I Am Responsible

Over at Monoblogue, Wicomico County Republican Michael Swartz decides to lay out some blame for the apparent loss of Andy Harris to Frank Kratovil, and he comes knocking squarely at the door of several "Pro Maryland Bloggers" that are also part of the "conservative blogosphere" for our opposition to Andy Harris because of his association to Sebaceous Puss, aka Jihad Joe Albero of Southwestern Delaware.

I typically find Michael's missives insightful and read-worthy, if from no other perspective than their thought-provoking nature.  But this misses the mark by several miles.

First, I am no where near as influential in the conservative blogosphere as this attempt to lay blame would suggest.  Would that it were so.  When Andy Harris first started to become associated with Sebaceous Puss, I went out of my way to type a letter and mail it to his office, warning him of the ill that would befall him should he associate with a man who -- not even a resident of the district -- was not respected and even hated in many quarters of the Lower Eastern Shore.  When I received no reply, I contacted some of his colleagues in the Republican caucus to warn them of same.  I was generally concerned what such an association said about Andy Harris.  Readers should note that was well back in the primary season, when Andy Harris' only opposition was a pure RINO and itinerant house painter, whose contempt for the conservative values of the Lower Eastern Shore was palpable.

If I had such influence, certainly my insight would have generated some form of response.  It didn't.  He lost.

Second, being a conservative blogger does not mean we are bound to march in lockstep with the choice of the Republican Party.  We each vote -- and endorse -- for our own reasons.  I have always felt that one of the best ways to judge a man is by the company he keeps.  I was harsh -- and will continue to be -- toward Barack H. Obama for his associations with Tony Rezko, Rashid Kalidi, Bernadine Dohrn, William Ayers, Wright, Flager and others.  You can't blame a man for his family (see Carter, Billy) because you can't choose your blood. But you can choose your friends.  And who you choose to associate with, in my mind, says much about a person.  In choosing to associate with Sebaceous Puss-- not just getting a picture snapped, but using his blog as a communications tool and his office as a propaganda point -- says a lot about Andy Harris.

Third, I have never thought that Andy Harris was a particularly strong candidate, and I have never thought that he was the best candidate for the Republican nomination for the 1st District Race. Part of that has to do with Parris' Glendenning's horrific gerrymandering of the 1st, 2nd, and 6th Congressional districts to carve out a place so that Dutch Ruppersburger could have a job.  Pitting a Western Shore Republican against an Eastern Shore Democrat is a no-win proposition.

But more of it had to do with watching Andy Harris since he was elected to the Maryland Senate in 1998.  I remember that race, because I had followed his primary opponent -- Vernon F. Boozer -- since the time I was a Senate Page in 1989.  It wasn't the friendliest or cleanest race ever.  In those 10 years, Andy has had numerous opportunities to work to reign in the Health Care Cost Review Commission and make it serve ALL hospitals in the state.  But as a doctor at Hopkins -- one of the two Hospitals in this state that regularly DICTATES rates to the HCCRC (not to mention policy focus to the Maryland Hospital Association) -- he hasn't lifted a finger.  Not even an attempt.  The inability of hospitals in this state OTHER than Hopkins and University of Maryland Medical Center to find a reasonable ear in the HCCRC has made impossible for smaller facilities to actually maintain the level of care in many cases.  I find those missed opportunities disconcerting.

Finally, as I put in my endorsement of Frank Kratovil, I think the State GOP and the RNC needs to do a much better job of finding stronger candidates that reflect the values and wants to the citizens they will represent.  I don't think Andy Harris meets that description for the 1st Congressional District.

It would be great if I had the kind of pull that Michael thinks I do.  But my endorsement post was ready overwhelmingly by folks on the WESTERN SHORE, not the Eastern Shore, probably due to my detailing of the Baltimore County charter items.  Given that Andy Harris failed to carry the lower shore counties in the primary AND the general, I doubt that my endorsement of Frank Kratovil had much to do with his defeat.

Would that it were so.