A Tsongas to Kerry move for MD? We hope so...

[elshiva]

Kweisi Mfume, a five term congressman and former president of the NAACP, announced that he will be running for the senate. This is great for MD Democrats! I almost leapt when I heard the announcement on AAR!
I pray to God that this may be so. Sarbanes is a great liberal and he needs to be replace by a great liberal like Mfume as Tsongas was replaced by Kerry...

[politicasista]

1. I am glad Kweisi is running

He is a dynamic speaker and fundraiser. Can't wait to see and hear what his platform is. :)

[elshiva]

2. Yeah!

He is very popular in MD. Also if he runs he will get alot of out of state help because of being former president of the NAACP.
I don't think a repub candidate has much chance with Mfume's experience and popularity, as well as the fact that we are a blue state.

Some pundit tried to come up with something negative about Mfume today and, God, was it lame. He said something like, "I'm not sure they will vote for an African-American for Senate especially one with an African name(!)" Dumb, dumb! IMHO, Marylanders will vote overwhelmly for a strong Democrat Period.

[WildEyedLiberal]

9. Hahaha

Sort of like how Illinois overwhelmingly rejected an African-American with an African name?

:eyes:

Pundits are so stupid.

[Pirate Smile]

3. Here is an interesting article on this and the racial implications of

the race.

I read it in USA Today during my flight back from Florida - I feel so lost after 10 days with no internet and very little news.

Blacks deserve something in return from Md. Democrats
By DeWayne Wickham, USA TODAY

Kweisi Mfume's announcement Monday that he will seek the seat of retiring Maryland Sen. Paul Sarbanes will test the commitment of Democrats to their black base, as well as the patience of the party's most loyal constituency.
The entry of Mfume, a former NAACP president and Maryland congressman, into the starting blocks of the 2006 Senate race comes just three days after the state's longest-serving senator said he won't seek a sixth term. Sarbanes' departure is expected to cause a crowded field of Democrats to vie for the party's nomination in a contest that will have national implications.

Blacks are 27% of Maryland's population but an even larger percentage of the "Democratic wing" of the state's Democratic Party. But no black has ever been the party's nominee for a statewide office.

In the last gubernatorial race, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend disappointed many of Maryland's black Democratic leaders when she chose a white Republican as her running mate. Townsend lost the election to Republican Robert Ehrlich Jr., who won nearly 52% of the vote in a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 2-to-1 margin.

In that race, Ehrlich chose black Republican Michael Steele as his running mate, a move that got him few black votes but grudging approval among black politicians. Now, with Steele being mentioned as the likely GOP candidate in the race to replace Sarbanes, Democrats need to counter with their own black candidate, or run the risk of further alienating their black base in Maryland — and elsewhere.

"It's time for the Democratic Party to make a bold statement in a blue state where blacks have always been willing to support white Democrats for office," Mfume told me Sunday. If the party's Senate and gubernatorial bids go to white candidates next year, Mfume said, "There could be a seismic change in terms of voter loyalty (to the Democratic Party) because the black community will feel betrayed."

Mfume's words were echoed on the airwaves of a black talk radio show in Baltimore. Caller after caller Monday said it's time for the state's Democratic Party to reward blacks for their loyalty or risk losing their support in the next election.

more at the link
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnist/wickham/2005-03-14-mfume-wickham_x.htm

[elshiva]

4. THANK YOU!

White Marylanders owe our black neighbors MUCH MORE than a black senator after over 300 years of slavery and segregation, but it would be a little something...

[Goldeneye]

5. hey elshiva

do you have any good links about Mfume. I don't know very much about him, but I'd like to read his bio and platform somewhere.

[elshiva]

6. Sorry, no good links here.

I know little about Mfume accept him being a five term congressman, prez of the NAACP, and father of five illegitimate children (everyone knows this and it's never hurt him before...)

[Goldeneye]

7. Thats ok.

I bet we'll be hearing about him over the next year or so.

[elshiva]

8. I HOPE SO!

[politicasista]

10. Hello Goldeneye!

:hi:

[Goldeneye]

11. Hi Politicasista

went to bed before I got your hello.:hi:

[cestpaspossible]

12. I remember I liked him as a Congressman.

I think he was the leader of the Black Caucus, perhaps that's why he got on TV so much... he's no moderate

[CBHagman]

13. I kind of hope Van Hollen doesn't run.

Our current situation in Maryland appears to be that politicians are either eyeing the governorship or seats in the House and Senate. There's a lot of talk about the people considering a run for Sarbanes's seat, and then we have number of people lining up to replace Robert Ehrlich (R). Oh, how I look forward to the day when Ehrlich leaves Annapolis.

Anyway, as for the Senate seat, I rather hope Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-8th District) doesn't run for the seat. He's really needed in the House, even if Satan himself is currently the majority leader. Besides, I thought Van Hollen would hold off until Barbara Mikulski was ready to retire.

[elshiva]

14. Van Hollen a great Dem, should keep his seat

and let Mfume go for it. Currently, Mfume doesn't have a job worthy of him.