“Democrats To Propose Sales Tax Expansion To Fund Kirwan”

KIRWAN:

Keep
Increasing
Revenues
Without
Actual
Necessity

An ill-fated “Potomac Compact” — and some testimony from Pennsylvania

Democratic lawmakers in Annapolis have filed a “Potomac Compact for Fair Representation” bill, HB 182, the gist of which is to say that Maryland can go on gerrymandering until Virginia agrees to coordinate on reform. Sorry to break it to you, guys, but have you noticed that the Virginia reform ship is sailing all by itself?

P.S. Kind of related: a Pennsylvania lawmaker talks frankly about how the leadership in state legislatures use the gerrymandering power, with its discretion to dole out a good district or impose a bad, to arm-twist maverick lawmakers into submission:

Boscola [Democratic state Sen. Lisa Boscola of Northampton County] said that because legislative leaders control the process, they can change the shape of districts to increase or decrease an incumbent’s chances of reelection.

Boscola, a senator for 18 years, served two terms in the House. There, she said, the threat of gerrymandering was used against her.

“I was told by my leadership in the House that I better behave and toe my party line, or I’d be out of my district,” she said.

Statues of Douglass, Tubman unveiled in Maryland statehouse

Officials unveiled bronze statues of famed abolitionists Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass during a ceremony Monday night at the Maryland State House. https://t.co/nozt6vFgLX pic.twitter.com/mTn6PmXiGq

— ABC News (@ABC) February 11, 2020

Proud to be a Marylander today. I was also glad to see that as representations, the new statues are beautiful, convincing, and inspirational. Having seen my share of bad statues, it lifted my heart to see that these were so good.

Here are some resources from the Cato Institute on Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman as vital figures in the story of American liberty. If you have wondered about commemorations of Douglass’s birthday, by the way, Caleb Brown reminds us that the great abolitionist “did not know his actual birthday. His mother, also a slave, called him ‘my little Valentine’ on her occasional visits…She traveled miles, usually at night, to spend just a few minutes with her son. Douglass chose Feb. 14 to mark his birth.”