The Cacophony of the Desperate

A perfect day for a run today, did the 4-Mile/4-Village Loop…from the Wilde Lake Village Center (open for business with plenty of parking off of Cross Fox!) over to Harpers Farm Road, down Cedar Lane and past the Hospital to the long Hickory Ridge Road straight-away, left onto Broken Land Parkway and completing the route with a dash back up Twin Rivers.

Wish I could have enjoyed the scenery a bit more, but one discordant note kept popping up.  I recognized the tune.  It was the Cacophony of the Desperate, a solo composed by Rich Corkran, candidate for the Maryland House of Delegates. 

What does it say about Mr. Corkran when…

…he is a former teacher but the Howard County Education Association (HCEA), which represents more than 5,000 Howard County educators, endorses Tom Coale?

…he keeps repeating the refrain that he is a “lifelong Democrat,” but the Columbia Democratic Club and other progressive organizations and individuals support Tom Coale?

…he appears to spend a fair amount of time on Facebook attacking Tom Coale whereas Mr. Coale spends time engaging with other members of the community…talking about working collaboratively to find solutions to some of the challenges facing Howard County in general and District 9B in particular.

By launching his amateurish attacks, Mr. Corkran reveals himself to be what he is: a hollow candidate who can’t articulate a positive, substantive rationale for his campaign.   It is very disappointing that Mr. Corkran, who should know better, decided to go negative against a fellow Democrat. 

Mr. Corkran seems to forget the adage that politics is, fundamentally, about addition and not subtraction. 9B is a swing District.  For a Democrat to win the General Election, you need a top-flight, forward-thinking candidate who can also appeal to progressive-minded Independents (and yes, even a few Republicans…because some of them won’t be able to stomach the eventual GOP nominee).  I have seen candidates like Mr. Corkran before…too many times…they tend to lose and lose badly.  I don’t think the voters of 9B want to endure four years of either Bob Flanagan or Carol Loveless, and that nightmare scenario is far more likely to happen if the hapless Mr. Corkran were to become the Democratic standard-bearer.

Given a choice between:

Candidate A: A smart, serious-minded Democrat who is a problem-solver and who works well with others and who can win in November OR

Candidate B: A Democrat who spends time and resources attacking Democrats (much like a Republican would)…and who is likely to get stomped by whichever conservative Republican emerges out of their primary.

Well, the choice is not difficult. 

Stay tuned, as more will follow.