Dan Gainor
2008-02-12 08:00:00.0
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BALTIMORE -

Go out and vote for a Democratic presidential candidate, or vote for a Republican if you are registered Republican.

Either way, just vote.

Today Maryland’s primary actually means something. Despite the rising Barack Obama tide against Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nomination is still super-close. When people in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia vote in today’s Potomac primary, they set the tone for the nation.

Though the Republican race seems over, John McCain has about as much conservative grassroots support as Hillary or Obama. When Republicans vote today, they can make a push for party unity or fire off a protest vote that undermines the McCain Express.

So what are we voting for? Everybody seems to think we’re voting for change. If only that were true. Both Clinton and Obama are full of promises sure to hit your pocketbook, according to the National Taxpayers Union Foundation. Clinton has promised $218 billion (That “b” is no typo.) in new spending. Not to be outdone, Obama has promised $287 billion.

By comparison, Mike Huckabee is frugal. He promises only $54 billion in new spending, and he’s the top spender among Republicans. Front-runner John McCain looks to add just another $7 billion. Spending less isn’t an option for any leading candidate. Thanks to the stimulus package and years of Bush overspending, you can almost guarantee 2009 will bring a whale of a tax increase.

What might “change” is how the nominees would spend your cash. Clinton and Obama both promise big health care plans. Hillary says she will force you to sign up for hers and take the money out of your pay. Obama is a bit less authoritarian. If you are a Democrat and don’t want government controlling your health care, too bad.

The Democratic leaders are joined by McCain supporting expensive “fixes” to climate change. Those plans are so vague that they don’t even crop up in the National Taxpayers Union Foundation calculations.

Hillary also says she’ll scrap the successful Bush tax cuts. So has Obama. McCain wants to keep them, but voted against them before. And Huckabee wants to scrap the whole tax code. A worthy idea, perhaps, but it lacks support.

Thankfully, big names make this vote more than just dollars and nonsense. Former Gov. Bob Ehrlich hopes Republicans ignore McCain’s track record of being, basically, a Democrat on many issues. McCain might win, but Republicans want someone like Ehrlich, not a Democratic wannabe.

Hillary draws some top Democratic support like Sen. Barbara Mikulski and Gov. Martin O’Malley. The latter chairs Hillary’s Maryland campaign and claims she “has bridged partisan divides.” I want some of what he’s taking. Hillary is the most divisive politician running for national office. Forget bashing Republicans. Look at how her camp and her hubby play the race card in her own party.

The GOP race isn’t big news. Democrats get to hold a referendum on Hillary and her chief state supporter, O’Malley. She might be the first candidate in recent memory better off without an endorsement.

Dan Gainor can be seen each week on Thursday afternoons on the new Fox Business Network. He is the T. Boone Pickens fellow at the Media Research Center’s Business & Media Institute, a career journalist and media commentator.

He can be reached at gainorcolumn@gmail.com