By Anne Koutsoutis

Anne Koutsoutis is a Member and former Vice Chair of the Montgomery County, MD Republican Party Central Committee. She is also the President of the Chevy Chase Women's Republican Club.

Congratulations 2020 Woman of The Year - Ruth Melson:

Dennis Melby, former Chairman, presented the 2020 MCGOP Woman of the Year award to Ruth Melson at the Awards reception in Gaithersburg.

Ruth was among the earliest of Trump supporters and has worked tirelessly for his campaigns.   She made the most phone calls on behalf of President Trump in 2020. As a matter of fact, she has received a special recognition from the Trump campaign organization for such tremendous effort!

By Christopher Hekimian

The history of the Democratic Party on matters of race from the party’s inception through the Civil War.

• 19 February 1807. Aaron Burr Arrested for Treason. Later acquitted based on suspicious circumstances involving the judge (Chief Justice John Marshall), who was a foe to President Jefferson[1] , who brought the suit against Burr, and Chief Juror John Randolph- who was also an outspoken critic of Jefferson.[2]
• 1812 Tammany Hall, the seat of the democratic party in New York City was notorious for its legendary corruption which spanned most of the 19th century and sone of the 20th.[3]
• March 4^th, 1829. Andrew Jackson was elected president. Records indicate that Andrew Jackson was pro-slavery and was himself a brutal slave owner. Moreover, he did not free the slaves he purchased upon his death like many others, including Thomas Jefferson did.[4] [5]
• 28 May, 1830. Democrats under Jackson pass the Indian Removal Act and begins the eradication of the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole Nations. thousands of Native Americans died as a result of the land confiscation and human relocation efforts authorized by the act. Jackson's democrats passed the bill by a margin of 101 to 97- Jackson's democrats made up 97% of those voting for the confiscation of indian lands and the forced removal of the Indians. In contrast, about 96% of the representatives from other parties opposed the bill.[6] [7]
• 1836, democrat Franklin Pierce, while serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, supported what came to be known as the slavery gag rule, which allowed for anti- slavery petitions to be received by the house of representatives, but not read or considered. This passed the House in 1836 and remained in place until 1844.[8] [9]
• 4 March 1837. Democrat Van Buren wins the presidency and upholds his commitment in support of slavery. In his inauguration speech he expressed "I must go into the Presidential chair the inflexible and uncompromising opponent of every attempt on the part of Congress to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia against the wishes of the slaveholding states, and also with a determination equally decided to resist the slightest interference with it in the States where it exists."[10]
• The closing of the Bank of the United States by Andrew Jackson plunged the US into the economic depression known as the "Panic of 1837". The bank closure was perceived as an attack against the funding sources of opponents to the democratic party by many. Jackson was censured by Congress for what they claimed was an abuse of presidential power against the Bank of the United States.[11] [12]
• Van Buren completes the indian removal process initiated by Democrats under Andrew Jackson. Van Buren ordered the U.S. Army into the Cherokee Nation. The army rounded up as many Cherokees as possible into temporary stockades and then marched the captives, to the Indian Territory (what would eventually become Oklahoma. Estimates of the dead native Americans range between 4000 and 25000. The tragic event occurred over the course of between 3 to 6 months. It became known as "the Trail of Tears".[13] [14]
• James Polk was elected President. Polk purchased slaves with his salary as President and did not free his slaves upon his death in 1853.[15] Polk even used his slaves in the White House instead of paid staff.[16]
• Democrat James Buchanan, as U.S. Secretary of State, sided with pro-slavery southern democrats in blocking the Wilmot Proviso which would have banned slavery in any territories acquired from Mexico as a result of the Mexican-American War. Supporters for the Wilmot Proviso helped form the basis for the Republican Party.[17]
• Buchanan supported the Compromise of 1850 which admitted California as a free state but would allow any new western territories to decide the slavery question on their own before being admitted as a state. Part of the compromise made it easier for slaveowners to recover runaway slaves.[18]
• In 1854 the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 was passed. This repealed the Missouri Compromise and would allow slavery west of the Missouri river. Missouri would enter the union as a slave state and Kansas would be allowed to determine the question of slavery on it's own. 69% of Democrats voted in favor of the act and 81% of the Whig party voted against it. This event led to a wave of violence against abolitionists in Kansas referred to as "Bleeding Kansas". Democrat Franklin Pierce was president at the time.[19]
• "Bleeding Kansas" occurs when pro-slavery democrats from Missouri beat, tar and feather and murder abolitionists in Kansas. The leader of the Pro-Slavery Missourans was Democrat United States Senator David Rice Atchison. Atchison was quoted as saying "kill every God-damned abolitionist in the district" when referring to Kansas. About 55 people were killed during the 4 year Bleeding Kansas debacle.[20] [21]
