Dispatch from Cardin Town Hall in Hagerstown

by: Isaac Smith

Thu Aug 13, 2009 at 07:00 AM EDT

Some more observations:

• As is obvious to anyone who has seen these town hall meetings, the debate over health care has become completely unmoored from anything that President Obama or Congress is actually considering -- and I suspect that the Republican Party is pleased to see that happening. The sooner we get away from these ginned up controversies over fantasy provisions in the health care reform bills, the better it will be for all of us.
  
• As the crowd was gathered behind a TV reporter, the conservatives broke out into a chorus of "God Bless America." The liberals, for their part, hit back with a chorus of "This Land Is Your Land." So I guess it's true that in addition to "The Star-Spangled Banner," we have a national anthem for Democrats and a national anthem for Republicans.
  
• I had my little moment of victory when I said to the same crowd that if you're a senior citizen, you have single-payer health care, and -- gesturing to an elderly man in a Navy cap (and clearly conservative) -- if you're a veteran, you have socialized medicine (and some of the best health care in the country). The man agreed, but began dissembling about the VA medical system being just a small part of the health care system in the US. But I think I got my point across.

UPDATE: Do check Mike Guss' far more comprehensive and thought-provoking report on the Hagerstown town hall. It's worth reading the whole post.

Dealing With Joe Lieberman: Where Do Cardin and Mikulski Stand?

by: Isaac Smith

Wed Nov 12, 2008 at 02:11 PM EST

While Barack Obama is working on his transition to the White House, there's a new conflict brewing in the Senate, over whether to oust Joe Lieberman as Chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. As you know, Lieberman's record of hard right-wing stances on critical issues like Iraq and Iran led to his defeat by Ned Lamont in the Democratic primary in Connecticut in 2006; he then left the Democratic Party and won the general election, largely with Republican support.

Since then, he has acted mostly as a thorn in the Democrats' side: From failing to conduct proper oversight of the Bush administration to campaigning for John McCain and impugning Barack Obama's patriotism, Lieberman's sole use to the Democrats in the last two years has been to provide the 51st vote for Democratic control of the Senate. With last week's election boosting the Democratic caucus to at least 57 (Lieberman included), however, Democrats have far less incentive to treat him as a member in good standing. Thus, Majority Leader Harry Reid has been openly discussing the possibility of removing Lieberman from Homeland Security and giving him another, less prestigious, committee assignment; a vote on the matter is scheduled for next week.

The question for us is, where do our Senators, Ben Cardin and Barbara Mikulski, stand on Lieberman's status? On the one hand, turning against a Senate colleague is not easy, given the tradition of that body; on the other, it's clear that Lieberman, despite some liberal leanings on domestic issues, is a Republican in all but name, and it would be foolish to have someone like that, who also has a history of attacking his party's leadership, in charge of conducting oversight on an Obama administration. So far, I've seen nothing that indicates where either Senator would go; Mikulski, as far as I know, stayed neutral during the Lieberman-Lamont battle, and Cardin wasn't in the Senate at the time. Do any readers have any information in this regard?

The proposed taxpayer-funded bailout of Wall St. - what can we expect from some local politicians?

by: MurlandGuy

Sun Sep 21, 2008 at 04:14 PM EDT

September 19th: Our financial markets are in free fall and we must take bold, bipartisan action to restore predictability and confidence to our economy. I am looking forward to reviewing details of the bailout proposal, but Congress will work quickly with the Administration to provide the tools that are necessary to ensure our nation's economic security.

Once the immediate crisis has eased, we must closely examine how our financial system was allowed to become so vulnerable in recent years. Any examination must include the effects of deregulation, deficit spending, the trade deficit and our over dependence on foreign energy sources. Once the dust settles, we must take decisive action that will prevent the type of financial collapse that we have witnessed in recent weeks and restore fiscal soundness to our economic system.

FISA Failure, Dems Capitulate

by: Eric Luedtke

Wed Jul 09, 2008 at 06:54 PM EDT

Bush' version of the FISA bill, with telecom immunity, passed the senate 69-28. And again, Ben Cardin was on the right side of the issue and Barbara Mikulski was on the wrong side. I was an Mfume supporter during the last primary, but I've been very impressed with Cardin since he took office. I just wish Mikulski weren't playing the moderate so much now. Whenever she does retire, getting a bona fide progressive elected to that seat needs to be priority number one.

Side note: Clinton voted against immunity, while Obama voted for it. Of course, Clinton now has the luxury of not running a campaign, but it's another pro-Hillary notch in my book. I started the primary season not really believing her or trusting her, and she's slowly managed to earn my respect. She'd make a great majority leader...

