This could be Maryland left’s high-water mark Re: “A look at bills passed by the General Assembly,” April 11
While it may be too early to claim a complete repudiation of the liberal agenda in Maryland, the 2010 legislative session was a resounding defeat. Gay marriage and recognition of the transgendered as a protected class both failed as the overriding need for good governance and responsible spending trumped social issues. Citizens across the state denied Montgomery County’s ultra-liberal, agenda-driven delegation, proving that Maryland does have a conservative streak.
However, the outcome of this legislative session, with its reliance on federal funds and raising fees and tolls, still does not provide solutions for the state’s $1.6 billion structural deficit, and creates a gap of over $7 billion over the next four years.
The legislature’s failure to limit the size and scope of government, coupled with President Obama’s low approval ratings, should be signals for Maryland Democrats that the liberal fringe has expended its energy. The current legislature should be eyeing 2014 with trepidation because Maryland’s citizens are looking for more judicious leadership.
Kurt S. Osuch
Chevy Chase
Harry Reid ignores health risks of abortion
Re: “Democrats will yield on everything but abortion,” April 11
Examiner senior political columnist Timothy Carney’s column described how Democrats will compromise on everything but killing the preborn, and included an unbelievably uninformed comment from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: “We are not — we are not — bending on women’s health.”
I hope that Sen. Reid cares about women and is merely uninformed about the risks of abortion because equating “women’s health” with abortion is a serious breach of reality.
Democrats should be aware of abortion’s surgical (e.g., death, perforated uterus or bowel, sterility) and post-op risks (e.g., breast cancer, preterm birth in subsequent pregnancies, suicide, drug abuse) and not give over $350 million annually to Planned Parenthood.
Missy Smith
Washington
People were better educated before federal intervention
Re: “Time to expel the Department of Education?” March 31
How many people remember that the Department of Education was formed under Jimmy Carter to reward teachers unions for their votes? Any sensible comparison of education before and after would show that we once had a superior public education system and an educated, literate population.
Before that time, states controlled their own educational systems effectively and economically, free from interference by the federal government. Therefore, any improvement in education, as in many other areas, demands that big government move in a different direction, namely OUT.
Until then, endless talk about “education reform” is just a tiresome waste of time and a cover for the misguided use of our money and human resources.
Elizabeth Ward Nottrodt
Baltimore
