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March 22, 2023

The Talbot Spy

The nonprofit e-newspaper for the Talbot County Community

News Maryland News

Maryland Electors Cast Votes for Biden, Harris in Socially Distant State House Ceremony

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Maryland’s 10 electors cast their votes for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Monday, sealing an historic win for the Democratic candidates in the state.

Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) called for a “peaceful transition of power” before the Democratic electors cast their votes at the Maryland State House on Monday. Hogan was one of the first prominent Republicans to publicly acknowledge Biden’s victory as President Trump refused to concede.

“The peaceful transition of power that we formally take part in here today is a hallmark of our democracy,” Hogan said. “At times it has been tested, sometimes even questioned, but it is a reminder that, despite our differences, we are united as Americans who honor the will of the people through the greatest and most enduring democratic process that the world has ever known.”

The Certificate of Vote for Joe Biden as president and Kamala Harris as vice president, signed by the members of Maryland’s Electoral College. Photo from the Maryland State Board of Elections.

Biden and Harris need 270 of the 538 Electoral College votes to win the presidential election. The pair will receive 306 votes, based on the results of the Nov. 3 election, including all 10 of Maryland’s votes.

Biden and Harris received more votes in Maryland than any previous presidential ticket in the state’s history, Maryland Democratic Party Chair Yvette Lewis said. The pair defeated President Trump by a margin of 65.4% to 32.2% in the state.

“Their vote today is the first step of many in healing age-old divisions, addressing the hardships ahead, and building our country back better,” Lewis said.

Gloria G. Lawlah, the former Maryland Secretary of Aging and the president of the state’s Electoral College, called the vote a “repudiation of hate.”

“Today we are turning the page,” Lawlah said. “We are ensuring a better nation for our children, for our grandchildren, and a better nation for generations to come.“

While the Electoral College will seal Biden’s victory on Monday, the results could be challenged by Republican members of Congress. The New York Times reported that some of the president’s loyalists in Congress are planning to attempt a last-minute challenge in the House of Representatives, which is controlled by Democrats.

Congress will meet in a joint session on Jan. 6 to tally and confirm the Electoral College’s votes. Although Trump has continued to rail against the election results, he said last month that he would leave the White House if the votes go to Biden.

Both the House and Senate would have to agree to toss out the election results, although constitutional scholars and even congressional Republicans told the Times that such a challenge will almost certainly fail.

By Bennett Leckrone

Harris Joins GOP’s High Court Bid Challenging Biden Victory

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Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson has been joined by 125 Republican colleagues, including First District Congressman Andrew P. Harris, in seeking to join a lawsuit filed by the Texas attorney general challenging the presidential election results in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, filed the suit earlier this week with the U.S. Supreme Court. The four states have asked the case to be dismissed and numerous parties have asked to intervene or file amicus briefs.

Paxton claims election officials in those four states illegally changed voting laws, affecting the outcome of the election.

Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh is among a group of attorney generals who have opposed the case.

“Our country held a free and fair election with record turnout in the midst of a pandemic,” Frosh said in a statement. “Despite multiple losses in courts across the country, the President and his allies continue to peddle false claims of voter fraud. These actions are an abuse of the legal system. It is time to end the misinformation and accept the choice of the people.”

Electors in Maryland and other states are scheduled to meet Dec. 14 to cast their votes in the presidential election.

Rep. Harris’s office did not respond to an email request for comment on his decision to join Rep. Johnson’s motion.

To look at the docket in the case, go to https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/22o155.html.

 

Biden Wins Talbot County in Final Unofficial Count; First Dem Victory Here Since 1964

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Joe Biden has eked out a narrow victory in Talbot County, according to the final unofficial results, becoming the first Democratic presidential candidate to win here since 1964, when Lyndon Johnson took the county during his landslide over Republican Barry Goldwater.

Election officials conducted the final canvassing on Friday, when mail-in ballots could be received until 10 a.m.

Biden has 11,062 votes (49%) to 10,946 (48.5%) for President Donald Trump, the Republican incumbent, as of the final unofficial count.

The shift in results over time mirrors similar trends seen nationwide — Trump supporters voted in person (whether on Election Day or during early voting); the majority of Biden voters opted to vote by mail. Nearly 77% of Talbot’s votes for Trump were in person; about 57% of Biden’s votes were by mail.

