Equity is not Equality

By Dennis Melby

The Republican Party was founded to fight for equality, so that people regardless of color would be free to excel for themselves, their family and their community. Today’s far-left WOKE movement pushes something called equity – no matter the effort or circumstance government must provide a guaranteed equal outcome and status for everyone.

It’s called DIE, diversity, inclusion, and equity – and it’s being pushed in schools, business and government. Hard to argue with diversity and inclusion - parents teach that to their kids. But equity and equality are different ideas being pushed as the same with entirely different outcomes.

Cubans are casting themselves in boats to escape the 'equity' of their Communist paradise. Venezuelans are marching through dangerous jungles to reach the US to escape the 'equity' of their “Social Experiment”.  Even North Koreans risk torture and imprisonment to escape the 'equity' of poverty and starvation to reach Communist China (a county that touts equity but doesn’t practice it!)

You’ve even seen it here in Northern Virginia where many Asian kids were not told of their excellent test scores and high-ranking achievement for fear that it would ruin the “equity” for others in the school system. If we can raise some kids up we have to knock some kids down in order to achieve 'equity'. Perhaps you've seen Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears recently calling for those perpetuating this hoax to be fired.

We still stand for equality and hope you do too. And we’ll oppose any efforts to knock down achievers of any color, religion, gender or social status in order to promote societal “equity”.

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Dennis Melby is Vice Chair of the Montgomery County Maryland Republican Party. He can be reached at [email protected]

The Republican Party Wants You!!   

By Amy Waychoff and Sandy Tuttle

You may have heard by now that the Maryland General Assembly has returned for the 2023 session.   With Governor Wes Moore at the helm, it promises to be a challenging 90 day session.  And, while it has been exactly 100 years since the Democrats achieved a veto proof majority in the Maryland General Assembly, that does NOT mean that Republicans cannot influence which bills get passed. 

Democrats need to know that they cannot ‘steamroll’ their radical bills through the legislature.  For example, opponents of sanctuary legislation (that acts as a magnet for illegal aliens to come to Maryland) went en masse to Annapolis to testify against these bills - until 2020 and then COVID struck.  We were able to successfully keep  bills like this from passing out of the judiciary and other committees.  Pro-life advocates have similarly been successful in thwarting efforts on several fronts.  One bill would have allowed abortion until 28 days after birth.

Which brings us to today.  Hearings will begin soon on some of the up to 3,000 bills that the legislators will likely introduce.  While tracking all the bills is time consuming, we have Ella Ennis of MFRW who does this for us.  In addition, she often sends out talking points and sample testimony on key bills.    Emails, testifying in person or by zoom, making calls, it all makes a difference.    While all of this may seem daunting,  we can all be citizen activists. 

This year, from our own Montgomery County Delegates,  a bill on ranked choice voting (RCV) has once again been introduced.  RCV can be complicated to understand for a variety of reasons, but simply, RCV ranks all of the candidates in order of preference, and then re-tabulates and moves votes around.  Republicans have successfully rallied against in the past, and will need to do so again this session.  What about 16 year olds voting in local elections?  That doesn’t seem like such a good idea and frankly there are other ways for teenagers to get involved in local politics.  

Which brings us to the Maryland State Constitution course beginning Friday February 3rd at 7 pm at the MCGOP Headquarters.  Please go to https://www.mcgop.com/maryland_constitution_class for further details on how to sign up.   All of our legislators swear to uphold the federal and state constitution.  It’s great to be able to remind our state officials of their obligations to ‘we the people.’     

If you have children, grandchildren, or just want better for our state, then please consider getting involved.

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Amy Waychoff and S. Alexandra Tuttle are Members of the Maryland Republican Central Committee for Montgomery County.

It is time for Good Governance in Montgomery County

The rushed unanimous passage of Thrive 2050, a flawed master plan impacting the county for the next thirty years by a lame duck County Council was a sad day for democracy in our county.  Elected officials once again put ideology and the interests of their political friends ahead of common sense and the rights of county residents.

