House

On Winning, Life Inside Congress & Lessons From Bill Clinton

U.S. Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Fort Washington)

On Saturday, July 19, U.S. Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Fort Washington) traveled to Austin, Texas to finally speak in person with those who were among the first to listen to her and a message that would oust an entrenched incumbent less than two years later.

Edwards was the keynote speaker at ‘Netroots Nation,’ a gathering formerly known as YearlyKos, based off the popular progressive blog, DailyKos.com. Netroots Nation is an annual gathering of the left-of-center online political community and attracts a ‘who’s who’ of Democratic politics. Former Vice President Al Gore and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) also addressed the gathering in person, while U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) addressed the conference by a taped message.

But few Party leaders have the stature Edwards maintains in that community. Like 2004 presidential candidate Howard Dean and 2006 U.S. Senate candidate Ned Lamont before her, she became an online icon for her ability to channel the power of the Internet into boots-on-the-ground action.

U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Mechanicsville), U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Baltimore) and U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Baltimore) joined the Korean War Veterans Association on Thursday to celebrate the enactment of legislation that grants the group a Federal Charter.

The trio was also joined by U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Texas).

“The Korean War is often referred to as the ‘forgotten’ war, and recognition of our veterans from this war is long overdue,” said Cardin in a statement. “This Federal Charter lets the nearly 1.2 million American veterans of the Korean War who are still alive know that we have not forgotten them, and we honor the sacrifice they made for our nation.”

The environment is Republican Andy Harris' biggest hurdle on his path to Congress from the 1st District, though the issue has been largely absent from voters' minds in times of heightened focus on the economy and foreign affairs.

Yet this vulnerability made it all the more surprising when his campaign rejected the NIMBY argument and embraced the policy of off-shore drilling last month.

Now, a story is kicking around that GOP presidential candidate John McCain cancelled a photo-op on an oil rig not because of the stated reason of weather, but because of a spill.

If the story gets legs, it could rocket the issue in the 1st's shore-based economy.

U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Mechanicsville) is asking Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to reveal further information about the Maryland Surveillance Program, under which the state police kept records on non-violent activists.

Hoyer pointed to a letter sent to Chertoff and DHS Under Secretary of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, Charles Allen.

The letter, written by U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), who chairs the House Committee on Homeland Security, requested DHS provide the committee with a full account of the surveillance actions and further information regarding the funds used.

“The politically-motivated surveillance of dissident domestic groups that have neither a link to terrorism nor promote violence is not only a deplorable use of taxpayer funds but also violated the First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and association,” wrote Thompson in the letter.

Hoyer responded in a statement, “The state surveillance program conducted under the Ehrlich Administration that secretly monitored law-abiding citizens exercising their constitutional rights raises serious concerns that merit further investigation."

Mike Hargadon, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Baltimore) for his MD-7 seat, reported raising $6,583.95  in contributions in the second quarter and had $4,702.43 cash on hand according to Federal Election Commission reports.

Hargadon has raised $8,458.95 in total contributions to date for this election.

His opponent, Elijah Cummings is currently serving his seventh term in the U.S. House and currently has $688,000 cash on hand.

State's Attorney Frank KratovilKratovil Campaign Manager Tim McCann dismissed the results of a Harris campaign internal poll which showed Harris carrying a sizeable lead in the 1st Congressional District.

The poll showed state Sen. Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville) with a 16 point lead over State's Attorney Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville).

“As Andy’s campaign manger himself said a few months back, ‘Internal polls can be skewed one way or the other.’ Our internal numbers paint a different picture so I'm not particularly worried about this small-sample poll,” wrote McCann in an email to PolitickerMD.com.

Ask and you shall receive.

44% To 28%; 27% Undecided

Andy Harris: Campaign Photo

A new internal campaign poll, obtained by PolitickerMD.com, shows state Sen. Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville) with a 16-point lead over his opponent, state's Attorney Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville) in Maryland's 1st Congressional District.

44.3 percent of those polled by the Harris campaign said they will or are likely to vote for Harris, while 28.3 percent said the same of Kratovil. Another 27.3 percent remain undecided.

This survey of 300 registered voters was conducted just over a week ago on July 15, and has a margin of error of 5.65 percent. The results show Kratovil's support eroding from his campaign's April poll in which he trailed Harris by only nine points, 43 percent to 34 percent with 23 percent undecided.

Yesterday, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee dropped another $18 million on 20 House races.

While this push mostly included those who had been passed over for the $35 million ad-buy, yet again, First district Democrat Frank Kratovil – the would-be delegation-mate of the powerful DCCC Chair Chris Van Hollen and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer – was not selected.

U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.): Getty ImagesThe Maryland Republican Party welcomed John McCain to the Free State on Tuesday as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee heads to town for a fundraiser in Baltimore on Tuesday evening. Prior to praising McCain, the MDGOP took the opportunity to take a crack at some of its Democratic rivals.

“Senator Ben Cardin, Congressman Elijah Cummings, and Attorney General Doug Gansler were among the politicians present at a ‘Bash McCain’ press conference,” said MDGOP Chairman Jim Pelura in a statement. The three lawmakers attended a “McSame as Bush” news conference in Baltimore on Monday, in light of McCain’s visit to the state.