This is a YouTube clip released by Saqib Ali from his August 5 debate with Senator Nancy King on News Channel 8.
We cannot resist commenting on this issue. Nancy King is right on the facts. If she had not been appointed to the Senate after P.J. Hogan retired, Montgomery County would have lost one of its three seats on the Budget and Taxation Committee. And those seats are important. If Saqib Ali wins, Senate President Mike "Big Daddy" Miller will stick his office in a basement bathroom because he does not want him in the Senate.
But Ali totally hits this out of the park by brushing all of it aside and saying, "I don't spend a lot of time worrying about political bosses and lobbyists and insiders. I worry about representing the people." That's pure political gold, folks.
Monday, August 09, 2010
Ali vs. King on Big Daddy
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3 comments:
Adam, don't you see this insinuation by Nancy King that Montgomery County will loose a seat on the Budget & Taxation committee if Ali gets elected as a hollow threat -- in fact a ploy by Mike Miller to create a rationale to elect his favored candidate?
After all, even if Miller doesn't put Ali on the B&T committee, there are 7 other Senators from Montgomery County. Why couldn't 3 out of those 7 be seated on B&T? It seems like such an obvious question. Someone should ask Nancy King.
Subhi Zaman
Senate leadership needs "people they can work with," and Saqib Ali is not "rational," so therefore if Nancy King is defeated, Montgomery County will lose one of its three seats on the Budget & Tax Committee.
Regardless of Saqib Ali's rationality, the threat (and let's be real, that's what it is) from Mike Miller & Co. begs the question: is there no other Senator from Montgomery County that he can "work with"?
He has Senators Madaleno and Kramer. Accepting for a moment that a Senator Ali would be unacceptable, would the entire remainder of the Montgomery County delegation be unacceptable to Mike Miller? Brian Frosh? Rob Garagiola? Jennie Forehand or Cheryl Kagan? Mike Lenett or Roger Manno (I personally think Senator Manno would be an excellent choice for B&T)? Jamie Raskin?
OK, Brian Frosh is Chair of JPR, so he's not moving. Jamie Raskin's probably much happier on JPR than he would be on B&T. But between Garagiola, Forehand/ Kagan, and Lenett/Manno, Mike Miller can't find anyone to work with?
Horsefeathers (recognizing that this is a family blog). Reducing the County's representation on B&T would be a punishment for defeating one of his favorites and replacing her with someone El Jefe doesn't want, just as serious consideration of teacher pension liabilities begins to heat up. Senator Madaleno is already on board with dumping a big chunk of those liabilities back to the county. Senator Kramer, well, who knows what she thinks, but I suspect that most of this pretty left-wing County won't like anything that she has to say. But if that's the total representation of the County on B&T, then Mr. Chief Poobah can claim that he's consulted with "Montgomery County's leadership" on the issue before he knifes us in the back.
What a shamelessly transparent bit of political thuggery. "Vote for whoever you want, but it'd be a shame if something happened to your nice seats on B&T." Classy protection racket there, Senator Miller.
Let's see if our fearless County leaders have the backbone to stand up to this.
Miller's big push will be to toss the large teacher pension costs back to Montgomery County thus putting the pressure on for another big property tax increase on top of the 13.5% increase we just had or another large energy tax increase on top of the 240% residential energy tax increase we just had or a whopping cellphone tax increase on top of the 75% increase we just had. Why don't Montgomery legislators stick up for the homeowners of Montgomery County who do not want to be used as ATMs any longer?
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