Maryland Junior Senator Chris VanHollen chats with Calvert County students attending the annual Goldstein Dinner at the Rod ‘N’ Reel in Chesapeake Beach. The event was organized by the Calvert County Democratic Central Committee.
Chesapeake Beach, MD – After losing the Maryland Governor’s Mansion in 2014 and the White House in 2016, Democrats everywhere are making plans for a comeback. The rhetoric that highlighted the speeches given at the 19th annual Louis L. Goldstein Dinner in Chesapeake Beach Thursday evening, March 9 indicated the party stalwarts are tracking the missteps of GOP incumbents to aid them.
“We have a governor to get rid of,” said former NAACP president Ben Jealous. Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker, who appears to be preparing to challenge incumbent Republican Larry Hogan in 2018, indicated his appearance at the annual dinner presented by the Calvert County Democratic Central Committee was not unprecedented, and in fact something he has attended for several years. Baker told the audience he has been spending a lot of time in Annapolis trying to obtain funding for a regional hospital to serve Southern Maryland. Baker indicated Hogan is blocking the effort. “The fight here in the state got more serious,” he declared.
“Boy do we miss Barrack Obama,” said Maryland Senator Ben Cardin, adding that President Donald Trump “has compromised America’s national security.” Cardin also criticized the new president for not placing his business in a blind trust like other chief executives have done to avoid a conflict of interest. “It violates the Constitution,” said Cardin. “Impeach him [Trump],” someone in the audience shouted back.
Congressman Steny Hoyer also participated in the Trump bashing, taking aim at Republicans’ efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Hoyer noted that ACA had 79 hearings and a log of 181 witnesses. The congressman recalled a town hall meeting on the proposed ACA that he (Hoyer) hosted in Waldorf in 2009. “Some of them were angry but we looked them in eye,” said Hoyer, who added that by contrast the GOP leaders are seeking to ramrod replacement legislation through without any public debate.
“Trump has been violating the Constitution since day one,” said Maryland Junior Senator Chris VanHollen. “He’s in this for himself and not the American people.” VanHollen conceded that complacency likely cost the Democrats the presidential election. He noted that presidential candidate Hillary Clinton “got trounced” in rural areas of Pennsylvania, a situation that a strong voting bloc in urban Pennsylvania couldn’t offset. He said, “Maryland Democrats need to show up and compete everywhere. You have to be in Southern Maryland, the Eastern Shore and Western Maryland. We need you to be force-multipliers.”
When VanHollen mentioned Trump’s secretary of Education, Betsy Devos, the audience, which included several teachers’ union representatives, collectively groaned. VanHollen pledged that congressional Democrats would “fight back” to thwart efforts to privatize public education.
“We have to win back these Trump voters,” said VanHollen. “We know the Russians massively interfered with our election. Trump is breaking his promises of jobs and job opportunities. ‘Trump-care’ is nothing but a Trojan Horse to provide a huge tax cut to the wealthiest of Americans. We need to continue to blow the whistle. This was ‘fake populism.’ ”
The Calvert Democrats have recently sustained losses of a personal nature. The room had four unoccupied seats in the room reserved for four individuals—Thomas Hausmann, Clifton E. Savoy Jr., Alan Wilson and Ann Brown—who have recently passed away.
Calvert County Democratic Central Committee Chairman Greg Brown told TheBayNet.com prior to the program that the local party will soon be advertising for three new committee members. “We have a real need,” he said. “We’ve been having huge turnouts at our club meetings.”
Awards presented during the program were given to Marie and Ron Brvenik, recipients of the Dan Pike Volunteer of the Year Award; Malcolm and Annette Funn, recipients of the Community Service Award—Malcolm Funn accepted the award on behalf of his wife, who died last summer—and Beth Swoap, who received the Chairman’s Award.
The Louis L. Goldstein Award was presented to Savoy’s family. Savoy, who died in a motorcycle crash a few days before the General Election, had served as central committee chairman and had been active in Local 100 (sheet metal workers).
“Cliff was a devoted husband to his wife, Tyann, and a loving father to his five children—Cliff, Riley, Danisha, Tameka and Latashia,” said Hoyer, in presented the Goldstein Award to Savoy’s mother, wife and children on his behalf. “He found so much joy in his three grandchildren—Ryleigh, Trevon and Amari. Though he was taken so young, his years on Earth were filled with contribution, experience and love.”
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com
