A screenshot from Facebook.
Showing posts with label Facebook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Facebook. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
MPW on the Radio: Social Media in Politics
Your author was on Maryland Morning with Sheilah Kast and WYPR's Fraser Smith on Friday to discuss social media's impact on local politics. If you're interested, you can listen in here.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Big Daddy’s Facebook Page
In a move that has changed social media forever, Senate President Mike “Big Daddy” Miller has established a Facebook page for his fans. But this is not a normal page – it’s an online museum devoted to one of the most legendary personalities in the Free State’s history. Here are a few of our favorite photos!
“I know I look like a sportscaster, but it’s the seventies so gimme a break.”
“Don’t blame me. Whatever it is, it’s the House’s fault.”
“You wanna be my deputy full time?”
“Whaddaya mean you can’t have slot machines inside the church?!”
“Let’s do the Hustle!”
“Forget about it, young man. You’ll never be Senate President.”
“Do I actually have to eat this?”
“Cripes, they don’t clap like this for me!”
Stylin’ with Steny!
“Can I have somebody… anybody else give me this award?”
“You want another goddam amendment?”
“Did I hear you say that you’re a Republican?!”
“Bubba, who’s your Daddy?”
“If I could get to the top, so can you. Just do your homework, eat your vitamins and drink your Chivas.”
“Don’t worry, Mike – God forgives!”
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Hans Riemer Announces At-Large Council Run on Facebook
Former Obama campaign worker and current Action Committee for Transit board member Hans Riemer has just announced his entry into the council at-large race on Facebook.
Riemer's entry changes the contest and we will be reporting more on this. For past coverage, see the opinions of our spies last June, the most recent discussion by Marc Korman and myself on the at-large race, the results of our reader poll a month ago and our comments on his website last night.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Leventhal, Elrich Gloat as Constituents Get Snowed In
Breaking your back as you shovel your driveway? Have you taken a tumble down icy stairs? Well, two local politicians have absolutely no sympathy for you and they have proclaimed such on Facebook!
Here's Council Member George Leventhal bragging about his trip to Brazil, where it is 97 degrees.
And here's Council Member Marc Elrich hoping that his flight back from London is canceled because of the snow.
Why are these two merry gentlemen so merry? Why, of course, they are in the midst of one of the two month-long vacations the County Council Members get every year. (Even that much time is not enough for some of them.)
These two had better watch out as their snow-shoveling constituents may have little care for gloating politicians. They should take heed or they may be sent to Brazil for good!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Dereck Davis Comments on George Owings
In response to our post on former Delegate and current Governor hopeful George Owings' Facebook supporters, Delegate Dereck Davis (D-25) sent us the following remarks. Delegate Davis is listed on Owings' Facebook page as a supporter.George Owings is a good friend of mine whom I had the pleasure of serving with on the House Environmental Matters Committee for 8 sessions (1995-2002). I found him to be thoughtful, conscientious, and eloquent during his tenure in the legislature. It goes without saying that he was well-respected by his colleagues. That said, I have not endorsed anyone for Governor. Quite candidly, I think it is premature to endorse anyone until after the 2010 legislative session has been completed. Then, and only then, will I be able to make an informed decision about what’s best for the community I represent. I regret any confusion relating to Facebook. Generally speaking, I will accept a “friend request” from anyone whose name I recognize. There was nothing more to it than that.
George Owings Builds Support on Facebook
Former Delegate George Owings III (D-27B), who represented Calvert County as a House Democrat but served Republican Governor Bob Ehrlich as Secretary of Veterans Affairs, is drawing some notable support on Facebook for his nascent campaign against Governor O'Malley. Here's a few of his Facebook fans who jump out for us.
