 900 people at the synagogue, filling up a big parking lot. “I have never seen anything this big in my life,” said Ehrlich, who represented John McCain in the debate.
- Rep. John Sarbanes scored an unusual victory for a freshman congressman on Thursday, winning strong bipartisan support in the House for his No Child Left Inside legislation. The bill authorizes new spending on environmental education in grades K-12 and provides incentives to states to develop curricula on the environment. The vote was 293-109, with 68 Republicans supporting the bill and only one Democrat opposed. Maryland schools have had programs on the environment for years.
- Gov. Martin O’Malley has been traveling the state, visiting schools into which the state has funneled money for renovations and expansions. For some months now, he’s been taking credit for the $741 million in school construction money the administration has “invested” in the buildings. But in talking to students at the schools themselves, he gives credit where the credit is due, as he did Friday in Severna Park. Talking to a noisy crowd of middle-schoolers chowing down at lunch, he told them to go home and “thank your parents for the renovations here at Severna Park Middle School.”
Len Lazarick is the State House bureau chief, [email protected].
