Category Archives: mike miller

Adam Pagnucco, mike miller, purple line, transportation

How Mike Miller Helped Save the Purple Line

By Adam Pagnucco.

The Purple Line is the subject of much drama today, but the truth is that the project has always been wrapped in drama and almost died several times. Indeed, it could have met its end back in 2013. The fact that it survived was a near miracle, and that is in part because of one critical person: retiring Senator Mike Miller. For the first time ever, here is the untold story of how Mike Miller helped save the Purple Line.

As the summer of 2013 approached, the Purple Line was facing a critical deadline: the state had to show the federal government that it could afford its share of the rail line’s cost to be eligible for nearly a billion dollars in federal funding. The problem was that the state didn’t have the money. Depleted by revenue declines during the Great Recession, the state’s transportation trust fund was broke. Without new money, we could never show the federal government that we could meet our part of the cost. Baltimore’s Red Line had the same problem. With no adequate state funding, the feds were bound to send their money to other projects around the country. Both the Purple Line and the Red Line would then die.

A group of advocates then put together a coalition called Get Maryland Moving to lobby for new transportation revenues. Our members included smart growth groups, environmentalists, business organizations and local governments from all over the state. We had a website, social media, press hits, lobbying, day-to-day coordination and all the accoutrements of a mass campaign, all thrown together in a few weeks. We wanted the Purple Line and the Red Line, but we understood that the rest of the state needed their projects too. Our approach was to get enough money for everyone because that was the only way new funding would pass.

Right off the bat, my contacts in the General Assembly told me that a transportation revenue increase was dead on arrival. The legislature had passed a variety of tax increases in the 2007 special session, leading to GOP gains in the House of Delegates in the following election. Nevertheless, the Democrats raised the income tax in 2012. Developer Larry Hogan, who had served in the administration of GOP Governor Bob Ehrlich, had founded Change Maryland largely on the tax issue and was a year and a half away from becoming governor. Democratic state legislators conceded privately that more transportation money was necessary, especially for the Red Line and the Purple Line, but they were extremely reluctant to raise taxes again.

We were underdogs but we had two aces in the hole.

Senate President Mike Miller

Miller seemed like an unlikely ally for MoCo as he had masterminded both an income tax increase and a teacher pension shift the year before, both of which disproportionately crushed the county. But Miller was an absolute warrior on the issue of transportation funding. He knew that the entire state had massive infrastructure needs that had no chance of getting built without more money. Ever since the state’s last gas tax hike in 1992, Miller had never stopped talking about transportation funding. As far back as 1997, Miller told the Baltimore Sun: “The money for these projects doesn’t come out of the sky… It’s going to take a tax increase. It’s a bad word, but it’s got to happen.” In 2008, Miller told me in an interview that he had pushed for a 12-cent gas tax increase, declaring, “We need to move forward as quickly as we can on mass transit.”

Miller never gave up when he cared about an issue, and he cared a lot about transportation funding. He also had no fear of Governor Martin O’Malley, who was reluctant to get out front on a revenue increase that voters opposed. In January, Miller introduced his own revenue bill and put O’Malley on the spot, telling the Washington Post, “This needs to be an initiative by the governor… It doesn’t poll well, but that’s what leadership is all about.”

To hell with the naysayers. We had Mike Miller on our side. That meant we had a shot.

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell

Former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell is now known primarily for his gifts scandal in 2014, which led to a conviction that was later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. But before that, McDonnell was a rising star in the national GOP who seemed to be going places. As unlikely as it seems now, in the world of 2013, it was not out of the realm of possibility that both McDonnell and O’Malley would someday be on the presidential tickets of their respective political parties.

