Commentary

The Founding Fathers asserted that elected officials should listen to and be influenced by the views of the electorate. As James Madison said, “it is the reason, alone, of the public, that ought to control and regulate the government.” However, the means for government officials to hear from the people are limited. Elected officials receive emails, letters, phone calls and input at town halls, and some agencies occasionally ask for public comments on complex regulations.

In the late summer and fall of 2021, Maryland Stadium Authority leadership and I had meetings with Gov. Larry Hogan (R), House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County), Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City), then-House Appropriations Chair Maggie McIntosh (D-Baltimore City), and Senate Budget Chair Guy Guzzone (D-Howard) to try and advance the concept we had developed for an evergreen stadium funding bill.

I was in downtown Bethesda the other day for the first time in a while and noticed a bunch of building construction on Old Georgetown Road just west of Wisconsin Avenue. It was then that it struck me that all evidence of the old La Madeleine restaurant is now gone. The place has been closed for a few years already, but it still felt like a gut punch.

It was a good news, bad news deal for the OC Air Show this week. First, the event date change from mid-June to late-August is a major negative. The event will not be as successful and well received late in the season as it has been held in June for every year except 2020. The 2024 air show will likely be held the same week as the annual Jeep event, raising some logistical concerns with the daily beach parades, although the “Jeeps and Jets” marketing opportunity exists.

Montgomery County’s Vision Zero Plan is failing even with infrastructure improving upgrades being introduced and reduced speed limits due to driver misbehavior. Risky behavior changes for drivers that were emulated during the pandemic, which include violating traffic regulations and clown driving, continued afterward.

Conventional wisdom suggests Americans know little about foreign policy and care about it even less. Opinion polls regularly show that international issues take a back seat to topics more prosaic (economics, education) or provocative (culture wars, gun control). Next year’s presidential election, however, might be a bit different. Continued international crises could focus attention on the benefits and burdens of American global leadership, and our polarized politics may turn on battles and events far from home. We might experience the rare phenomenon: a foreign policy election.