• March, 1855. Pro-Slavery Democrats from Missouri cast 4968 fraudulent votes for slavery in a Kansas territorial election- such that 94.6% of the total of 5247 pro-slavery votes cast were fraudulent and cast by Missourans. Democrat President Franklin Pierce let the fraudulent election results stand.[22]
• March 6^th, 1857. Democrat Justice Roger Taney hands down the Dred Scott decision effectively barring slaves from the protections of the U.S. Constitution. The supreme court decision was split 7-2 in favor, on party lines. The Whig (Republican) justices voted for constitutional protections for slaves. Justice Samuel Nelson, who voted against constitutional protections for slaves was a democrat appointed by Whig president John Tyler.[23]
• August 1858. Pro-slavery Missouri Democrats again attempt to steal the election for the territorial government of Kansas. Democcrat President James Buchanan accepted their efforts as legitimate and declared Kansas "as much of a slave state as Georgia or South Carolina" The fraud leading to the adoption of the pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution in Kansas was so rampant and obvious, the U.S. House of Representatives voted against the Democrat-held Senate and President and a new election was ordered, which the abolitionists won, garnering 85% of the vote.[24] [25]
• 1858, In retaliation against Democrat Senator Stephen Douglas for not supporting the Lecompton Constitution and for opposing the electoral fraud perpetrated by Democrats in the Kansas territorial election, President Buchanan uses government contracts and Executive influence to derail Douglas' upcoming election. The effort does not succeed and Douglas was reelected. Although Stephen Douglas opposed the obvious fraud of the Lecompton Constitution, he was no friend of African Americans. In his Presidential debate with Republican, Abraham Lincoln, he said "I do not regard the Negro as my equal, and positively deny that he is my brother or any kin to me whatsoever."[26] [27]
• August 1861- July 1864, the Republican Congress passed the set of acts collectively known as the Confiscation Acts. The acts were designed to weaken the confederacy, first by freeing the slaves that were used in support of the confederate military and then those that were owned by civilian and military confederate officials. Another act extended to confiscation of property and ultimately the emancipation of all slaves was passed. The acts were passed by Republicans against near unanimous Democrat opposition.[28]
• April 16, 1862: President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill ending slavery in Washington DC. The tally showed a distinct partisan divide with all the yes votes coming from Republicans and all the Democrats and Unionists voted against or absent. One Republican voted against the bill. The bill passed 29 to 14.[29]
• July 2, 1862: After being vetoed by Democrat President James Buchanan, Republican Congressman John Morrill from Vermont championed and successfully passed the Land Grant Act. The Land Grant Act established colleges and universities that would be open to native American and African Americans. The act passed in part due to the secession of 11 southern states that were aligned with the confederacy.[30] [31]
• 8 April 1864: The 13th amendment, banning slavery passes the U.S. Senate 38 to 6 with 100% Republican support and with 43% of democrats in opposition.[32]
• 15 June, 1864 the Republicans amended the Militia Act of 1862 to give equal pay to African American soldiers.[33]
• June, 1864 the Republican controlled congress voted to repeal the Democrats Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. No Democrats voted to repeal. [34]
• October 29th, 1864: Sojourner Truth, a female African-American abolitionist and former slave wrote " I never was treated by anyone with more kindness and cordiality than were shown to me be that great and good man (Abraham Lincoln)"[35]
• 31 January 1865: the 13th amendment, banning slavery was passed by the house with unanimous Republican support and with 77% of Democrats voting against it.[36]
• 3 March, 1865: Republican congress establlishes the Freedmen's Bureau to provide healthcare, education and technical assistance to emancipated slaves. The bill passed both houses of congress but was vetoed by President Andrew Johnson. The bill was signed by President Lincoln and became law- but it's provisions only lasted for one year. After Lincoln's assassination and when Andrew Johnson was President, Republican senator Lyman Trumbull introduced a bill to reinstate the provisions and to expand the program. Twice bills passed by the house and senate were vetoed by President Johnson until 1866 when the senate and house were able to override Johnson's veto.[37]
• 9 April, 1865. Confederate general Robert E. Lee surrenders to General Ulysses S.Grant at Appomattox courthouse in Virginia.[38]
• April, 1865. "Black codes", laws designed to impair the upward mobility of freed slaves in southern society were passed by Democratic-held legislatures in several southern states. The black codes were intended to ensure that African Americans remained second-class citizens in the south. The Freedmen's Bureau and the Civil Rights Act of 1866 were championed by Republicans in order to protect the interests of southern blacks. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was passed by Republicans against unanimous Democrat opposition. [39] [40]
• April 14, 1865. John Wilkes Booth, a pro-slavery sympathizer with the Democrat party assassinated Abraham Lincoln.[41]

