A matter of conscience - The Primaries vs the Generals

[Stinky The Clown]

I am a man with a moral compass. I am an American. I am a liberal. I am a Democrat. I am a pragmatist.

Each of those 'I' statements is, for me, a matter of conscience.

As a man with a moral compass, I am compelled to follow it. It guides me in my day to day life as a man, a husband, a father, a businessman, and a citizen. It causes me to follow the golden rule. I am flawed, to be sure, but I try and when I fail, I try again.

I am an American. I love my country and I miss it. I want it back and have and will work toward that end.

I am a liberal. In the dictionary sense and in the political sense. In the dictionary sense, my liberalism has caused me to move, politically, from a less than liberal libertarian view in my youth to an up-against-the-wall, in-your-face political liberal in my more senior years.

I am a Democrat. And that's what I wish to address today. My Democratness and my pragmatism.

Like many of you, I face a choice in my state's upcoming primaries. Here in Maryland, we had two significant choices to make. In our gubernatorial primary, the choice has been made for us. Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan dropped out of the race, leaving Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley to bear our standard in the race against incumbent Robert Ehrlich. O'Malley was my choice, so I'm not feeling badly about this.

Our other major choice is for the Democratic nominee to run against our Lt. Governor, Michael Steele, for the Senate seat vacated by the retiring Paul Sarbanes. The major Democratic candidates are both good Democrats. Congressman Ben Cardin has served in the US House for 20 years. His record is certainly acceptable. One can always find votes one disagrees with, but, in broad terms, he's a good, relatively liberal Democrat. The other candidate is former Congressman and former NAACP head Kwaisi Mfume. A liberal's liberal, Mfume, in my view, is the better choice, not just for my own standards, but he would be best for Maryland, best for the Senate, and best for the national Democratic Party.

So those are my choices. The two men are quite different.

Cardin is center left. Mfume is a lefty's lefty.

Cardin is white. Mfume is black. Cardin will get more of the white vote, even against Steele, than will Mfume. Odly, the white vote in a Steele/Mfume race goes slightly more to Steele, with his Republican ties. Yes, racism exists even in liberal, multicultural Maryland.

Mfume is a fiery, charismatic man. Cardin comes off like an accountant.

Mfume is polling very well in the primary, even with, or even slightly ahead of, Cardin. But in separate polls against Steele, Cardin is the stronger candidate.

What should I do? I won't underestimate the Steele candidacy. He appeals to our more conservative white Democrats. He has deep connections to Karl Rove and the conservative (even radical) wing of the Republican party and **will** get their strong support, including a dirty tricks squad and lots of money.

Cardin is the safer choice. But Mfume is the *right* choice.

What should I do? My pragmatic side says go with Cardin, even in the primaries.

But I just can not do that.

I have decided, therefore, to support Mfume. He was my choice on the day he announced. I honestly think, if all goes right, he can beat Steele.

Once the primary is done, however, I will be a hard working DEMOCRAT.

I surely wish all of you had choices to make similar to mine. Even if I choose the 'wrong' guy in the primary, I'll have still won. Both our candidates are more than acceptable to me.

Please .... vote your conscience in the primary, but vote for the DEMOCRAT in the generals.

[FtWayneBlue]

1. Well said, and I agree with your sentiments.

Primaries are something that baffle me from the standpoint of major fundraisers like the DLC and the DCCC putting money on one of the candidates. Why can't they save the money and give more to the candidate who wins the primary by himself, so as to better run against the opposition party?

[sandnsea]

2. Even the Communist Party agrees with that

There was a post the other day where the Communists said the pragmatic thing to do is support Democrats in order to get these right wingers out. I wonder what political group is making all these "votes of conscience" posts if not even the Communists support that kind of thinking.

Then again, the last thing I want is the Communists becoming a vocal face for Democrats. If that were to happen, then I'd be back to my psyops theory.

[AnOhioan]

3. Kudos to you for making the "right" choice.

I feel the same, and will always vote my conscience in the primaries. That being said I always will vote for the Democratic contender in the general.

[hootinholler]

4. I'm wrestling with the same choice...

Also with who will run against Roscoe in the 6th. I really need more info but I'm leaning Cardin.

Western Md. is a different state.

-Hoot

[Stinky The Clown]

6. I know Duck is running against him

Don't know who else.

Different state, indeed! Much more like the Santorum areas of PA than like central Maryland.

Either Cardin or Mfume are good choices. While I'm going with Mfume, I can't fault anyone going for Cardin.

[AtomicKitten]

5. A reasonable request. n/t