A MD Senate seat is open and there's no way the Lt. Gov, some guy named Steele that nobody knows, has decided to make a bid for it.
The Republican candidate for Maryland’s open Senate seat, Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, managed a feat of admirable dexterity July 24, fitting his foot rather neatly inside his mouth. Steele made anonymous statements at an "on background" press luncheon about the problems facing Republicans headed into the rapidly approaching November midterm elections. Steele referred to the "R" in "Republican Party" as a “scarlet letter” and lamented the president’s unpopularity among Maryland voters. When Steele was identified as the source of those statements he immediately backpedaled, calling the scarlet letter reference “a joke” and insisting that President Bush was his "homeboy.”
The incident reinforces the delicate nature of Steele’s dance with the Maryland electorate. He must appear independent of the White House to appeal to liberal voters, but not independent enough to lose the administration’s support or upset instate Republicans. Steele will face a tough race against either leading contender in the Democratic Primary. Rep. Ben Cardin has a well-funded campaign, as well as the endorsement of the party establishment, while Kweisi Mfume, a former congressman and past head of the NAACP, has a powerful story and the potential to cut into Steele’s support among the black community. Either of these men could grab the nomination on September 12, and Steele would need a lot of luck and a flawless campaign in order to beat them.
Two other people nobody has heard of or cares about are up for the Democratic ticket and, no matter which one is picked, they'll get elected. So I suppose it's responsible to know which Democrat is best.
Cardin:
A party-line man in congress, he's a "principled" man who has sworn to fight cancer.
Oh, and, something about Iraq.
Kweisi Mfume is black and has the same budget as my small business, so... He should drop out now. Hopeless.
Which means, of course, that he's the best option. The teachers are behind him, all the state dems are behind him, he's an education man, a conservation man, a jobs man ("cultivating" the federal job base in MD), a small business man and, to that end, in favor of unionization to destroy the Wal-Mart World. Mfume's where I'm going in the primary.
