Late to the party; my take on Madia

It’s Ashwin Madia blog day on Minnesota’s progressive blogs and I apologize that I am posting so late. I guess someone has to take the night shift.

Ashwin Madia is a candidate for Minnesota’s Third Congressional District. He is the Democrat facing off against Republican Eric Paulsen for an open seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Rep Jim Ramstad (R-Minn.). Madia boasts an interesting biography compared with Paulsen’s much more conventional rise to his party’s nomination. Madia is the son of Indian immigrants who would go on to become student body president at the U of Minnesota and join the Marines after finishing law school. As a Marine he would serve in Iraq and return both respectful of the troops in action and in doubt of the foreign policy engaged by the Bush Administration.

What’s interesting to me, however, is the development of Madia’s political sensibilities. Madia, in 2000, was an active supporter of John McCain in his bid for the presidency against then Texas Gov. George W. Bush. This year he is running for Congress as a Democrat on the ticket with Barack Obama. This is a big change, but not as big as you would imagine.

OK, so right now I’m going to admit something deep down that might frighten and confuse people who think I’m just another DFL repeater blog. In 2000, I told some friends and my wife that I was going to vote for John McCain if he beat Bush. I was serious. I was a Democrat then, but disappointed with the campaign of then V.P. Al Gore and impressed with McCain’s balance of fiscal moderation and bipartisan appeal. I saw then what I see now, an increasingly partisan American government that wasn’t going to get any better unless we elected someone capable of working across the aisle. For me then, as with Madia, the man was McCain.

So why then is Madia now a Democrat and me solidly opposed to McCain’s 2008 candidacy and supportive of a relatively unknown (Madia-esc?) candidate, Barack Obama? Well, the matter is judgment. Since 2000, McCain has taken positions and votes that have increasingly solidified his standing as an ultra-conservative to win over the Bush voters he lost back then. He has endorsed and still advocates a war that has distracted us from the global calling to end terrorism we faced after 9/11. And he continues to imply that the only solution is a policy that would encourage endless war. Madia, despite the pressure he no doubt felt to stay true to his 2000 convictions, used his experience in the Marines, hardly a liberal organization, to come to a reasoned and intelligent position on U.S. foreign policy that reflects the true hope of America in the 21st century, a future in which the U.S. spreads democratic values through strength and diplomacy. For this reason, along with his positions on fixing our economy, Madia is someone worthy of consideration for the office he seeks.

If you’re so inclined, participate in the waning hours of Ashwin Madia blog day. He’s the kind of person we need representing Minnesota and our country next year. He may not be an Iron Ranger, but he’s the son of immigrants seeking a better future for us all. That’s how we roll up here.

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