THE (former) EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

- or how the failed Ehrlich/Kane legacy campaign punished Maryland’s conservatives, other minorities, plus Alex Mooney and former Brian Murphy supporters.

These injustices occurred at the 2011 Maryland Republican Party’s Spring Convention down in Ocean City, Maryland last weekend, May 6^th-7^th, 2011.

The following is based on my onsite observations as a proxy holding member of the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee and a veteran conservative volunteer activist in the GOP.

Using Saul Alinksy/Democrat/union thug type tactics, Republican leaders of a highly prejudicial 2/3rds majority of voting delegates at that convention voted to include a new, highly discriminatory, permanent voting scheme into the state Party by-laws.

There was a successful, rather naked power grab, which summarily disenfranchised minority Republicans in the state’s three largest jurisdictions.  The remnants of the former Ehrlich/Kane gang, which controlled both the State Party and local Montgomery County Republican Party since 2002, managed to accomplish the following during last weekend’s convention:

1.  Alienated the new conservative majority of Montgomery County Central Committee members, elected in the fall of 2010.  (Note that true conservative, gubernatorial candidate Ellen Sauerbrey did receive 41.33% of the general election vote in Montgomery County in the nineties, versus “moderate” Bob Ehrlich’s 30.51% in 2010 - debunking the myth that conservatives cannot do relatively well here).

2.  Further marginalized the local Ehrlich moderates, who had worked so hard in 2010 to mitigate Ehrlich’s lame reputation among Montgomery County voters as a whole.  At the convention, Republicans from the state’s largest counties were falsely accused of not having worked hard to enough to “produce” statewide victories for our lame 2010 statewide candidates.  Truth be told, the responsibility for the statewide Ehrlich/Kane ticket failures of the 2010 election should rest solely on the failed leadership and paid operatives of both their local, as well as statewide campaigns, many of whom still have jobs and remain in power at the local, as well as statewide levels to this day.  We know who these people are.  Do you, too?

3.  Severely reduced the power of Tea Party Activists, including constitutionalists, from the state’s largest jurisdictions.

4.  Reduced the support, of both suburban moderates and conservatives for the non-partisan, non-ideological campaigns against illegal immigration (e.g. the anti in-state tuition for illegal immigrants petition).

5.  Have made it less likely that “Rule 11” reform will ever be incorporated into the by-laws.

6.  Have divided, not united, the Maryland Republican Party even more so, by the very public insults hurled at Baltimore City, Prince Georges and Montgomery County Republicans.

Maybe the time has come for Republicans from the state’s three largest jurisdictions to consider seceding from the new Confederacy of Maryland?  That unholy confederacy includes some tyrants from certain county delegations who hate Montgomery County.

That’s all for now…… Stay tuned for a more detailed expose of what really went down at last weekend’s convention in Ocean City….

Augustus Alzona

Former two term, Maryland state legislative District 16 member of the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee (1998-2002, 2006-2010, resigned 10/26/2010)