To those going out to vote tomorrow, I urge you to vote your passion, your hopes and dreams for the democratic party, for this state, and for your country.

A primary is the sole opportunity for democrats to tell our state political party what we want, what we believe and where we should be headed.

The strategic vote is better saved for the general election.  

And to party officials please listen and heed what your party regulars have to say--no matter who wins.  Look at the vote tallies and pay attention to how we voted and what portion of us supported what kinds of democrats.  As you craft the party's future, please let it be more inclusive, diverse and progressive.

For those few who vote tomorrow--and remember many, many won't--let your vote be heard as a statement of what you are passionate about, and what you hope and dream for in the years to come.

Thanks.

There's more...

"Mfume, Cardin In Tight Fight" http://wusa9.com/news/news_article.aspx? storyid=51771
Kweisi Mfume and Ben Cardin are neck and neck in the Democratic Primary for U.S. Senate in Maryland according to an exclusive SurveyUSA poll conducted for 9NEWS NOW. Just 12 days before the primary: Mfume gets 42% of the vote, Cardin gets 38%, Josh Rales trails with 7%, 13% are still undecided.

Mfume wins 10:1 among African-American voters. Cardin wins 4:1 among White voters. Mfume wins 3:1 among voters under age 35, the least reliable voters. Turnout will decide this contest.

There's more...

For weeks and months I have listened to all of the bloggers who want to play it safe in Maryland and support Cardin because Mfume might not be able to beat Steele.

This is bunk.  Steele cannot win in Maryland and this is only a rightwing meme keeping Steele in the news as long as possible.

Pure numbers tell the story best.

1. From July 2006 voter roles:

Maryland has only 29% registered Republicans.  There are 55% registered Dems.  And 14% unaffiliated.  The remaining are Green and Libertarian.
http://www.elections.state.md.us/pdf/Jul y06.pdf

2. From Rasmussen:

65% of Maryland voters say that they are pro-choice.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/2006/Sta te%20Polls/August%202006/marylandSenate. htm

Steele is unabashedly a pro-life republican.

http://www.ontheissues.org/Social/Michae l_Steele_Abortion.htm
http://catholicsforsteele.blogspot.com/

3. The African American vote is almost 40% of all Democratic vote.
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articl es/060806/14maryland.htm

In Gore/Bush 22% of the total MD vote was black and they went for Gore at 90%.

http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/content/2 001-01/08marable.htm

WHO EXACTLY IS GOING TO VOTE FOR THIS MAN?

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Ben Cardin, Maryland Democratic Primary Candidate for Senate:

Voted for the Patriot Act 3 times.

Voted for NAFTA.

Voted against Net Neutrality!

Voted against allowing reimportation of drugs from Canada  (note also his many contributions from Pharma).

Voted for Defense of Marriage Act.

Continually votes for funding for Iraq War.

Is against investigating the Bush lies about the Iraq war that came out in the Downing St. memo.

Does this sound like the democratic wing of the democratic party to you?

There's more...

This WSJ editorial blames Bush for Dems new found strength and suggests that Cardin is vulnerable due to his Iraq votes.

Then there's Maryland, a state with a rich military history and a large population of active-duty and retired servicemen. In the Old Line State antiwar, antiestablishment Democrats are having a field day. In a race for an open Senate seat 18 Democrats are running for their party's nomination. The frontrunner for nearly a year had been Rep. Ben Cardin, a loyal Democrat who has become known over nearly two decades in the House for his liberal politics and cool-headedness. In late 2002 he voted against invading Iraq, but he then voted to "support the troops" by funding the war.

What seemed like smart politics at the time to Mr. Cardin--supporting the troops, but not their mission--may prove to be politically fatal. The 10-term congressman is facing a surprising onslaught of attacks questioning his antiwar credentials and blasting him for being a Washington insider. The attacks, both in ads and at a recent debate, have eaten away at Mr. Cardin's poll numbers, pushing him a few points behind the only other credible candidate--former NAACP president Kweisi Mfume, who has run a campaign based in part on anger over party leaders' efforts to anoint Mr. Cardin and thereby push a black candidate out of the race.

Mr. Cardin is still the favorite to win the Sept. 12 primary, not least because he's already reserved some $700,000 worth of airtime for ads that will likely push him over the top. But that's conventional political thinking. Donna Brazile, Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign manager and the first black woman to manage a major party's national campaign, is lining up behind Mr. Mfume and has publicly blasted Maryland Democrats for slighting the African-American candidate. If the Daily Kos and other left-wing blogs also get behind the drive to elect Mr. Mfume, all the paid media to be had in Baltimore and Washington suburbs won't be enough to save Mr. Cardin.

There's more...