Road Report from Ted Chiodo:

Sunday, 10-15-2006—only 23 days left until the 2006 election.

I traveled with John Kerry and Ben Cardin, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maryland. The back seat was mighty cramped as I vied for room with two other staffers, a laptop, 3 newspapers, and assorted junk.

John Kerry was invited to speak at a minority small business owners meeting in Prince Georges County in Maryland. We were met at the door of Cool Wave Water by the House of Representatives Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (MD-5th), Cool Wave Water owner Melvin Forbes, and 35-40 minority small business owners. The Cool Wave factory and office were filled with Cardin signs.

Melvin Forbes kicked things off with a rousing call for a Democratic victory in 2006. He clarified a race that has been unusually nasty with Ben Cardin’s opponent slinging smears with abandon. Melvin wanted the audience to think about what it means for Democrats to stand up for the Davids and not the Goliaths. Democrats believe that a rising tide lifts all boats and that this country works best when we invest in the businesses of tomorrow. <!-more-> Melvin then introduced Steny Hoyer, who quickly had the crowd on its feet about the choice before them in 2006.

Steny joked that Cool Wave Water was so good he was going to send a case to every Democratic candidate in the last week of the campaign to keep them energized. Congressman Hoyer said that when it came down to who will support the interests of all the citizens of Maryland, Ben Cardin is the only viable option.

With that, Cardin talked about his belief that Maryland must be a place where all Americans have the ability to start and grow a business in the state. The Democratic Party supports this American right; the Republican Party supports subsidizing large legacy corporations that send their jobs out of the country, leave their workers without pensions, and without healthcare.

After Cardin, John Kerry spoke about why things must change if the Congress is going to support investing in the future of this country. We need to throw out this Republican Congress, where the credit card companies write a bankruptcy bill and giant oil companies write the energy bill. Voting for Democrats would support new economic initiatives, like making micro loans and fully funding the SBA. Voting for Democrats will stop large multinational corporations from ripping off SBA programs by stopping these companies from bundling their subsidiaries to apply for SBA programs.

After the event was over I hustled to get a window seat in the car. Unfortunately I left my note pad in the office and thus lost my prime window seat when I retrieved it.

    --Mahalo from a very cramped Ted