News Corner

I don’t remember when political violence was part of the social landscape in America. Ballots not bullets was always the theme for our democracy. A change like that should give us all pause.

When the President gave his speech last month at the White House accepting the nomination of his party for re-election, many local Republicans were invited to attend. Certainly the elected delegates from DC, Prince Georges and Montgomery had a great turnout.

There was some concern during the speech, but as the attendees left they were told there were exits unavailable because of crowds, and to be careful on the streets.  As you might have seen on the evening news there was mayhem.  Just a few miles from Montgomery County in our Nation’s Capitol people were attacked, threatened and spit on because of their political beliefs. Republicans, and many non-Republican guests were called names, intimidated and shoved. Women called the B-word, threatened with harm and sexual assault, and worse. Senators, Congress members, the handicapped and elderly were all set upon.

Several groups were protected by the few police and security folks available, and the black officers and attendees were specially targeted by this crowd of “peaceful protesters” from BLM and Antifa. Many were called the N-word, punched, objects thrown at them to injure them. The term “you’re a traitor to your race” was used. What irony. On these same streets over 150 years ago that term was yelled at the first Republican President Abraham Lincoln, just yards away by those in the pro-slavery party. Yes, the streets were cobblestone, the Willard Hotel was where it is today – but the mob was on a different side.

We’ve always taken for granted that we’d be able to participate in our political events without fear. When Barack Obama was our President he had many great State Dinners. Imagine if his guests had been assaulted on the streets outside the White House when they left, by people who disagreed with his politics? We certainly would have denounced it—although perhaps here in Montgomery County we’d just tolerate it and call it “Re-imagining peaceful protest”.

Many of our neighbors, Republicans, Independents and Democrats, don’t like the way social discourse is going. I talk to so many new Americans, immigrants who’ve come here for all that America has to offer, and they are aghast.  Time after time they tell me “This is what I left. Don’t you know what comes next? I’ve seen it.”

If you don't remember 9-11 I'm sure you studied it. After we were attacked America came together. 3,000 people died, all creeds, sexes and colors. Our first responders, the police and firefighters died too, yet deliberately went into the flames to rescue everyone they could find. In the flames and smoke it was hard to see the sex or race of either the victim or the rescuer, because it did not matter. They all worked together, as Americans do in trying to preserve our precious human lives.

It seems like so long ago. Yet if we did it once we can do it again. Change here comes through democracy. A campaign and then a vote. Let’s not reward hate speech and actions to politically intimidate our neighbors. We’re better than that.

Send me your comments to Chairman@MCGOP.com

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Now that the Conventions are over the real campaigning begins. Do you want to volunteer?

• Display yard signs 
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• Attend Zoom training classes 
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Contact Brad Botwin, at 240-447-1884 or bb67chev@aol.com.

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Happy Labor Cartel Day

The Six Stages of Moral Development

Katja Bullock, American Patriot

By Deborah Lambert

All in all, life has been good to Katja Bullock, and her lifetime of multiple career achievements is a testament to the unrelenting work ethic of someone who loves what she’s doing.

In 1965, as a 22 year old college graduate with a pharmacy degree and a deep curiosity to find out about America, she immigrated from Germany to the U.S. and planned to stay here for a year to see what the country was like.

However, it didn’t take long for a series of life-altering opportunities and good fortune to make her realize that she might have to change her plans.

While working as a pharmacy assistant in Washington, DC, she met her future husband, Dr. Albert Bullock, whose dental office was in the same building. “After three dates, he asked me to marry him and we got married that year,” she recalls. Since the doctor was also an active member of the American Light Opera Company, the story goes that Katja fell in love with him during an emergency dental procedure when she was soothed by the strains of opera while Al Bullock worked on her teeth.

Earlier this year, Katja retired from more than 40 years of serving as Special Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel during which she not only launched the careers of several generations of Republican job seekers, but also enjoyed the rare opportunity to observe first-hand the personalities and management style of four American presidents.

As far as presidential personnel offices are concerned, she concluded that they have a lot in common with each other. “Massive chaos during the first few months of an administration that eventually settles down into organized daily chaos. However, there was a difference in how each president viewed the personnel office,” as she explained below:

• Ronald Reagan gave us the outline of what he wanted to achieve during the Reagan Revolution, and trusted us to select the right people to make that happen.
• George H. W. Bush was focused on making the government run smoothly and did not want to make any waves – he just wanted the government to run smoothly. It was hard to recruit for that.
• George W. Bush was all hands-on in the personnel business. He knew what every department and agency did. We had to submit the resumés of potential candidates to the President the night before our meetings. He studied them and then he peppered us with questions.
• President Trump was only interested in the financial, economic and international positions.