In his final year in office, McDonnell put together a giant transportation funding bill, showing a level of boldness that contrasted with the reticence of his rival across the Potomac. Annapolis felt the pressure. O’Malley could not be seen as failing on transportation while McDonnell got a new funding package through a state legislature controlled by Republicans. And McDonnell did just that, scoring a huge success in late February as bipartisan majorities passed his multi-billion dollar transportation bill. McDonnell’s success in Virginia along with Miller’s constant urging prompted O’Malley to get off the bench, as he finally sent over an administration bill in early March. The train was starting to move.

But there was one more problem: Baltimore’s lawmakers were resisting the bill. We thought that the prospect of funding the Red Line gave them reason enough to support it. But some city legislators were indifferent to the Red Line, others were outright opposed, and one even told one of our organizers that the state would build it even without new money because “they owe it to us.” The city wanted something different: state school construction money to fix their aging schools. That could have meant the end of transportation funding right there as not everyone was enthralled with the idea of sending more money to Baltimore. And without the city’s votes, our bill would have died.

So state leaders cut a deal with the city: they would get a billion dollars in school construction money, financed with lottery proceeds, in return for voting for the transportation bill. The city got a great deal but the Washington suburbs got the Purple Line. (Hogan canceled the Red Line two years later, causing city leaders to cry injustice on behalf of a project that many of them never truly wanted.) O’Malley’s bill was amended and passed, generating hundreds of millions of dollars for transportation and keeping the Purple Line alive.

Raising transportation revenue required a team effort. Local governments, advocacy groups, the business community and key elected officials all played a part. But Mike Miller was absolutely critical to the effort. He was the first powerful state leader out of the box on the issue. He had talked about the necessity of raising money for transportation projects for years and years while many other politicians cowered under their desks. He wouldn’t let it go and he publicly took on a sitting governor from his own party to get the money. Having Miller in our corner gave us a fighting chance even when it looked like we would lose. When it was time to cut the final deal, we knew that he had both the desire and the capability to work with others and get it done. And he did. To this day, I believe the Purple Line wouldn’t have survived without him.

Here’s an idea. When the Purple Line opens, the state should name its station on the University of Maryland’s College Park campus for Miller. He loves the university, from which he graduated with two degrees, and he has done as much for the state’s infrastructure as any other Marylander. If anyone deserves recognition of this kind, it is surely Mike Miller.

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Adam Pagnucco, mike miller

Flashback: Mike Miller Meets the Bloggers

By Adam Pagnucco.

With the retirement of Senator Mike Miller, who ruled the Maryland Senate for decades, many stories are being told of his long tenure. This is one of many records he holds: more stories are told about Mike Miller than any other Maryland politician, hands down. My contribution comes from the archives of Seventh State’s predecessor and our first blog, Maryland Politics Watch. It relates what happened the first time I met Miller.

It was January 2008. Believe it or not, there were many more state and local politics blogs back then than there are now. (David Lublin, Just Up the Pike’s Dan Reed and I are some of the rare survivors.) Blogs were new back then and they were starting to get the attention of politicians and the mainstream press. So then-Senator Rich Madaleno convened a group of us to interview the Senate President on the record in Annapolis. Besides Miller and Madaleno, Senator Jamie Raskin and Delegate Kumar Barve also attended.

I was nervous as hell. This was Mike Miller after all! I had heard the stories of how he would chew out reporters when he thought they were wrong. I knew how powerful he was. Here was a man who was elected to the legislature when I was less than a year old and became Senate President when I was a bass guitarist in a high school rock band. He knew more about Maryland politics than the rest of Annapolis put together, much less a rookie blogger like me. So I put on my best suit and my favorite tie and tried to act like I knew I what I was talking about. I hope I amused him!

The passage I reprint below comes from a three-part series I wrote called “Mike Miller Meets the Bloggers.” The issues we discussed are long settled but were hot back then: the 2007 special session, slots, drivers licenses for immigrants, comparing Governors Ehrlich and O’Malley and so on. The interesting thing about the discussion is that it shows how Miller dealt with the media. Most politicians are careful, even guarded, when they are on the record with the press. They leave themselves wiggle room. They avoid antagonizing key groups. They might strategically antagonize some others. (How many Democrats are delighted to take on the gun lobby?) They speak in generalities. You know the drill. It’s politico-speak.

