Daniel Bongino Makes his Debut as Senate Candidate

The Maryland Senate seat currently being warmed by Ben Cardin is up for election next November.  It was widely believed that Cardin would face token opposition and cruise to reelection, in the great tradition of virtually every socialist senator in Maryland.  Well, ever since former Secret Service agent Daniel Bongino announced his bid for Senate, there has been unexpected excitement surrounding the upcoming Senate race.

Let's be clear; most of us are still convinced that due to demographic realities in Maryland, Cardin will still win reelection.  However, it is heartwarming that a nuanced candidate, with a compelling life story, is planning to run a spirited, conservative-based campaign against avowed socialist, Ben Cardin.

Yesterday, Bongino penned an op-ed in the Baltimore Sun announcing his intention to challenge Cardin and the rationale behind his candidacy.  Although his campaign is still in the incipient stages, I like what I see.  Here are some highlights of his piece:

"As a child in inner city New York, I saw the effects of well-intentioned policies on me, my family and my community. And that was why I chose to become a law enforcement officer. There are few more effective ways to impact the lives of one's fellow citizens. Although I cherished this experience, it did not leave me without scars. Witnessing firsthand the devastation social experimentation has wreaked upon the proud citizens of America's inner cities changed my life forever. This taught the importance of differentiating between policy intentions and policy results, along with the chasm between speeches about "equity" and policies that promote it. [...]

We are rapidly reaching the point where American prosperity is in danger. We have always been a country of dreamers and entrepreneurs. This simple formula, assisted by a basic framework of governance and a strong national defense, has been the greatest poverty reduction program in the history of humanity. Yet this simple formula for prosperity has been corrupted by government spending and "crony capitalism," unresponsive to the body politic.

Government has grown exponentially into virtually all areas of our lives, and the bar has been set so low that we as a people are now at the point where we view slowing the degree of the rate of spending growth as "cuts."

Continuing on this path of fiscal and monetary profligacy is an arithmetic impossibility. While some ignore this truth, the facts are alarming. As our total national debt approaches the entire annual economic value of every working American's output, we must stop this runaway train.

He is striking the right points by showing - through his personal experience - that socialist programs only perpetuate and exacerbate poverty.  He is definitely somebody to watch.

You can check out his campaign website here.