When incumbent GOP Representative Wayne Gilchrest lost his primary to a "Club for Growth" backed extremist, Maryland's First Congressional District became competitive -- and with help, could actually favor the Democratic candidate, Frank Kratovil.  When Blue Catapult PAC held an event for Frank, we learned that not only is he a great candidate, but that the dynamics of the district make it ripe for a Democratic pickup.

Frank is a Great Candidate. He is the current State's Attorney for Queen Anne's County, and he is in court in the morning and campaigns later in the day. Unlike his opponent, he is a native of Maryland's Eastern Shore, which comprises about half the voters and are very protective of their congressional representation. Frank is a lifelong Democrat and was President of Maryland Young Democrats when he was younger. He is outspoken against the War and supports a sane fiscal policy.

Back in April, in the face of massive public support for a clear timeline to end the war in Iraq, only two Republicans in the House and two in the Senate dared to buck the White House's pressure tactics and vote for the Iraq Accountability Act. The four were Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR), Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC), and Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD).

Coincidentally, all four are now facing potential primary challenges from the right.

[Cross-posted from ProgressiveHistorians.]

So my song for you this evening, it's not to make you sad

Nor for adding to the sorrows of our troubled northern land

But lately I've been thinking and it just won't leave my mind

I'll tell you of two friends of mine who were both good friends of mine

-- Tommy Sands, from "There Were Roses"

At a used bookstore hidden in a bargain barn several months ago, I picked up an intriguing book.  The Gentleman from Maryland: The Conscience of a Gay Conservative was the memoir, said its jacket, of former Congressman Robert Bauman, a conservative Republican from Maryland's Eastern Shore.  I opened the book's cover and entered into the sordid world of Washington gay culture -- a world peopled with individuals desperate to indulge their sexual desires but terrified of exposure to their constituents.  Such a combination of fear and need creates a cocktail for destruction.  This is the story of that destruction -- and how it brought down two leading lights in Maryland politics.