Ben Cardin was in my school today, as were two other Congressmen who were also alumni. Pretty awesome. I wish I could have met him, and talked to him about class size, but it wasn't meant to be apparently. Cardin is by all accounts a great guy and a solid, moral politician. He voted against the war in Iraq, for example, so no backpedaling there.
However, I have an Mfume bumper sticker on my car. I've liked that guy ever since I heard him speak on MLK day in Michigan when I was a Junior in college. He's inspiring as a speaker and progressive as a thinker. You know that scene at the start of Farenheit 9/11 when all the black congressmen were begging any US Senator to block the confirmation of Bush as President, and no one had the guts to do it? Now, I don't even think I would have had the guts to do it, and am not sure if the country would have been better off if it had occurred. It couldn't have been much worse, though, could it have? And I think Mfume would have done it. We need a real progressive from the state in that spot.
But I like Cardin just as much, almost. He almost always votes right and probably is more of a consensus builder than Mfume. He's probably also a surer bet again Steele than Mfume is.
I also like Alan Lichtman a lot. I realize he doesn't have a chance to win, but the thought have having a teacher in the US Senate - he'd be the first - is really intriguing. And he's a great thinker and actually understands history and its future implications.
My point is that Maryland has put up three excellent candidates for the US Democratic Senate seat. So excellent, in fact, that I'm having a hard time deciding. It's not even a vote with my head versus vote with my heart argument - they've all got both my head and my heart, and that's what makes it tough.
I'm still leaning Mfume. But if Ben Cardin swoops in and saves me from my class size nightmare somehow, then I'll be for him for life - just like I'll always support O'Malley because he swooped in and saved my job and, arguably, the Baltimore City Public Schools as we know it, a few years ago when the budget crisis hit.
It's going to be an interesting election season.
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2 comments:
I had the chance to meet Ben Cardin when I worked at a high profile lobby shop in DC. Ben is a good person, but he is a "Business as usual" Congressman. Fundraisers seem much more important then the situations you face every day as a teacher in Baltimore City.
I'm leaning Mfume because I believe that he is still a grassroots guy who takes the interests of the people to heart and acts upon their requests. Very few in the Senate still do that and having Mfume's strong voice might inspire other senators (Obama) to make more changes within the system.
Vote for Zeese. Check out his web page. Vote for Zeese. The rest of them are not on the level. Vote for Zeese. If you can find an issue that you disagree with Zeese about, don't vote for Zeese. Don't take my word for it, take a look at Zeese's web page. Why haven't you heard about Zeese before? Because a 3rd party candidate has a tough time being heard. Kevin Zeese for Peace and Justice. Kevin Zeese is the real deal, the rest are business-as-usual. Get involved in the Zeese campaign and don't have a baby with the saucy co-worker.
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