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Steele, Cardin Debate Draws Sharp Distinctions
U.S. Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin (D), center, makes opening remarks, flanked by Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele (R), left, and independent candidate Kevin Zeese in last night's debate in Maryland's U.S. Senate race.
(By Ricky Carioti -- The Washington Post)
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In commercials and in person, Steele has suggested that Cardin is beholden to special interests in Washington. In reality, both of them have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars from PACs. Steele has enlisted a group of lobbyists -- known as Team Steele -- to solicit PAC contributions for him.
Both campaigns view debates as critical in the hotly contested race, although it remains unclear how many there will be. Among Cardin's advisers, the debates are viewed as a chance to humanize a candidate who has spent the past 40 years in public life, and to turn the race into a clash of policy ideas.
For Steele, the debates are a chance to present himself as a serious alternative to Cardin, even for Democrats who might normally shy away from supporting someone who has served as chairman of the Maryland Republican Party.
For Zeese, they offer a chance to become known and to establish himself as a viable alternative to the two major-party candidates.
The setting for Tuesday night's debate, at the Greater Baltimore Urban League headquarters, once part of the underground railroad, was not accidental -- both Cardin and Steele are trying hard to gain support from within Maryland's large African American community. Cardin has been pushing for backing from black voters, who are among the most consistent Democratic voters of any demographic group.
Steele, the first African American elected statewide in Maryland, has publicized a series of insults from Democrats that he says were race-based. "Stop the noise. Stop the race baiting, stop the fear mongering, and deal with me as a man," he said.
Even before Tuesday night's event, Steele and Cardin were slugging it out on the airwaves with two new campaign ads.
Steele's ad accuses Cardin of "trash" politics and portrays him as a Washington insider, while Cardin repeatedly ties Steele to the unpopular Republican president.
"First, Ben Cardin's team hacks into my credit report, steals my Social Security number. Oh yeah: They pled guilty in federal court. Then the personal smears. You know the type," Steele says.
The hacking is reference to a former researcher at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee who pleaded guilty last year to fraudulently obtaining Steele's credit report online.
Talk of "personal smears" could be a reference to a Cardin staff member who was fired last month after it was revealed that her blog included racial and ethnic slurs.
Cardin responded with a commercial that stresses his differences with Steele.
"I support expanding stem cell research to save lives; Michael Steele and George Bush won't," Cardin says. "On issue after issue, Michael Steele stands with George Bush. I stand with you."