In Talbot County, early voting was the most popular choice with more than 10,000 voters casting ballots in the days before Election Day. More than 8,500 county residents cast mail-in ballots, an option urged by the Biden campaign due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 2,900 voters went to the polls on Election Day.

Biden outperformed Hillary Clinton by about 7 percentage points. Clinton got 42.1% of Talbot’s vote in 2016; Trump had 52.2%.

In 2012 and 2008, Barack Obama had similar margins of defeat in the county as Clinton. He lost Talbot by more than 12 percentage points against Mitt Romney in 2012; by about 10 percentage points against John McCain in 2008.

Republican George W. Bush won Talbot by nearly 20 percentage points against Democrats John Kerry in 2004 and Al Gore in 2000.

Senators See New Momentum for Maryland Priorities with Biden in White House

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Buoyed by Joe Biden’s victory in the race for president, Maryland’s U.S. senators on Monday predicted significant progress on a range of issues important to the state.

Speaking to reporters roughly 48 hours after news organizations called the race for the challenger, Sens. Benjamin L. Cardin (D) and Chris Van Hollen (D) said they were elated by Biden’s win over Donald Trump.

Having spent the last four years battling the White House, Democrats in Congress can now shift gears and look for ways to move the country forward, the senators said.

“You’re going to see immediate changes,” said Van Hollen. “Not just in tone and in bringing the country together, which is so important. But very important actions that will positively impact the people of the state of Maryland.”

Cardin and Van Hollen said they are confident that Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala D. Harris — a former senator and a current one — will bring the Trump era’s divineness and rancor to a close.

“I believe that democracy and decency prevailed,” said Cardin.

The men — who, like the nation as a whole, are forced to wait while the battle for control of the Senate rages on — predicted the Democrats’ victory will pay significant dividends for Maryland.

Federal workforce

Cardin and Van Hollen said Trump was wrong to demonize federal workers, many of whom live in Maryland. They also opposed his recent efforts to expand the number of workers who serve at the pleasure of political appointees.

“Maryland has one of the highest concentrations of federal workers in the nation,” said Cardin. “Clearly we’re going to have a president who will stop beating up on the federal workers and recognize that we have to invest in our federal workforce and respect science.”

“We’ve seen a gross politicization of the federal workforce,” added Van Hollen. “We’ve seen a president who thinks that the Justice Department is his own personal, political plaything. We know that with a President Biden we will see respect for the merit-based federal civil service and that will help restore morale to so many of our agencies.”

The fight against COVID-19

When he was chairman of the National Governors Association, Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) complained that the states were left to fend for themselves on testing, PPE and other issues.

Van Hollen predicted that Biden “will put public health over politics” in the fight against the virus. “We can begin to see the federal government playing a lead role in the COVID response, rather than the Trump administration approach, which has been a dog-eat-dog approach — let every state try to deal with this on its own.”

“It’s going to be night and day,” he added. “We’re going to have a president who respects the science and the scientists, and will put in place a plan that help Maryland.”

The environment and the Bay

President Trump attempted to reduce funding for a key Chesapeake Bay cleanup program, over the objections of leaders from both parties.

Biden will make the environment a priority, Van Hollen and Cardin said.

“Important funding measures — things like the air pollution standards, the California car standards — making sure we deal with methane emissions, all things that are all so very important to protect the Bay, the waters of the U.S.,” will get new life, Van Hollen said. “So we can expect to see dramatic change early on.”

Aid to cities

Trump dumped on “Democrat cities” repeatedly during his four years in office. In Biden, Cardin said, America’s urban areas will again have a partner.

“We’ll have a president who wants to invest in our cities, who really likes cities, and will be much more aggressive in helping cities deal with their problems,” he said. “There’s so many different areas where we can look at funding to help Baltimore. There’s got to be a concerted game plan as to what we’re trying to achieve.”

Van Hollen predicted new investment in the Community Development Block Grants program, the Economic Development Administration and minority business programs at the Department of Commerce, among others.

All of those programs were zeroed-out by the Trump administration,” he said.

New FBI headquarters

When Trump short-circuited the FBI’s years-long effort to move from its crumbling headquarters in Washington, D.C., Democrats accused him of attempting to thwart competition from a potential new Pennsylvania Avenue hotel adjacent to his.

Under Biden, Maryland’s senators predicted, the quest for a more modern and secure FBI headquarters can resume.