That was not Mike Miller’s way. He spoke in direct, sometimes graphic language. His positions were stark and understandable to everyone. His policy positions were often stated in provocative terms. (You don’t like slots? Fine. How would YOU pay for schools??) The press didn’t have to ask him a question twelve different ways to get something interesting from him. He would get right to the point with a pithy quote – sometimes without even having to be asked. Reporters may not have liked being called out from the rostrum as he sometimes did, but he made their jobs easier by explaining his side of the story in simple terms readily grasped by readers.

Why was Miller, the ultimate politician, so different from other politicians in dealing with press? First, Miller was unusual in that he was absolutely secure in both his Senate seat and his hold on the Senate presidency. Most politicians feel at least some insecurity related to their electoral prospects but not Miller. He could fire at will. Second, Miller was a busy fellow and he did not have time – or any appreciation – for BS. His personality was direct, sometimes to a fault, and he made no effort to adjust that for politics. Third, Miller was often doing his caucus members a favor by being so blunt in the newspaper. Suppose Senator X wanted to pass a bill badly and Miller said it was dead in the Baltimore Sun. No one blamed X for not rounding up the votes; he could say, “Mike Miller killed my bill.” That made life easier for X and no amount of heat could affect the Senate President. He would just go right on being Mike Miller – a role he created and no one else could play!

We may have a few more things to say about the Senate President, but for now, I’ll reprint this column from January 2008. And I’ll leave you with this: whatever you think of him, let’s all recognize that there will never, ever, EVER be another Mike Miller.

*****

Mike Miller Meets the Bloggers, Part Two

In Part One, we laid the scene for you: on one side of the table sat the fearsome, powerful old bull, the indomitable Senate President Mike Miller. On the other side sat a gangly, geeky band of bloggers, united only by their common desire for a post-meeting trip to Ram’s Head Tavern.

A few comments on the Senate President. For more than twenty years, Mike Miller has reigned over the Senate with a gregarious combination of ego, fear and patronage. His personal magnetism is so overwhelming that he could likely charm a bird out of its nest and onto his open palm. But if the bird voted the wrong way on a must-have bill, the hapless creature would be quickly crushed and tossed to the back of the Senate chamber. This demonstrates the Miller Rule, which is a simple one: “Work with me and prosper. Work against me and suffer.” Most Democratic Senators respond to this rule predictably, although there have been exceptions.

We asked Miller a lot of questions, and he gave us a lot of answers. For the benefit of our readers, I did my best to keep up with the exchange. Following are the Senate President’s responses to a few of our prods and pokings. If anyone else in the room recollects it differently, please comment and we’ll adjust the record.

On Governor Ehrlich
A few people remember that at the beginning of Governor Ehrlich’s term, Miller was ready to establish a pragmatic working relationship with him. But that approach ran into problems. “Ehrlich was a nice guy, but he didn’t work, and the state suffered,” Miller grumbled. He was “surrounded by yes-men” and rarely came out of his office. “All he did was put bandages on things!” The old warhorse was clearly relieved to see him gone.

On Governor O’Malley
Miller gave O’Malley lavish credit for moving to act on a deficit that he inherited, even if it cost him politically. “O’Malley knew his numbers would go in the toilet no matter what he did, so he did the right thing.” Miller attacked some of the Governor’s opponents, criticizing them for being “mean-spirited” and spreading rumors. “The Governor is a very progressive person,” Miller insisted. But he warned, “This Governor, in order to get his numbers up, will have to do some things you won’t like.” As an example, he mentioned a new emphasis on crime prevention, not always the highest priority of liberals.