The Montgomery County Republican Party denounces the County Council for:

• Failure to engage with and listen to concerns and suggestions of residents and major civic groups.

• Ignoring the impact Thrive 2050 will have on our poorest communities whose residents will be priced out of their homes.

• Passage of a master plan that jeopardizes residents’ property rights and property values.

• Approval of a Master Plan developed by disgraced planning officials who repeatedly violated state and county transparency and public disclosure laws about their meetings and activities. The Council was content to take no action against the Chairman of the Planning Board and its members until media exposure disclosed their actions.

• Rushing the appointment of a completely new County Planning board in the last days of the Council’s term.

We call upon County residents to hold their county officials accountable and to vote wisely for competent and common-sense County Executive and Council members.  Our county deserves officials who are transparent, who listen to residents, and who put public service and good governance ahead of political party.

It is time for good governance in Montgomery County!

The Republican Party of Montgomery County Maryland

Let’s take advantage of the free publicity my Democrat opponent has just given to me in District 19.  He has renamed me Dr. Dogwhistle.  Here are some of his words that denigrate all the work I have done for the past forty plus years as a public health pharmacist working in local underserved Black and Hispanic communities and especially in Haiti,  In Haiti, I am affectionately called, Dr. Frank, but according to my opponent, no longer should be addressed that way.  As an aside, I have seen no proof of my opponent doing any on the ground work in any of these communities.

What “proof” does my opponent offer to support my new name that negates all I have done for over four decades?  Well, here is his proof:

KAMALA’S HYPOCRITICAL EQUITY WORD SALAD

By Hessie Harris

Kamala Harris has again displayed her case of verbal diarrhea. She recently stated that “equity” requires that the Florida search, rescue and renewal efforts be first directed to assisting “people of color”.  It was in one of her usual word salads that does not contain one cogent sentence.

She has not even been to the Southern Border which she was assigned to as Immigration Czar.  Therefore unless some entity is channeling information from Florida to her, it is safe to say, she does not have have the basis for making such statement.   She probably will not go to Florida unless she decides she needs to understand the “root causes of Ian”. 

Looking at her statement, one would think that she had just emerged from the earliest days of the 20^th century or perhaps midway of the 19^th.  

It is no secret that in natural disasters during those times, state aid to Blacks was often far less than given to Whites.  Because federal aid came through the states, Blacks were more than shortchanged there too.

That was then and this is now!  There is no reason to believe that federal, state, and local aid is being or will  be unevenly distributed.  When a reporter asked a Black victim of the hurricane on national television if he felt Blacks were being shortchanged, he very enthusiastically and loudly repeated the Governor’s name.  He then added that he would be voting for Governor DeSantis, even though he himself is a Democrat!

News reports from Florida show that DeSantis has been everywhere!  In directing the state’s response to the hurricane, he has been interacting with citizens; volunteers; community leaders; and government officials at all levels including Biden.

Kamala and other Leftists, supported by the mainstream media, work to keep “people of color” agitated and angry claiming that in one way or another, they are being cheated by federal, state and local government. Furthermore, she and her cohorts posture that the Democrats, Leftists, and elites are the champions and protectors of “the people of color”.

They and self-appointed social justice warriors collect money from Whites indoctrinated in assumed guilt for ancient crimes they did not commit but are made to feel they must atone for.   Supposedly, the collectors are to use the huge sums to end “systemic racism”, whatever that is or is purported to be.  But the bulk of the money never reaches those for whom it is intended.  All they get is a few trinkets, financed riots and protests as well as mounds of propaganda, verbal and written.   Black Lives Matter principals for example, railed against Whites for systemic racism and collected at least ninety million dollars in contributions of which they used huge amounts to purchase real estate in very wealthy White neighborhoods.  Apparently, they do not wish to live around poor “people of color” if they can have alternatives. 