“Looking at the next Congress, it’s going to be Team Maryland that’s going to be trying to get that back on track,” Cardin said. “We believe Prince George’s County is where that should be.”

A transition in limbo

The lawmakers said they expect the Biden administration to fight to uphold the Affordable Care Act, take steps to support “Dreamers” and people in the U.S. under the Temporary Protected Status program, promote immigration and gun safety, battle systemic racism and climate change, fund infrastructure resources (particularly for transit projects) and rejoin the Paris Climate Accord and the World Health Organization.

On Monday, Cardin and Van Hollen sent a letter urging General Services Administration Administrator Emily Murphy, who has refused to authorize a Biden presidential transition team, to do so. “We hope you will recognize that every hour between now and Jan. 20, 2021 is critical for the transition team’s preparations for taking on the multiple, pressing challenges our nation faces,” the senators wrote.

Trump has yet to acknowledge Biden’s win and is continuing to contemplate legal challenges in a number of states he lost. Cardin and Van Hollen called his unsubstantiated statements about the election reckless.

“Is it dangerous? The answer is yes,” Cardin said. “What he’s doing is wrong. It’s wrong for our nation. And he should accept the results of this election.”

Van Hollen accused Trump of “spewing out falsehoods.” He said the president’s claims that he won the election are “an outright lie.”

“What President Trump is doing (is) aiding and abetting the enemies of democracy,” he added. “This is very dangerous.”

Like the president, Rep. Andrew P. Harris, the lone Republican in Maryland’s congressional delegation, has made vague claims about voting irregularities. Through a spokesman, he declined an interview request to discuss Biden’s victory.

By Bruce DePuyt and Danielle E. Gaines

In an Anxiety-Ridden Year, U.S. Voter Turnout Rate Highest Since 1900

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More people voted in this year’s election than ever before, some motivated by fear, some by peer influence, some by the wide options available for voting, some by social media and still others by love or hate for President Donald Trump.

As of Thursday, an estimated 159 million people, accounting for 66.4% of the eligible voting population, cast ballots in this election, according to the University of Florida’s United States Elections Project. That exceeds the turnout percentages for the past 120 years, going back to the 1900 race, when 73.2% of the voting eligible population cast ballots, ultimately re-electing President William McKinley over Democratic challenger William Jennings Bryan.

“High turnout is a sign of a healthy democracy,” Michael McDonald, who runs the Elections Project, wrote in USA Today on Wednesday.

He also pointed to a pre-election Gallup Poll in which 77% of registered voters said the 2020 election mattered more to them than previous elections – the highest level since the polling firm started asking that question in 1996. Still, over one-third of voting eligible people did not cast a ballot in this election.

Experts say fear of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and about the economy, strong feelings about Trump, the current social climate and peer influences, among other factors, spawned this historic turnout. And many states still are tabulating ballots.

Following an established pattern since at least 2000, turnout rates were especially high in key swing states. Over 75% of eligible voters cast ballots in Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Iowa, while over 70% of eligible voters did so in Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina and Florida. Georgia received ballots from just under 70% of eligible voters.

“There’s a couple of things going on there,” said Michael Hanmer, research director of the University of Maryland’s Center for Democracy and Civil Engagement.

“The feeling that something more is at stake could be part of the internal motivator” for individual voters, Hanmer said, in states where, because of the Electoral College system, a vote for Trump wouldn’t have much impact in a state that voted Democratic, and a vote for Biden wouldn’t count for much in a state that voted Republican.

Voters in the battleground states don’t have that concern. Campaigns spend more energy and money in states that could go either way.

“It’s harder in those states to ignore what’s going on. It’s going to be on TV, it’s going to be on radio, it’s more likely to be on their social media, they’re more likely to get a door knock,” Hanmer said.

Non-swing states with especially high turnout rates, estimated by the Elections Project, were Maine, Minnesota, Colorado, Washington and Oregon – all saw three-quarters or more of their eligible voters cast ballots. Maryland ranked fifteenth in voter turnout, with just over 72% of eligible voters, according to the Elections Project estimates.

The availability of mail-in voting and early voting due to the coronavirus pandemic may have contributed to high turnout in some states. In Maryland, about half of the state’s voters mailed in their ballots.

Historically, states that regularly conduct elections by mail, such as Oregon, have greater voter turnout than those states that traditionally do not use the mails for balloting.