On Slots
As perhaps the greatest champion of slots in the state, Miller’s views are well-known. “We have got to have that money!” he cried. The Senate President predicted that a possible recession would hurt tax revenues, thereby making slots money all the more necessary. “We need to get the slots bill passed whether you like it or you don’t like it!” Miller thundered. So in case you were wondering if Mike Miller had changed his mind on slots, the answer is NOPE!

On Transit
I asked Miller if he had a choice to fund the Washington suburbs’ Purple Line or Baltimore’s Red Line, but not both, which of the two he would pick. I was sure he would dodge this one, but to his credit, he did not. “The Purple Line!” he declared. “You know, I was a University of Maryland – College Park graduate.” Miller pointed out that he proposed a 12-cent gas tax last year but he could not round up enough votes for it. “We need to move forward as quickly as we can on mass transit.”

On Illegal Immigration
“There aren’t more than 2% of the people that understand immigration,” Miller snorted. “If you crack down on illegal immigrants too much, they’ll just bring their families over here.” The Senate President does not support the draconian measures implemented in parts of Virginia, saying, “John McCain tells the truth on this issue.” As for drivers licenses, Miller says, “The Governor has spoken on this. He considers this a national security matter. It’s a tough issue.” Miller did not contest the Governor’s decision to abide by the federal RealID law and end the state’s practice of issuing drivers licenses to illegal immigrants.

On the Regressive Nature of the Special Session Tax Package
Regular readers will recall how I criticized the Senate President for the regressive character of the special session tax package. Leaping into the jaws of the lion, I asked him the following question:

“The tax package that was passed by the special session collected the majority of its revenues from raising the regressive sales tax. If you could have that one back and do it over, would you have taxed the rich a bit more to give the working people a break?”

Miller did not back down from the sales tax. He described it as “the most regressive but also the most acceptable” of the taxes, claiming that he received little protest on it. “But I wish I could have had more from the income tax.” Miller noted, accurately, that part of the Montgomery County delegation, backed by their County Executive, pushed back against the Governor’s rate increase for the top income tax brackets, thereby limiting the legislature’s ability to raise them. “You need 24 votes to pass something through the Senate and I didn’t have the votes to spare!” For the record, let’s stipulate that nobody – absolutely nobody – knows more about getting 24 votes in the Maryland Senate than Mike Miller.

The Senate President has a point and perhaps I was unfair with him. It is true that a substantial portion of MoCo legislators pushed back against the top income tax rate hikes but did not criticize the sales tax. If that part of the MoCo delegation did not protest the tax hikes on the rich, there would have been less need to rely on the more regressive elements of the package. And who knows? Perhaps there would have been less pressure to resort to the much-hated computer services tax.

So while I don’t agree with Miller’s assertion that the sales tax increase is in any way “acceptable,” I will no longer criticize him as primarily responsible for encouraging regressivity in the tax package. There’s plenty of responsibility to go around for that.

On the Computer Services Tax
“The computer tax is not a good tax, but it’s $200 million and I’m going to fight to keep it!” The principal reason for keeping it? “No one can agree on a replacement.”

So other than David Lublin’s Big Question, which I’ll address in Part Three, that’s what I have from Mike Miller. Even though many liberals occasionally disagree with the Senate President, let’s give him his due. He implemented a tough agenda of deficit reduction on the Governor’s behalf. He is more straightforward in answering questions than most politicians. And he keeps a lid on the natural parochialism that might otherwise prevail in the Senate through a hardened mix of guile, intimidation and pragmatism. With a weaker Senate leader, the special session may very well have failed and the need to raise taxes this year would be much greater. So you may not like Mike Miller. But you should respect him.

Even though Senator Jamie Raskin of District 20 (Silver Spring/Takoma Park) attended our blogger fest, we did not flay him as we did his colleagues. In Part Three, you’ll hear from House Majority Leader Kumar Barve.

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mike miller, SEIU Local 500

SEIU Local 500 Endorses “Take a Hike Mike” Candidates

By Adam Pagnucco.

