Del. Pat McDonough has threated to pursue legal action and introduce legislation in Annapolis if the Bel Air Independence Day Committee fails to remove or revise rules he claims prohibit free speech during the annual July 4th parade.
A furious letter writing campaign and bitter back-and-forth between Del. McDonough’s supporters and members of the Independence Day Committee ensued after Parade Chairman Mike Blum and McDonough disagreed over whether the signs the delegate carried with him on the Bel Air parade route violated the terms of a contract for the event.
Although Del. McDonough is now calling the incident a “disagreement” and backing away from using the word “confrontation,” earlier versions of the story included descriptions of “obscene disrespect” and “yanking signs from children.”
Evidence may exist in the form of a video filmed during the parade, but Del. McDonough is unsure of whether he will release ...Continue Reading
An Independence Day incident, during which Del. Pat McDonough was apparently asked to observe long-standing July 4th parade rules forbidding the use and display of campaign signs, has turned into a full-fledged fiasco that played out on airwaves and email throughout the day Monday.
The situation progressed throughout the day with Del. McDonough and Blum debating the incident via telephone lines on the Ed Norris Show on 105.7 FM. By nightfall, a letter-writing campaign was well underway.
What follows are a collection of those unedited letters, most of which support ...Continue Reading
Del. Pat McDonough issued the following response to Bel Air Independence Day Parade Chairman Michael Blum following Blum’s own rebuttal this morning:
1) OBEY THE RULES – Mr. Blum shouts, “Rules are rules.” It reminds me of the TV Show “Hogan’s Heroes” when Colonel Klink used to shout out, “These are the rules, Hogan.” The problem is, Mr. Blum, we have one big rule in the U.S.A. It’s called the Constitution. The federal courts have ruled that any regulation, contract, or rule related to an event that is subsidized by public funds shall be declared null and void if it violates the constitutional right of freedom of speech. Yanking signs from children in front of other children, telling parade watchers to put away their “I Love Ehrlich” signs, banning children from receiving candy or other goodies along the parade route, ...Continue Reading
The following letter was received Sunday afternoon from the office of Del. Pat McDonough:
The theme of the Bel Air Independence Day Parade was supposed to be “American Patriots, Then and Now!” Wow, talk about hypocrisy! Apparently, Michael Blum, Chairman, and the rest of the Parade Committee, don’t have a clue as to what “patriotism” is really all about. Liberty and the Constitutional guarantee of free speech are the foundations of good old U.S.A. patriotism. Chairman Blum and his gang confronted at least three participants in the parade and seized, on one occasion, Delegate Rick Impallaria’s private signs. Blum and company actually yanked these signs from the hands of the children who were carrying them, including a couple of eight year olds.
The reaction from the crowd watching the parade was vitriolic, including shouts of “Sign Nazis or Communists” referring to the sign police. ...Continue Reading
We are still on for this Saturday, Rain or shine! We have lots of great stuff planned for our TEA Party at 9am in Bel Air. We will be at 220 S Main Street – The Harford County Government Administrative Offices!
Thanks to all of the people that made their opinions heard at the Tea Parties and at the Council meetings, this issue has come to the forefront of people’s minds as we move into an election year. People are receiving their property tax bills this week, and I hope they will realize that the government will take whatever you let them!
I am very excited about our Tea Party this Independence Day. Tell all of your friends to come out and celebrate America’s Independence! Our forefathers gave their fortunes and lives for us to be safe in our homes; let’s honor their memories. There is a lot of stuff ...Continue Reading
