From the Harford County Campaign for Liberty:
Attention Harford County Voters,
Just when you thought it was safe to be a “super citizen “ in Harford County, along comes HB 1513.
Here’s the background for those of you still in the dark about this piece of thug legislation:
–Introduced by the Harford County Republican House Delegation as an emergency bill.
–Would place all Republican Harford County State Delegates on the Harford County Republican Central Committee for purposes related to the removal or replacement of members.
–Would prohibit all Harford County elected officials, other than delegates, from simultaneously holding a position on the central committee.
–HB 1513 is currently on hold in the Rules and Executive Nomination Committee. It could be acted on at any time.
“Gosh”, you might be saying to yourself. “I thought the Republican voters of Harford County are supposed to decide the makeup of the central committee.”
The Harford County Delegation, led by Rick Impallaria (District 7), has shamelessly run to the Democrat controlled General Assembly in an attempt to consolidate control and keep grass roots activists out of the political process.
Instead of pleading their case to the citizens, these misguided legislators want to undo the will of Republican voters in Harford County.
Once on the committee, the delegates would create a powerful voting block that would remake the central committee according to their own image.
Why is the Harford County Delegation embarrassing itself and bucking the express wishes of party leadership?
What do they hope to accomplish in pushing HB 1513?
Rick Impallaria let the cat out of the bag on the Tom Marr show, March 11, when he smeared “super citizens“ running for office and current members of the committee as radicals.
That’s right Mr. and Ms. Republican voter. The people you put on the central committee are fair game for removal. Only total compliance will do for these folks. How has that helped us in Annapolis?
Trying to placate outraged voters, Delegate Impallaria began his explanation by claiming that they had been misinformed.
Let’s take a look at who is doing the misinformation.
From Delegate Impallaria’s response to concerned constituents.
LIE 1
“The last time a replacement was made to the HCCC, that replacement was made not by someone on the CC or the Delegation, but by someone in West Virginia.”
TRUTH 1
First of all, Mr. Impallaria, it is not someone who makes the appointment, but rather, the committee as a whole. Stop letting your wishful thinking give you away. Secondly, the deadlocked committee could not agree on a replacement. Therefore, according to the rules and bylaws of the state party, the elected state chairman, Alex Mooney, made the appointment. Subsequently, Mr. Mooney did move to West Virginia and is no longer involved in party politics in our state.
And since you’re so concerned about residency, did it occur to you that members of the delegation reside in Baltimore County? Yet you feel entitled to meddle in Harford County Central Committee business. Hypocrisy, thy name is Impallaria!
HALF-TRUTH 2
“In the past there have been attempts to remove members of the HCCC.”
WHOLE TRUTH 2
The by-laws and charter of the committee and state party provide clear guidelines regarding infractions and the subsequent process for removal. Fact is, there has been only one attempt to remove a member in many years. It was unsuccessful. The Central Committee has it covered. No need for you to become involved, Mr. Impallaria.
LIE 3
“To speak of stacking the committee is just silly….But we all believe the CC should be a building block to allow new people to experience public service as it relates to the Republican Party”.
TRUTH 3
Is this what Mr. Impallaria calls his bully tactics? Public service? The delegation is only interested in letting the right kind of Republican serve the party. The game needs to be rigged in their favor in case the voters have a different conservative vision. The Harford Delegation means to make a committee that can act as a political fiefdom and palace guard for a select few.
UNSUBSTANTIATED CONCERN 4
“…the reason that this is an emergency bill is that the election date has been moved….creating a lame duck CC for as much as 7-8 months. …many people, feeling that their good work is done will decide to leave the CC, it is vitally important that we fill those positions quickly”.
TRUTH 4
The Central Committee had already anticipated this problem and created a system for replacing members that resign before the elected committee is seated in November. The winning primary candidate with the most votes would replace the first vacancy and on down the line. This decision is documented and archived in the meeting minutes. See, no need for outside interference.
Delegate Kathy Szeliga’s attempt to to explain her support for HB 1513.
MYTH 1
“This bill is only for Harford County. Generally speaking, conservatives like me support local control and local decision making as the best way to run government”.
REALITY 1
Huh???? Conservatives like Ms. Szeliga support local control? Then why is she trying to put Baltimore County residents on the Harford County Central Committee? This may be local now but you can be certain that if this act of political oppression is successful, a central committee near you will be having similar problems.
