Montgomery County Executive Marc B. Elrich (D) “embodies all that is wrong with the Democratic Party.”
That’s the message in a new fundraising missive from Maryland Republican Party Chairman Dirk Haire.
In an email appeal titled “Marc Elrich Has Gone Too Far!” Haire takes the county executive to task for refusing to display a wooden “Thin Blue Line” flag that had been delivered last week to the Montgomery County Police Department station in Germantown.
Elrich explained that the pro-police flag had become a controversial symbol – especially among people of color. At a news conference Monday, he called the display of the Thin Blue Line flag “really complicated.”
But that hasn’t stopped Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) from pouncing, tweeting his disgust over the weekend. The story has attracted national attention. And now the state Republicans are trying to raise money off Elrich’s decision, suggesting a donation can help the GOP make gains in heavily blue Montgomery County.
“We are on a mission to take back Montgomery County!” Haire writes. “Chip in now to help us get the word out about Elrich’s schemes. We are sharing this story with 250,000 voters across the county to build an army to combat the left wing agenda that starts in Rockville.”
Haire’s appeal says a $10 contribution will help the state GOP reach 5,000 voters.
“It’s time for Marc Elrich to get the message,” the chairman writes. “First, Elrich placed partisan politics over safety by announcing MoCo is a SANCTUARY COUNTY! Now, he is pandering to criminals and those who hate our brave law enforcement officers.”
Haire’s appeal ends by urging donors to “help STOP the pandering madness in Montgomery County!”
What Haire’s fundraising appeal doesn’t say: That no Republican has won an election in Montgomery County since 2002.
Josh Kurtz
Founding editor
Founding Editor Josh Kurtz is a veteran chronicler of Maryland politics and government. He began covering the State House in 1995 for The Gazette newspapers, and has been writing about state and local politics ever since. He was an editor at Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper, for eight years, and for eight years was the editor of E&E Daily, which covers energy and environmental policy on Capitol Hill. For 6 1/2 years Kurtz wrote a weekly column on state politics for Center Maryland and has written for several other Maryland publications as well. Kurtz regularly gives speeches and appears on TV and radio shows to discuss Maryland politics.
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