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April 13, 2006
Hiding behind locked doors
by Sylvia S Tognetti
Jeez - I'm glad that there are Republicans who are looking for common ground on environmental issues. But giving MD Governor Erlich credit for making MD the 8th state to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative? Sorry - this doesn't pass the laugh test. The RGGI is a provision of the new MD Healthy Air Act which Ehrlich vehemently opposed and fully intended to veto. Knowing that a veto would be promptly overridden, his office door was locked at 4:30 on the Friday it was brought to him, so he could say he didn't receive it until Monday. Since he is given 6 days to act on a bill, and since there was one week to go until the end of the legislative session, this would have allowed him to veto it at the end of the last day of the session, thereby removing any opportunity for an override. According to the Washington Post, that bill and about a dozen others were slipped under his locked door by Senate aides at 4:50. After a barrage of e-mails and phone calls from irate citizens like myself, and an opinion of the MD Assistant Attorney General for the Legislature. Robert A. Zaranoch, that "unreasonable office hours may not be set to frustrate presentment" and (citing a 1982 Alabama Supreme Court decision) that the governor was required to act by Friday, Ehrlich caved and signed the bill. This was done in secret - presumably to avoid giving any credit to those who fought for its passage. For more info see the MD League of Conservation Voters. (Hat Tip: Environmental Economics blog.)
Full disclosure: I am also a precinct official for the Montgomery County MD, Blue Crab Democrats who are known as:
Luminaries of the Maryland Political Ecosystem. Blue Crab Democrats are the most loyal, tenacious and hardworking enthusiasts of the Maryland Democratic Party. Unbowed by attacks from the radical right, they are fierce defenders of individual liberty and freedom. They work hard to strengthen Maryland communities and are revered for their industry, especially when cleaning up after Republicans.
We used to have a moderate Republican representing our Congressional district, who was great on environmental issues too, i.e., Connie Morella. Unfortunately, by helping to give the Republicans a majority, she undermined everything she stood for, so we replaced her with Chris Van Hollen. Until the so-called moderate Republicans are willing to break with their party on issues that they say they stand for, I have a hard time taking them seriously. Especially the ones in Takoma Park who I have witnessed in elections past actively campaigning for a Green Party candidate as a way to split the Democratic vote for delegates to the state house of representatives.... Once they are willing to stand their ground on environmental issues within their own party, and play by the rules of the game, we can talk about common ground, and also about important differences of perspective that at the moment seem, well, trivial. Unless we can agree on the rules of the game, democracy will soon become a figment of the imagination.
Posted by Sylvia S Tognetti at April 13, 2006 4:35 PM
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