Tag Archives: Ben Cardin

Ben Cardin and Dutch Ruppersberger: Too lazy or just not smart enough to deserve re-election?

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Monday, July 9, 2012

Hi. In a New York Times article published on MSNBC.com on Saturday, the author, Robert Pear, talks about the “exchanges” mandated by the Affordable Care Act. According to the law, each state is to create an exchange, a marketplace where Americans who can’t afford to buy health insurance on their own can buy insurance with support from the federal government. If the state doesn’t do this, doesn’t set up this exchange as it appears some are reluctant to do, the federal government will do it for them.

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Only 80,000 new jobs: Maybe today would be a good day for Ben Cardin and Dutch Ruppersberger to accept responsibility.

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Friday, July 6, 2012

In an article published earlier today, I showed that Maryland’s incumbent Senator, Democrat Ben Cardin, and incumbent Congressman from the Second District, Democrat Dutch Ruppersberger, have tended to vote 97%, 98% of the time with their party and with the President.

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House and Senate Voting Records: Evidence of Compromise?

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Friday, July 6, 2012

Compromise. Is there really any such thing? Seriously, is there? My wife wants to paint the room green. I want to paint it blue. Does compromise mean agreeing to paint it blue-green which neither of us likes? Or does it mean that one of us concedes to the other this time, in return for getting his or her way on some other matter of equal or less importance? This example is trivial but, in Washington, coming to a mutually acceptable agreement can be a messy and sometimes outright unpleasant, counter-productive process. Picking a color to paint a room is one thing. What happens when the issue is as important, complex and politically charged as health care legislation or what to do about the economy?

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Ben Cardin v. Dan Bongino: The Affordable Care Act.

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Friday, June 29, 2012

At the bottom of this piece, you can see the statement by incumbent Senator Ben Cardin in reaction to yesterday’s ruling by the Supreme Court. It’s on the Senator’s Senate website, www.Cardin.Senate.gov. It’s very neatly typed, and generally well-written. Personally, I’m not a big fan of third person statements that, I think, make the elected official sound aloof. Even though he staffed it out, the Senator should be talking directly to his constituents.

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How to beat the incumbent when yours is the minority party.

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Thursday, June 28, 2012

Hi. Next Contestant has been paying a lot of attention to two Congressional races in Maryland. One is for the U.S. Senate, between incumbent Democrat Ben Cardin and Republican challenger Dan Bongino. The other is for the House, between Democrat Dutch Ruppersberger, the incumbent Congressman from the Second Congressional District, and his Republican challenger State Senator Nancy Jacobs. Maryland is a state where registered Democrats outnumber their Republican counterparts 2:1, more than 2.6:1 in the Second Congressional District. It’s a state where the people tend to vote their party affiliation.

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Hello? ..Anybody out there? What’s wrong with re-electing Ben Cardin or Dutch Ruppersberger?

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Worried WomanTuesday, June 26, 2012

The other day, I challenged Marylanders, including, in particular, Maryland’s Second Congressional District, who are not in favor of re-electing Senator Ben Cardin and/or Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger, to let me know why.* What’s wrong with these incumbents? Next Contestant has reasons they should be replaced, but what are yours?

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Ben Cardin v Dan Bongino: An invitation to Maryland voters who don’t want to re-elect Senator Cardin.

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Friday, June 22, 2012

A few minutes ago, I published an article inviting Maryland’s Second Congressional District voters who do not want to re-elect their incumbent Congressman to let Next Contestant know why. The same reasoning and invitation apply to the voters, statewide, who have problem with re-electing Senator Ben Cardin.

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Ben Cardin v. Dan Bongino: All hat. No cattle.

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…Including a challenge to Republican Dan Bongino.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Today, as you can see from the header, is June 19. The date is important because websites change from time to time. The first position statement we’re going to discuss is taken, verbatim, from Senator Cardin’s Senate website, www.Cardin.Senate.gov. It’s the “Economy & Jobs” statement from the “Issues” tab of his U.S. Senate website. We’ll go through this text first, and then the “Economy” statement from the campaign’s website, www.BenCardin.com.

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Money: Ever wonder why incumbents are so hard to beat?

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Sunday, June 3, 2012

The big reason is money. Almost regardless of what they do or don’t do while they’re in office, incumbents tend to be re-elected because their campaigns raise so much more money than their opponents’.

Most voters have no real idea what their incumbents have been doing in Washington. Who they vote for is largely based on campaign rhetoric. Money buys organization and advertising. The more money you have, the more likely you are to win, and that’s that. It’s unfortunate, but Congressional campaigns aren’t so much about ideas as they are about dollars.

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Ben Cardin v. Dan Bongino: Reasonable questions.

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Wednesday, May 23, 2012

On Monday, May 21, Next Contestant published a piece called “9. Ben Cardin v Dan Bongino: Money buys access.” The article was about campaign financing and, specifically, the $563,946 which Senator Ben Cardin’s campaign has received from 43 organizations related to the health care services industry. Of those 43, the top 2 contributors are the American Medical Association PAC ($141,588) and the American Hospital Association PAC ($64,757). Please refer to the original article for source information.

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