_____

Note: The researcher uncovered multiple references to how somehow "Republicans" and "Democrats" switched places after the civil war. No explanation is ever given with the incorrect assertion. In fact, it is based on a misunderstanding involving "Conservatives" of the time that wanted to "conserve" slavery (mostly southern Democrats) and "Liberals" that favored abolition and liberating the slaves (Republicans in general). It is the labels of "liberal" and "conservative" that have changed over time. As the history shows, pre-civil war Democrats were predominantly in favor of slavery and pre- civil war Republicans were predominantly against it. With respect to civil rights for African Americans, the pre-war trend continued well into the 20th century.

_____

[1] "The Conflict That Shaped Our Constitutional Order", Kyle Sammin, National Review, 3/10/2018, URL: https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/03/john-marshall-thomas-jefferson-shaped-american-order/. Accessed 4/10/22

[2] "John Randolph of Roanoke" Wikipedia. URL: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Randolph_of_Roanoke#Political_career. Accessed 4/10/22

[3] "Tammany Hall- New York City's Political Machine Was the Home to Legendary Corruption". Robert McNamara, ThoughtCo. URL: https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-tammany-hall-1774023. Accessed 4/10/22

[4] "The 5 Reasons Why Andrew Jackson was a Cruel Slaveholder". Charlotte Zobeir Ali. La Bibliothèque. URL: https://medium.com/la-biblioth%C3%A8que/the-5-reasons-why-andrew-jackson-was-a-cruel-slaveholder-b4da742713c5. Accessed 4/10/2022

[5] "List of presidents of the United States who owned slaves". Wikipedia.URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_the_United_States_who_owned_slaves. Accessed 4/10/2022

[6] "Indian Removal Act". Wikipedia. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Removal_Act#Vote. Accessed 4/15/2022.

[7] "To Pass S.102.(P.729)". Govtrack. URL: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/21-1/h149. Accessed 4/15/2022.

[8] "Franklin Pierce". Wikipedia. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Pierce#U.S._House_of_Representatives. Accessed: 4/29/2022

[9] "21st Rule". Wikipedia. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21st_Rule. Accessed: 4/29/2022

[10] Martin Van Buren Inaugural Speech. 4 March, 1837. Reprinted by Bartleby. URL:https://www.bartleby.com/124/pres25.html. Acessed 4/15/2022.

[11] "Panic of 1837", Wikipedia, URL:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panic_of_1837. Accessed 4/10/2022.

[12] "1833, September 10- Andrew Jackson shuts down Second Bank of the U.S.". (This day in history) History. URL: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/andrew-jackson-shuts-down-second-bank-of-the-u-s. Accessed 4/10/2022

[13] "Indian Removal Act". Softschools. URL: https://www.softschools.com/viewTimeline.action?id=415. Accessed: 4/15/2022

[14] "How long did the Trail of Tears last in days". Similaranswers. URL: https://similaranswers.com/how-long-did-the-trail-of-tears-last-in-days/#how-long-did-the-trail-of-tears-start-and-end. Accessed 4/15/2022.

