Dealing With Disappointment

Last year at this time we were in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania attending the Democratic National Convention where we nominated the first woman to be our presidential candidate and I was looking forward to the coming election. The loss of the general election was very disappointing to me. Earlier in the year I had supported U .S. Congresswoman Donna Edwards to represent Maryland in the U. S. Senate, she lost in the primary, she would have been the first woman of color to represent Maryland in both houses of Congress. I had supported Anthony Brown for Governor of Maryland, he would have been the first person of color to hold the office, he lost in the general election. In all three races I was disappointed by people that  had thought shared my ideological, social and political views. My trust and belief in my Democratic Party loyalists was destroyed, especially so-called liberal white women.

I had already decided not to return to the Democratic National Committee mainly because I felt that the Party needed to bring in new (younger) people. I actually supported a young woman (Nicole Williams) to take my seat and I was met with a wall of resistance from our past Maryland State Party Chairwoman who could not envision her life not on the DNC. She was supported by our longtime Congressman Steny Hoyer and other old white men that run the Maryland Democratic Party. So Maryland is now represented on the DNC by four people that are political insiders that bring no new blood, new ideas, new vision or new enthusiasm to the DNC. It is disappointing to me because I  believe that rank and file Democrats want so much more from the Democratic Party.

I was drawn to the Democratic Party because its leaders spoke to my heart and soul. Ironically, if you listen to the old folks that make of the leadership of the DNC and the Maryland Democratic Party they will tell you that is why they became involved in the Party.