As part of its campaign against Senate President Mike Miller, SEIU Local 500 has endorsed eleven State Senate candidates whom it believes will “change the leadership in the State Senate and, most importantly, change the way things are done in the legislature.”  One of the candidates is Tommi Makila, Miller’s primary election opponent.  The union has previously announced its support for some of these candidates, like Dana Beyer in District 18 and its own member, Aletheia McCaskill, in District 44.  We reprint the union’s press release below.

*****

For Immediate Release
May 7, 2018
Contact: Christopher Honey
honeyc@seiu500.org,

SEIU Local 500 Endorses eleven “Take a Hike Mike” Candidates
Union is supporting candidates that support new leadership in Annapolis

(Gaithersburg, MD) Today, Service Employees International Union Local 500 announces it has selected its initial eleven candidates across the State of Maryland whom they believe will go to Annapolis and change the leadership in the State Senate and, most importantly, change the way things are done in the legislature.

“We need to elect people who will stand up against the status quo in the State Senate. That is why, today we are announcing our support for a team of Senate candidates who will do what it takes to get the people’s business done” said Merle Cuttitta, President of SEIU Local 500.

“We will be supporting this team of candidates with our trademark boots on the ground, digital, paid mail and earned media. We intend to send the message loud and clear that a vote for these candidates is a vote for progress in Annapolis,” added President Cuttitta.

The following candidates are being endorsed today:

District 10 (Baltimore County) – Rob Johnson

District 11 (Baltimore County) – Sheldon Laskin

District 18 (Montgomery County) – Dr. Dana Beyer

District 23 (Prince Georges County) – Tim Adams

District 25 (Prince Georges County) – Delegate Angela Angel

District 27 (Prince Georges, Calvert and Charles Counties) – Tommi Makila

District 40 (Baltimore City) – Delegate Antonio Hayes

District 41 (Baltimore CIty) Senator Jill Carter

District 43 (Baltimore City) Delegate Mary Washington

District 44 (Baltimore City and County) – Aletheia McCaskill

District 45 (Baltimore City) – Delegate Cory McCray

*   *   *

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Adam Pagnucco, mike miller, SEIU Local 500

Fed-Up SEIU Launches “Take a Hike Mike” Website and Super PAC

By Adam Pagnucco.

SEIU Local 500 launched its anti-Mike Miller campaign on Lawyers Mall in Annapolis today.  Attending the rally in addition to SEIU members were former Delegate Jill Carter, who is running for Senate in the district of the recently resigned Nathaniel Oaks; Sheldon Laskin, who is running for Senate against incumbent Bobby Zirkin; Mila Johns, who is running for Delegate in District 18; and of course Miller’s mortal enemy, Comptroller Peter Franchot.  Daily Record reporter Bryan Sears streamed video of the event on Facebook.  The union announced the launch of a new anti-Miller super PAC and a “Take a Hike Mike” website which we screen shot below.

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mike miller

SEIU Political Director Calls Miller “Piece of Excrement”

SEIU Local 500 Political Director Mark McLaurin has termed Senate President Mike Miller a “piece of excrement that calls himself the Senate President.” Not in my copy of How to Win Friends and Influence People but it’s one option. McLaurin loves a good feud like few others, so it’s not exactly shocking.

Complaining about the failure of “my bill” is a double-edged sword because it highlights McLaurin’s ineffectiveness as well as Miller’s opposition. After all, he hasn’t been able to find a way to get the bill through the Democratic Senate even as lots of other liberal legislation passed.

Adding the #buckletupbuttercup may prove more controversial as it’s slang for “a sensitive female” and the sort of insult normally associated with the hard right. Mike Miller probably cares less but it doesn’t provide the image I’d want for SEIU as a group that lashes out at people as sensitive or female.

See Adam Pagnucco’s piece from this morning for more information on SEIU’s no holds barred effort to go after Miller.