During a recent Q and A about her career, Katja noted that the ongoing high point of her position was “being able to sit in the Oval Office to present candidates for Senate confirmation to the President and Vice President of the USA. Not bad for an immigrant. . .”

Her most formidable challenge occurred in 2002 when she accepted an assignment in Iraq as the Director of Civilian Personnel. Her efforts there helped establish the Coalition Provisional Authority government, which restarted the government for the Iraqi people.

Katja also worked on the national campaigns for Presidents Reagan in 80 and 84, Bush in 88, 92, 2000 and 2004. While her numerous achievements during her longtime (ongoing) membership on the MOCO Central Committee include running the initial MOCO campaigns for Governor Ehrlich and Governor Hogan, Katja noted that she usually prefers to work behind the scenes and let others be the heroes.

After her retirement from the presidential personnel position earlier this year, Katja mentioned that while she won’t miss getting up at 5:30 am and commuting downtown, she hopes to continue making herself useful for the party. 

On occasion, she also recalls a situation more than 30 years ago when her oldest brother, who claimed to be the family boss, came to the U.S. from Germany to visit her after her husband died and also to tell her that her American escapade was over, and she should return to Germany.

Not surprisingly, Katja responded by telling him that “my life is in this country – America has been so good to me – I would never leave.”

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Deborah Lambert is a Member of the Republican Central Committee of Montgomery County and Editor of this MCGOP Newsletter.

Judicial Elections: Fifteen Years of Consequences

By former Chairman Alexander A. Bush

Most of us spend little time, if any, thinking about judicial elections. The candidates rarely campaign and the judges appointed by the Governor almost invariably win.

This year could be a tragic exception. For the first time in living memory an unvetted candidate has won the Democratic primary in Montgomery County and earned a spot on the November general election ballot to become a Circuit Court Judge for the next fifteen years.

Back in February I wrote about two of the four “sitting judges” who are supported by Governor Hogan. I include that article again below. But since then the situation has become much more dire. I focused last time on why you should vote for the sitting judges. But this time, we need to talk about why you should vote against their opponent, Marylin Pierre, regardless of your political affiliation.

First, Mrs. Pierre has been determined to be unqualified numerous times by her (mostly Democratic) peers.

Between 2012 and 2017, Ms. Pierre applied for 14 different judicial vacancies in Montgomery County. Her applications were vetted and reviewed by Trial Courts Nominating Commissions appointed by a Democrat (Governor O’Malley) and by a Republican (Governor Hogan). She was rejected by Gov. O’Malley’s Commissions 8 times, and by Gov. Hogan’s Commissions 6 times. Having been rejected for 14 positions, she no longer applies.

Second, Mrs. Pierre has shown that she is willing to say anything to win, betraying her lack of any real underlying principles.

On June 1, 2020, Ms. Pierre tweeted: “As for the others 3 [Minneapolis] officers, ‘Lock em up’ and then the burden is on them to prove that they are not guilty of ‘contributory negligence and involuntary manslaughter.’ ‘Cops are not immune’ from arrests.”

Does Mrs. Pierre really not understand that the principle of innocent until proven guilty protects all criminal defendants, regardless of who they are and what crimes they are charged with? Additionally, “contributory negligence” is (1) a defense to certain (2) civil tort claims, not a crime. Does Mrs. Pierre not understand this basic legal principle?

And on May 30, 2020, Mrs. Pierre tweeted her criticism of the sitting judges for not commenting on social media about the George Floyd case.

Is Mrs. Pierre unaware that the rules governing judicial conduct in Maryland specifically prohibits judges from commenting on pending or impending cases in any court? Or was she cynically taking advantage of the rules? Either way, it’s not good.

you might be asking yourself why I said no one, regardless of political affiliation, should vote for Mrs. Pierre. Surely there are some who agree with the views she has expressed.

But here is why anyone, and I mean anyone, should vote against her.

For a judicial candidate to get their name on the November General Election ballot, they must win in either the Republican or Democratic Primary election. Historically, insurgent candidates have focused on trying to win in the Republican Primary, because our primary has only about 15% as many voters as the Democratic Primary. It’s simple math: the campaigning necessary to win among 12,000 Republicans is a lot easier than the campaigning necessary to convince 75,000 Democrats.