In Pennsylvania, where ballots still were being counted, Secretary of State Kathy Bookvar told reporters Thursday that she expected a very high turnout in the battleground state.

“Pennsylvanians have had more choices this year than in the history of the commonwealth,” she said.

Hanmer said that voting law changes to accommodate the pandemic likely generated some turnout, but added that since even many states that did not make these changes, like Texas, saw increased turnout, there were other factors at play as well.

“I really think that the turnout story for this election is more about general interest and mobilization,” Hanmer said.

The pandemic may have been responsible for some of this mobilization: “We’ve had our lives upended and we’re in this environment where our physical social circles have largely shrunk, and we’re really hard pressed to avoid coverage of what’s going on in the news,” Hanmer said.

David Paleologos, director of Suffolk University’s Political Research Center, said usually “what increases voter turnout is the quality of the candidates,” but this year is historic in that high voter turnout seemed to be primarily motivated by fear.

“it’s just ironic to me that Joe Biden … has the ability to get the most votes, ever, ever, and he’s not the person that people are excited about,” Paleologos said.

Memories of Hillary Clinton’s loss in 2016 may also have spurred additional turnout for Biden.

“People didn’t get out to vote because they assumed she was going to win,” Paleologos said, adding that there wasn’t “that element of surprise” this time around.

Hanmer also suspects social media and peer influence contributed to the high turnout.

“A lot of people were engaged this year in contacting other people, and I mean just regular people contacting their friends, not necessarily always part of some wider formal campaign activity,” Hanmer said. “That’s just been increasingly common as a tactic.”

Alexandra Palm, a 24-year-old nanny and pizza deliverer in Spokane, Washington, said she did not want to vote this year, but was shamed into casting a ballot for Biden.

“On social media is where I felt shamed a lot,” Palm said. She said that it wasn’t usually personally directed toward her, but “if I ever brought up that I was not voting, there was never a time when someone would just ever respect that decision, ever.”

Instead, she said people told her she couldn’t complain about election results if she didn’t vote, and that if she didn’t vote for Biden it counted as a vote for Trump. Her father and people on social media told her “you have to vote, you have to vote, you have to vote,” she said.

Ralph Watkins, a volunteer with the League of Women Voters, said “just the tone overall seemed to be far stronger than in many recent elections.”

“Democrats were very passionate about wanting to turn (Trump) out of office, and many Republicans were equally passionate about wanting to keep (Trump) in office,” Watkins said.

Watkins said the pandemic and the resulting economic downturn generated turnout along party lines: those who worried more about the economy tended to vote Republican, while those who worried more about the pandemic tended to vote Democrat.

Additionally, “concerns about racism are really critical, and turnout in African American areas was very high and very democratic,” Watkins said.

Marqus Shaw, 35, of Oklahoma City, voted for Biden — his first time voting. He said it was mainly to vote against Donald Trump.

“(Biden)’s better than Trump to me,” Shaw said. “Trump just says things that you shouldn’t say, he shows no compassion, and he’s a racist.”

In the past, Shaw said, he has felt like his vote wouldn’t matter, but this year he said he “just can’t take Trump anymore.”

Paleologos said turnout driven by fear “doesn’t bode well for the system at large” and may indicate a failure of the party system.

“If we’re going to have two parties, the key is for the party system to enable and support candidates who have broad appeal,” he said. “Right now we don’t have that. Right now the party system thrives on negativity.”

By Gracie Todd and Luciana Perez Uribe

Mail-in Ballot Counts Put Biden Up in Kent County, Narrows Trump’s Lead in Talbot

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As the nation has seen with the presidential vote count in several battleground swing states, election results may change after Election Day as mail-in ballots are counted by poll workers.

And the final certified results in most states are yet to come.

In Maryland, the first round of counting mail-in ballots was Thursday, Nov. 5. The unofficial results after that count show Kent County flipped from voting Donald Trump in 2016 to Joe Biden in 2020.

That result could change again as provisional ballots are counted Thursday, Nov. 12, and the last batch of mail-in ballots are counted Nov. 13. Mail-in ballots may be received by 10 a.m. that day postmarked by Nov. 3 or dated Nov. 3 with a voter’s oath.

Election results will be verified and certified Nov. 13 and sent to the state elections board.

The statewide certification of results will be Tuesday, Dec. 8, with presidential electors casting votes for president on Monday, Dec. 14.

