MD Gubernatorial Race

[Crayz9000]

ABSENTEE ballots......Expect the Dead to get out and vote TWICE for
Townsend....

If today's elections are close, look for charges of "disenfranchisement" and for flotillas of lawyers to repeat Florida 2000.

Let me guess; you use 1970s era punch cards as well?

I'm surprised that nobody here in CA has put up a fuss over punch cards yet. With all of the other measures that our bright legislature is putting through, why haven't they considered spending billions to switch to something less fudgeable like Scantrons?

[phongn]

99% of precincts reporting

Ehrlich 51%
Townsend 48%

Damn. Is there any hope that someone can come in, blow away both Ehrlich & Townsend so we can start this whole election-thing over again? Pretty please?

Heh. Think that's depressing? California is already $22 billion in debt, and according to the most recent results, our super-smart voters have decided to add about another $13 billion to that.

Idiots.

Voters in Florida have just decided to cut class sizes across the board via an amendment. I am not happy about that. (up to $27bn for the first eight years and ~2.5bn afterwards).

[phongn]

ABSENTEE ballots......Expect the Dead to get out and vote TWICE for
Townsend....

If today's elections are close, look for charges of "disenfranchisement" and for flotillas of lawyers to repeat Florida 2000.

Let me guess; you use 1970s era punch cards as well?

Luckily, Florida has abandoned such silly measures

[Crayz9000]

Let me guess; you use 1970s era punch cards as well?

Luckily, Florida has abandoned such silly measures

The officers at our local polling place kept warning everybody to check their ballots for hanging chads. I jokingly told one of them, "Don't worry, I made sure to punch all of the chads out."

That was fine because I knew him pretty well; he lives right across the street from me.

[Sea Skimmer]

Let me guess; you use 1970s era punch cards as well?

Luckily, Florida has abandoned such silly measures

The officers at our local polling place kept warning everybody to check their ballots for hanging chads. I jokingly told one of them, "Don't worry, I made sure to punch all of the chads out."

That was fine because I knew him pretty well; he lives right across the street from me.

LOL. No chad no problem as Stalin would say.

[CmdrWilkens]

A couple things to mention:

1) At 11:30 pm last night Kathleen Kennedy Townsend conceeded the race. Ehrlich is the winner unless she somehow re-enters a race she has conceeded publicly.

2) For all the anti-gun control stances Ehrlich suppossedly has his "Project Exile" garnered him the endorsment of sveral law enforcement agencies in the region.

3) Maryland's gun laws NEED to be re-examined. While I support such things as smart gun technology (I'd be willing to pay for a gun that makes sure I'm the only one that can fire the damn thing) I think there is an extreme prejudice in Montgomery and PG counties that is basically seeking to disenfranchise Western Maryland and the Eastern Shore. Now for the brie lesson:

Maryland can be essenially thought of as three completely seperate regions that just happen to form a state (actually 4 but Southern MD is damn close to Eastern MD). In the first there is Western Maryland, once you get out past Frederick the hills of the Appalachins begin and you move from wealth into oe of the lowest standards of living regions in the US. Its also a place fraught with tons of problems in education and health (Alleghany County has the highest percentage of teen pregnancy in the nation). As a result of its more isolated geography the region tends to be much more conservative (without being Bible Belt) and very much indpendent spirited.

Central Maryland is where the wealth and the population is. Encompassing Montgoery, Prince georges, Howard, Anne Arrundel, Baltimore, and Harford Counties as well as the City of Balimore this region is where most of the state's economic base is. the region is HEAVILY Democrat (hell the whole state is 70% Dem) though most in Montgomery Country tend to be fiscal conservatives. This is where you'll find a lot of the politicking and manuevering that is a direct result of proximity to DC.

Eastern Maryland (and SOuthern Maryland) encompasses those regions south of the Beltway influence and the DelMarVa penninsula. By and large they tend to be rural farming communities with a very mid-western feel only the acerage is muc smaller. It is also one of the top ten weed producing regions in the nation.


Now how does this relate to my point? With the majority of the populace located in Central Maryland most of the policies of Annapolis tend to center on that region (only Taylor's now interrupted term as Speaker of the General Assembly kept Western Maryland in favor) with a very noticeable effect of taking the viewpoint of central Maryland to apply to the whole state.

Personally I voted for Ehrlich because I think its time for a change and he seems like the best opportunity for some fiscal responsibility and perhaps common sense. Now I don't think he'll do what I agree with on every issue (I qustion some of his actions on Pro-choice issues) but overall I agree with him more than Townsend and if I'm wrong we'll have another election in 4 years.

[Mr Bean]

Yes on that last note I would be intrested in a gun only I could shoot via my Fingerprint on the Trigger if such a thing where possible just from a Safty Standpoint it makes it much easier to keep guns around the house with kids

[MKSheppard]

A couple things to mention:

1) At 11:30 pm last night Kathleen Kennedy Townsend conceeded the race. Ehrlich is the winner unless she somehow re-enters a race she has conceeded publicly.

Didn't this Happen back in '94 between Saubery and Glendening with
Saubery conceeding and then coming back to challenge Glendening?

I'm a bit skeptical Greg, I'll believe it if we get thru the next week without
any challenges.

2) For all the anti-gun control stances Ehrlich suppossedly has his "Project Exile" garnered him the endorsment of sveral law enforcement agencies in the region.

You forgot this:
http://www.dangerousdozen.com/gov.php#re

Erhrlich is on the Brady Campaign's DANGEROUS DOZEN list....

3) Maryland's gun laws NEED to be re-examined. While I support such things as smart gun technology (I'd be willing to pay for a gun that makes sure I'm the only one that can fire the damn thing)

If Smart Gun tech is so great, then where is it?

Can you gurantee that it will work 100% of the time? Not viable.....only
in Sci-Fi does it actually WORK.

Also....By January 2003, all new handguns must be equipped with an internal, integrated child-safety lock that can not be removed or discarded,
if they are to be sold in MD......that's a de-facto ban on handgun sales
here, since IIRC, there are only 2 or 3 models of guns on the market with
internal locking devices.