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Adam Pagnucco, mike miller, SEIU Local 500

SEIU Local 500 Prepares for War on Mike Miller

By Adam Pagnucco.

SEIU Local 500, one of the largest unions in Maryland, has scheduled an event on Lawyers Mall in Annapolis next week at which it intends to announce “plans to bring about the end of Mike Miller’s tenure as President of the Senate.”

SEIU Local 500 had over 8,000 members and a $5.8 million budget in the year ended 9/30/17.  Its biggest categories of membership are MCPS support staff, childcare workers and adjunct professors.  Its endorsement is highly valued by MoCo politicians and it has a respected political program.  As it has grown over the years, it has become more of a statewide organization in contrast to its roots as a MoCo public employees union.  It has had great success organizing adjunct professors and its top state legislative priority in recent years has been a bill allowing community college employees the right to organize.  (Currently, collective bargaining is prohibited at most Maryland community colleges.)  The bill has died several years in a row and most recently was withdrawn by its Senate sponsor, Guy Guzzone (D-13).

The union blames Mike Miller for not only killing this bill but also blocking other progressive legislation over the years.  Two other sore spots for progressives are the General Assembly sexual harassment bill, which passed the House on a 138-0 vote but has not moved in the Senate, and the $15 minimum wage bill, which has not moved in either chamber.  Also, progressives have not forgotten Miller’s support for the Roger Taney statue on the statehouse grounds.  To be fair, other liberal priorities in the past like marriage equality, the abolition of the death penalty, gun control, the DREAM Act and sick leave could not have passed without Miller’s support – or at least his acceptance.

This conflict has been brewing for years but now apparently SEIU Local 500 is ready to call the question.  The union has posted a Facebook event for next Monday titled, “On Sine Die, Miller Time is Up” on Lawyers Mall in Annapolis.  The union wrote, “Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr. has served as President of the Maryland State Senate since 1987. His page on the General Assembly website boasts that he is the “Longest Serving Maryland Senate President and Longest Serving President of the Senate in the United States.” His name is on the Senate Office Building. Senate committee chairpersons serve at his pleasure. Because no bill reaches the Senate floor without his approval, Miller obstructs legislation that would benefit the hardest working and suffering Marylanders. Join SEIU Local 500 for the announcement of plans to bring about the end of Mike Miller’s tenure as President of the Senate.”

We don’t know exactly what the union is planning and will find out along with the rest of the world next week.  But in the meantime, it’s worth pondering this advice from famous philosopher Omar Little.  “You come at the king, you best not miss.”

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Adam Pagnucco, Guns, John Astle, mike miller

Who is Getting Money from the NRA?

By Adam Pagnucco.

In the wake of the latest mass school shooting, many are asking about the influence of the National Rifle Association (NRA), which is dedicated to blocking virtually all restrictions on firearms.  The NRA has not been particularly successful in Maryland, where one of the nation’s strictest gun control laws was signed by Governor Martin O’Malley five years ago.  But that has not stopped the NRA from trying to influence Maryland politicians by contributing money.

We looked up all contributions to state and local political committees in Maryland from the NRA itself and its PAC, the NRA Political Victory Fund, on the State Board of Elections website.  We identified 49 contributions totaling $22,450 from the 2006 cycle on.  Of that total, $12,300 (55%) went to Democratic committees and $10,150 (45%) went to Republicans.  Fourteen committees received $500 or more and we identify them below.  We also list the last date of contribution from the NRA; bear in mind that some folks on this list have not received NRA money in several years.

All of the above candidates were incumbents except Tim Robinson, who ran as a Republican against Senator Jim Brochin (D-42) in 2014.  Brochin was himself a former recipient of NRA money and is now running for Baltimore County Executive.  Democratic Senators Kathy Klausmeier (D-8) and Jim Mathias (D-38) are facing tough GOP challengers this cycle and have accepted NRA money in the last year.

