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"Sick and tired of being sick and tired"

By Doni Morton Glover, www.bmorenews.com

(CLINTON – October 24, 2009) – From the heights of Harford County to the waters of Maryland’s Eastern Shore – from the mountains in Western Maryland to the farmlands of Prince George’s County – a resounding question permeates my brain on the eve of the 2010 election year: Who will lead Maryland’s most loyal Democratic demographic.

In a 30% black state where people of the darker hue typically vote for the likes of a President Bill Clinton, a Governor Martin O’Malley and a President Barack Obama – I can’t help but wonder what ploys Maryland’s Republicans will come up with next year as the state elects or re-elects individuals to serve in the State House and Congress.

Too often, I am afraid that the interests of blacks are often taken for granted and are instead overlooked. Why? It’s as if blacks in Maryland have been pegged by others to always be there for the Democratic Party – no matter what.

However, history tells a different tale. One need not be ninety years old to recollect that in 2002, Republican candidates Robert Ehrlich and Michael Steele took the state by storm. Then-Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy-Townsend, who ran an otherwise dismal and non-inclusive campaign, lost to these men. Her running mate, retired Admiral Charles R. Larson, was an overnight Democrat. Presumably, she wanted to attract the more conservative voter.

In the end, she and Larson lost.

Fast forward to 2006: While Martin O’Malley catapulted his political career from being Mayor of Baltimore to becoming Governor of Maryland, an interesting defeat occurred. Former Congressman/former NAACP President and CEO Kweisi Mfume, who apparently received more love and support from Prince George’s County than from his hometown of Baltimore City, would lose to then-Congressman Ben Cardin.

Mfume, who had a stellar background in terms of serving all people, did not get the support of the Maryland Democratic Party (MDP). If I recall correctly, Mfume was treated “like a stepchild,” despite his years of labor in the vineyard. Here was a man who fought apartheid, who raised tens of millions of dollars for the NAACP, and who demonstrated to the everyday person that success can be attained with the appropriate level of effort.

Yet, even he was castigated as a sort of outsider in the state’s political realm.

Meanwhile, here in 2009 – blacks still face a climate of gross negligence. While Maryland supposedly has the best schools in the nation, why is it that there are seemingly no new schools? Why is it that the same people who also loyally support the Maryland State Lottery get passed by when it comes to utilization of the Lottery’s proceeds? Why are there two new prisons coming to East Baltimore yet Minority Business Enterprises are closing their doors quicker than a New York second? Why is it that young black men in Baltimore and Prince George’s County are facing an incredible drop-out rate and are more likely to attend school in prison than attend classes on a college campus?

Forgive me if I appear jaded. However, I just think that loyalty deserves a similar level of reciprocity. And when it doesn’t, it is up to the individual or group involved to take on the mindset of a Fannie Lou Hamer, a woman who got “sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

As the old folks say, “If you keep doin’ what you are doin’, you’ll keep getting’ what you are getting’.” And in the noted books of psychology, this, my friends, is referred to as “insanity.” Honestly, I think it is high time blacks come to truly realize and appreciate their value and worth – before the politicians begin to flood our churches and community halls like they do every four years bringing their same ol’ tired song and dance of empty promises, and get a game plan that says: “Mr. Politician, you can no longer afford to take my vote for granted. If you can’t respect me, I will find someone who will.”               

Tags: black political economy, democrats, MD, republicans