FISA Vote Tomorrow in Senate

by: Isaac Smith

Wed Jul 09, 2008 at 01:55 AM EDT

It seems a little quixotic at this point, since it looks like the Senate will vote overwhelmingly in favor of the "compromise" on warrantless wiretapping and telecom immunity that will sweep the whole matter of the Bush administration's abuse of its surveillance powers under the rug, but we should let our Senators know that this vote to amend FISA is important, and one that we will remember. (For the record, Ben Cardin is against retroactive immunity, while Barbara Mikulski is in favor.)

Cardin, Benjamin L.- (D - MD)	Class I
509 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4524
Web Form:    cardin.senate.gov/contact/
Mikulski, Barbara A.- (D - MD)	Class III
503 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4654
Web Form:    mikulski.senate.gov/mailform.htm

I'm also going to throw in Barack Obama's contact info; as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, he should know that this is not an issue he can falter on and still claim the mantle of change:

Items for Morning Reading

by: Isaac Smith

Tue Jul 01, 2008 at 09:21 AM EDT

• Robert Strupp calls for tighter regulations of limited liability corporations (LLCs) in Maryland.
• Grist interviews Ben Cardin on energy, climate change, and mass transit.

Enjoy!

Why Won't Cardin and Hoyer Declare?

by: Isaac Smith

Thu Apr 24, 2008 at 03:59 PM EDT

Ben Cardin and Steny Hoyer are both Democratic superdelegates that have yet to declare their preferences for either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. Here's Cardin in PolitickerMD:

U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Baltimore) will not endorse a Democratic candidate for president “until all the voting is completed in June,” said Sue Walitsky, the communications director for the senator.

“He wants to give everyone a chance to vote,” Walitsky told PolitickerMD.com.

The comments come one-day after Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) defeated Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in Pennsylvania, which means the contest will continue until at least May 6, when voters in North Carolina and Indiana go to the polls.

Walitsky said Cardin believes Obama and Clinton are “two strong candidates,” which is part of the reason why he hasn’t endorsed.

After the voting is complete in early June, Cardin plans to endorse a candidate “sooner rather than later,” according to Walitsky.

And here's Hoyer: 

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Mechanicsville) said voters have yet to make a “definitive judgment” as to who should be the Democratic nominee for president.

The majority leader, one of the party’s superdelegates, has yet to commit to either candidate, and said he had “no plan to declare” in the near future.

“The prize for me is winning the November election,” Hoyer said, adding, “I intend to vote in a way that best accomplishes that.”

He would not say which candidate he preferred, saying, “I’m happy with either.”

I appreciate that Hoyer and Cardin want to keep their options open, but let's get real here. Given Obama's pledged delegate lead and given that Clinton would need to win about 70% of the vote in each of the remaining contests in order to overtake Obama (you can check this out for yourself with Slate's delegate counter), there's no way Clinton can win without getting the superdelegates to override the pledged delegate vote, and that's simply not going to happen. The main (and maybe only) reason for the supers to back en masse Clinton over Obama is that they get spooked that Obama will crumble in November. Again, that seems rather unlikely, given that he's endured both the Jeremiah Wright controversy and the "bitter" comment controversy, and (at this point, anyway) still does as well as Clinton against John McCain.

So why don't Cardin and Hoyer state their preferences and help bring this primary contest to a long overdue end? (This is a question not just for them, but for all undeclared superdelegates.) I imagine it's rather complicated: Hoyer is a member of the Democratic leadership, and backing either candidate would be a rather major breach of protocol -- though that hasn't stopped House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from signaling sub rosa her preference. Cardin is a colleague of both Clinton and Obama, and may be genuinely conflicted about who to support. And I suppose that coming out and opposing Clinton, who looms so large over recent Democratic Party history, may be a hard thing to do. But overturning the pledged delegate count, and with it one of the leading lights in American politics, is, if anything, more difficult.

Major Props to Senator Ben Cardin

by: msaroff

Wed Feb 27, 2008 at 04:25 PM EST

Cross posted from my blog. Earlier I wrote about my senator, Barbara Mikukski, and her voting for telco immunity, and the inadequacy of her response.

I also wrote to Ben Cardin, expressing my appreciation to him for voting against caving to George W. Bush. Major props to him:

Maryland Senators on Telecom Immunity

by: Andrew Kujan

Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 11:54 AM EST

Lest we forget, yesterday the Senate voted on Dodd's amendment that would strike the telecom immunity provisions from the FISA bill. The amendment was rejected. Both praise and condemnation are in order for our Maryland Senators.

First, praise for Senator Ben Cardin, who voted for the bill and has consistently been on the side of justice when it comes to holding lawbreaking telecom companies accountable. Keep up the good work.

Now, on to Senator Mikulski.  She appears to be the polar opposite of Senator Cardin on issues of holding these lawbreakers accountable.  She not only voted against Dodd's amendment, but also voted for cloture on the bad version of the FISA bill.  Senator Mikulski's failure to stand up for justice and Democratic principles on these votes is extremely troubling.  

Maryland Presidential Endorsements

by: Eric Luedtke

Fri Jan 11, 2008 at 06:43 PM EST