I know this was already diaried. I'm a local. Please forgive me for wanting to voice my take on this.
Congressman Wayne Gilchrest (R-Eastern Shore) is one of the few decent people left in politics. I have met with his staff on a few issues that concern me. They, like their boss, were caring and empathetic, even when they didn’t agree with the points of view I was advocating.
Gilchrest has been one of the few Republicans to oppose the war in Iraq. Gilchrest has long been a committed environmentalist who has consistently voted to keep the Chesapeake Bay clean. Gilchrest is a common sense moderate who has views which reflect the people of the Free State.
Gilchrest’s moderation frustrated the radical right of the Republican Party; this year, they organized a primary challenge to the Congressman. Right-wing fringer State Senator Andy Harris (R-Baltimore County) challenged Gilchrest in the primary. State Senator E.J. Pipkin (R-Eastern Shore), a relative moderate, decided to run as well. Unfortunately, Gilchrest and Pipkin split the moderate vote. Harris won the Republican Primary with just 43 percent of the vote. Gilchrest was denied re-nomination and is now a lame-duck Congressman from Maryland. Harris faces Frank Kratovil (D-Queen Anne’s County) in the November election.
If Wayne Gilchrest was a typical politician, he’d be sitting on the sidelines. He wouldn’t be saying anything. He’d be hoping that Harris loses to Kratovil. Then, Gilchrest could run again in 2010, with the Republican Party realizing it needed a moderate to win in Maryland’s 1st Congressional District. If a Democrat is elected to the White House this year, there’d be a better than 50% chance of Gilchrest winning the election in two years. There’s just one problem with that plan: Wayne Gilchrest is not a typical politician, he’s a fundamentally decent human being. Gilchrest has always put his moderate principles above partisanship. It’s why people on both sides of the aisle have been able to work with him over his 18 years in Congress.
This year, Gilchrest decided to put his principles above his own political self-interest. Instead of waiting on the sidelines, Gilchrest spoke up. At the beginning of September, Gilchrest endorsed Kratovil, the Democratic nominee to succeed him. The Baltimore Sun reported the following at the time:
"Gilchrest said his endorsement of Kratovil, a 40-year-old prosecutor from Queen Anne’s County, comes at a crucial time for like-minded moderates "who are interested in reaching across the aisle" in Congress. Kratovil, Gilchrest said, is "a man after my own heart."
"I see a man who can carry on with any tiny legacy I might have," Gilchrest said. "I see a man with an independent voice, someone of competence, integrity and courage. Most important, I see a man I trust. That is more important to me than party labels."
Endorsing the moderate Kratovil over the extremist Harris was one thing. It was forgivable by some moderate Republicans who detest Harris’ taste for partisanship in Annapolis. Even after his endorsement of Kratovil, there may have been a place for Gilchrest within the Republican Party’s leadership in Maryland.
But Gilchrest didn’t stop at asking "What is right for the citizens of my district?" He also asked, "what is right for our country?" And so today, Gilchrest, a sitting member of the House Republican Caucus, endorsed Barack Obama for President. Gilchrest told Maryland’s NPR station the following today:
"Senators Obama and Biden are prudent and knowledgeable...we can’t use four more years of the same kind of policy that’s hazardous and leads to recklessness."
Wayne Gilchrest is closing out his distinguished career by doing the right thing; as he has done so often throughout his career, Gilchrest put what was best for the country ahead of what was best for his Republican Party. Gilchrest joins the distinguished company of former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan (R-California) and former Congressman Jim Leach (R-Iowa) in putting his country before his political party.