"I'm a nice Democratic boy"

by David Grand
January 20, 2005

That jocular remark made by Del. Samuel Rosenberg upon casting the deciding vote overriding the governor's veto of the medical malpractice reform bill will probably be the first and last bit of humor that'll be heard in this session. Poor Sam must've been as tired-eyed as an intern on duty for 48 straight hours from his daylong flight from Israel, (that had been delayed for seven hours) and then driving at breakneck speed from the Newark, NJ airport to the State House. (And while Democrats were reveling in their victory, the woebegone Republicans were whining like hyenas whose kill was stolen by a lion.)     

It's a good thing the plane he flew on wasn't further delayed, forced to land for repairs, or that the police didn't arrest him for driving way over the speed limit. In such an event, the Speaker would've had to adjourn the House till the next day, leaving the legislators praying for divine intervention on their side of the issue, and  tossing and turning all night, no matter how much they drank at the bars to buttress their hopes.      

But if the first days of the session are an indication of what lies ahead, its looks like we're in for a replay of the previous session, punctuated by constant bickering, name-calling, ill-will and with the partisan lines drawn so deeply you'd need a plank to cross 'em. In other words, all the negative aspects that exist in today's Congress, the last legislative body you'd think Maryland would want to emulate.        

However, regardless of what bitter foes the two parties may be, they must-if for no other reason than to justify their pay-work in tandem to deal with such key (and contentious) proposals as: finding the resources for doubling the public schools construction budget, making it more difficult for the state to sell environmentally sensitive land to developers, reviving plans for expanding health care for the poor, extending the state's tax credit for the research and development program to attract more potential employers, expanding drug treatment opportunities for ex-convicts, exploring ways to lower the rising costs of unemployment insurance to businesses, providing funds for types of stem cell research that the federal government doesn't, and raising the state's minimum wage to $6.15 per hour.      

And above all, giving top priority to coming up-at long last-with a plan for introducing slot machines at locations acceptable to the Governor, the Speaker of the House and Senate President, which revenues are desperately needed for education and for saving the moribund racing industry.      

That's certainly a full plate. And it'll be interesting to see how much that troika of hardheads are willing to swallow without barfing or throwing their plate on the floor or at each other. And without the governor saying like those kids in that cereal commercial, "let Mikey (Busch) eat it."       

As a parting thought, does anyone really believe that if the reverse were true and the Republicans were in the majority, that they'd be more kindly disposed to treating Democrats with the utmost respect for their positions than how they've been treated? I think not. And that was borne out by the disrespect the Republican caucus showed by sending out a news release touting their refusal to vote for Busch's re-election as House Speaker, and by many refusing to applaud him when he came to the podium. Why, even the Democrats in the House of Representatives applauded, however briefly, GOP Rep. Dennis Hastert being re-elected House Speaker. It's called common courtesy.