[15] "This President Secretly Purchased Enslaved Children While in Office". Becky Little. History.com. URL: https://www.history.com/news/president-james-polk-slavery-children. Accessed: 4/18/2022

[16] "Plantations & Politics". Zacharie W. Kinslow. The White House Historical Association. URL: https://www.whitehousehistory.org/plantations-politics. Accessed: 4/18/2022

[17] "Wilmot Proviso- United States history". Encyclopedia Britannica. URL: https://www.britannica.com/event/Wilmot-Proviso. Accessed: 4/18/2022

[18] "James Buchanan". History.com. URL: https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/james-buchanan. Accessed: 4/18/2022

[19] "Kansas–Nebraska Act". Wikipedia. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas%E2%80%93Nebraska_Act#Enactment. Accessed: 4/18/2022

[20] " People & Events- Bleeding Kansas 1853 - 1861". PBS Resource Bank. URL: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2952.html. Accessed: 4/19/2022

[21] "Violence Disrupts First Kansas Election". History.com. URL: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/violence-disrupts-first-kansas-election. Accessed:4/19/2022

[22] "Community Conflict- LeCompton Constitution Senate Speeches". Springfield-Greene County Library District. URL: https://ozarkscivilwar.org/archives/1426. Accessed:4/19/2022

[23] "Dred Scott v. Sandford". Ballotpedia. URL: https://ballotpedia.org/Dred_Scott_v._Sandford. Accessed: 04/19/2022

[24] "James Buchanan- The LeCompton Constitution". World Biography- U.S. Presidents. URL: https://www.presidentprofiles.com/Washington-Johnson/James-Buchanan-The-lecompton-constitution.html. Accessed: 4/19/2022

[25] "John McLean". Wikipedia. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McLean. Accessed: 04/19/2022

[26] "Stephen A. Douglas: A Study of the Attempt to Settle the Question of Slavery in the Territories by the Application of Popular Sovereignty- 1850-1860". The Washington Historical Quarterly. Vol II, October 1907 to July, 1908. pp 314-317. URL: https://books.google.com/books?id=hbQ3AQAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false.

Accessed: 4/19/2022

[27] "First Debate: Ottawa, Illinois". The Lincoln- Douglas Debates. National Park Service. URL: https://www.nps.gov/liho/learn/historyculture/debate1.htm. Accessed: 4/19/2022

[28] "Civil War- Confiscation Acts". Mr. Lincoln and Freedom. URL: http://www.mrlincolnandfreedom.org/civil-war/congressional-action-inaction/confiscation-acts/. 4/27/2022

[29] "On a party line vote, the U.S. Senate votes to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia". House Divided- Civil War Research Engine. Dickinson College. URL: https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/38983.  Accessed: 4/19/2022

[30] "Morrill Land-Grant Acts". Wikipedia. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrill_Land-Grant_Acts#Passage_of_original_bill . Accessed: 4/27/2022

[31] "Creating Land-Grant Colleges". U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. URL: https://www.visitthecapitol.gov/exhibitions/artifact/roll-call-vote-morrill-act-us-senate-june-10-1862. Accessed: 4/27/2022

[32] "The Senate Passes the Thirteenth Amendment- April 8, 1864". U.S. Senate. URL: https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/senate-and-constitution/senate-passes-the-thirteenth-amendment.htm. Accessed: 4/27/2022

[33] "The History of Equal and Fair Payment to Bothe the Black and White Soldiers". Walter Opinde. Black then and Now. URL: https://blackthen.com/history-equal-fair-payment-black-white-u-s-soldiers/. Accessed: 4/29/2022

[34] "To Consider H. R. 512, (13 Stat 200) A Bill Repealing The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, and All Acts and Parts oOf Acts For The Rendition of Fugitive Slaves." Govtrack. URL: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/38-1/s333. Accessed: 4/27/2022

[35] "Sojourner Truth Visits President Lincoln". Civil War Book of Days, Volume 5, Issue 43. URL: https://civilwarbookofdays.org/2014/10/24/sojourner-truth-visits-president-lincoln/. Accessed: 4/29/2022

[36] "How Republicans and Democrats Voted on Key Constitutional Amendments". Almanac News-Town Square. URL: https://almanacnews.com/square/2015/01/15/how-republicans-and-democrats-voted-on-key-constitutional-amendments. Accessed: 4/27/2022

[37] "Freedmen’s Bureau Acts of 1865 and 1866". United States Senate. URL: https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/FreedmensBureau.htm. Accessed: 04/29/2022

