Democratic Rep. Ben Cardin, who represents the 3rd District, leads the race for retiring U.S. Sen. Paul Sarbanes’ seat in fundraising and in the polls. He recently sat down to discuss his campaign with The Examiner.
Q: Why are you running?
A: I want to take my ability of getting things done to the United States Senate. I have a way of being able to reach across party lines to work with Republicans to get things accomplished.
Q: Is there a silver bullet for the health care mess?
A: We have a health care crisis in America. … We’re wasting hundreds of billions of dollars a year, and yet many people don’t have access to health care. The answer lies with universal health insurance coverage. Every person in this country should have health insurance. We’re the only industrial nation in the world where that’s not true. We need to take on the pharmaceutical manufacturers and bring down the costs of prescription drugs in America.
Q: One justification for the state takeover of Baltimore City schools is the No Child Left Behind Act. What can we do about the schools?
A: No Child Left Behind has left literally millions of children behind. It’s been an unfunded federal mandate. It’s the federal government requiring the local school systems to do certain things without providing the money to pay for the federal mandates. I want the federal government to be a true partner in education.
Q: You opposed the Iraq war. What do we do now?
A: I did oppose the war 3.5 years ago. Three and half years ago, it was popular to give the president whatever powers he wanted. There was no justification for us to go into Iraq as it related to the Sept. 11 attacks. Iraq was not involved. There is no evidence that Iraq was a danger to the United States that warranted us using our troops. So we’re now in the middle of a civil war, and it’s time to bring our troops home safely and quickly.
Q: Are you surprised that the polling is showing you and former Congressman Kweisi Mfume so close?
A: No. We knew this was a competitive election. This is the first open seat [in Maryland] for the United States Senate in 20 years. I’ve been able to get strong support in all communities in Maryland. That’s why I think consistently it shows that I am the strongest person against the likely Republican nominee, Michael Steele, because I have the broad support necessary in order to beat back the Bush-Steele machine. The Republicans will be pouring a lot of effort and resources into Maryland in order to try to win this seat.
Q: You have heavy union support. Should businesspeople be concerned that you’re too pro-union and anti-business?
A: I’m proud of the support that I have from organized labor. I have a strong record on protecting the rights of workers. I also have the strong support of business groups who have endorsed my candidacy. They know that my record has been good for job creation and growth and for helping small businesses.
Q: You’ve opposed what you’ve called “unfair” trade agreements. Are you really a protectionist at heart?
A: There’s no such thing as free trade. I’m for fair trade. What angers me is that this administration has not enforced our trade rules and is not negotiating trade agreements that are in the best interest of American manufacturers, producers and farmers.
Today, five out of every six ships that come in from China leave our shores without any product from America. And the one ship that leaves with product is basically raw material. This administration is not fighting for a fair trading regime so that American companies can compete fairly internationally.
Q: What are your supporters asking you to do about immigration?
A: We need comprehensive immigration reform, and it starts with making sure that our borders are secure. We’ve got to make sure we have borders that are protecting us from people entering our country without our knowledge. We’re not doing that today. We need to have people play according to the rules. It’s unfair for people to sneak into this country and try to break in front of the line of other people who have waited to come into America. Amnesty is the wrong policy.
Q: We inspect people’s shoes at airports, but we don’t inspect the cargo containers from China filled with shoes.
A: There are a lot of things that come into our country illegally through containers. And we only inspect about 5 percent of all the containers that come into America.
Q: A lot of businesses are experiencing the burdens of Sarbanes-Oxley. Do you think that was the right approach?
A: It was absolutely critical that the Congress respond to the failure of the business community to police itself. There are limits to what a country can allow its business community to do. We need to be aggressive at protecting the public and protecting the employees from the greed of business leaders who have lost their sense of moral direction.
Q: If the people of Maryland elect you, are they getting another liberal Democrat?
A: I don’t like labels. They’re going to get someone who wants to see a change in the direction of this country, who wants to see us pay our bills, who doesn’t believe in running these huge deficits and has voted to
