County Leaders: Knock, knock!
MD Dems: Who is there?
County Leaders: PG Dems
<sounds of crickets chirping>
County Leaders: Knock, knock!
MD Dems: Who is there?
County Leaders: Orange
MD Dems: Orange who?
County Leaders: Orange you glad we didn't say PG Dems?
Last week, a power struggle with the potential to adversely impact Democratic fortunes in the Maryland senate race became public when a group of prominent Prince George's County Democrats, including former county executive Wayne Curry,
endorsed Michael Steele.
Little was said concerning the positive attributes of candidate Steele that would motivate this endorsement, but rather, the key comment at the microphone was a somewhat cryptic:
The party acts as though when they want our opinion they'll give it to us
The Washington Post today fills in some of the background leading up to the public spat.
They met in a restaurant a month ago -- some of Prince George's County's political leaders -- to ponder the response they had received from the Maryland Democratic Party and to figure out a strategy that would get their jurisdiction a bigger piece of the stake.
...
Although O'Malley had picked Prince George's Del. Anthony G. Brown (D) as his running mate, members of the group doubted the power of that post
.
To clarify for out-of-state readers: the Maryland state constitution assigns no duties to the position of lieutenant governor.
After Mfume lost the primary to Cardin, the Prince George's leaders asked that African Americans be considered for key state government posts including treasurer and, if O'Malley wins, secretary of education and secretary of transportation.
For treasurer, a post appointed by the General Assembly, they suggested former delegate Rushern L. Baker IV, who had recently been narrowly defeated for county executive. For education secretary, they floated the name of Alvin Thornton
So, any truth to this? As far as I know, yes. There has been movement in Prince George's to support Rushern Baker for state treasurer. In a Gazette article dated October 13th:
Picking Baker is widely viewed as an opportunity for Prince George's County to gain a voice on the Board of Public Works commensurate with the county's importance in the state.
``There's a great deal of talk about his name for treasurer, and I think it would be important to have someone on the Board of Public Works from Prince George's County," said Del. Justin D. Ross (D-Dist. 22) of Greenbelt.
``I know that there are a number of people in the Prince George's delegation ... that would love to see it happen," said Del. Barbara A. Frush (D-Dist. 21) of Beltsville.
Political consultant Wayne Clarke said the legislature is not prepared to elevate a black man to the position of treasurer.
``I don't think they'll do it," he said. ``I think we're all interested in world peace, but it's not gonna happen right now."
Given the current climate, I should point out that both Delegates Frush and Ross are white. In short, there is no "racial divide" within the county with respect to promoting black representatives to state government leadership positions. Apparently, there seems to be a problem with obtaining statewide support.
Did Wayne Clarke hold a prescient view on the reaction of the party?
Prince George's Democratic leaders said they received no response.
Party Chairman Terry Lierman said yesterday in a telephone interview that he was not aware of all of the group's requests. He said that since he became state party chairman in December 2004, there have been dramatic changes in the number of women and ethnic minorities in the state party leadership. He cited several black Democrats in top posts around the state, including Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson.
"It is changing, and it is changing dramatically as more and more minorities are getting involved," he said. "There's always room for improvement."
Lame. Citing county-level positions? I think it's perfectly clear that Prince Georgians are seeking representation at the state level commensurate with the county's status as the jursidiction with the largest number of registered Democrats and consistent with its majority-minority status.
Did MD Dems perhaps misplace the memo? Many here have questioned why Mfume is not more involved in campaigning for Cardin. Professor Ron Walters at the University of Maryland stated the obvious a while ago:
The fact that Mfume's underfunded campaign won 41 percent of the vote, Walters said, is "a manifestation of Black political power in the state." "If they're concerned about Black turnout, put him in harness," Walters said. "Give him the resources, the stature, the recognition to run with them. And then make it clear that he's going to be a key appointee in an O'Malley administration."
Seems pretty straightforward. So, did the MD Dems approach Mfume for a discussion?
"My job is not to attempt to go around and deliver votes without some assurance that this is just not going to happen again," he said. "And I have yet to hear anybody in the state Democratic leadership say, 'This is the last time this happens. Our party is better than this. We want everybody to participate.
The days of just being relegated to a legislative district are over," he said. "In spite of the Democratic Party's shortcomings, I still support the election of Ben Cardin for Senate."
Perhaps there are good reasons to not support Baker for state treasurer or Thornton for education secretary, but there is no good reason I can think of for "no response".
And apparently, a quarter million votes isn't enough justification to value Kweisi Mfume in any type of leadership role in this state. We'll just take his likeness on mailers and his endorsement, and be on our way.
Pitiful.
The Cardin win could have been, and should have been a cakewalk.