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Gunpowder Chronicle posted on February 13, 2008 at 12:57 AM
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Andy Harris fans like Jihad Joe Albero and others are lauding the State Senator's victory over Wayne Gilchrest as a "victory" for Maryland taxpayers, but they shouldn't pop the champagne corks yet.
This was no victory for the Eastern Shore, and it may end up hurting the citizens of Maryland.
Andy Harris lost every county on the Eastern Shore. From Port Deposit to Pocomoke City, Andy Harris lost every single county on the Eastern Shore. The only counties he won are on the Western Shore. Thanks to Parris Glendenning, Mike ManPerm Miller, and then House Speaker Cas Taylor, a State Senator from Baltimore County now will have a chance to represent the Eastern Shore in Congress. How do you think Eastern Shore Republicans will respond to that?
Eastern Shore Republicans are well-known for being quite territorial. I would not discount their displeasure come November. Wayne Gilchrest may have been a RINO, but he was THEIR RINO. One of them.
And let's face it, Andy Harris ran a very bare-knuckles campaign. He was the first one to go negative, and he went whole-hog. He did it so well, he forced Wayne Gilchrest off his "no PAC money" pedestal, and fast.
Given the numbers in the 1st Congressional District, he will probably beat Kratovil easily. Most of the liberal poor and union workers in Baltimore and Harford Counties have been jawboned and gerrymandered into the 2nd (guaranteeing Dutch Boy Ruppersberger no opponents and an easy victory). But if dyspeptic Eastern Shore Republicans stay away from Andy on election day in November, it could be another story.
Want to help build some better relationships? Stop playing patty-fingers with the Southwest Delaware Cyberterrorist.
How will this affect the rest of Maryland? Well, O'Guvnah will ultimately appoint his replacement next year if he is elected to Congress. Typically, O'Guvnah will appoint someone nominated by the Baltimore County Republican Central Committee. HOWEVER, given that Andy Harris comes from the 7th District, and O'Guvnah is pissed at the 7th District, you can be sure that whoever is chosen will not necessarily be as conservative as Andy. I expect to see quite a bit of arm twisting and jawboning on this one. Look for County Exec Jim Smith -- whose Chief of Staff is O'Guvnah's brother Pete O'Malley -- to lean on some people here. I don't think Rick Impallaria OR J.B. Jennings (both of whom are better legislators than Andy Harris and are HIGHLY CRITICAL of O'Guvnah) will get the nod here.
Ultimately, that means that the Republican minority in the State Senate will be even worse off than it is now. Which means more steamroller attempts by ManPerm over his Republican colleagues in the Senate.