MYTH 2
“If a house or senate seat in the Maryland General Assembly becomes vacant, the central committee fills that vacancy. If it is a good idea for the central committee to fill a delegate seat vancancy, why wouldn’t it be good for a delegate to vote on filling a central committee vacancy?”
REALITY 2
Glad you asked, Kathy. The answer is, “Because it is counter to the long held bylaws of the central committee and the MDGOP.“ If this is such a great idea then change the bylaws and make this policy statewide. Good luck with that. You’re reasoning is completely fractured. I suppose that since the President makes appointments to the Supreme Court then the Supreme Court should appoint the President. Why let a little thing like the Constitution get in the way when there is politics at stake.
LIE 3
“There are 12 members of the Harford County Republican Central Committee. There are 9 members of the Harford County Delegation…. The delegation could not take over the committee as is alleged.”
TRUTH 3
Let’s be honest here. This bill was designed to do exactly what Ms. Szeliga claims it could not do. Nine is more than half the number of committee members. It would take a very small cadre of committee members to join forces with the establishment delegation and force their will on rest. We are not as mathematically challenged as Ms. Szeliga imagines.
LIE 4
“We want to protect the members of the central committee from undue termination, especially those members elected by the people.”
TRUTH 4
Once again, this bill is designed to do exactly the opposite of what Ms. Szeliga claims. It would allow the delegation to remake the central committee regardless of who the voters put in place. We already know that Mr. Impallaria is eager to give some the boot.
Unfortunately for the Harford Delegation, the truth is difficult to discredit.
Let’s hope they see the light and walk away from this toxic legislation.
The MDGOP leadership is against it, the voters are against it, and fair play is against it.
Contact these folks and let them know that you cannot support their high-handed and dishonest politics. Demand that they withdraw HB1513.
Rick Impallaria
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3289 (toll free)
e-mail: rick.impallaria@house.state.md.us
fax: (410) 841-3598, (301) 858-3598
Pat McDonough
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3334 (toll free)
e-mail: pat.mcdonough@house.state.md.us
fax: (410) 841-3598, (301) 858-3598
Kathy Szeliga
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3698 (toll free)
e-mail: kathy.szeliga@house.state.md.us
fax: (410) 841-3023, (301) 858-3023
Glenn Glass
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3280 (toll free)
e-mail: glen.glass@house.state.md.us
fax: (410) 841-3190, (301) 858-3190
Wayne Norman
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3284 (toll free)
e-mail: wayne.norman@house.state.md.us
fax: (410) 841-3190, (301) 858-3190
Donna Stiffler
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3278 (toll free)
e-mail: donna.stifler@house.state.md.us
fax: (410) 841-3190, (301) 858-3190
Susan McComas
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3272 (toll free)
e-mail: susan.mccomas@house.state.md.us
fax: (410) 841-3244, (301) 858-3244
For Liberty,
Joe Fleckenstein
Steering Committee Member
Harford County Campaign for Liberty
P.S. Please contact the above legislators right now and demand they IMMEDIATELY OPPOSE HB-1513!
Thank you for the update. Myself and family members have already been in touch with the above mentioned elected employees. Boy oh boy what a crock of gunk they are spewing. It’s so very sad when you believe in those that you’ve taken the time to vote for and they turn on you like vipers.
And this is the party that seeks to convince the voters of Maryland that it is a viable alternative to the dom
inant Democratic organization.
Seems like Mr. Impallaria never quite gets it. I can’t get past his involvement in the horrible towing matter maybe a year ago. I am a Republican but I can no longer support my party if they let this man ran wild like this. Come on guys.
Is that the strange court case against Jesse Bane in Impallaria’s records? Quite a litigious man.
The readers deserve to know some background information when reading this letter. Joe Fleckenstein is closely aligned with Patrick McGrady. He is Treasurer for Maryland Liberty PAC which is run by Patrick McGrady. Mr. Fleckenstein is currently a candidate for both the Republican Central Committee and the Harford County Board of Education in Disrtict F. Mr. Fleckenstein’s failure to disclose this information denies the readers a full understanding of his vested interest (other than that of just a concerned citizen) in the outcome of the proposed legislation.
So you are not disputing the facts of this article and you are not posting under a real name. Pot …meet kettle.
The “facts” as expressed in Mr. Fleckenstein’s letter are his interpretation of the situation. Others many have a different opinion.
Dear Just So, The information you reference was included when the piece was submitted. It was omitted by the editors of the Dagger. Mr Fleckenstein has nothing to hide. I am very proud of the work he does to advance the principles of liberty and the TEA Party. He will serve this county well.