Delegate Gail Bates (R-9A) from Howard County
Delegate Bob Costa (R-33B) from Anne Arundel County
Delegate Dereck Davis (D-25) from Prince George's County, Chair of the House Economic Matters Committee, who has not endorsed O'Malley for re-election
Chip DiPaula, former Chief of Staff for Governor Bob Ehrlich
Larry Hogan, former Cabinet Member for Governor Ehrlich and a potential Republican candidate for Governor
Gregory Massoni, former Media Advisor to Governor Ehrlich
Justin Ready, former Executive Director, Maryland Republican Party
Diana Saquella, lobbyist for the Maryland State Teachers Association
Delegate Mike Smigiel (R-36) from the Eastern Shore
Former Delegate Joan Stern (D-39) from Montgomery County
Maria A. Topper, staffer for Delegate Tom Hucker (D-20), who has endorsed O'Malley for re-election
Delegate Richard Weldon (I-3B) from Frederick and Washington Counties
On September 7, Owings told his supporters:Well, my Dear Friends, you joined this group for one reason or another and so to hold you here for a bit longer, let me bring you up to date. What has been going on is alot of travel; Baltimore, Ocean City, St. Mary's County, Prince George's County and a few other places as well. I am talking candidly ( as if there was any other way) about the state of the state, my ideas, suggestions, and when necessary, why what we have is just not working, in my opinion. All my life I've been told that "the tent" is large enough for all to enter. My entire political career has been just right of center ,but what we have seen these past three years has been too far to the left. It will be interesting to watch the evolution of and, in my case, the participation in, action under the big top. The website will be launched in 3-4 weeks so I do hope you stay tuned. I need not remind any of you about the seriousness of the next election, inclusively, it is about our future.
Does the Governor's staff know about this? Um... now they do.
Have a good night,
george
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Killing Grandma Makes Saqib Hungry
District 39 Delegate Saqib Ali is at it again. Delegate Ali entertained his legions of Facebook friends with the status below. He deleted it, but not before it was immortalized in a screenshot.
This comes on top of a rip-roaring feud with an Examiner reporter over another Facebook status.
Delegate Ali has a lot to say. We appreciate his policy statements. But unless he assumes some control over his online proclamations, his substantive positions and work on the issues will be overshadowed by the Facebook follies.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
MACO Mushroom Cloud (Updated)
At present, about 75% of all traffic to this site consists of direct entries to "Pols Party While Budget Burns." The post has now been linked by WBAL, the Ron Smith Show, the Shari Elliker Show, the Washington Post's Maryland Moment, the Examiner, Inside Charm City, O'Malley Watch, Salisbury News and the Maryland Senate Republican Caucus. This post is on its way to being the most-viewed piece in the history of MPW.
The insiders have totally missed the boat on how huge this story really is for the O'Malley administration.
Update: Now it's on Explore Baltimore County, the Baltimore Sun Forums, Newszap Forums and the Examiner (again).
Update 2: The post peaked at 78% of our traffic and produced the most-visited day in the history of MPW on Wednesday, 8/19/09.
The MACO Moment (Updated)
Blog traffic is burning up over the party-time photos from last week’s Maryland Association of Counties (MACO) meeting. This is turning into one hot August.
First of all, let’s make one thing clear: schmoozing and networking are legitimate parts of both the political and lobbying professions. That is how relationships are established, information is exchanged and compromises are worked out. MACO, and other events of its kind, serves to lubricate the gears of governance. The problem is that in this case there may have been a little too much lubrication.
The politicians in the early photos are guilty of doing little more than socializing with each other. None of them participated in the shot-splattered barbarity of the later photos. Through sheer bad luck, pictures of their harmless socializing wound up in the same Facebook album with the frathouse frolicking of the Governor’s staff. They have legitimate cause for grievance with the Governor’s failure to control his camera-happy, drunken underlings.
And that failure is spreading across the state like wildfire. Monday was the sixth-most-visited day in the history of MPW and Tuesday was the seventh-most visited day. That was primarily because every corner of the state piled into that booze-soaked blog post. That’s remarkable given that August is usually our worst month. It’s also noteworthy because not a single mainstream media source or conservative blog(!) has yet covered the story.
This presents two problems for the Governor and the Democratic Party.
Messaging
The Governor’s press people have worked hard to control how the mainstream media has covered the MACO conference and the next round of budget cuts. He persuaded both the Post and the Sun to write about his poring over thousands of residents’ suggestions for budget cuts. That deftly shifted the coverage away from devastating cuts and towards the Governor’s practice of grass-roots democracy. The Post also wrote articles describing MACO as “low key” and “sober.” The uniform message was that the Governor, his staff and his allies were serious-minded policy-makers undertaking the difficult work of government at the direction of the citizenry.
