Long rumored as a possible candidate who will have the backing of the VoteVets organization, Sean Barney officially announced his congressional campaign this morning. Here is his announcement email:
Over the past few weeks, we have witnessed terror strike deep in the capital city of a close ally. The attacks in Paris demonstrate the sheer inhumanity and barbarity of the Islamic State.
Today, thousands of Syrian refugees, men, women, and children, are fleeing the tyranny of the Islamic State. We are right to raise our guard in times of uncertainty. That’s why these refugees are undergoing one of the most rigorous screening processes in history. Yet some in Washington would rather replace the balance between prudence and humanitarianism with a surrender to fear.
Times like this define the character of who we are as a nation. We must choose whether we respond to a threat or let a threat undermine who we are. We must choose whether we succumb to cheap politics or hold true to our core values.
In calling for America to accept Syrian refugees, I choose to stand up for the values that make us uniquely American, a path I believe will make us safer as a nation by embracing these families and children fleeing violence and tyranny, rather than forcing them to languish in refugee camps that can destabilize our allies and become recruitment grounds for terrorist organizations like ISIS.
I remember a similar climate after 9/11, when terror reached our shores. I enlisted in the Marines, and eventually served our nation in Iraq. And I saw firsthand what happens when leaders react to the politics of the time, rather than make the prudent decisions that are in line with our national interest and our moral purpose.
It’s clear in the face of this threat that we need real leadership in Washington that will put principle over politics; that will uphold the principles of liberty, justice, and compassion that define our nation; that will ensure we confront the threat of ISIS without recklessly sending our brave men and women into harms way without a plan.
That is why I have decided to run for Congress — to represent the people of Delaware and put service and principle over the politics of fear and division that has poisoned our government and hurt our country.
I have always tried to make a difference. The events of the past few weeks have made it clear to me and my family that I can make a meaningful difference again. Today I announce my candidacy for Congress. I humbly ask for your support and for you to ask your friends, family, and neighbors to join our effort.
I applaud Mr. Barney for his stance here, joining Bryan Townsend, Lisa Blunt Rochester and Bryon Short for accepting the refugees after they complete the vetting process, and for standing up to those cowards who both preach fear and then hide behind it.
I wonder though, if Mr. Barney intends to focus his campaign entirely on foreign policy. Earlier I have written about the Congressional Primary Lanes, and how each candidate in this getting-crowded primary needs to have a base of support among the many factions of the Democratic Party.
You see the candidacies of Townsend, Short, Rochester and even Barney make sense politically at the start, because each has a base of support in the party. If you picture a primary race as a NASCAR race at Dover Downs, each party faction is actually a lane on the track that allows the candidate to get out in front and start running. Ideologically, Bryan Townsend is in the Progressive lane as the candidate of the Progressive faction of the party while Bryon Short is in the Carperdyne Systems lane as the candidate of the Carper-Markell-Corporate Democrat faction of the party. Lisa Blunt Rochester has well positioned demographically as she would be the first African American and first woman to win state-wide Federal office, plus she is from Wilmington with the Blunt family name. Sean Barney, if he runs, would have Veterans’ support.
Barney definitely seems to be courting his faction of those primarily concerned with foreign policy and the military. And that is good for starters, since that is his base of support.
Who wins the primary depends on which candidate can occupy more than one of the Congressional Primary lanes. Can Barney win over Progressives from Bryan Townsend, or corporate moderates from Bryon Short? Can Rochester break out of her base and win over Progressives and moderates? Can Townsend or Short win over veterans? It is going to be interesting to watch. We haven’t had this crowded yet factionally disparate a primary in the Democratic Party for statewide office in my lifetime (born 1976), so I am looking forward to it.
But Dennis E. Williams and any other candidate thinking about getting in: We are full. Go elsewhere.