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Congressional Democrats are set to meet with President Barack Obama on Thursday evening at the White House, and if it’s anything like the “volcanic” intraparty sessions that took place earlier in the day, it could be quite the contentious affair. Senate Democrats were huddled for lunch with Jacob Lew, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, when news broke of a possible deal between Obama and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). The reports of the “grand bargain” — potentially worth $3 trillion in savings over 10 years with no upfront revenue raisers — started filtering into the Mansfield Room,...

WASHINGTON – Millions of women stand to gain free access to a broad menu of birth control methods, thanks to a recommendation issued Tuesday by health experts advising the government. An Institute of Medicine panel recommended that the government require health insurance companies to cover birth control for women as preventive care, without copayments. Contraception — along with such care as diabetes tests during pregnancy and screening for the virus that causes cervical cancer — was one of eight recommended preventive services for women. "Unintended pregnancies carry health consequences for the mother — psychological, emotional and physical — and also...

Eric Wargotz has won the Republican nomination to run against Democratic U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski in Maryland. Wargotz defeated 10 other Republican candidates Tuesday. Wargotz is a doctor who has served as a Queen Anne's County commissioner on the Eastern Shore.

It is quite a unique political phenomenon when 11 candidates are running for the Republican nomination for Senate in the deep blue state of Maryland. It is even more special when one of those candidates is a passionate and articulate conservative, who has the gravitas and the energy to mount a serious challenge to arch-socialist, Senator Barbara Mikulski. Jim Rutledge is the candidate running for Senate who has all those vital qualities that are essential to running a successful campaign against the governing class. The unique thing about Jim is that he is, and will always remain, a member of...

Longtime Maryland Democratic Senator Barbara Mikulski continues to hold a double-digit lead over the best-known of her 11 Republican challengers. A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Maryland Voters finds that Mikulski earns 55% of the vote, while Eric Wargotz, a doctor and county commissioner, gets 39% support. Three percent (3%) like some other candidate, and another three percent (3%) are undecided. Last month, Mikulski posted a 58% to 33% lead over Wargotz. In February, Mikulski earned 54% support when matched against an unnamed generic Republican candidate who won 36% of the vote. Both parties will pick their Senate...

Maryland lawmakers press BP to pay more for Gulf leak - Cardin, Mikulski back $20 billion escrow fund June 14, 2010 Fresh from visits to the oil-smeared Louisiana coast, Maryland's two Democratic senators and one of its House members called today for new measures to ensure that BP pays for the damage caused by the largest petroleum spill in U.S. history. Sens. Barbara A. Mikulski and Benjamin L. Cardin backed the Obama administration's move to get BP to set up an escrow account for paying damage claims, saying the company ought to stock the fund with $20 billion. Mikulski said...

Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) will "officially" kick off her 2010 re-election bid on Friday with a statewide tour that lasts through the weekend, her campaign announced Wednesday. The tour will take Maryland's senior senator to Baltimore and Allegany, Montgomery, Frederick, Prince George's and Washington counties. Along the way, Mikulski is scheduled to meet up with several of the state's other leading Democrats, including Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin, Gov. Martin O'Malley and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. Mikulski's desire to seek another term has hardly been a secret. Last month, she hosted a gathering to celebrate the "grand opening" of her...

Celebrity actor, Jon Voight, is supposedly supporting Corrogan Vaughn in his campaign for US Senate against Barbara Mikulski in Maryland. According to the campaign website: "Vaughn talked with celebrity actor Jon Voight at the [March 20th Health Care Code Red] rally. The two met once before at a hospital where Vaughn was undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. Voight recognized Vaughn and was struck by Vaughn's resolve in battling back from the brain tumor and overcoming, without a government handout, the $250,000 in hospital bills that resulted from the surgery. Voight offered to help Vaughn significantly in his campaign." The...

When Sen. Barbara Mikulski squelched rumors of her impending retirement by announcing she's ready for a fifth term, she also put a damper on the career aspirations of ambitious Maryland politicians. "The only people who want Mikulski out more than Republicans are elected Democrats for whom she is posing a logjam in upward mobility," said Don Murphy, a former Maryland delegate and GOP strategist who advises Republican Mikulski challenger Eric Wargotz.

Standing in the expansive basement family room of a Fulton mansion, Dr. Eric S. Wargotz explained why he thinks 2010 will be so kind to Republicans that he's got a chance to replace four- term U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, arguably Maryland's most popular Democrat. "I'm running because I believe I can do it," said Wargotz, 53, a first-term Queen Anne's County commissioner. "I see an opening here. Look at Scott Brown," he said, referring to the once-obscure Massachusetts Republican state senator catapulted to national celebrity by winning a special election for the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's Senate seat....

