Dems talk future at Truman-Kennedy-Obama Dinner
Looking for ward to 2018 elections
Every year, the Charles County Democratic Central Committee invites party members from across the state to join them for a dinner where they discuss the values of being a Democrat.
During election season, the committee tends to see its biggest turnout. But this year, despite upcoming elections being next year, the committee filled more than 300 seats in the Waldorf Jaycees.
The reason why: President Donald Trump (R), Committee Chairman Gilbert Bowling (D) said.
“People become energized by that which they want to be against,” said U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md., 5th).
This presidency, Hoyer said, has been an embarrassment. The president does not know where he stands “from day to day, hour to hour or week to week.” And the Democratic Party has to work to change that and separate themselves from Trump’s administration.
People who used to connect with the party, Hoyer said, now feel like Democrats only represent the “elites” of the country and feel left behind.
“They need to know that we care,” he said.
But the party has to take the proper steps in doing that, Bowling said. Part of that is building a larger presence in Southern Maryland as a Democratic entity, including St. Mary’s and Calvert counties.
Bowling, who is considering running for a district one spot on the Charles County Board of Commissioners, said winning local elections and being part of the local political process is a major
part of changing the country’s perception.
As a former Republican, Bowling said he knows firsthand the party accepts anyone and everyone who chooses to join. That is why, he said, the theme of the dinner is “we build bridges, not walls.”
“We’re going to take our governor seat back in 2018. And I’m fully confident the people in this room are going to do it,” Bowling said.
Ben Jealous, the keynote speaker for the event, said earlier this year he has been weighing a potential run at the governor seat in 2018. At the dinner, he was more coy about the prospect of him running, but said there needed to be change throughout the country nonetheless.
{span} The biggest question for any candidate running for office is, “What are we going to say to them?” Jealous said.{/ span}
Right now, Jealous said, the perception of the party is not positive. Throughout its history, he said, the party has been known for being “inclusive” and having an abundance of perspectives.
Right now, he said, people do not see the party that way. That was something U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) tried to correct throughout his primary campaign, Jealous noted.
Though he supported Hillary Clinton in the general election, Jealous said he traveled with Sanders throughout the primary campaign and saw how he connected with different voters. Jealous said he opened up for Sanders in St. Louis, but when he looked in the crowd, he did not see people he thought would relate to what their campaign was based on.
But what Sanders has done differently than the rest of the party, he said, was talking about issues that the middle and working classes of America could connect with.
“Yes, we’re going to raise the minimum wage. Yes, we’re going to make it easier to organize. Yes, we’re going to make it easier to grow your business. Yes, we’re going to address the health crisis,” Jealous said.
Issues that people connect with are the talking points candidates need to speak on, he said. Issues affecting the common man like mass incarceration, retooling the health care system, affordable education and other issues are what people care about, he said.
Bowling agreed. Those principles are important for the Democratic Party moving forward. Not just nationally, Bowling said, but for races throughout the countr y.
For him, though, with this being his last year as the chairman of the Charles County Democratic Central Committee, Bowling looks forward to serving the citizens in a “different capacity” moving forward.
Though he has not officially filed with the Maryland State Board of Elections, Bowling is expected to run for county commissioner. And these are principles, he said, that he will continue to live by as a member of the party.
“Tonight is very bittersweet for me,” Bowling said.