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Saturday, April 28, 2012

Hi. Yesterday I posted an article (Ben Cardin v. Dan Bongino: “Next Contestant”) which generated surprisingly strong traffic. My point was that, while Ben Cardin (Democrat), the one-term incumbent U.S. Senator running for reelection in Maryland, was more or less competent, he had failed to make any significant difference toward resolving the major issues of our time. I argued that he was ordinary in times which are anything but. That I hold him, and every Representative, Senator and the President, responsible for the failure of government to resolve our most pressing problems while they are in office. That it’s time to give the “next contestant,” who happens to be Republican challenger Dan Bongino, a political newcomer, a fresh mandate. Particularly when our country is in trouble, there’s got to be more to being in Congress than just showing up.

I know it’s hard to believe, but apparently not everyone appreciated the laser accurate insight I had to offer. (It happens even to the best of us.) Usually, I respond to comments with a comment, something clever and occasionally on point, but I thought this one was worth its own post. To quote the comment:

Fine but a circular argument. No one person can change our governmental process. Will Mr. Bongino stand up and scream for the betterment of Maryland citizens or are we just “passing the torch” to a new elected figurehead who will be powerless?

“Thank you,” whoever you are. It’s a good question which deserves a thoughtful answer.
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April 27, 2012

First of all, and perhaps most importantly, this piece has nothing to do with politics per se. I’m a registered Independent with a history of voting for candidates of both party affiliations. What this column is about is how I’m deciding for whom I’ll vote in November.

In Maryland, single term incumbent Democrat Senator Ben Cardin is running for reelection against Republican Dan Bongino who has never held elective office. For the sake of discussion, I’m going to stipulate that both are good men in all respects. I’m not going to dispute a single aspect of Senator Cardin’s voting history or argue with his positions on various economic and social issues. Nor am I going to challenge Mr. Bongino with respect to his politics.

The Incumbent

The Challenger

It’s not to say that candidate positions are irrelevant. Of course not. They are important, but only relatively speaking. We can argue about this or that policy particular until, as they say, the cows come home, or vote for the candidate who sounds or looks better, for the one with whom we feel more comfortable for some reason. That’s all fine and good were it not that the problems our country is facing – economic and otherwise – are so serious that we need to demand something more of our representatives in Congress, something much more than just showing up.
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