The death of long-time Speaker of the House of Delegates, Mike Busch eclipsed the usual Sine Die* celebrations of bills passed and regrets about good bills for which “time ran out.” WDC joins Marylanders across the state, regardless of party affiliation, in mourning his passing.
In the next few weeks, we will have many opportunities to learn about the 2019 legislative session. Membership and Outreach co-chairs Enid Light and Andrea Grossman arranged for several legislators to provide highlights at last week’s WDC Happy Hour: Senator Susan Lee, and Delegates Al Carr, Lorig Charkoudian, Sara Love, Lesley Lopez, Emily Shetty, and Jared Solomon. Mark your calendar April 27, for a more in-depth analysis of what bills did – and did not – advance this past session at the Democratic Clubs of Color Legislative Wrap-Up, co-sponsored by WDC. See details here. And be sure to read WDC Advocacy Chair Ginger Macomber’s report on how WDC’s priorities fared in Annapolis this year. Special thanks to Ginger, our issues captains, and each WDC member who contacted legislators in support of a bill; you are helping to keep our democracy vibrant.
And speaking of democracy: Will Attorney General William Barr keep his word, and release the redacted version of the Mueller Report this week? Will this Thursday’s WDC luncheon speaker, MSNBC legal analyst Chuck Rosenberg, be speculating what’s to come, or sharing insights on what’s in it? If nothing else, the Mueller findings will add more heft to the argument that our political system is broken. I’ve noticed people reading two books on that topic. Both book titles reference Ben Franklin’s response to a question about whether the founding fathers had created a republic or a monarchy. Franklin’s answer: “a republic, if you can keep it.” Michael Tomasky’s new release, If We Can Keep It, How the Republic Collapsed and How It Might Be Saved, and Eric Metaxas’s 2017 book, If You Can Keep It: The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty, both examine how we got to where we are and how we can move forward to renew and invigorate our political system.
On that topic, thanks to WDC member Sylvia Diss, who arranged for Pam Holland of Tech Moxie to present a March 30 training session on using Twitter for political purposes. If other WDC members wish to propose and organize a community education program, let co-chairs Diana Conway and Brenda Wolff know. Your active involvement in WDC, and in our state and county parties, helps keep our political system vibrant and effective. Thanks to each of you for that.
*Sine Die: the last day of the state legislative session