And in 2018, that is exactly what Marylin Pierre attempted to do.

In January that year, Mrs. Pierre and her treasurer came to our candidate training event and assured those running the event that she would be a strongly conservative judge and asked for the party’s support in the 2018 Primary. Mrs. Pierre came to one of our fundraising dinners in early February to ask for our votes again, as campaign finance records will show. And later that month she came to our yearly convention, and proudly posed for a photo with the current county chairwoman for the Trump for President Campaign.

Mrs. Pierre lost in both parties’ primaries in 2018. In fact, she did worse in the Republican Primary. Obviously, she has decided to change her strategy, and has remade herself into whatever she thinks will help her win.

If this doesn’t convince you, regardless of your political views, not to vote for Marylin Pierre, then nothing will.

****************************************

MEET THE SITTING JUDGES

Reprinted from February 07, 2020

By Alexander Bush

A few days ago, I had the opportunity to speak with two Montgomery County Judges – both recently appointed by Governor Hogan – who are up for election in 2020. During a Presidential Election year, it can be easy to forget how critical these local, nonpartisan elections are.  And as a practicing attorney, I’ve seen enough to know what makes a good judge and what doesn’t. A good judge is experienced, and shows respect to the people who appear before them. Also, a good judge doesn’t need to be a judge to feel respected or successful, but already brings success and respect to the bench with them.

Judge Bibi Berry has been practicing family law for nineteen years, since graduating from Georgetown in 2001, and was most recently an equity shareholder at Paley Rothman.

Judge Michael McAuliffe (also a Georgetown Alum) has been practicing law for thirty-two years and was most recently a partner at with the firm of Ethridge, Quinn, Kemp, McAuliffe, Rowan & Hartinger.

Judge McAuliffe told me that he has tried nearly every kind of case, and has represented individuals, small businesses, and some large businesses. But he can still recognize that the most important thing is to treat everyone as an individual and every case as its own. “I will never assume that I have tried so many cases that I know your case before hearing it,” he told me.

Judge Berry previously served as Family Division Magistrate for the Circuit Court for Montgomery County starting in 2017. She told me that many of the people who appear before her are unrepresented, and she has learned how to build trust with people who are unfamiliar with the system. Simple things, she said, like making sure there is fresh ice water for the parties or by remembering litigants’ names, shows that she respects and values them as individuals.

Judge McAuliffe told me some of his family’s story. His grandfather came to the United States from a dirt-poor part of County Kerry in Ireland, worked hard and was able to send his son to college. Part of Judge McAuliffe’s motivation in seeking the nomination was a desire to give back the country that has given him and his family so much opportunity.

Both Judges agreed that one of the most critical traits of a good Judge is timeliness. I can personally vouch for this. When a Judge takes the bench 40 minutes late, people in the courtroom seem notably less respectful than when a judge is on time. Like many other situations, the culture of a courtroom comes from the top, and when a judge shows people that he respects them and their time, the judge receives more respect in return. So important is this to Judge Berry that she was able to recall the most minute details of the two occasions (in three years as a Magistrate) that traffic accidents caused her to be late.

Something else I like about Judge Berry is that she brings a diversity of experience to the bench. Unlike most judges, Judge Berry started her career as a paralegal and took evening classes to earn her law degree, all while raising her daughter on her own. It is uncommon, but highly beneficial, for a judge to understand the practical realities of juggling childcare, work, and everything else.

Lastly, both Judges gave me the same answer to my question about what aspect of being a judge they find most challenging. Custody decisions, they said, are the most challenging because of the enormous responsibility of making momentous decisions for an innocent child. To me, there is no more important trait for a Judge than to be aware of the awesome power that they have, and the long-lasting impact their decisions can have on others.

In all, Governor Hogan has appointed (or re-appointed) four Judges who will be on the ballot in the primary election. I strongly urge you to support them on April 28th.

_______________

Alexander Bush is a practicing attorney at Rowe Weinstein & Sohn PLLC in Rockville, where he litigates throughout Maryland, D.C., and Virginia, and supervises a half dozen employees. He's also a Member and former Chair of the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee.