After Thursday’s initial count of mail-in ballots, Biden is leading in Kent County by 49.4% to 48.2% for Trump. Trump was leading 53% to 45% after ballots were counted on Election Day.

In 2016, Trump won 48.7% of Kent County’s vote to 45.7% for Hillary Clinton.

Biden won about 70% of the mail-in ballot vote in Kent County this year, mirroring trends seen nationwide.

Trump urged his voters to go to the polls on Election Day and has falsely claimed mail-in ballots are fraudulent. The Biden campaign encouraged mail-in ballots so voters could avoid lines on Election Day during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump’s numbers also slipped in Talbot County during Thursday’s count, but he still maintains a narrow lead over Biden.

The Republican president was leading Biden 50.5% to 47.3% on Election Day, but, as of Thursday, is only up 49.1% to 48.5%.

Trump’s vote margin dropped from 616 to 116 after the count of mail-in ballots.

In 2016, Trump won Talbot County 52.2% to 42.1% for Clinton.

In Dorchester County, Trump is faring better in 2020 than he did in 2016. He beat Clinton 55.3% to 41% four years ago and leads Biden 58.2% to 39.5%.

Biden Elected 46th President of the United States

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After more than three days of uncertainty in a closely-contested race, former Vice President Joe Biden has defeated President Donald Trump to become the 46th president of the United States.

California Sen. Kamala Harris also made history, as she will become the first woman — and first woman of color — to hold the vice-presidency. She is of Jamaican and Indian descent.

“America, I’m honored that you have chosen me to lead our great country,” Biden tweeted just before noon Saturday. “The work ahead of us will be hard, but I promise you this: I will be a president for all Americans – whether you voted for me or not. I will keep the faith that you have placed in me.”

After four days of waiting, news organizations declared Biden the winner late Saturday morning after new returns from his native state of Pennsylvania made it clear he would take the battleground and its 20 Electoral College votes, giving him 3 votes more than needed to make him president.

The president-elect, who turns 78 on Nov. 20, began his political career with narrow victories in Delaware and election to the United States Senate in 1972 weeks before he turned 30. He twice previously ran unsuccessfully for the presidency – in 1988 (ended after just three and a half months in 1987) and again in 2008. He will finally make it to the White House with another close win.

He amassed more votes than any other presidential candidate in American history, breaking the record that President Barack Obama set in 2008.

Harris’s ascension to the vice presidency will be “really wonderful for the United States,” said William Spriggs, an economics professor at the Californian’s alma mater, Howard University, an historically black institution in Washington.

“I think this will start a legacy that Americans will finally get used to the idea of women in leadership, and accept her role as setting the mark and paving a path for other women to ascend to top leadership,” Spriggs told Capital News Service.

Harris, 56, is a challenger-turned-ally of Biden. A rising progressive star, she attacked him during the primary for his opposition to busing to desegregate schools. She also set herself apart from the political veteran by embracing the Green New Deal and Medicare-for-All, as well as calling for a ban on fracking.

Harris is expected to bring a more progressive perspective to the moderate president-elect’s agenda.

With the coronavirus pandemic raging across the nation, it appears unlikely that Biden and Harris would celebrate the start of their administration in the traditional manner that would call for an oath-taking ceremony Jan. 20 on the West Front of the United States Capitol, witnessed by massive crowds stretching for blocks on the National Mall.

The inauguration plans are to come, but Biden and Harris already have activated a website for the transition and are assembling a transition team. As a symbol of the coming change in power, the United States Secret Service earlier in the week dispatched additional agents to the Biden home in Wilmington, Delaware, and the Federal Aviation Administration designed the skies above that home as restricted airspace.

Despite the pandemic — or many experts believe because of the various voting methods it made necessary — the total turnout for this election is expected to break a 120-year-old record.

Michael Hanmer, research director for the University of Maryland’s Center for Democracy and Civil Engagement, said “motivational factors (to vote) were just more present” in this election, though voting law changes to accommodate the pandemic also played a part.

The small margin of victory, combined with the overwhelming use of mail-in ballots, appeared to infuriate the president, as he continued to falsely claim that he was cheated out of reelection. Some of his Republican allies made similar unfounded attacks, while others in the GOP – mainly those out of office – denounced Trump’s accusations as dangerous and irresponsible.