[38] "When and How Did the American Civil War End?". HistoryHit. URL: https://www.historyhit.com/american-civil-war-ends/?msclkid=7d0a91c5c7cc11ec8d2e663e66971b50. Accessed: 4/29/2022

[39] "What Were the Black Codes?". Study.com. URL: https://study.com/learn/lesson/what-were-the-black-codes-history.html. Accessed: 4/29/2022

[40] "Republicans passed the first Civil Rights Act, in 1866". Human Events. URL: https://archive.humanevents.com/2012/04/17/republicans-passed-the-first-civil-rights-act-in-1866/. Accessed: 4/29/2022

[41] "Was John Wilkes Booth a Democrat?". Study.com. URL: https://study.com/academy/answer/was-john-wilkes-booth-a-democrat.html. Accessed: 4/27/2022

Volume 2 of the “Critical Race HISTORY” list will address key events like the formation of the KKK, the attempts to legalize lynching, Jim Crow laws and attempts to fight or circumvent civil rights laws.

History is free to all people. Thank you to the information sources listed above. This document can be copied and circulated without restriction. 2022

_

Chairman's Message

Montgomery County is in transition. Like many of the jurisdictions around the country, Montgomery County is waking up to a new reality, a reality unlike what they envisioned for themselves and their families even 20 years ago.

Our County has become a place where people don’t feel safe in their homes and children aren’t safe in school. The Montgomery County Public School system has devolved from being one of the top public school systems in the nation, to not even being top in the state of Maryland. Our local economy has stagnated and fallen behind Northern Virginia, Prince George's County and even Washington, DC.  Our residents and business owners feel over-mandated, controlled, and subordinate to local leaders who are tone deaf to the real issues addressing the County.

County residents are fed up and have grown weary with the current County leadership that has propagated the same failed policies and played musical chairs with the same people for 12 years with no real progress. County residents are seeing the worsening violent crime, decline in school performance, increasing debt to finance the county budget, and moribund business and job growth. This is not sustainable. 

The time for change and new leadership is now.

We need leaders that can bring common sense back to our local government. Specific strategies include reviewing our current expenses before committing to new ones; prioritizing County spending so our tax dollars are focused on need-to-have rather than nice-to-have programs; partnering with local business instead of being an impediment to progress; supporting and funding our police and first responders; having our children taught the core basic educational requirements in reading, math and science, as well as the arts; and providing mental and financial help to those in real need.

Even with the mess that the current county leadership has left us with, I still have hope that the voters “get it.” That simple, basic, conservative values will make a resurgence…but the time to act is now. It’s time to get out from behind your keyboard, get off Facebook and get in the ring.

We can’t make a change until we get good people in office.

With only a week to file, we need great candidates. If you have the fire in the belly and want to make real change in in Montgomery County, please  contact me at [email protected]

Come join us and be part of the RED WAVE in Montgomery County - Be Silent No Longer - stand up, speak up and together we will make a difference!!

House Panel Pushes to Further Fragment Our Immigration System by Moving Courts

COMMENTARY BY

A New Congressional Map for Maryland

By Neil Parrott

Great news!  The voters of Maryland have won.  The extremely partisan gerrymandered congressional map that was passed in December by the legislature has officially been stopped.

To see Maryland’s new congressional map and to read a specific analysis of how this applies to District 6, please go to neilparrott.org/map.  

I have been glad to fight for fair representation for the people of Maryland for over 10 years with Judicial Watch’s help.  

First, as Chairman of MDPetitions.com, I worked with Maryland citizens all over the state to gather over 65,000 signatures to force the redistricting map on the ballot for the 2012 election.  Judicial Watch then helped me sue the state to try to change the unfair language on the ballot question.  After that, we worked together to sue the state in federal court to try to overturn the 2012 map.  Finally, in 2022 we fought for and gained a victory for more fair elections.
 
Governor O’Malley, in court and during speaking engagements, indicated that the reason for dividing the Western Maryland District in 2012 was simply to remove Republican Congressman Roscoe Bartlett.  That map was wrong then, and the 2021 map that continued that division was even worse.

The 2021 map that I took to court with Judicial Watch was an 8 Democrat to 0 Republican.  The map was overturned by Judge Lynn Battaglia who indicated that the map was “an outlier and a produce of extreme partisan gerrymandering.”  That map pushed through by the Democrat Leadership in the General Assembly where every Republican legislator voted against it and where Governor Hogan vetoed it.  

