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June 26, 2010
As we gear up for the tumultuous national campaigns of 2010, the Democratic Party is back on its heels. Even here in Maryland, there is a viable challenger for the governorship, and the incumbents are calling on us challengers to drop out to “Keep Maryland Blue.” Now, I don’t know what that really means in the context of a Democratic primary, but I do believe it points to the reason that so many of us are challenging the status quo.
“Blue” as defined by the incumbent party is now so deeply blended with “red” that the hue is a deep purple. I’m running to return the color to a pristine “True Blue.” Americans voted overwhelmingly for a Democratic Congress and President in the hopes of seeing real, progressive change, the change promised by the party. But, over and over again, both nationally and here in Maryland, we’ve been fed the same old cautious, timid approach to politics that allowed the Republicans to take over this country decades ago.
I can count the number of progressive victories this past term on two hands, and generally, with the exception of the climate bill, they have been of the minor variety. Women still have to fight for their reproductive rights and to be protected against domestic violence. Civil rights are still denied to all. Immigrants continue to be the targets of hate and violence. Government still happens in the shadows, with the instruments of government being abused for the sake of personal power. And our economy is being run as if by a Republican government, without any consideration these days of progressive taxation in the face of $2B deficits as far as the eye can see. We have state legislators dumping teacher pension liabilities on the counties who have even fewer resources to manage. And we have a Democratic government that, in the search for votes from the religious communities, was willing to ignore the First Amendment and raid the state Treasury in a time when the developmentally disabled and mentally ill are pushed over to the curb and told to keep quiet.
We are Democrats. We have a supermajority of nearly 75%. We owe it to the voters of this center-left state to produce for them, or we should get out of the way. I’ve listened to my neighbors, both in the district and throughout the county, I’ve heard their concerns, and I will produce. I will be a fierce advocate for progressive policies, and I will fight with no regard to my own future to get the job done.
I ask for your support. Let’s tell the Party to shape up and support leadership with passion and integrity. As Sarah Bloom Raskin, future Federal Reserve Governor, recently told a gathering of Montgomery Women, “character is central to politics.” Indeed, it is.
Let’s make Maryland “True Blue” for our children’s future.
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