I join you as we celebrate the Republican National Convention. Times are so different, four years ago it was the DNC and RNC Conventions, then the Summer Olympics in Brazil, on to Labor Day and the election. (All the media outlets knew who would win – the voting was just a formality)

Ramp ahead to 2020, Olympics postponed a year, DNC and RNC scaled back dramatically, Labor Day vacation choices severely limited because of the Pandemic. (And all the media outlets know who they pray will lose!) The question is, "Will their polling be as good as it was in 2016?"

This week we’ll see a positive convention, a push back at all the negativity and hatred, and a return to prosperity and safety. Support for education, support for policing and protecting the vulnerable, and support for a return to an economy the envy of the world.

As we continue to fight this virus and strive to return to progress, I’d like to thank everyone for helping to make our Convention a success.

Montgomery County Delegates will be proud to nominate Donald Trump for a second term as our President. Although it’s still a virtual convention many will be right down the road in DC to welcome the President as he accepts his nomination. 

From our great Montgomery County they are David Bossie, National Committeeman, CD3 - Alternate Delegate, Anne Koutsoutis, 1st Vice Chair MCGOP Central Committee, CD8 - Delegates Ruth Melson and Mark Uncapher, Alternate Delegate, Pat Fenati, MCGOP Central Committee.  At-Large Delegates: Marcus Alzona, MCGOP Central Committee, Amie Hoeber, former CD6 GOP Congressional candidate, Maria Sofia, President of MD Young Republicans (MDYRs), Josephine Wang, MCGOP Central Committee.  At-Large Alternate Delegates: Michael Higgs, &, Dwight Patel, MCGOP Central Committee, Gail Weiss, MCGOP Central Committee & President Potomac Women’s Republican Club

Thank you to the Montgomery County GOP Delegation.

Contact me with comments at Chairman@MCGOP.com

Hello Fellow Republicans,

Now that the DNC has wrapped up their convention of platitudes, it is full steam ahead to the RNC Convention. In the coming week, Americans will hear about the countless results that President Trump has delivered for the American people.

Along these lines, I am very excited to share with you our new Trump Top 10! With all the results the President has produced, it is a challenge to narrow the list down.

Our hope is that this one-page “Trump Top 10” is resource for you. Print it out, enlarge it on foamboard , and/or print 500 copies and hand it out as you knock on doors! Onward to victory!

Assistant Secretary of the 2020 RNC Convention
RNC Maryland National Committeewoman

Reprinted with permission.

By Josephine Wang

“Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” still ring true during the pandemic of 2020! A perfect example is our MCGOP speaker from the last meeting we held at Lahinch restaurant. April Wang spoke passionately about how she came to the United States legally, and immediately immersed herself into the American Dream of opportunities by getting an MA in Communications and a certificate from the Wharton School of Business Management. 

I first met her during our initial Watch Party on June 20, 2019 when the President announced that he would run for office again in 2020. With a sharp eye and due diligence, April knew this occasion provided a vital opportunity to help out during this important campaign. The subsequent meetings we had were equally enthusiastic with various speakers, including National Committeewoman Nicolee Ambrose.

Then we were hit by the virus! Although it shut down most of the businesses, thanks to the enthusiasm of the MCGOP club and its active members with high tech experience, the campaign has been carried on via Zoom and other social media! Also, the fact that President Trump scheduled numerous TV news conferences encouraged us to carry on, especially when we were in lockdown mode.

Meanwhile, more than 43,000 voter contacts have been made by April and her volunteers!

There has also been ongoing technology training, which has become an integral part of the presidential campaign! Since relationships take time to develop, I was glad to have asked April to help with the MCGOP’s Presidential Campaign Kickoff on 11/3/2019, plus the Lunar New Year event on 2/7/2020, plus training some of us on the use of TrumpTalk, etc. She has always made time for us!

Although I’m a veteran of political campaigning, I don’t recall using this new technology.  Not to be discouraged, I asked and queried about it. Now, with a little more than a couple of months left in this race, it’s more important than ever to pool all our resources for President Trump!!!

During the campaign seasons for Reagan and Bush, I took 3 months off from being an MCPS teacher to pick up the ball nonstop for them. Now it’s “Deja Vu All Over Again” with new faces, but the same values, guaranteed by our Constitution!

Thanks to everyone who came to the last meeting, with 97 Facebook visitors and 14 guests, who attended in person at Lahinch, thanks to Dwight Patel. Watch for the next monthly meeting!

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Joséphine Wang is Chair of Trump MOCO 2020 and a Member of the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee.

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