Lollar launches GOP bid for seat in Congress
By ALAN BRODY, Staff writer
(To read the original article online go to the following: http://www.somdnews.com/stories/04302010/entemor161531_32218.shtml )
ANNAPOLIS — Casting Congress as dysfunctional and out of touch with most Americans, Republican Charles J. Lollar on Thursday formally announced his bid to dethrone one of the highest-ranking and longest-serving representatives on Capitol Hill.
Lollar, 38, of Newburg, has been campaigning and raising money for months in preparation for a challenge to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. He has become one face of the national Tea Party movement, in part because of the energetic speeches he has delivered that offer sharp criticisms of Democrat rule in Washington.
“We have a gentlemen that is out of touch with the realities of taxpaying citizens and everyday decisions that we have to make in our community,” Lollar told a group of about 25 supporters at Thursday’s formal announcement in Annapolis.
Specifically, Lollar railed against a socialized agenda that he said is being pursued nationally and laws that defy constitutional rights, citing the recent passage of federal health care reform as an example.
He also defended gun rights and called for tougher immigration policies like those passed by state lawmakers in Arizona last week.
“The enemies I see today are not people as much as they are policies,” Lollar said, referencing the military oath he took more than a dozen years ago to defend his country against domestic and foreign adversaries.
While the GOP hopeful, who was scheduled to hold a fundraiser Thursday night in Prince Frederick with former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and former New Hampshire Gov. John H. Sununu, struck an exuberant tone on a sun-splashed Lawyers Mall, toppling Hoyer (D-Md., 5th) is no easy task.
In recent elections, Hoyer has been dominant at the polls, garnering at least 65 percent of the vote in every race since 1998. His closest margin of victory in a general election came in 1992, when he topped Republican Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. 53 percent to 44 percent.
He also boasts $1.5 million in his primary campaign account and nearly as much in a separate fund that is typically used to dole out to other candidates. Lollar said his campaign has raised almost $200,000, but said he expects to collect $2 million by the end of the race.
This fall’s election is the first time since becoming majority leader in 2006 that Hoyer will have to defend his seat with a Democrat in the White House.
That could be a vulnerability, said St. Mary’s College of Maryland political science professor Todd E. Eberly.
“It helps him in some ways, but he also has a large target on his back because he is now firmly established as a member of Democratic leadership,” said Eberly. “And because he’s a good foot soldier, he’s going to be painted with the brush of [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi.”
But Lollar still faces a steep uphill climb if he captures the Republican nomination over Charles County school board member Collins A. Bailey, the man Hoyer defeated in 2008. Eberly said the GOP might see him as their giant-killer candidate, similar to former Rep. George Nethercutt and Sen. John R. Thune, who unseated then-Speaker Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.) in 1994 and incumbent Sen. Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) in 2004, respectively.
Lollar disagrees, saying Hoyer is not a political giant.
“I see him as unAmerican policies and just someone who is out of touch with true citizenship,” he said, characterizing Hoyer as too liberal for the 5th District that includes all of Charles, Calvert and St. Mary’s counties and parts of Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties.
Hoyer’s campaign issued a statement defending Congress’ actions during a devastating recession and said the economy is on the path to recovery.
“Congressman Hoyer shares people’s frustration with spending, and deficits, and he has fought for fiscally responsible policies like pay-as-you-go budgeting and the bipartisan fiscal commission that will recommend ways to balance the budget later this year,” campaign spokeswoman Lisa Bianco said in the statement. “He is also working to turn the economy around and while there is more work to be done, the economy is starting to create jobs again and home prices are on the rise. Congressman Hoyer believes that we cannot go back to the irresponsible policies of the Bush Administration and will continue to work to rein in wasteful spending and bring our budget back to balance.”
National party leaders have already given support to Lollar’s campaign and he expects that will continue through September and November.
“We the people have to take back our country,” he said. “We the people have to stand for the United States of America and we the people have to make a choice in the direction of where we’re going. We need to believe in community again.”