Trump had repeatedly questioned the legality of mail-in ballots and discouraged his supporters from voting by mail. As a result, mail-in ballots in many states with little history of using that voting method leaned very heavily to Biden.

Many states counted mail-in ballots after tabulating Election Day ballots cast in-person, initially generating the appearance of a Republican surge in some of the battleground states. But the counting of the mail-in ballots – a slow process – began producing a Democratic counter-wave that materialized as early as Wednesday.

Multiple networks — including ABC, NBC, MSNBC, and CBS — cut away almost at the start of a Trump speech in the White House Thursday night when the president leveled baseless and false claims about the vote counts.

“If you count the legal votes, I easily win. If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us,” Trump claimed.

No credible evidence of fraud has been produced, according to the Associated Press.

The president’s claims of cheating were “especially disconcerting because the dangers of Trump’s rhetoric will outlive his time in the office,” Peter Ubertaccio, dean of arts and sciences at Stonehill College in Massachusetts, told CNS.

Millions of people believe Trump’s accusations of voter fraud despite no neutral observers stepping in to raise concerns about legitimacy, he said. This will, in turn, lead many citizens to believe that this election was stolen from Trump, Ubertaccio added.

“On the list of dangerous things Donald Trump has done, this ranks pretty highly — he has basically called American elections illegitimate because they didn’t go his way,” Ubertaccio said.

While counting of votes continued, the Trump campaign filed lawsuits to stop the counts in Michigan, Georgia — where federal judges rejected them — and Pennsylvania.

Caleb Jackson, a voting rights attorney at the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center, called the lawsuits “absolutely frivolous and meritless” that “will not get them anywhere and not have an impact on the election.”

In states where mail-in ballots seemed to be benefitting Trump a bit more, such as Arizona, the president and his allies urged election officials to count every vote.

“Of course it’s contradictory,” Jackson said. “There’s nothing legally that bars them from making those arguments, but, you know, professionally and ethically…it goes against what you swear to do as an attorney.”

In states such as Pennsylvania and Georgia, automatic recounts will be generated if the margins are 0.5% or less. But recounts also can be requested by Trump’s team and were expected.

Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, has announced Friday that there will be a recount in his state.

But Biden’s victory, especially given the closeness of this race, does not indicate that it would necessarily open the way for significant policy changes, Ubertaccio said.

“We are a 50/50 country, and partisans on both sides have an active dislike of the folks on the other side,” said Ubertaccio. “Even landslide victories don’t by themselves indicate long-term changes to American politics.”

If Republicans retain control of the Senate, which is not yet clear, Biden would have a hard time getting legislation to pass without the acquiescence of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky.

While it was Biden who often negotiated with McConnell during the Obama years over budget deals and other legislation – both drawing on their long relationship with each other – the new president would be dealing with very different political dynamics after a hard-fought, divisive election.

With Senate races waiting to be called, the current makeup is even with 48 members projected to be on each side of the aisle, and two runoff elections in Georgia in January present the Democrats with an opportunity to take control of the chamber.

Even so, it was the stark contrast between Biden’s progressive agenda and Trump administration policies that “helped drive turnout,” Hanmer said.

“Most people had a pretty good understanding of what they would get with Donald Trump if he were to win, and what they would get from Joe Biden if he were to win,” he added.

By Kaanita Iyer, Jacob Rousseau, Gracie Todd, Luciana Perez-Uribe, Aneurin Canham-Clyne, and Michelle Siegel

Hogan Sees Silver Linings in National Election Results

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Even as former vice president Joe Biden inches closer to victory in the cliffhanger presidential contest, Maryland Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) ― who wrote in Ronald Reagan on his presidential ballot ― sees silver linings in this week’s election results.

“There’s no question it was a pretty good night for Republican candidates up and down the ballot,” Hogan said during a webinar Wednesday with Washington Post national political reporter Robert Costa.

Symbolically sporting a purple tie, Hogan declined to say whether he thought a potential Trump defeat would be good for the Republican Party. But he did note that “common sense conservatives” ― most of them unaffiliated with Trump ― outperformed the president just about everywhere on Tuesday.

Hogan endorsed six Republicans this fall ― Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, Maine Sen. Susan Collins, three members of the House of Representatives, and a House challenger ― and all but one, the challenger, New Jersey state Sen. Tom Kean Jr., prevailed.

