Why this African American didn't vote for Ben Cardin

In the spring of 2005, as the drama of Terri Schiavo played out, I was praying that she wouldn't suffer the way she did - death from starvation and dehyrdration. Her family was both willing and able to take care of her and her actual wishes had never been documented in any way. Her ex-husband, still her legal spouse but having started a family with another woman, claimed that Schiavo adamantly stated never wanted to be in a coma (how many people in their mid-20's actually talked about that kind of what-if scenario before this case came to light?). The day after the House voted on whether or not to intervene on behalf of this helpless woman, I looked up how all of the Maryland representatives voted.

Cardin was one of the members who in effect voted to let Schiavo die (wasn't just a Democrat thing; some other liberal Democrats voted differently out of a sense of compassion for Mrs. Schiavo). I then looked up Cardin's overall record. He has a 100% approval rating from NARAL, the organization that supports the abortion industry. He voted against making it a crime to harm an unborn baby while committing a crime against a pregnant mother. He supports human cloning. I called his office to state my opposition to his vote. The tone of voice which his staff members held while talking to me for those few moments made me feel as if they were totally dismissing me. I stated that if Cardin ever sought statewide office, he would not have my vote.

It's amazing to me that Cardin has any shot at all. He may be a nice guy, but he seems to have no personality. More importantly, he doesn't seem to have any message. Having been bombarded with ads on television and radio, as well as reading the print political ads known as Washington Post news stories, I have yet to see one reason that has been articulated for voting FOR Mr. Cardin. The essence of his campaign is, Steele is with Bush. Tired of Bush? Vote for me and show Mr. Bush. That's pretty much the executive summary of his entire campaign.

He has been in elected politics since Lyndon Johnson was President, all of it in the state of Maryland. Yet, he did not know about a billion dollar local issue involving the expansion of the Metro system. He misspoke during a recent debate and said that he was not in Congress at the time the Patriot act was passed, even though he has been in the House since 1986. He seems to have not been really prepared to make the case to the people of Maryland that he deserves to be in office. He seems to believe that he should automatically go from the House to the Senate, just like he went from law school to the State House to the U.S. House - on the strength of his good family name.

He has not made the case for why he deserves to be elected (he has tried to make the case of why Steele doesn't - but the only point he's made to that degree is that Steele is a Republican). And his social values are those of the ultra-liberal wing of the Democratic Party. I oppose the following positions of Mr. Cardin (http://www.ontheissues.org/House/Benjamin_Cardin.htm):

Voted YES on allowing human embryonic stem cell research. (May 2005)
Voted NO on restricting interstate transport of minors to get abortions. (Apr 2005)
Voted NO on making it a crime to harm a fetus during another crime. (Feb 2004)
Voted NO on banning partial-birth abortion except to save mother’s life. (Oct 2003)
Voted NO on forbidding human cloning for reproduction & medical research. (Feb 2003)
Voted NO on funding for health providers who don't provide abortion info. (Sep 2002)
Voted NO on banning Family Planning funding in US aid abroad. (May 2001)
Voted NO on federal crime to harm fetus while committing other crimes. (Apr 2001)
Voted NO on banning partial-birth abortions. (Apr 2000)
Voted NO on barring transporting minors to get an abortion. (Jun 1999)
Voted NO on Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage. (Sep 2004)
Voted NO on protecting the Pledge of Allegiance. (Sep 2004)
Voted NO on banning gay adoptions in DC. (Jul 1999)
Voted YES on making federal death penalty appeals harder. (Feb 1995)
Voted NO on military border patrols to battle drugs & terrorism. (Sep 2001)
Voted NO on prohibiting needle exchange & medical marijuana in DC. (Oct 1999)
Voted NO on subjecting federal employees to random drug tests. (Sep 1998)
Voted NO on allowing school prayer during the War on Terror. (Nov 2001)
Voted NO on reducing Marriage Tax by $399B over 10 years. (Mar 2001)
Voted NO on limited prescription drug benefit for Medicare recipients. (Nov 2003)
Voted NO on allowing reimportation of prescription drugs. (Jul 2003)
Voted NO on small business associations for buying health insurance. (Jun 2003)
Voted NO on banning physician-assisted suicide. (Oct 1999)
Voted NO on establishing tax-exempt Medical Savings Accounts. (Oct 1999)

He looks like a nice guy and I'm sure he is. I wouldn't mind getting a cup of coffee with him or having a neighborly chat with him when he leaves politics. But, his values, as expressed over his votes of the past twenty years, are almost as far from mine as is possible. Steele is a much closer match.