Ten of the above recipients were in the General Assembly when the Firearm Safety Act of 2013, Governor O’Malley’s landmark gun control law, was passed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.  Those voting for the bill included Senators Mike Miller (D-27) and Jim Brochin (D-42).  Those voting no included Senators John Astle (D-30), Ed DeGrange (D-32), George Edwards (R-1), Kathy Klausmeier (D-8), Jim Mathias (D-38), E.J. Pipkin (R-36) and Bryan Simonaire (R-31) and Delegate Tony O’Donnell (R-29C).

Additionally, Astle’s campaign committee actually gave money to the NRA.  In 2006, Astle’s account made a $300 expenditure to the NRA and remarked, “This membership increases Senator Astle’s visibility and allows him to network with potential voters and contributors.”

One more recipient of NRA cash stands out:  Derek Hopkins, the Republican Register of Wills in Harford County, who collected $100 from the NRA in 2010.  Perhaps this is unsurprising since mass proliferation of guns and the writing of wills seem sadly interrelated.

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Adam Pagnucco, Larry Hogan, mike miller, Rich Madaleno

Miller Causes a Huge Headache for Maryland Democrats

By Adam Pagnucco.

Democrats all over the country have lately been demanding that Confederate statues and other monuments celebrating slavery be taken down.  That extends to Maryland, where Baltimore Mayor Cathy Pugh had four Confederate monuments removed in the middle of the night.  But when Maryland Democrats demanded that an Annapolis statue of former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney also be removed, they ran into opposition from arguably the state’s most powerful Democratic politician: Senate President Mike Miller.

Democrats’ objections to Taney are rooted in his authoring of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision, which held that descendants of Africans imported as slaves into the U.S. could not be American citizens.  In 2015, Governor Larry Hogan defended the Taney statue in Annapolis in the Washington Post.

Gov. Larry Hogan (R) says he is opposed to a change in the state song and likened the effort to calls for removing the statue of Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney, author of the pro-slavery Dred Scott decision, from the grounds of the State House.

“It’s political correctness run amok,” Hogan said in an interview last week. “Where do we stop? Do we get rid of the George Washington statues out here and take down all the pictures from all the people from the Colonial era that were slave owners? Do we change the name of Washington County, Carroll County and Calvert County?

“You can’t change history, and we’re not going to be able to rewrite history,” Hogan said. “And I don’t think we ought to be changing any of that.”

After Democrats including House Speaker Mike Busch pushed back this week, Hogan changed his mind and agreed to remove the statue.  The Governor was one of three members of the four-member board with jurisdiction over the statue to vote for removal.  But one member of the board objected to the process of deciding the issue by email: Senate President Mike Miller.  In his letter, Miller argued that Taney opposed slavery and “freed his slaves early in his life,” joined an “anti-kidnapping society” to protect free blacks and remained loyal to the Union until his death.  Miller also cited support for the statue from former Baltimore City Delegate Pete Rawlings and a descendant of Dred Scott.  We reprint the letter below.

Whatever one thinks of Miller’s opinion, it’s a big headache for Maryland Democrats.  Much of their strategy to oppose Governor Hogan has been to criticize him for silence in the face of actions by President Donald Trump.  That strategy has affected the behavior of the Governor, who just said that Trump “made a terrible mistake” in his comments on the white supremacist invasion of Charlottesville.  But what of Miller?  If his comments on the Taney statue had come from Hogan, Maryland Democrats would be swarming all over him.  What happens when such sentiments come from one of the most powerful Democrats in the state?

One Democrat who did not blanch from criticizing the Senate President was Senator Rich Madaleno (D-18), who is running for Governor.  Madaleno wrote on Facebook that Miller “is wrong.”

The rest of the Democrats now have a choice.  They can be intellectually honest and take on one of the leaders of their party.  Or they can ignore Miller and look like hypocrites.

As with Hogan on Trump, silence is not an option.

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