All are center-right Republicans who, like Hogan, appeal to women, minorities and suburban voters far more than Trump. Hogan pointed out that he has outperformed Trump by “45 points” in Maryland ― a reference to the president’s 30-point deficit to Biden in the Free State, along with Hogan’s 13-point re-election victory in 2018.

Hogan has been the rare Republican officeholder willing (and sometimes even eager) to criticize Trump. Hogan frequently rails against ideological extremists in both political parties, and suggests voters are sick of Washington, D.C., insiders and believe political leaders ought to emphasize compromise over confrontation.

Responding to a question by Costa, Hogan was sharply critical of Trump’s televised address to the nation at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, in which he declared victory in the White House contest but suggested that fraudsters were trying to take it away.

“I thought it was outrageous and uncalled for and a terrible mistake,” Hogan said.

He added that every ballot needs to be counted and that Americans need to be patient before drawing conclusions about the election results.

Asked what he would say to a President-Elect Biden if they had a brief conversation about the COVID-19 pandemic, Hogan said he would counsel Biden to resist pressure from the progressive wing of his party during policy debates. Pressed about specific advice on addressing COVID-19, Hogan said he would urge Biden to work with Congress on a deal on relief funding as quickly as possible and would urge him to expedite development of a coronavirus vaccine.

“I’m afraid we’ve still got many months ahead in this tremendous struggle, both on the public health side and the economic side,” he said.

Asked whether he had any interest in running for president in 2024, Hogan demurred, saying it was premature to talk about 2024 when the 2020 election hasn’t been resolved yet ― and that he wanted to “stayed focused on the day job.”

But pressed by Costa, Hogan asserted that win or lose, Trump would continue to wield enormous influence over the GOP, but that other voices and points of view should be welcomed into the conversation about the future of the party.

Hogan predicted that while there will be 15 Republican candidates for president in 2024 “who want to become the next Donald Trump,” there would be a far smaller “common sense lane” whose candidates would appeal to many voters.

“I think looking to a common sense governor is not such a far-fetched idea,” he said.

By Josh Kurtz

Md. Democratic Women Hail Harris Selection as ‘Monumental’ Moment

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Growing up in the suburbs of New York City, as a young girl interested in politics, Del. Wanika B. Fisher (D-Prince George’s) never imagined that she’d see someone who looked like her at the highest echelons of American politics.

Now that U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) has been selected to become former vice president Joe Biden’s running mate, Fisher — who like Harris is half Black and half Indian-American, a child of immigrants — is ecstatic.

“I’m super excited,” Fisher said in an interview Tuesday, moments after Biden’s decision was made public. “She’s like my spirit animal because we’re both half-Asian and half-Black. We’re also both former prosecutors.”

Leading Democratic women in Maryland reacted generally with approval — and in some cases, joy — after hearing the news. Some spoke or wrote of the nomination in very personal terms.

“I cannot put into words how monumental a moment this is for black and brown girls across our country,” Del. Stephanie M. Smith (D-Baltimore City) wrote on Twitter. “This is a first step. It takes the right mix of heart, smarts and AMBITION to meet this moment. Sen. Harris is ready to lead and I’m ready to battle for her chance!”

Smith, who is a graduate of two historically Black colleges and universities, hailed the fact that Harris, who did her undergraduate work at Howard University, is the first graduate of an HBCU on a national presidential ticket.

Maryland House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) — the first African-American and the first woman to hold the speaker’s gavel in state history — tweeted that she was “thrilled” by the choice.

“Black women are the backbone of our party and our country and I believe this is the winning ticket we need to defeat Trump,” Jones said.

“Joe was definitely listening” to people who told him how important it would be to select a Black woman, Fisher said.

State Sen. Mary L. Washington (D-Baltimore City) said Harris will enter the pantheon of other Black women who have been trailblazers in American politics, like the late congresswoman Shirley Chisholm (D-N.Y.), former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun (D-Ill.) and former U.S. secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

“We’re witnessing history again,” Washington said in an interview, “when we are standing at a time that’s been defined by really toxic, racist, anti-LGBT culture coming from the White House.”

Women praised Biden for selecting Harris even though they clashed at times during the Democratic presidential debates — especially when Harris suggested in one televised moment that some of the policies on school busing that Biden embraced during his early career as a senator harmed Black girls like her.

“I think it says a lot for him to pick her,” Washington said. “She gave him a solid punch, and to come back to her speaks well of him.”

