Hawkins: The Tie Goes to the Sister

Right now my 2016 Maryland Senate vote goes to …

Maryland U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski is retiring (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/03/02/sen-mikulski-to-make-announcement-about-her-future/). A little more than a month after announcing her retirement, candidates lined up to run for her sit (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/blog/bal-who-are-the-candidates-to-succeed-barbara-mikulski-20150302-story.html).

Right now, it appears as though, U.S. Congressman Chris Van Hollen from Montgomery County is the odds on favorite to win (http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/rep-chris-van-hollen-says-he-will-run-for-mikulskis-senate-seat-in-2016/2015/03/04/0bca68ae-c206-11e4-9271-610273846239_story.html ). Based on money alone, Van Hollen seems serious about out-fund-raising opponents (http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/rep-chris-van-hollen-raised-more-than-1-million-in-1st-quarter-of-2015/2015/03/31/fbd927ce-d7f8-11e4-b3f2-607bd612aeac_story.html). After all, it will take a small fortune to win Mikulski’s sit, and, if nothing else, Van Hollen has a proven track record of raising millions.

And while Van Hollen amasses cash, he also is serious about amasses big-name supporters. Two prominent Democrats County Executives have already jumped on board the Van Hollen bus (http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/baker-grilled-on-choice-to-support-van-hollen-instead-of-edwards/2015/04/08/7497f726-de20-11e4-be40-566e2653afe5_story.html ). 

 

I found the Rushern Baker and Ike Leggett early Van Hollen endorsements interesting. The Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/baker-grilled-on-choice-to-support-van-hollen-instead-of-edwards/2015/04/08/7497f726-de20-11e4-be40-566e2653afe5_story.html ) wrote the following about the endorsement. “Leggett said he and Baker, 56, decided to endorse Van Hollen because the congressman’s record on topics important to people of color “is impeccable. His leadership on all of the issues that we fought for is impeccable.””

But using this logic—fighting for colored people—one might argue that Baker and Leggett should have endorsed U.S. Congresswoman Donna Edward from Prince Georges County. Recently, Edwards joined the race for Mikulski’s seat (http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/donna-edwards-maryland-senate-mikulski-seat-115937.html ).

 

A review of Van Hollen’s (http://ballotpedia.org/Chris_Van_Hollen) and Edward’s (http://ballotpedia.org/Donna_Edwards) congressional voting records reveal they vote the same way 95% of the time. The only real difference I could find between the two was the fact that Van Hollen crosses party lines and co-sponsors bills with Republicans while Edwards never crosses party lines. So, a quick review of voting records isn’t convining me that Van Hollen is better for colored people than Edwards.

[Note to self: I’m also not at all convinced that Van Hollen loves Israel more than Edwards. Let’s hope this Israel love-fest becomes a short side-show issue, and eventually, the candidates get down to discussing more serious issues that impact Maryland. Baltimore comes to mind.

(http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/edwards-denounced-flier-that-attacks-van-hollen-in-us-senate-race/2015/05/05/e07c3b5e-f370-11e4-bcc4-e8141e5eb0c9_story.html?hpid=z4)]

I hate making the race for the Mikulski seat racial, but since Baker and Leggett opened the door, I’ll walk through that door and share my thoughts. (Note to readers: In reality, the press opened this door by asking Baker why he was picking “the white guy—Van Hollen?” Baker and Leggett simply played along.)

As a Democrat—who always votes the party ticket and never misses an election, if Van Hollen and Edward still seem equal in my eyes when it’s time to vote in the 2016 primary (dates yet to be announced), I’m voting for Edwards, the African American. Here are my reasons for supporting Edwards over Van Hollen.

We need another black senator. If elected, Edwards would be the second African America female elected to the U.S. Senate, and the first black senator ever from Maryland. In my lifetime, there have been five African Americans elected to the U.S. Senate: Edward Brooke (Massachusetts), Carol Moseley Braun (Illinois), Barack Obama (Illinois), Corey Booker (New Jersey), and Tim Scott (South Carolina). Technically, Roland Burris (Illinois, replaced Obama) and Mo Cowen (Massachusetts, replaced John Kerry) served as black senators serving out elected candidates terms. Also, during the Reconstruction Era, three blacks were elected to the U.S. Senate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_African-American_United_States_Senators ).

We need another female senator. Fortunately, over the last two elections, 2012 and 2014, the U.S. Senate gained more female members. Currently, there are 20 female senators. When issues are a tie, I pick the female candidate over the male candidate because females, on average, are less likely to support wars. Let’s face it, women are just less violent than men. I also think women vote more progressively along social issues than do men.

Finally, I’m using the Larry-Wilmore-logic of picking the black candidate over the white candidate. Here is Wilmore, the host of The Nightly Show, explaining that logic as he applied to voting for President Obama (http://www.cc.com/video-clips/tyrqv8/the-nightly-show-the-state-of-obama​). Well, I’m using the same logic to vote for Edwards over Van Hollen. I’m going to vote for Edwards because she’s black. Period. End of story.

Joseph Hawkins