Yesterday I diaried
MD-04: A Race Ready to Become Prime-Time. Well, I'm at it again because the WaPo editorial board has
endorsed Donna Edwards in her challenge to unseat incumbent Albert Wynn in the 9/12 primary:
Mr. Wynn insists he has been a successful pork-barrel politician; we suspect Ms. Edwards, razor-sharp and relentless, would be at least as effective. We disagree with her on some important issues, but we are convinced she would be the more forceful, principled and effective representative. And while her insurgent candidacy is an uphill battle, it should put Mr. Wynn on notice that voters expect quality representation in Congress, not just a local political boss.
More in extended and why this is the best race that's fallen under the radar and is deserving of wider coverage and support.
This is a race which was built on a glimmer and a hope just earlier in the year. It was built on a hope that the residents of MD-04 would be able to realize that, beyond Wynn's rhetoric, he has utterly lost touch with the residents of his district...the people he supposedly represents. Instead, as the Washington Post notes, MD-04 has a "political boss" instead of a political advocate. It's all about him instead of his residents. Sound familiar?
As the Washington Post has started to cover this race in the establishment media, along with MyDD and TPM Cafe in the blogosphere, the Edwards campaign has all of the momentum. She has hit Wynn hard during the local debates so much so that there was speculation that Wynn canceled his scheduled debate with Edwards on Washington Post radio last Friday.
The attack on an Edwards volunteer, earlier in the month, by two of Wynn's staff is an act of desperation. An act, along with the repeated reports of Wynn staffers taking up Edwards signs, that makes clear that the Wynn campaign knows its only way of keeping a hold of its power is by indimidation and dirty tactics. It cannot win on the issues. His rebuttals are completely unconvincing and arrogant. Sound familiar?
It should. This is a common theme that runs though many districts across the nation--the increasingly out-of-touch, entrenched incumbent. But MD-04 is no longer as solidly in the hands of Albert Wynn. Redistricting now includes parts of Montgomery County, north of Wynn's Prince George's County (somewhat diminished) stronghold. And with a very strong, very principled challenger in Edwards with a strong progressive background, there is hope in MD-04 might become more truly representative.
As Edwards recently told the WaPo:
"We can't take back the House and have people [like Wynn] undermining Nancy Pelosi and her progressive leadership," Edwards said in an interview, referring to the House minority leader. "No matter what, Maryland's 4th District will have a Democrat. It will just have a real one with me."
(Media alert: Donna Edwards will be on WAMU's Maryland Politics Hour at noon, 8/30.)
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