JPG: State Sen. Anthony Muse's Misleading Sample Ballot for U.S. Senate Democratic Primary // An Obama-Muse Ticket?

AN OBAMA-MUSE TICKET? - A Maryland Juice reader forwarded photos of a sample ballot that State Senator Anthony Muse's campaign volunteers are handing out at early voting polls. In his quest for the Democratic nomination to the U.S. Senate, Anthony Muse's lit piece encourages voters to vote an Obama-Muse ticket, noting that there are zero African Americans in the United States Senate. Notably, Barack Obama has endorsed U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (Muse's opponent) for re-election. See Anthony Muse's sample ballot below.

ANTHONY MUSE OPPOSES THE DREAM ACT: Maryland Juice would also point out that Muse's lit piece is misleading, not just because Obama endorsed Ben Cardin, but also because the two men do not have the same values. President Obama campaigns as a big-tent Democrat, while State Senator Anthony Muse has been a leading opponent of marriage equality and voted against the Dream Act. In fact, this weekend, students from the #JSA movement reported that Anthony Muse confirmed his speaking role at their town hall meeting on Saturday, but then stood them up without explanation. Seeing as how one of their priorities is defending the Maryland Dream Act, I suspect this may be why Mr. Muse got cold feet.

BARACK OBAMA SUPPORTS THE DREAM ACT: Perhaps Anthony Muse is realizing that he is out of the Democratic Party mainstream in his opposition to the Dream Act and other issues. Read President Barack Obama's statement about the federal Dream Act, written when U.S. Senate Republicans killed the bill in 2010:

BARACK OBAMA: In an incredibly disappointing vote today, a minority of Senators prevented the Senate from doing what most Americans understand is best for the country. As I said last week, when the House passed the DREAM Act, it is not only the right thing to do for talented young people who seek to serve a country they know as their own, it is the right thing for the United States of America. Our nation is enriched by their talents and would benefit from the success of their efforts. The DREAM Act is important to our economic competitiveness, military readiness, and law enforcement efforts. And as the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office reported, the DREAM Act would cut the deficit by $2.2 billion over the next 10 years. There was simply no reason not to pass this important legislation.

KWEISI MFUME ENDORSES BEN CARDIN: These critical policy differences between Anthony Muse and Barack Obama create a stark contrast in how the two men view Democratic coalition-building. In fact, not even former U.S. Senate candidate Kweisi Mfume would endorse Anthony Muse's issue-set and has announced support for his former opponent Ben Cardin. In 2006, while running for the U.S. Senate, Mr. Mfume appeared at an Equality Maryland rally to condemn efforts to ban same-sex marriage in Maryland:

KWEISI MFUME: "I know that gay bashing and immigrant bashing and union bashing at the end of the day rob us of our moral authority," Mfume told the crowd.

ANTHONY MUSE'S ELECTION DAY SAMPLE BALLOT: None of this has stopped State Senator Anthony Muse from putting out the following misleading palm card:

Kweisi Mfume Explains His Endorsement of Senator Ben Cardin: "At Some Point We Have To Be Serious"

UPDATE: In our comments section, Del. Jill Carter responds to Kweisi Mfume. Read more below.

Maryland Juice noted last week that former Congressman Kweisi Mfume decided to endorse his former competitor Senator Ben Cardin for re-election. Today, Hassan Giordano of the Baltimore Examiner printed an unusual interview with Mr. Mfume (see excerpt below), where the former NAACP head explains his endorsement decision. Giordano introduces the topic with the following statement (note: I added the speakers' names for clarity):

GIORDANO: Kweisi Mfume - the only African American statewide candidate to come close to defeating the white-male dominated Democratic structure, here in the state of Maryland – has shocked an entire community, as he recently endorsed the incumbent Democratic US Senator Ben Cardin; who Mfume challenged for that seat only six years prior.

In response, Giordano says Mr. Mfume provided the following explanation:

Kweisi Mfume Endorses U.S. Senator Ben Cardin for Re-Election

The re-election campaign of U.S. Senator Ben Cardin today circulated the following press release trumpeting the endorsement of Mr. Cardin's 2006 Democratic Primary competitor, Kweisi Mfume. To provide a little context, The Washington Post in an article today remarked, "The support of Mfume, the former head of the NAACP, is significant in part because Muse, who is African-American, has made the fact that there are no black members of the Senate a part of his campaign pitch."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONGRESSMAN KWEISI MFUME ENDORSES SENATOR BEN CARDIN

Baltimore, MD – Former U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume, five-term Congressman for Maryland’s 7th district and former President/CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), has announced his support for the re-election of Ben Cardin to the U.S. Senate.