At the center of the storm is Dr. James Pelura, a Davidsonville veterinarian and chairman of the party. Some elected Republicans believe he is spending too much time trying to dictate policy rather than carrying out the nitty-gritty of voter registration and fundraising that traditionally are the purview of party operatives.
The controversy is the second in recent weeks involving a local Republican after Joyce Thomann, president of the Republican Women of Anne Arundel County, drew both condemnation and vigorous defense for comments comparing President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler. Thomann was asked by the group's leaders to resign.
For his part, Pelura, 61, believes his activities, such as spearheading commissions on taxes, the environment and education, will provide candidates and elected officials with small think tanks to bolster their political credentials.
"We do have solutions," he said.
What both sides of the internal debate believe is that the economic record of Gov. Martin O'Malley, the General Assembly and the federal government will provide an opening for electoral gains in 2010.
So far, however, the spotlight is on a critical letter from House Minority Leader Anthony O'Donnell, R-Calvert, and House Minority Whip Christopher Shank, R-Washington, to members of the Republican Party's executive committee. The letter, which was leaked to the media last week, shows a growing rift between elected Republicans and their party leaders.
In fact, just a few days later, the top Republicans in the Senate - Senate Minority Leader Allan Kittleman of Howard County and Senate Minority Whip Nancy Jacobs of Harford County - joined the chorus of opposition and asked Pelura to resign.
In the House leaders' letter, they reproach comments from Pelura they believe unfairly malign their caucus and continue to show a pattern of behavior "focused more on meddling, dividing and policymaking than on party-building activities."
"It almost seems, unbelievably, as if Dr. Pelura is content to facilitate the defeat of our Republican officials," the letter states. "What other conclusion can be drawn from his continual scapegoating of our members and with the type of rhetorical attacks he has been issuing?"
Examples cited by the delegates include comments to The Gazette newspapers and an e-mail faulting Republicans for not presenting alternative solutions to those of Democrats or sometimes voting with the majority party. They also fault him for lackluster fundraising and voter registration.
O'Donnell and Shank go on to urge the executive committee to get Pelura focused on party issues or find a way to replace him.
"He has been disingenuous and outright dishonest with us, has damaged unity between the state party chairman and our members beyond comprehension, and has failed miserably in what should be his true focus as the head of the state party," the letter states.
Tough road
Even without internal disagreements, Maryland Republicans face problems in elections.
As of June 30, Democrats had a more than 2-to-1 advantage in voter registration, according to the state Board of Elections: 1,942,336 versus 909,848.
In fact, only seven of Maryland's 23 counties - Allegany, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Queen Anne's, Talbot and Washington - have more registered Republicans than Democrats.
In 2006, incumbent Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. lost to O'Malley, and the party is significantly outnumbered in both General Assembly chambers.
Pelura took over as chairman the month after Ehrlich's loss, and had been a member of the Anne Arundel central committee and active on the Maryland campaign trail for Ehrlich and President George W. Bush.
Several times during an interview he declined to directly address the criticisms leveled against him and would only say individuals have a "right to complain." The chairman also declined to discuss the recent firing of Justin Ready, the state party's executive director, and the resignation of April Rose, an events coordinator.
"The party is focused on the 2010 elections and that is where we are putting our efforts," he said.
An executive committee meeting will be held Saturday to discuss the personnel issues with Pelura, said Chris Cavey, the first vice chairman of the party, but other areas of concern probably will come up.
The chairmen and executive officers were elected to four-year terms, and in order to remove any of them, a two-thirds majority would have to approve the move at a party convention, Cavey said.
"There is a lot of trouble in paradise brewing right now," he said. "It could easily snowball."
The chairman stands by the need to find "Republican-based solutions" to high-profile issues, such as the environment, since the party is frequently painted as disengaged. Pelura pointed out the importance of Ehrlich's "flush tax" on sewer bills to help repair infrastructure.
"All (Democrats) do is keep sending money to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation," he said.
Fiscal opening
Although O'Donnell and Pelura are at the center of a disagreement, they do have common ground on Republicans' chances in November 2010, especially as economic woes continue on the local and national level.
A recent estimate places Maryland's deficit this year at $700 million.
Pelura believes the numerical dominance of Democratic voter registration is partially chimerical. Although plenty of people identify with that party on paper, "a lot of those Democrats are not philosophical Democrats," he said.