Think about it; that map would have significantly hindered any Republican in Maryland from being elected to the US Congress.  Republicans consistently garner over 38% of the votes for congress which would suggest 2.8 Republican Congressman in the Federal Delegation

While still a gerrymander, the 2022 map passed by the General Assembly on March 30, 2022, finally attempted to respect political boundaries and restored all of Frederick County into Congressional District 6, as it should have been all along.
 
After reaching a deal with the Attorney General (AG), Governor Hogan signed the new map into law on April 5th. The deal meant that the AG's office wouldn't try to overturn Judge Battaglia's ruling and that the Governor and I, along with the other plaintiffs in the lawsuit, wouldn't continue in court to work for a different map.

As such, the extremely partisan gerrymandered map that was passed in December 2021 is gone.  This is a huge victory for the people of Maryland.
 
Is the new map completely fair?  No.  But it is much better for the people of Maryland, which was the ultimate goal.
 
Now that the map is settled, I look forward to running for US Congress in a district where the people will actually have a chance to pick their representatives, rather than having the incumbent politicians handpick their voters to protect their seats.  To learn more about my race for Congress, please visit neilparrott.org and see how you can help.

Neighbors Challenge the Frederick County School Board

The folks in Frederick County want better schooling for their community. A non-partisan group has banded together to fight the Woke, far-left Board and Teachers Unions who’ve taken over the public education system, and they’re being supported in their run for the School Board.

Called Education – NOT Indoctrination they’re gaining steam in their efforts to lead the charge and return public education to quality education. Check out their website HERE.

Neighbors help each other improve their communities, drop them a  line if you're interested in helping them.

Join us for our 

Montgomery County Republican Party

(MCGOP) Annual Convention

Saturday, April 30, 2022

Doors open at 8:00 AM

Event starts at 9:00

DoubleTree Hotel 620 Perry Parkway, Gaithersburg, MD 20877

Meet our Candidates and fellow Republicans - Discuss Issues and the 2022 Election.

Join the conversation and be part of the process!

Volunteer for campaigns, MCGOP activities & outreach events, pick-up campaign literature & signage, mingle with national, state and local leaders

Register now for this amazing day of discussion, activism, fellowship and unity.  Come for the Event - Stay for the Luncheon

Our luncheon speaker, James Carafano with the Heritage Foundation, is a leading expert in national security and foreign policy challenges.

REGISTER ON-LINE HERE>

Sponsorship Opportunities Available as well as Display Tables for Businesses and Organizations

Rural Women’s Republican Club (RWRC)

Celebrates 60 Years and its Founding Mothers

By: Patsy Dillingham, President RWRC

On Monday, March 21, 2022, Dutch’s Daughter Restaurant in Frederick was the setting for The Rural Women’s Republican Club to celebrate its 60th Anniversary.  Also, celebrated was Jill Chadwick’s 99th birthday (her official birthday was Monday, March 21st), the last surviving Charter Member of the club, and the last two Founding Mothers of the club--Bonnie Anthony and Dorinne Armstrong.  The foundation that these ladies established for the club is still carried on today—strong political values, as well as the importance of Community Outreach.   Thank you to Margie Shultz for being the official photographer.

There were 26 members and guests attending.  Special Guests were:

Jill Chadwick’s Sons and their spouses—Dan and Wykie Seamans; Charles and Jane Ann Chadwick;

Bonnie Anthony’s Daughter— Carole Morgan;

Dorinne Armstrong’s son-- Richard Armstrong and Dorinne’s guest, George Mauser, son of Elaine Mauser, the Founder of the Rural Women’s Republican Club. 

The History of the Rural Women’s Republican Club

By Dorinne Armstrong

The Rural Women’s Republican Club’s was founded on June 5, 1962.  This small club is still appropriately named.  The Upper Montgomery County area is still very much a rural area.  We are surrounded by 95,000 acres of the Agricultural Preserve, with Sugarloaf Mountain towering over the rolling acres of beautiful farms.

