As far as the 1st CD being reliably Republican — explain how Senator Mikulski wins nearly every county in the 1st?

The fact is that the District is neither strongly left or right. It is centrist and pragmatic; something you and the hard core GOP in the District are not. While I have seen any number of GOPers crossing over to Kratovil, I have not seen a single Dem going the other way. The Dems may split their ticket and vote for McCain, but (other than perhaps in Harford County) they will not vote for Harris.

At the risk of hurting your feelings again, please learn to present a cogent argument. Whether or not Gilchrest would have endorsed Kratovil had he won is not ludicrous. It’s a hypothetical. It’s called a rhetorical question.

You also make an invalid inference that I assume those Republicans who voted for Pipkin in the primary will vote for Harris. I did not. I do know that history is a decent indicator of future events. This means:

The vast majority of Sen. Pipkin’s supporters will vote for Andy Harris in November.

So will a vast majority of Gilchrest’s primary voters.

A large number of registered Democrats in the First District will also vote for both Harris and McCain/Palin.

Why? The First District is basically a conservative district. While you may want to claim that it is “moderate”, you would be wrong. Why? Your definition of “moderate” is what the rest of us call LIBERAL.

You and the rest of Kratovil’s surrogates can scream till the cows come home that Andy Harris is “extreme”, or some kind of “right wing nut”, or whatever. As someone who worked on three Reagan campaigns I remember then-Gov. Reagan being called all of those things in 1976 and 1980. Yet, for some strange reason, the people of this country elected him President twice.

Andy Harris is a conservative in that mold. Do I agree with everything that he advocates? No. Am I confident that a Congressman Harris will put the people of the First District before his party? Absolutely. Harris has proven this during his tenure in the Maryland Senate.

Do I know that a Congressman Kratovil will be a slave to the left wing of his party? Absolutely. Why? Simply because it is the left wing of the Democrat party that controls the levers of power in Congress at the present time.

The probability of a Congressman Kratovil voting in the best interests of Maryland’s First District is directly proportionate to the size of a Democratic majority. When, not if, that majority narrows a Congressman Kratovil would sell out his District in a heartbeat. If Nancy Pelosi tells him that he has to vote a certain way, he will. It’s that simple. Kratovil is the kind of guy who wants to sit at the “cool kids” table.

BTW -
Don’t ever infer that I questioned Wayne Gilchrest’s patriotism. I never did, and I never will. I don’t know how old you are, but I missed Vietnam by only a few years. I never questioned his patriotism then, or now. I question his judgment as a liberal Republican Congressman from Maryland’s First District. I question his personal honor as someone who I am confident promised the White House to support the winner of the primary and then backed out on that promise. It’s possible that the White House political operation didn’t require that pledge, but I doubt it. I may not support them, but I never said they were stupid.

The bottom line – Wayne Gilchrest is a SORE LOSER.

You also make an enormous amount of assumptions that are designed to twist the truth. The truth is that Wayne Gilchrest served his country in Vietnam as a Marine and the education system as an educator and as a US Congressman for 9 terms. He has shown by example what a Patriot he is and how integrity is his best characteristics. Every decision he made was with the weight of his constituency in mind and everyone with any sense will remember his time in congress as 18 years of quality representation for the Eastern Shore.

Cato, you are no Wayne Gilchrest so don’t pretend you have any right attacking him about any issue. The man is an American first and a politician last and we can all hope that Frank Kratovil wins so we can keep that tradition alive in Maryland’s First District.