Somebody Wake Up Al Wynn

Danny Glover, the well-known political and social justice activist (oh, yeah, and he does that acting thing too) recently had this to say about Al Wynn who is running for reelection to Congress in Maryland's 4th District:

When Al Wynn first ran for Congress in 1992, I probably would have supported him because we need more African Americans in Washington and in politics in general. But something happened to Al Wynn and to many Democrats. Like Rip Van Winkle, many of them went to sleep. They followed the latest poll instead of showing the way while the Republicans inspired their loyal troops to become actively involved and most importantly to get out and vote. As a result, the Democrats have lost the White House, the House, and the Senate and we now find ourselves in the midst of a foreign policy debacle....

Looking at Wynn's voting record one has to wonder if Glover has a point. Even if you leave out the whole Iraq fiasco, Wynn voted in favor of Dick Cheney's failed energy policy. He caved in to the powerful corporate lobbyists and voted in favor of the GOP bankruptcy measure. He sided with Bush's rich friends rather than his own constituents when he voted to slash taxes for the wealthiest Americans. He favors the development of casinos and gambling in his district. He sold out to the corporate telecoms and voted against internet freedom. And the list goes on and on.

Yeah, somebody needs to give Wynn a good shake and wake him up. Or better yet, maybe we should just let him keep napping and elect Donna Edwards instead!

Edwards is building an impressive grassroots effort but, of course, faces an uphill battle taking on an entrenched incumbent like Wynn. Especially when he allows those affiliated with his campaign to intimidate Edwards' supporters and resort to dirty tricks like pulling out Edwards' yard signs and destroying campaign literature. Sad!

Wake up Wynn!

Cross-posted on Political Yak.
Tags: Donna Edwards; Al Wynn