Some trivia from that year:

• President John F. Kennedy demands removal of the Soviet missile bases in Cuba;
• Marilyn Monroe dies, apparently from an overdose of sleeping pills.
• U.S. establishes semi-permanent military presence in Vietnam
• Popular songs: Go Away Little Girl, The Loco-Motion, Sherry, Monster Mash, Big Girls Don't Cry;
• The Beverly Hillbillies and The Twilight Zone were the top TV shows;
• Lawrence of Arabia, starring Peter O’Toole, was voted top movie that year;
• Lt. Col. John H. Glenn, Jr. becomes first American to achieve earth orbit;

There was so much happening in that year, it prompted Elaine Mauser (chartered member—now deceased) to get involved in Republican politics.  She took the initiative to call the Montgomery County Federation to see if there was a Republican club in the upper part of the county.  There was not.  So—it all began.  Elaine Mauser, Pat O’Hanlon, Jennie Fulton, Sylvia Herman and Mary Helburn from the Federation, got together for lunch at the Potomac Valley Country Club in upper Montgomery County to discuss plans for starting a new club.  It’s part of the tradition—Rural does its best work over food!  Together, they came up with a list of names and found enough Republican ladies to invite to an organizational coffee to be held at the home of General and Mrs. Wedemeyer in Boyds.

On June 5, 1962, twenty-eight (28) women came for coffee and about fourteen (14) signed up to become the first charter members of the newly formed club.  One woman in attendance suggested that the club be called “The Rural Women’s Republican Club.”   The record shows that she never attended another meeting, but the name still remains.  It’s recorded for posterity that the first paid member was Bessie Reddick of Poolesville and Pat O’Hanlon was the first president of the club.  Jill Chadwick, a charter member, is still in the club today and remains very active.  Although she did not attend the first meeting, Dorinne Armstrong came to the second meeting and is still active today.  Bonnie Anthony is still active today and served as President 1991-1993. 

As with any start-up club, the most urgent need was money.  The one attempt at fundraising was a bake sale at Selby’s Market, where the club netted $18.07.  To earn more money, two members, Elaine Mauser and Dorinne Armstrong came up with the idea of having an old-fashioned box supper in the barn on the Wedemeyer farm, where the Armstrongs were renting at the time.  The Wedemeyer’s were kind enough to give the club permission to use the old barn (probably thought it was a great way to get it cleaned out.)  The club went to work!  Everyone pitched in we scraped the floor, ridding it of years of barn gunk, hung wire for Chinese lanterns, pushed hay around to provide appropriate seating, hired a Country Music group called “The Blue Grass Travelers,” and sent out invitations. A tradition was in the making.  On June 7, 1963, the first “Saturday Night in the Country” began and that tradition is still very much alive.  About 30 couples attended the first one, each with a beautifully wrapped box supper to be auctioned off by a real live auctioneer.  The first Saturday Night in the Country netted $558.35—not bad for a small club in its embryonic stages.  Though the format has changed some through the years, we still have an auction, good food, entertainment and best of all we have a great time with each other and our guests.

After all these years, the Rural Women’s Republican Club remains small but mighty!  We support our candidates very well, work hard for Republican causes and we always do very well in our volunteer hours. Our Community Outreach continues to be a top priority of the club. The friendships that have been established in this club have been long lasting, and the family atmosphere has been an incentive for others to join this political and caring club.

###

Come on Man, You know the thing...

One of our Montgomery County residents wrote that they could swear they heard this exchange during the recent confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson between her honor and Senator Marsha Blackburn.

• Blackburn, R-Tenn: “Can you provide a definition for the word ‘woman’?” 
• Jackson: "I’m not a biologist.” 
• Blackburn: “Okay so you know how to define ‘biologist’ but not ‘woman’?
• Jackson: “I’m not one of those things that decides what a biologist is.”
• Blackburn: “What do you mean by ‘thing’?”
• Jackson; “I don’t know that either. I suggest you ask President Biden. He says we pledge allegiance to the ‘Thing, you know, the Thing.’.”
• Blackburn: “Okay to summarize, you can’t define what a woman is because you are not a biologist, and can’t know what a biologist is because you aren’t the Joe Biden thing that determines what a biologist is, so you can’t ever know what the definition is of a woman because you wouldn’t know a biologist if you saw one. Is my understanding correct?”
• Jackson: “You are correct, Madam Senator.” 
• Blackburn: “Did a biologist tell you to call me Madam Senator?”
• Jackson: “Oops.”

Of course such absurdities would never happen in the United States Senate...right?