Posted by
stevo on Friday, September 22, 2006 2:27:34 PM
Young conservatives like myself often had our idealism squashed in the liberal stronghold of Maryland. We were given no voice and our statewide politicians were given virtually no chance. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1 in Maryland, and even worse, a lot of that advantage was due to a black constituency that Republicans couldn't reach. In my public high school in Gaithersburg, blacks and whites shared the same tables and maintained friendships. In Maryland public politics, they often stand opposed in bitter opposition to one another.
Enter Michael Steele. He didn't need to spend time in the cafeteria at Gaithersburg High School to realize that polarization along racial lines within public politics is destructive to a greater sense of community and public wellbeing. Maryland will not grow holistically until politicians are less beholden to one race and rely more upon a broader consensus defined by issues. Michael Steele is running a campaign to bridge the racial divide, and his movement has momentum, not only because of his charisma, but because of a broad dissatisfaction with the Maryland Democratic Party amongst the black community.
Why have Democrats not paid as much attention to the black community as they have to white, suburban swing voters? On the one hand, it could be considered effective politics. On the other, it could be considered a systematic neglect of a constituency long taken for granted. In addition, why have the black community in Maryland (which constitutes a quarter of the population and the largest black middle class in the country) not been given a greater voice in state and national politics? Are Democrats as serious about their values as much as their votes?
Benjamin Cardin, like much of the rest of the Democratic establishment, cannot be trusted to do anything other than pander to black activists and then ignore the community at large. The black community knows this! That is why they wanted a Democrat for Senate who would listen to them--Kweisi Mfume. Instead, the "establishment" chose the man whom they were more comfortable with.
In rides the charismatic Michael Steele, a black Republican who has a mind of his own and is willing to express his principled independence. He is not beholden to a party as much as he is to principle, and one of those principles is that the tables on Capitol Hill should be like those at Gaithersburg High School.
Maryland celebrates diversity as a virtue and value that we hold dear. The Maryland Democratic Party parades diversity as a political trump card always at its disposal. As long as the MDP treats blacks as their ace-in-the-hole and not as a rich strand in their state's cultural and communal tapestry, they will risk a mass defection of black voters to a party that knows the pain of several decades of racial solitude.
The blessing in all this is that both parties will be drawn to listen to the voice of the oft-marginalized black community.