The readers can only go on what is published. I have never heard of DAGGER editing submissions. If DAGGER edited his letter before publication that presents a problem which some would view as censorship. Perhaps DAGGER should answer that question. If so Mr. Flectenstein should post his letter as originally submitted in the comment section so all can see if your assertion is true. Whether he will serve the citizens of Harford County will be up to the voters.
Just So, Print and online editors reserve the right to edit material. It goes with the title. Once you submit, it belongs to them. So again, he was hiding nothing. As for Mr. Fleckenstein posting his credentials and political ambitions, well, you have kindly done so on his behalf. I’m sure he appreciates it. It also seems that you may not agree with some of the content of his posting. Perhaps you could point out any errors so that we can all bask in the light of truth.
You make assumptions about my opinion of Mr. Fleckenstein. The voters will determine the truth of his positions and worthiness to serve, not me.
McGrady and his C4L Rinos just use their attacks on Republicans just to raise money for their own purposes. They have no interest in helping the GOP prosper. In States where they have taken over the State Parties, they are broke and in shambles. I would like to see how much McGrady, Fleckstine and Patterson are making from their shell organizations on, Common Core, Liberty PAC and Pro-Life Alliance.
Nice try, Amato. The story is about the bill. We all know how frustrated you are that your good ole boy network of “stand for nothing” politicians is being challenged by principled citizens that are participating in the political process.
So because you don’t agree with their vision of Republicanism (which, by the way, I don’t either), you think HB 1513 is a smart idea? You want to give the state legislature control over the party central committee? I know C4L and the rest of these guys are libertarians, but that doesn’t stop them from being 100% correct about what’s going on right now with this monstrosity of a bill.
Traditional Republicans need to learn you can be pro-life, pro-traditional family values and still fight for liberty. Libertarian-leaning Republicans need to be welcomed into the party, if you ever want to flip some young independents into the GOP. And they’re so energetic! Look at ’em go!
Libertarians need to stop being so condescending to social conservatives, and they have major messaging issues. Which is probably why Mr. Impallaria and the rest feel justified in this terrible bill. Go to Reason.com and you’ll see a viper’s nest of A-holes in the comments section. Are these the kind of people in C4L, or are they more like my man Rand Paul, the next president of the USA “Oh Lord Please Let It Be So, Amen and Hallelujah.” Why the GOP can’t make room for both is beyond me. The Democrats juggle about a thousand competing interests at a time. What makes THEM so smart?
Well, I’m a little torn by these competing factions, but not by the bill itself. It’s crap, and it needs to go.
Mr. Vest, The Campaign for Liberty organization was begun with funds left over from Ron Paul’s failed 2008 presidential bid. Our views are closely aligned with his and that of his son, Senator Rand Paul. Not all of us agree on all issues all the time but we are all small government, Constitutional Republicans that believe in the rule of law. We are hosting an evening with Senator Paul on March 26th. Check it out at marylandliberty.org.
I don’t understand why we need to waste valuable legilatve time with this crap. They have a budget to balance!
I agree but McGrady and his RINOS are just cashing in on these issues. They could care less
about the Republican Party…half of them live in apartments and don’t even pay property tax
in Harford County such as Fleckstein.
Bill, please post your real name. Be a man. You have a right to make comments. But a real man posts his real name, as I do.
I care very much about the Republican Party, which is why I am running for local office. And do you have something against people living in apartments? Are you some Republican Blue-Blood who despises working-class people? I love people who own their own homes, and I love people who rent. Both are incredibly important to our local community.
I’ll admit that I have to agree that I don’t really understand the fear of apartment dwellers.
In a state where Democrats far outnumber Republicans and most voters overall would best be described as moderate, rather than conservative or liberal, it strikes me as odd the desire to purge renters from the local conservative movement, unless the motive is to weaken that same movement.
As can be seen with Craig’s abortive attempt to become governor, the Republican party needs to build itself into a stronger party if it wants to ever hold out the hope of controlling the Assembly and Senate.
A strong Republican party benefits me, as it forces the Democrats to lose or to become more competent. Simply allowing them to hold office so that the Republicans can stay pure and mock RINO’s does nobody any good.
So Bill, who pays the property tax for renters? You sound like an Obama Democrat if you can’t figure out that all costs get passed on to the consumer. Perhaps you think landlords just eat the taxes out of kindness.
Does the federal tax deduction get passed onto the renter?