I've just heard from an impeccable source that Barbara Mikulski, the Democratic Senator who is up for reelection this November, will choose to retire. Mrs. Mikulski is expected to make her formal announcement in the next few days. Mrs. Mikulski seriously fractured her right ankle last fall just prior to Edward M. Kennedy's death. Due to the severity of the fracture, she had to have open reduction surgery, that included the insertion of pins, as well as the use of special surgical boots, during recovery. She had tried to arrive in time for Mr. Kennedy's funeral but was turned away....

Black Conservative Republican, Corrogan Vaughn has launched his candidacy for US Senate against Barbara Mikulski. He is a strong supporter of the tea party movement, and is receiving support from black Christian Democrats, a large demographic in Maryland. His website is found at Vaughn4america.com. Youth volunteers are bringing a lot of energy in the campaign and have set up a website at youth4vaughn.com. Candidate profile: http://www.examiner.com/x-9345-Baltimore-County-Republican-Examiner~y2010m1d14-Candidate-profile--Corrogan-Vaughn-for-US-Senate

For Immediate Release Vaughn is the Republican Party’s best hope in claiming Maryland’s U.S. Senate Seat Baltimore, Md.--, Corrogan R. Vaughn is the Republican Party’s best hope at reclaiming the U.S. Senate Seat currently held by Barbara Mikulski. Vaughn, a Baltimore Resident and businessman has long been active in Maryland’s Republican Party becoming one of its rising stars over the years. Vaughn, a behind-the-scenes conservative who has seen his influence grow as of late due to his association with the Tea Party Movement, opposition to Government-Run Health Care and the renewed interest in conservative fiscal and social values espoused by...

Press Release of Senator CardinCARDIN, MIKULSKI ANNOUNCE ARRA FUNDING FOR GREEN JOBS TRAINING IN MARYLAND Contact: Susan Sullam: 410-962-4436 Wednesday, January 6, 2010 Click here for a PDF Document WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Benjamin L. Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski (both D-Md.) today announced the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes funding for job training in renewable and energy efficient industries in Maryland through the Department of Labor (DOL). This $4.6 million ARRA grant has been awarded H-CAP, Inc to provide enhanced skills training to job seekers and entry-level environmental service workers for new and emerging green jobs in...

Grassroots Conservative Republican Candidate Corrogan R. Vaughn is set to announce his intentions to seek Maryland's Republican Party Nomination in the 2010 Primary. Mr. Vaughn is a true grassroots candidate, who is seeking to reverse the shameful record of Maryland's Senior Senator Barbara Mikulski, who has been nothing more than a dependable vote for a whole host of failed Liberal Causes and Policies during her time in the Senate. Mr. Vaughn was there on Capitol Hill during the fight to stop the scam that is the Democrat's Health Care Reform in the House and Senate as he joined his fellow...

Video: Brite Hume reports: Democrats blast GOP efforts to block Senate health care reform bill! Barbara Mikulski says "health care is a women's issue"! Did you know that? I sure didn't know that! Health care reform is also a "be good stewards of your body" issue, Barbara. If you'll note, Barbara is well fed. If I'm paying for her health insurance, she's going on a diet! I'm sorry if this offends anybody.

Mikulski Amendment would include Planned Parenthood in health care bill, says pro-life leader Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) Washington D.C., Dec 6, 2009 / 04:32 am (CNA).- A pro-life leader has criticized the Senate’s addition of the Mikulski Amendment to the proposed health care bill, voicing concerns that the provision’s sponsor herself has admitted it would fund some of Planned Parenthood’s services. The amendment’s required coverage of “preventive care” could also include abortions. The Mikulski Amendment, passed on Thursday by a vote of 61-39, requires group health plans and health insurance issuers to provide coverage for “preventive care” for women...

Mikulski Amdt Draws More Opposition, Abortion as Preventative Care Washington, DC -- As the Senate prepares for a possible vote today on the Mikulski amendment to the Senate version of the government-run health care bill, it is drawing more opposition. Americans United for Life joins the National Right to Life Committee in condemning the amendment for calling abortion preventative health care. http://www.lifenews.com/nat5722.html

Below is a letter I am considering sending to my local newspapers and placing on my blog. I would like to solicite comments/advice/recommendations from Freepers before I send it out.