Maryland Conservatarian

As you can tell from my moniker, I am a Marylander and am naturally wondering just how my state will vote next week. Towards that, I did a little research into past Maryland voting patterns and am dismayed at what it suggests: apparently Maryland just doesn’t believe women should be elected to the executive branch.

Now, it’s not as if Maryland hasn’t had its opportunities but 1994 and 1998 still represent the only times Maryland voters have allowed a female to ascend to an elected executive position. That was when the state electorate voted in Kathleen Kennedy Townsend as our Lieutenant Governor. That probably sounds very progressive and all until you remember that both times the defeated Republican nominee for GOVERNOR was ELLEN Sauerbrey.

Nominally, you may chalk that up to mere partisan politics – what with Maryland being an overwhelmingly Democratic state. But what then explains 2002? Recall then that running on her own, Ms. Townsend apparently encountered the same sexist buzzsaw that befell Ms. Sauerbrey enroute to becoming the first Democrat to lose a gubernatorial election in Maryland in over 30 years. Her opponent? The all-male contingent of Ehrlich-Steele.

Further evidence of this bias came four years later when Michael Steele bolted to run for the U.S. Senate. Governor Ehrlich then added KRISTEN Cox to his ticket…and despite his overall popularity, promptly lost to the all-male duo of O’Malley-Brown.

Finally, let’s not forget 1984 when Maryland voters awarded the state’s electoral votes to Ronald Reagan instead of the historic Democratic ticket of Walter Mondale and GERALDINE Ferraro.

Now through this all, Maryland’s Republicans have consistently supported the Republican candidates so it is clear that the problem of the lack of female accession is a Democratic one. That was never more evident than earlier this year when Maryland’s Democrats emphatically shot down HILLARY Clinton’s presidential bid in their primary.

So with this in mind, I look ahead with some trepidation toward our vote next Tuesday. If, as the past data suggests, Maryland does vote against the shattering-of-the-glass-ceiling ticket of John McCain and SARAH Palin, then - using the politically convenient logic of Identity Politics - I can only conclude that Maryland’s Democrats are a bunch of misogynistic sexist pigs.

I suggest mandatory Diversity Training.

UPDATE: It’s worse than I thought. Soccer Dad reminds me that in 1990 Governor Schaeffer defeated the husband –wife team of Bill and Lois Shepard…which jarred my memory enough to also recall Marvin Mandel beating Louise Gore in 1974.

Who knew the methodology of Identity Politics could be so much fun?