Harris’ performance on the debate stage — and during high-profile Senate hearings — helped her outshine other women that Biden vetted for the VP slot, Washington said.

“For me, what’s really key here is she stood on a national stage and was unafraid to call out the past, to speak truth to power,” she said.

Speaking on MSNBC Tuesday afternoon, former Maryland congresswoman Donna Edwards hailed Harris’ ability “to go toe-to-toe on policy” with any Republican.

And unlike some of the other candidates Biden was considering, Harris has relationships on Capitol Hill and executive experience from her time as California attorney general and San Francisco district attorney that would serve her well as vice president — or if she’s ever required to take over from Biden, Maryland Democrats said.

“I think she’s obviously got the skill and stamina,” Fisher said. “And she’s been around a lot of the players on the Hill. A lot of the other women would have to rely more on staff. I think Kamala is definitely in a place to govern.”

But before there can be governing, Biden and Harris must first get through an intense campaign against President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. Asked by Chuck Todd on MSNBC Tuesday how Harris would do in a debate against Pence, Edwards paused for a moment.

“Wow,” she replied.

By Josh Kurtz

Op-Ed: What Might a Biden Presidency Look Like? By J.E. Dean

by

These days, risk seems almost unavoidable. If the virus doesn’t get you, the economy will.  And this situation will continue for a while.  So why seek out risk?  That is what I am doing here.  The risk is looking stupid or even ridiculous in six months or so. That is what happens when you predict what a Biden Presidency, or a second term of Trump, might look like.

One risk is that Uncle Joe might not become President. The Tara Reade accusations may get him. (They won’t). He may get the virus and die (unlikely given that he is hunkered down in his basement in Delaware). Or something else unforeseen may get him. (Let’s hope not.)  Common sense says we should assume he will be around in November.  A nostalgia for sanity forces you to hope he will win. 

Here is what I predict:

He will select a competent vice president, one ready to step into the Presidency. Amy Klobuchar and Kamala Harris come to mind.  They have demonstrated leadership skills and have resumes that qualify them for the Presidency.

He will embrace science. Expect credentialed experts in HHS, Energy, EPA, Interior, and in other agencies and on the White House staff. Commitment to truth and honesty will be the rule.

He will lead with integrity. Biden is not and never has been driven by greed. We will welcome four years without having to periodically Google “emoluments.”  Nepotism also will disappear from the headlines.

He will talk about someone other than himself. Narcissism is a serious mental illness. We have learned a lot about it in the last three and a half years. A Biden Presidency will give us a chance to learn about something else.

He will not lie. Won’t that be a welcome change?

He will work to restore American leadership in the world. Note that I have suggested he will strive towards the restoration of our leadership role rather than that he will achieve it. So serious is the damage done under Trump, unfortunately, four years will not be enough to erase the bad feelings now undermining us throughout the world.

He will show genuine compassion towards working people. Biden’s roots as a middle-class guy make it all but a certainty that he will pursue policies to build and strengthen the middle class.  He will do this not only because it is right, but because income inequality threatens the fabric of America.

He will appoint competent judges.  Some of Trump’s recent appointments suggest that something other than a respect for justice guides his selection process. Biden will choose disciplined, well-qualified jurists appreciated more for their legal experience than their ideology.  

Biden will make progress in rebuilding the U.S. economy. Because the economic damage from the pandemic will get worse, the road to returned prosperity is a long one. Biden will seek to aid those facing long-term hardship and make strategic investments in a transformed economy at the same time. This approach will disappoint some on the left, such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, both of whom would welcome a full transition to democratic socialism.  It will, however, be the right road.  Prosperity is not likely to return without entrepreneurs and the types of innovation driven by private enterprise.

Among current Democratic leaders who will play a role in what I hope will be a successful administration are Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris (possibly as attorney general if she doesn’t serve as vice president), Jay Inslee (Washington State governor who made a lot of sense on climate change), and Mike Bennet (Colorado senator who has the experience to help America’s schools and colleges transition to the post-pandemic world). And how about Hillary Clinton at State?

My next column, should I survive some of the likely reactions to this one, will predict what a second term of Trump might look like.  Something to look forward to.  (I mean the column, not the second term).

J.E. Dean of Oxford is a retired attorney and public affairs consultant. He is a former counsel to the House Committee on Education and Labor. For more than 30 years, he advised clients on federal education and social service policy