That dynamic is occasionally apparent in the General Assembly, especially the State Senate, where moderate views have made it more difficult - but not impossible - to reach a consensus on issues such as tax increases and the death penalty.
Outsized budgets and tax hikes will be distasteful to many people, Pelura said.
"The Democrats are giving us 2010," he said. "People understand that you don't spend money that you don't have."
O'Donnell admitted "we've got some work ahead of us" to bolster the party's infrastructure, but said "the record of the legislators is not in question."
"The legislative caucuses are as strong as they have ever been," he said. "We are chomping at the bit to get back in the arena."
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2010 and republicans - 2009-07-13 07:04:49
"The Democrats are giving us 2010," he said. "People understand that you don't spend money that you don't have."
I disagree with Pelura. While Governor O'Malley shares some responsibility for Maryland's economic woes, this is an unprecedented national and global economic crisis and it is clearly not all of his making. It may be beyond his ability to solve.
It is supreme overconfidence to think that this crisis will shift votes to Republicans. That overconfidence and arrogance lost the election for Robert Ehrlich.
If Republicans are going to win seats, it will happen in spite of the right-wing Republican fringe. And it will be because the busines-oriented, fiscal centrists are working to take back the party. It will not happen because of Jim Pelura's fantasy that local Democrats caused the global economic crisis or are mismanaging the recovery.
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Rose Thorne - , - Karma: Neutral
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...need Dr. Pelura like they need a - 2009-07-13 07:03:07
"Maryland used to be called "The Free State" and "America in Miniature", but in the past 20 years, primarily under tax and spend Democrats, nothing is free and we've become California in miniature, so you can guess where we will be headed in the next election unless persons like Dr. Pelura shake things up a bit."
Have you ever stopped to ask why Maryland has become such a one party state? It certainly can not be because the Dems have done such a great job running things from Annapolis - unless you consider running them into the ground to be great. It is because every time the right side of the Republican Party gets its butt handed to it because they fail to understand how they have alienated the moderate sections of their own party and turned off the conservative side of the Dem Party. After each election, they then convince themselves the way to win next time is to move further to the right. Instead of trying to bring more into the fold, they considtantly try to push more to the left to highlight their "differences".
...and yes, I think the Left is going to destroy this state if left to their own devices, but because of their inability to reach out to the voters in the middle with a message they can believe in the Right is facilitating the Left's efforts.
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f. flintstone - , - Karma: Neutral
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MD Republicans need Dr. Pelura - 2009-07-12 18:21:36
Maryland better wake up or they will hand OMalley and company another term. The people on the committee who would rather have Dr. Pelura do voter registration drives and fundraisers are the same ones who think that the way to win elections is to be a moderate and practice more of the same politics instead of the working on actual solutions for lowering taxes, cleaning the environment, and better education. Tell them to look at the turnouts for the recent tea parties if they dont believe that MD voters are fed up with the status quo and NOT just with the Democrats. We want REAL solutions, NOT lip service and higher taxes regardless of party affilation.
If the Republican party here in Maryland can craft a message of change that lays out specifics to address out of control spending along with tax relief, real education reform that doesnt kowtow to the teachers union, and environmental solutions that go beyond giving money to advocate groups, you will have mine and many others votes. It seems to me that Dr. Pelura has been getting his hands dirty working on real solutions and not just playing nice with the Republican 'establishment'.
Maryland used to be called "The Free State" and "America in Miniature", but in the past 20 years, primarily under tax and spend Democrats, nothing is free and we've become California in miniature, so you can guess where we will be headed in the next election unless persons like Dr. Pelura shake things up a bit.
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Ed Leary - Edgewater, MD - Karma: Neutral
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Beyond Pelura - 2009-07-12 08:02:48
The problem goes beyond Jim Pelura and Joyce "Hitler" Thomann. The extreme right fringe has taken over the local Republican party, enabled by inaction, poor decisions, and weak hands.
Marianne Pelura, Jim's wife and former head of Constituent Services for Governor Ehrlich, has been the calling the shots for Jim. She is the source of many of Jim's poor decisions and shares responsibility for Bob Ehrlich's loss.
Be assured that there will be a resolution.
The Republican party will be rebuilt without Jim Pelura, Joyce Thomann, Marianne Pelura, Tommy Redmond, Don Dwyer, Debbie Belcher, or Jerry Walker.
This is not about throwing anyone under the bus, this is about making the party work.
Thank you.
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Fish C. - , - Karma: Neutral
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