The MACO imagery shows otherwise. It depicts the leadership of the Democratic Party preening in full plumage right before announcing a half-billion dollars in cuts for services that go mostly towards working-class and poor people. It also shows that the Governor’s staff, far from being “frugal” while studiously viewing the people’s budget suggestions, were instead much more interested in viewing the bottoms of shot glasses and liquor bottles.
Budget cuts won’t kill the Democrats. Hypocrisy might.
Tax Money
Most of the events at MACO were sponsored and financed by lobbyists. But we hear that many county officials may have used public money to pay for registration and rooms. At least one local leader also brought a security detail.
Earlier this month, we reported that Montgomery County Council Member Duchy Trachtenberg used county money to pay part of the cost of a three-week training she attended at Harvard. Upon her return, she declared, “We’ll have to tighten our belts, and we cannot wait until next May to do so.” (A lot of public employees have seen that blog post.) Some politicians defend their right to use public money so they can attend “trainings.” But let’s be honest – no one ever voted for a candidate while thinking, “He might be a pretty good public servant if only he took a couple more classes.”
Appearances matter a lot in tough times like these. Politicians at all levels are telling the voters that every cent of public spending must be scrutinized, and they are right. But they must start with their own offices’ expenditures if they are to have any credibility in making that argument. The publicly-funded trainings, trips and junkets must end until the budget crisis is over. And in this atmosphere, anything resembling Delegate Jon Cardin's incredible blunder is especially crippling. Remember, hypocrisy kills.
The silver lining is that all of this could have been worse. We hear that one prominent state leader traveled to MACO with an entourage of leggy twenty-something females. If any photos had been released of what one source calls “the hoochie-mama harem,” well... you get the picture.
Update: That silver lining is looking tarnished. O'Malley Watch has linked to the story. We recommend that all politicians read the comments on their post.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Pols Party While Budget Burns (Updated)
Governor Martin O'Malley made a big deal about wanting to have a "sober" Maryland Association of Counties conference last week. But one of his staffers proved otherwise by releasing a whopping 115 party-time photos to the public on Facebook. Who knew that hundreds of millions of dollars in budget cuts could be so much fun?
Update, 11 AM: The MACO partiers are covering their tracks. Eleven of the photos, including the three featuring the Governor and the Baltimore Mayor, have been deleted. But we still have them here.
Update, 3 PM: We can no longer see the content on Facebook. It has either been access-limited or deleted.
Governor O'Malley and indicted Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon.
Indicted Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon.
Baltimore City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (left) and her Chief of Staff, Kim Washington (right).
The Governor's wife, Katie O'Malley, with Jeremy Rosendale. Rosendale is a former staffer for Baltimore City Council Member Mary Pat Clarke and is currently the Governor's Deputy Director of Correspondence and Constituent Services. He posted all of these photos on Facebook, where they can be seen by anyone, and helpfully identified most of the people in them. Thanks, Jeremy!
From left: Somerset Mayor Jeffrey Slavin, Jeremy Rosendale and Montgomery County Council Member Valerie Ervin. We hear plenty of other Council Members were there as well.
Colleen Martin-Lauer (left) and Colm O'Comartun (right). Martin-Lauer is a fundraiser for the Governor and former Prince George's political boss Al Wynn. O'Comartun is the Director of the Governor's Office.
Sophia Silbergeld, former staffer for Senator Ben Cardin and Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith, now a Democratic fundraiser. Observe her amazing dexterity as she hoists four drinks.
From left: Maryland Democratic Party Executive Director Travis Tazelaar, Baltimore City Council staffer Kim Washington, Laborers Union lobbyist Jayson Williams and Sophia Silbergeld.
Nick Stewart, a former spokesman and campaign staffer for the Governor (left) with Travis Tazelaar.
Jim Gillis, Executive Assistant to Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith (left) with Jeremy Rosendale.
A staffer in the Governor's press office (left), Stacy Landolt Mayer (second from left), the Governor's Deputy Legislative Officer, and Tom Hickey (right), the Governor's Board of Public Works liaison.