Kamala certainly does not, as she unceremoniously ran away from the front of the Vice-Presidential mansion, when illegal aliens were dropped off there.

It is highly hypocritical then for her to pretend concern that “people of color” hurricane victims receive “mythical” equitable relief.

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Hessie L. Harris begins her first term as a Member of the Maryland Republican Central Committee in November.

Former Presidential Candidate Tulsi Gabbard Leaves the Democratic Party

Former Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard announced she is leaving the party Tuesday — blasting the political organization as an “an elitist cabal” driven by “cowardly wokeness.”

”I can no longer remain in today’s Democratic Party that is now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness, who divide us by racializing every issue and stoke anti-white racism, actively work to undermine our God-given freedoms that are enshrined in our Constitution,” the Hawaii congresswoman said in a searing video posted on Twitter.

She condemned the progressive party for being “hostile to people of faith and spirituality” while demonizing the police and protecting criminals “at the expense of law-abiding Americans.”

Montgomery County Executive candidate Reardon "Sully" Sullivan comments on the County Council's Double Standards

"Zoned" Out on Booze?

Is There a Double Standard for Political Appointees?

Gaithersburg, Md: Casey Anderson, the Chair of both the M-NCPPC and the Montgomery County Planning Board since 2014, was recently discovered to have a well-stocked liquor cabinet in his Wheaton office in clear violation of County policy. Reardon Sullivan, Candidate for County Executive stated, “I’m not surprised. Our County government has been a well-guarded club of privileged insiders, operating without checks and balances for the past two decades.”

Anderson’s leadership of the Planning Board and the Board’s decisions impact development and transit throughout the County. “It makes you wonder if any decisions were made under the influence of alcohol and how many unregistered lobbyists or others who partook of Chair Anderson’s liquid gifts?” charged Sullivan. “The leadership of the County should NOT have one rule for political appointees and lobbyists – maintaining a blind eye for boozing it up on the job, while holding County workers to a different standard,” stated Sullivan.

Meet Stacey Sauter

I’m running to serve because I love the state of Maryland and have deep concerns about our future under the current Democrat-controlled legislature. I’m a proud, native Marylander who attended our public schools and Montgomery College before receiving my undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland in 1981. I’m a fifth-generation native of Montgomery County where my father proudly served as a police officer for nearly 30 years. Today I’m a successful businesswoman and a published author. My background includes a Masters’ Degree in Journalism from Columbia University and a second Masters’ Degree in Public Management from the University of Maryland (with honors, 2022). In addition to working as a TV reporter, I’ve held various executive positions with the GOP on local, state, and national levels.

Montgomery County was once synonymous with success. It strove for and achieved excellence in nearly every conceivable area of public and business concern. But now, our formerly top-notch schools are really suffering and only 41% of our state’s third-graders test proficient in reading and math. Montgomery County Police -- always considered to be among the finest in the land -- has been hit hard by the defund the police movement. Our homicide rate is about double what it was last year. We’re losing teachers and sworn officers by the droves, which makes literacy and security two major issues right now.

Maryland GOP Red White & Blue Dinner College Park

Brigitta Mullican, MCGOP Treasurer, and Main Speaker Kellyanne Conway

Former US Senate candidate Lorie Friend, MCGOP Vice Chair Dennis Melby and Montgomery County Executive candidate Reardon "Sully" Sullivan

Last Thursday night in College Park across from the University of Maryland the State Party GOP held their annual Red White and Blue Dinner featuring Congressmen, Delegates and State Senators, elected officials and our Republican candidates. The special guest speaker was the popular former head of President Trumps campaign, Kellyanne Conway, the first woman to ever head a successful Presidential campaign.

Her message was - the people are on our side, and we'll see a dramatic change in the Congress with the midterms. Great candidates will be able to fix a lot of the problems of the past two years, but we need to get out and vote.