Party Loyalty Trumps Ideology for Cardin and Mikulski

While the debt ceiling deal contains very little in real spending cuts, for socialists like Maryland's two senators, the bill cuts too much.  As such, one would have expected them to join the likes of Bernie Sanders - and oppose the bill.  However, after vacillating back and forth Cardin decided that if his party leaders needed his vote, by George, they were getting his vote.  The Baltimore Sun has the report:

Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin rarely embraces drama, but as the denouement of the debt ceiling debate played out Tuesday, the Maryland Democrat became something of a mystery — undecided up until the very last minute on how he would vote.[...]

Cardin said he supported the measure in part because it includes language that protects Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries from direct cuts.
He noted that the automatic cuts, if triggered by inaction, would also fall on defense spending, traditionally a priority for Republicans.

And that, Cardin said, would put Democrats and Republicans on more equal footing than they have been all year.
"I know the base is angry," Cardin said. "I've been through enough tough votes to know that a few weeks from now, a few months from now, maybe, it'll be a little bit different."

Then again, what can you expect from someone who sees no connection between the debt ceiling and spending?

Pat McDonough Should Run for House, Not Senate

In a move that has surprised many conservative Marylanders, talk radio show host and Delegate Pat McDonough announced that he is considering a run for Senate against Ben Cardin in 2012.  Over the past few months, he was seriously contemplating a challenge to Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger, a more surmountable goal.  Pat McDonough should stick to his original plan to challenge Dutch, instead of mounting an untenable campaign to unseat Ben Cardin in a statewide race.

The sad reality is that we cannot win a Senate race in Maryland, even for an open seat.  Based upon the demographics in Maryland, Ben Cardin can be caught with a dead body in his trunk – and still win reelection.  To make matters worse, 2012 is a presidential election year, and although I believe Obama will lose nationwide, he will perform well in Maryland at the top of the ticket.  There is simply no way that anybody, even a spirited conservative like McDonough, has a chance of unseating Cardin.  As such, it would be unwise for McDonough to waste his potential on such an endeavor.

Delegate McDonough should stick with his original plan to challenge Congressman Ruppersberger in the 2nd district.  Although this gerrymandered Baltimore County/Baltimore City district is heavily Democrat, there is a sizable demographic of Reagan Democrats whom McDonough has represented in the legislature for many years.  It would be an uphill fight, but not a losing proposition.

Pat McDonough has definitely become too big a voice for conservatives to remain in the House of Delegates.  He needs to move on; however, he should not ruin his career pursing an incorrigible goal.  Run, Pat, run – against Dutch Ruppersberger.

Ben Cardin's Radical Eco Agenda Strikes Again

Nothing exemplifies the out-of-touch supercilious demeanor of progressives more than their eco-fascist views.  Due to their radical environmental regulations, which are promulgated at whim, many Americans are forced to suffer from more serious environmental phenomenon.  The case in point?  Pesticides.  

For years, the EPA has hampered the efforts of farmers to deal with crop-killing bugs. They require all sorts of licenses and regulations in order to use basic pesticides that have been in use for many years. Anyone in Maryland can commiserate with the stink bug problem we suffer from, as a result of the bans on pesticides. One of the more onerous regulations promulgated by the EPA is a recent directive requiring all farmers to obtain a permit in addition to a license for the use of a pesticide.


In March, the House voted 292-130 to repeal the permit requirement, garnering overwhelming bi-partisan support. An identical bill was approved unanimously by voice vote in the Senate Agriculture Committee a few weeks ago. Now Ben Cardin plans to filibuster this bi-partisan bill under the false pretenses that the pesticides will….you guessed it, harm the Chesapeake Bay.

Here is the story from the Sun:

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:

Ben Cardin's Ethanol Treachery

The unique characteristic of Ben Cardin is not his pertinacious liberalism; it is his slavish devotion to Democrat leadership.  And yes, there is a distinction.

Although Cardin is one of the most liberal members of the Senate, he actually co-sponsored a good piece of legislation for the first time in his career.  Several months ago, Cardin co-sponsored Senator Coburn's bill (S. 520) to repeal the ethanol subsidies and tariffs.  After years of ethanol wreaking havoc on our economy and consumers, even Al Gore and Bill Clinton conceded that the ethanol revolution was a lousy idea.  Accordingly, although I was quite befuddled over Cardin's newfound appreciation for the free market, opposition to ethanol had become almost universal.

Well, on Tuesday, Cardin had an opportunity to vouch for his unaccountable behavior by voting for Senator Tom Coburn's amendment to repeal ethanol subsidies and tariffs.  Coburn's amendment (attached to a spending bill) was identical to the bill which Cardin co-sponsored last March.  Yet, he voted against it!

Why the change of heart?

In the Senate, any member can offer an amendment to all non-budgetary bills even if it is not germane to the underlying bill.  The catch is that if the Majority Leader doesn't agree to hold a vote, the member must call for a suspension vote, requiring 67 affirmative votes to pass the bill.  Coburn used the Cloture process to bring up the amendment instead of asking King Harry Reid permission to schedule a vote.  As such, he secured the requisite 16 signatures to petition a cloture vote; a procedure which requires only 60 votes to pass the bill.  Democrat leadership was livid that Coburn circumvented them because they wanted the higher threshold so they could defeat the bill.  Consequently, Ben Cardin voted down the amendment, even though he purported to support, and even co-sponsored, a similar bill.

Cardin put out the following statement after voting down the exact bill that he supported three months ago:

"We voted against the Coburn amendment today because of the manner this issue was brought to the Senate floor. We have been assured by the Democratic Leadership that the Senate will vote on this issue later this week, allowing us to consider and debate the substance of this important policy decision." (emphasis added)

This is yet another example that Cardin is an unprincipled shill for his party leadership.  He will genuflect before his masters, even if that means opposing something that he intuitively views as the right thing to do.