O'Malley staffer Colm O'Comartun (left), Democratic fundraiser Sophia Silbergeld (top) and Ashley Valis, a Special Assistant in the Governor's Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.
Board of Public Works liaison Tom Hickey must love those budget cuts!
Here's some assorted booze-fueled mayhem proudly posted by O'Malley staffer Jeremy Rosendale. Pay special attention to his captions. We hope Facebook's 250 million users enjoyed them as much as you will.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Saqib Ali Uses Help Save Maryland to Raise Money (Updated)
Delegate Saqib Ali (D-39) is nothing if not creative. After Help Save Maryland targeted him for defeat next year, Ali used their declaration to help him raise money. Following is his solicitation.
Dear Friend,
As I conduct my work in our legislature, I try to be fair and judicious to all members of our society. Recently I voted against a bill state bill known as "Federal Real-ID". This was a complex bill with many nuances pertaining to illegal immigrants and drivers licenses.
Because of my vote on this bill, and because they know I am compassionate towards immigrants, I drew the opposition of a local anti-immigrant organization known as "Help Save Maryland" (HSM). HSM has been declared a Nativist/Extremist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center -- a major national civil rights organization. They track and expose racists such as the KKK.
HSM declared in a recent Gazette article that they are targeting me for electoral defeat. You can read that article by clicking here. (I have included the full text of the letter below for your convenience).
Quite frankly, I think if the extremists are upset by my work, I must be doing something right! However, I still need your help to defeat mean-spirited efforts like this one to remove me from office.
You can counter-act HSM by donating now to my campaign. Please make a contribution now by clicking here. No amount is too small or too large. And I certainly need all the help I can get. So please donate now.
Delegate Saqib Ali
(301) 685-3409
www.SaqibAli.org
Update: Saqib Ali is really serious about this. Check out how he is spreading the message to his Facebook friends in the middle of the night:
Last year, Ali recorded a greater net fundraising gain than any other Montgomery Delegate. His cash balance in January ($87,423.54) was higher than the rest of the District 39 delegation combined. So why is he looking so hard for more money?
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Funniest Facebook Status of the Day (Updated)
Who else but Delegate Saqib Ali (D-39) would write something like this?
I better not find a bone in my taco!
Update: Saqib Ali must have suddenly decided he does not like publicity. Look at this:
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Young Guns Hold Shootout at MPW Corral
Your author has passed on congratulations to today's Young Guns winners on Facebook. And now their Facebook friends are running wild! As of this writing, 30% of all visits to this blog are direct entries into our Young Guns Part Two post and most of them are coming from Facebook. Yee-ha!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Saqib Stokes Senate Speculation (Updated)
We just love Delegate Saqib Ali (D-39). Just a couple hours after we posted "Ten Random Questions," which included the commonly-heard rumor that he might challenge Senator Nancy King, Delegate Ali linked to the post from his Facebook page. He told his 1,800+ Facebook friends, "Saqib Ali just read speculation that he'd run for State Senate. Wow... Just wow. Apparently it's 'the rumor that refuses 2 die.'"
At the moment, 39% of this blog's traffic consists of direct entries to the "Ten Random Questions" post. Most of them are coming from Delegate Ali's Facebook page and that guarantees a good day for this blog. All of you politicians out there should heed the example of Saqib Ali, a blogger's best friend!
