Republican Judge in Republican County Rejects Republican Lawsuit

Maryland Republicans can't win an election, a vote in the General Assembly, or apparently, a lawsuit. Republican attempts to overturn the results of the special session by lawsuit after they didn't have the votes in the General Assembly were dismissed today.

The lawsuit rested on the premise that the Senate had unconstitutionally adjourned for too long without the consent of the House of Delegates. The point of this provision is to prevent one house from scuttling the work of the other by refusing to meet. Of course, this is exactly what was not happening in the special session as observers will recall that the Senate acted first and was waiting for the House of Delegates to act before reconvening.

In order to maximize the possibility for success, they filed the lawsuit in Republican Carroll County before a judge appointed by Gov. Bob Ehrlich. They still managed to lose even before in this carefully selected forum. One might also ask if the GOP really favored opening the Senate for a session of few minutes with all the extra costs entailed in opening the Senate and paying legislators for the extra day and to travel to and from Annapolis.