Another reason we'll never understand Democrats (or, the delusions of Ed Marksberry)

We've followed the quixotic U.S. Senate campaign of Ed Marksberry, from the day he announced his candidacy to his withdrawal from the Democrat primary amid allegations that Alison Lundergan Grimes' people tried to buy him out of the race, and finally to this week's announcement that he's abandoning his attempt to get on the ballot as an independent.

Marksberry is even more liberal than Lundergan Grimes, and he makes no bones about it. His chief complaint about Lundergan Grimes is that she's too conservative, and that she's pandering to Kentuckians in an attempt to unseat Mitch McConnell.

He declared that he has no plans to support Lundergan Grimes in the November election.

Marksberry says his health is one reason that he's been unable to get enough signatures on his petition to appear on the ballot, but we have to wonder if his problem is mental, rather than physical.

Does he really think that if elected, Lundergan Grimes will vote as a conservative? Is he really crazy enough to believe that she will promote a pro-coal, pro-growth, pro-family agenda in the Senate?

Lundergan Grimes comes from a political family. She knows that no matter her true beliefs, there are certain things she has to say in order to get elected in Kentucky. Marksberry never had a change to win because he holds so many anti-Kentucky positions, and he voices his opinions. Lundergan Grimes will certainly be no champion for the Bluegrass State, but at least she knows she can't say so publicly. She has a real shot to win, but only if she masks her real intentions. If she does win, she will do whatever President Obama and Harry Reid want her to do, regardless of whether or not it hurts Kentucky and its residents.

Marksberry doesn't understand that. He seems proud to hold positions at odds from the majority of the state's inhabitants. It's one thing to believe that, but it's another thing to try to get elected on those beliefs. There's not a dime's worth of difference in Lundergan Grimes and Marksberry.

We have to admit, it would have been entertaining to see Marksberry on the same stage as Lundergan Grimes, accusing her of being too conservative. At least she knows she can't win if she embraces the Obama agenda. Marksberry would probably run up and give him a big wet kiss if he showed up in Kentucky.