Update: Now Robin Ficker is encouraging Delegate Ali to run for Senate. No folks, I am not making this up.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Team of Rivals Unites to Fight Facebook Ban
The most unusual political coalition in Maryland’s recent memory has joined forces to battle the General Assembly’s deplorable prohibition of Facebook. Check out the lineups from both the Right and the Left on the anti-ban campaign site:
The Right
Delegate Gail Bates (R-9A)
Soundtrack blogger Kevin Dayhoff
Delegate Don Dwyer (R-31)
WBAL Radio host Bruce Elliott
Maryland GOP 2nd Vice-Chairman Chuck Gast
Red Maryland blogger Brian Griffiths
Delegate Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio (R-37B)
Senator Nancy Jacobs (R-34)
Delegate J.B. Jennings (R-7)
Senate Minority Leader Allan Kittleman (R-9)
Conservative Refuge blogger Greg Kline
Delegate Tony McConkey (R-33A)
Delegate Warren Miller (R-9A)
House Minority Leader Anthony O’Donnell (R-29C)
Red Maryland blogger Chester Peake
Republican political consultant Ted Pibil
Inside Charm City blogger Jeff Quinton
Maryland GOP Executive Director Justin Ready
PG Politics blogger Diane C. Russell
Delegate Christopher Shank (R-2B)
Former Ehrlich staffer Joe “Prince of Darkness” Steffen
Delegate Richard Weldon (I-3B) – yes, we know he’s a former Republican
The Left
Delegate Saqib Ali (D-39)
MCDCC Vice-Chairman Alan Banov
Delegate Eric Bromwell (D-8)
Delegate Bill Bronrott (D-16)
Delegate Al Carr (D-18)
Delegate Jill Carter (D-41)
Montgomery County Council Member Valerie Ervin
Kensington Mayor Pete Fosselman
Former MPW blogger Kevin Gillogly
Delegate Guy Guzzone (D-13)
Delegate Jolene Ivey (D-47)
Delegate Anne Kaiser (D-14)
MPW blogger and MCDCC Member Marc Korman
Former Free State Politics blogger Eric Luedtke
MoCo Democratic Political Consultant David Moon
MPW blogger Adam Pagnucco
SEIU Local 500 Director of Organizing Tony Passarelli
UFCW Local 400 Government Affairs Director Tony Perez
Casa de Maryland Director of Community Organizing Kim Propeack
Delegate Kirill Reznik (D-39)
Maryland College Democrats President Jonathan Sachs
Former Free State Politics blogger Isaac Smith
District 18 Super-Activist Beverly Sobel
Any matter on which Brian Griffiths, Eric Luedtke, Joe Steffen and Saqib Ali agree is NEWS. I’m sure I failed to spot a few luminaries, so help me out, readers! The campaign now has 311 members and is growing by the hour.
And so we appeal to the one individual who can put a stop to this great crime: Senate President Mike Miller. Come on now, Big Daddy, we know you read blogs. We know you understand the importance of online communication with constituents. It is time to finally use your powers for good. Free Facebook!
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Facebook Campaign Aims to Overturn Ban
As first reported by MPW reader Christopher Cielo, a new Facebook campaign has been founded to overturn the General Assembly's ridiculous prohibition.
The group is led by Republican Senator Nancy Jacobs (R-34), Republican Delegate J.B. Jennings (R-7), Democratic Delegate Al Carr (D-18) and Facebook hero Delegate Saqib Ali (D-39). The campaign's bipartisan nature puts the lie to allegations that the ban is directed at Republicans. Red Maryland leader Brian Griffiths criticizes the ban as "brain-dead" and I agree.
Below is a screenshot of the site. If you are on Facebook, we encourage you to join the campaign!
Friday, February 06, 2009
General Assembly Bans Facebook
Judd Legum has the story.
Come on, Saqib! As the reigning King of Facebook, now is the time for you to defend your realm!
Friday, November 14, 2008
Gimme Some of That Gold-Dust!
It seems that some of our local politicians are rolling around in the gold-dust from our President-Elect. Who's rolling around the most? For our answer, we return to Facebook! Check out the profile pictures currently used by the individuals below. On Facebook, a profile picture appears prominently on each participant's home page and accompanies their name on all status reports and comments.
Delegate Kirill Reznik (D-39)
Isn’t it nice that Delegate Reznik watches TV like the rest of us? Who knew?
Delegate Tom Hucker (D-20)
This picture was taken after Delegate Hucker campaigned in Pennsylvania for the Senator. I sure see the family resemblance here! Thanks for pointing this out, Tom!
Former County Council Candidate Hans Riemer
Hans has actually used TWO profile pictures featuring his former boss. Hans worked for the Senator for nearly a year.
"Excuse me, Senator, may I have a word with you?"
"Don't worry, Hans. I'll get Valerie to run at-large so you can have that District 5 seat!"
Delegate Ali, as the reigning Master of Facebook, do you have any comment?
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