Maryland Bill to allow free trade for wine fails

Brian, I think you're taking the comment out of its context. Or, more accurately, I failed in posting the comment to put it in its context. We're neighbors, our daughters used to play together, and my wife and I supported his Senate campaign. This was an exchange in which I told him I was a wine geek and he and I were trading jokes about a vast wine subculture conspiracy. He meant it in jest; I really don't think it signifies that he doesn't take the bill seriously. He wrote the bill and pushed hard for its passage. As far as his comment about the power of the liquor industry goes, it is possible he wasn't fully aware of the depths to which it would go to stop progress on this front, but I can assure you, he is undaunted and, if anything, better prepared for the battles to come. Moreover, most efforts to take on an entrenched industry take years, rather than months, and this is no different.

Brian, I think you're taking the comment out of its context. Or, more accurately, I failed in posting the comment to put it in its context. We're neighbors, our daughters used to play together, and my wife and I supported his Senate campaign. This was an exchange in which I told him I was a wine geek and he and I were trading jokes about a vast wine subculture conspiracy. He meant it in jest; I really don't think it signifies that he doesn't take the bill seriously. He wrote the bill and pushed hard for its passage. As far as his comment about the power of the liquor industry goes, it is possible he wasn't fully aware of the depths to which it would go to stop progress on this front, but I can assure you, he is undaunted and, if anything, better prepared for the battles to come. Moreover, most efforts to take on an entrenched industry take years, rather than months, and this is no different.

Thanks for the additional info. I can be very jaded and it would not have been the first time that someone proposed legislation that they did not really support knowing it would be defeated. Glad to know this is not the case.

Glad to know this is not the case.

I'm biased, but believe me, he is not the kind of politician to propose a bill he's not willing to fight for. This was a major effort and I am confident it will only pick up steam in future legislative sessions, especially if folks like us organize and send in cards and letters, make phone calls, etc.

The ..."it may take a few years" certainly is not very encouraging.