For many of us concurrently maintaining a Maryland residence and a conservative ideology, the sanctimonious attitude of many of the state’s political establishment is an ongoing fingernails-down-the-chalkboard part of our lives. So I freely admit to a sense of schadenfreude as I followed the events and results surrounding the Sept. 12 primary.
Anecdote or trend? William Donald Schaefer’s defeat no doubt raised a few eyebrows, but he’s been on a lot of Democrats’ hit list ever since he showed a tendency to make nice with Republicans. Coincidentally, I came across former Gov. Marvin Mandel at [a Gov. Robert] Ehrlich fundraiser a few weeks ago. Together, they are as responsible as any two people you can name for the near-total dominance the Democrats have enjoyed in Maryland since the early ’70s. Yet both seem comfortable with a second Ehrlich administration.
Remember this? “Returns in one of the most closely watched and hotly contested elections in the nation were muddled last night when poorly trained election workers in Montgomery County struggled to master new computerized voting machines.”
That’s from a Sept. 11, 2002, Washington Post article. Problems surfaced again in the 2004 elections but with a couple of elections now under their belts, you had to figure county election officials were ready for these primaries … and you’d have been wrong. They inexplicably forgot to include the white voter cards that enable voters to actually vote, leading to delayed openings and late closings.
Now Baltimore City also had problems — mainly stemming from people not showing up to work the polls. But beating up on Baltimore is such a cliché that I don’t want to lose our focus here. Playing on stereotypes, my current daydream involves election officials from Dorchester or Somerset County coming to Takoma Park (proudly celebrating 23 years being nuclear-free!) to give training on how to conduct a proper Election Day.
I’m picturing a Chevy pickup — complete with gun rack and NRA Life Member sticker — parking between a couple white Volvos (both displaying that ubiquitous “Celebrate Diversity” bumper sticker — doesn’t it come standard with Volvos?). Someone wearing a NASCAR ball cap and grasping a Wal-Mart bag full of training materials then jumps out, smiles and says: “Let me show you how it’s done”. (sigh) That’d be Pay-Per-View worthy.
Speaking of stereotypes and diversity, the primaries for attorney general, U.S. Senate and State Comptroller gave Democrats an excellent opportunity to re-enforce that tired canard of their party being the one with the strong commitment to opportunity and inclusion. After all, among the many candidates vying for these coveted nominations were some who — using the modern, politically correct definition of “diversity” as an important, skin-deep credential — certainly offered voters “diversity.” So they’re no doubt focus-group testing just what it means that a white male ended up getting the nod in each of those elections.
Meanwhile, over on the Republican side, Scott Rolle, attorney general candidate; Michael Steele, U.S. Senate candidate; and Anne McCarthy, comptroller candidate, make up that portion of the Republican ticket … hmmm … if only Ms. McCarthy were blonde, we’d have a modern day political “Mod Squad” in our midst (you know, “One white, one black …” c’mon it wasn’t that long ago).
In another blow for diversity, liberal — oops, I mean progressive — law professor Jamie Raskin defeated liberal Ida Ruben, thus ending her 32 years in office. Apparently, smug professors have been under-represented in Annapolis since Parris Glendening left office.
Another law professor didn’t fare as well. Tom Perez was a Democratic candidate for attorney general. But despite almost 19 years as an attorney, Mr. Perez has only been a member of the Maryland Bar for five years. That’s significant because here’s what our Constitution says about who is eligible: “No person shall be eligible to the office of Attorney General, who … has not … practiced law in this State for at least 10 years.”
For the non-Harvard Law educated, that might seem fairly clear-cut but in this age of “living” constitutions, nothing need be as it’s written. Mr. Perez decided he was eligible anyway and, remarkably, he got Attorney General Joseph Curran and a Circuit Court judge to agree with him.
Unfortunately for Perez, though, the Maryland Court of Appeals actually read the state constitution and, just weeks before the primary, ruled him ineligible. Don’t worry about Perez, though, he still has his job at the University of Maryland Law School … where he does not teach Constitutional law.
Final note: Can a gathering of Democratic nominees ever have enough cameras and microphones to accommodate both Martin O’Malley and Doug Gansler?
Patrick Ostronic is a member of the Maryland Blogger Alliance and blogs at MarylandConservatarian.blogspot.com.
