Democrats are working hard to push Maryland left; Guest column

If we've learned anything during the first month of the General Assembly session, it's that Democrats can't run to the left fast enough. Just take a look at the Democratic legislative proposals that have dominated the first weeks of session.

Democrats are pushing a $15 minimum wage for all workers, with future raises tied into the consumer price index. Democrats can't be bothered to look at data that shows how harmful such wage hikes are, nor have they considered that real wages would drop due to cutbacks in hours for affected employees and cutbacks in tipping by consumers expected to pay the higher cost of meals for those wages. Democrats have never understood economics, and they sure don't care about facts.

Democrats (and a few misguided Republicans) are pushing assisted suicide. Soundly defeated in previous sessions, Democrats seem to be unconcerned with the impacts assisted suicide regimes have had in other locations.

In California and Oregon for example, taxpayers end up paying for the drugs. In Oregon, insurance companies and Medicare tell patients that they will not pay to treat their illness, but will pay for the cocktail of drugs to allow them to die. And that says nothing about assisted suicide regimes in other countries, where assisted suicide has been offered to children in their teens. Speaking of immoral legislation, Democrats are also pushing for the right to an abortion to be part of the state constitution. Democrats seem intent on following the lead of New York, which passed legislation protecting the right to an abortion up until the moment of birth in certain, ill-defined circumstances, and Virginia, where Democrats attempted to pass similar legislation and where Gov. Ralph Northam should have been forced out of office for his comments in support of infanticide before his yearbook scandals were known.

Democrats are also trying to reverse Gov. Larry Hogan's popular executive order regarding the start of the school year. Democrats are following the lead of their teacher's union overlords, who have suddenly discovered local control over school systems after years of insisting on top-down state management.

It's not a coincidence Democrats waited until after the 2018 election to try to overturn the executive order, and the debate on this bill included state Sen. Paul Pinsky's shameful and outrageous outburst where he compared Hogan to former Alabama Gov. George Wallace's support of segregation.

Individual Democratic legislators are proposing half-cocked legislation of their own. Del. Vaughn Stewart is proposing a $2.5 billion "Social Housing Fund" that would create billions in subsidized state housing, laughably funded by a 2 percent increase in the "Millionaire's Tax" that only generated $50-70 million in revenue when Martin O'Malley raised the tax. Delegate Pat Young of Baltimore County is proposing a totalitarian attack on free speech by proposing that TV and radio stations be required to include a disclaimer on their "news analysis" programs. And several Democrats are proposing ranked choice voting schemes, a system Maryland abandoned nearly 100 years ago, in order to complicate the voting process.

Why is all of this happening? First, gerrymandering continues to have disastrous effects for Maryland taxpayers. Noncompetitive legislative districts drawn specifically to elect Democratic legislators create an environment where radicalized left-wing Democrats need concern themselves only with winning a primary election to be elected, turning these legislators loose on Annapolis to pursue all of their socialist fever dreams.

Second, Democrats are pushing their most radical legislation long before they need to face the voters. In 2022, delegates and senators will be facing new legislative districts, more than likely more equitable and fair districts that aren't as radically left-wing. Democrats want to push their priorities now in the hope that voters forget about them in three years.

Democrats are attempting to push Maryland in a radical and ill-advised direction. It's incumbent upon all Marylanders to push back.

Brian Griffiths is editor-in-chief of RedMaryland.com. Contact him at brian@briangriffiths.com or on Twitter @BrianGriffiths.

Credit: Brian Griffiths - Brian Griffiths is editor-in-chief of RedMaryland.com. Contact him at brian@briangriffiths.com or on Twitter @BrianGriffiths.