CHESTERTOWN, MD – Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) has another challenger for his First District congressional seat. Dr. John LaFerla, of Chestertown, filed his candidacy for the Democrat nomination to challenge Harris last Friday. He joins Cockeysville resident Wendy Rosen in seeking the Democrat nod.
Speaking with the Star-Democrat, LaFerla said that former Rep. Frank Kratovil’s announcement that he will not run again motivated his entry into the race:
"Even though Wayne Gilchrest was a Republican, I think he was a moderate and I think he was much better for the Eastern Shore than our current representative," said LaFerla in reference to Harris.
LaFerla is the current chief of surgery at the Chester River Hospital Center. He also serves as a deputy health officer for Talbot County.
photo courtesy of the Star-Democrat
I would like to take exception to the use of the word “democrat.” in this article. I believe that the word was first employed during the George W. Bush administration in a pejorative way as a refusal to use the word “democratic” when describing the party as in “democratic party” or “democratic nomination” as has been the tradition. Your use of the word “democrat” as an adjective seems, to me, to be an editorial commentary.
I have noted the pernicious creep of the above mentioned pejorative in many media commentary in a nod to the republicans revisionism. I have considered, in a fair and balanced manner, a commeasurate neologism to capture the current republican gestalt. Its not easy. Something , some high spirted, flag fluttering verbal embrace of anti-governing, anti-science, anti-education, anti-human-rights , anti-arts, anti-history, anti-nonchristian( more specifically a very narrow slice of christianity at that ) , anti-working / middle-class, anti- consumer, anti-inclusion, anti-nonamerican, anti-social security, anti-medicaid/medicare, anti-immigrant … well, I could gone on and on. The point is that its not easy to come up with the perfect phrase that sums up so much hate and vituperation. ” The Republics” just doesn,t do the current crop of neocons justice. But, justice will be done. So much animonsity towards so many just can’t go unrecognized.