Not All Republicans Are Jerks

I've written positively about Maryland Rep. Wayne Gilchrest before. The congressional delegate from the Eastern Shore had to fight off a tough challenger in the GOP primary in 2002 who attacked him from the right and who was backed by powerful national-level conservative interest groups. Well, he survived and now it's good to see this Vietnam vet take the further step of co-sponsoring the repeal of the military's Don't Ask-Don't Tell policy. Maybe the fact that his brother is gay helped Gilchrest decide to reverse his earlier support. (Last year, he also opposed the Federal Marriage Amendment.)

At least moderate Republicans can flourish in one of our neighboring states. The Blade reported on Friday that the GOP slate elected in Virginia's primaries last week are the most rabidly anti-gay in recent memory.