Republican Gilchrest Makes It Official: ‘I’m Voting For Obama’

[jefferson_dem]

Republican Gilchrest Makes It Official: ‘I’m Voting For Obama’
By Jonathan Allen, CQ Staff

Barack Obama has officially picked up the support of a Republican congressman who had backtracked after appearing to endorse the Democratic presidential nominee in a radio interview last week.

“I’m voting for Obama,” Maryland Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest told Congressional Quarterly Tuesday night.

Gilchrest, who lost a tough Republican primary in February, also has endorsed the Democratic candidate vying to succeed him next year.

He is the first sitting Republican congressman to publicly express a preference for Obama. Gilchrest strongly suggested that his decision was based in part on the Democratic and Republican vice presidential candidates. Obama’s running mate, 36-year Senate veteran Joseph R. Biden Jr. , is from Delaware, which shares long borders with Gilchrest’s district on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Republican nominee John McCain , R-Ariz., picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin , who is now in her second year in that state’s top job.

Gilchrest laid out five criteria for his vote: competence, integrity, experience, prudence and knowledge.

“Who fits that criteria? The McCain-Palin team or the Obama Biden team?” he said. “I’m going to vote for the team that fits that criteria.”

That means Obama-Biden, he said.

Gilchrest lauded Obama and Biden in an interview with Baltimore radio station WYPR-FM last week, and his comments were interpreted to mean that he was endorsing Obama and Biden. But Gilchrest told CQ the same day that he was not making an endorsement.

Gilchrest had appeared with McCain shortly before the Maryland primary in February and appeared to endorse the Arizona senator.

“I am proud to stand with our party’s future nominee and next president, John McCain ,” Gilchrest said at the time. “I am honored to have worked with Sen. McCain for many years in Congress and look forward to working with his administration.”

On Tuesday, he acknowledged that he plans to vote for the Democratic nominee.

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000002958654

[MadMaddie]

1. That takes guts. Good for him!

[NMDemDist2]

2. take that Lady Rothschild

:rofl:

[TygrBright]

3. Gilchrest is one of two GOPpies I've ever voted for in my life.

I have tremendous respect for him. And a lot of his long-time Eastern Shore constituents do, too. His support may carry some swing; not that it will make much difference in Maryland. But he's also highly respected among the few remaining decent GOPpies left in Congress. I doubt any of them would have the guts to come out and agree publicly, but there's still privacy in the polling places...

bemusedly,
Bright

[Life Long Dem]

4. I noticed McSame has more undecided voters polled than Obama.

It would seem this difference is what we will be seeing and then the new voters and then everyone wanting to take part in history of the first black president. Which is a historical event. I don't think the media is portraying this, as they did when they narrowed the primary field down abruptly to the two rock stars they put high up on a pedestal. And I was reading yesterday when they narrowed it down like that, it was still a very open field that was anyones bet who would come out on top, but as we remember, we exactly wasn't allowed this choice when they already chose the two front candidates they wanted.