The Carroll County Times reports that Governor O'Malley and members of his cabinet will be spending tomorrow (April 24, 2009) in the City of Westminster, Maryland. What the devil is going on? Doesn't he know that Westminster is a Republican City in a Republican County in the Democratic State of Maryland?
The Governor will "spend most of the day conversing with local government officials, touring city projects and visiting with community members." Westminster is the ""kickoff" city for a program entitled: Capital for a day."
When I was a kid growing up in Massachusetts, I lived in a household with my Grandparents and an Aunt. Some time, during a National election, my grandfather learned that my grandmother and my aunt voted for a Republican candidate. From that day forward, he refused to eat with those "G D Republican B....rds!" He never boycotted me because he assumed that I was a Democrat like he was. And, guess what... I was.
The first National election that I voted in, JFK won.. and Massachusetts went wild! It was a lot like the recent Obama election. We saw JFK as a sort of savior, who was going to save us from decadence and/or communist invasion. By that time, my grandfather was in a nursing home (which just happened to be the home in which he was born!) and medication prevented him from getting excited over election issues.
Although I lived in Boston for a while, the only politician (outside of local ones) that I met was a lieutenant Governor who I met for just a few minutes in the 1950's. Over ten years later, when I had moved to Maryland and was a Social Security Administration employee, I passed him in a hall at the Woodlawn complex. All of a sudden, he turned to me and said: "Hi, Joe, how have you been since I saw you last?" After his Lieutenant Governor job ended, he had gotten a nice job at Social Security. .... and he remembered me after meeting me once.. years ago, in a different State!! Now, that guy was a politician!!
The Kennedy's knew how to get out the vote. On election day, buses would pull up to the largest nursing homes in the area and ferry people to the voting places. On the buses would be coffee and doughnuts. The buses were provided by the Kennedy's and guess who the riders voted for.
When I came to Maryland, I found the Democrats to be firmly in control, regardless of the party of the Governor.
In the 1970's, I was lured to Carroll County by several factors, including the following:
People in Carroll County grew so much produce that they set up stands and gave the surplus away free! People in Carroll County were extremely polite compared to people in the surounding counties. It was nice to hear "thank you" and "you're welcome" as part of everyday patter.
So, we moved to Carroll County as soon as we could afford it. And nobody bothered this Democrat boy. Maybe they didn't know. As the years went by, I learned that many of the Carroll County elected officials were originally Democrats and had switched parties so they could get elected. Smart move. Although tempted, I could not make a complete switch, so I became an Independent. I have both Republican ideals and Democratic ideals. I vote for the man or woman who I feel would do the best job for the position. My grandfather would have thought that was admirable, but he still would have insisted in my being a Democrat.
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Speaking of voting, did you know there is a theory Edgar Allen Poe was killed by voter fraud? He died on an election day in 1849, and it was a common (and unscrupulous practice) to kidnap people on voting day and take them from polling place to force them to vote over-and-over for the candidate(s) of your choice. If the victim didn't comply, he might be forced to drink alcohol and/or beaten - perhaps even to death.
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