Crying “Socialism!” is an effective political tactic in the United States, and one President Barack Obama’s enemies have embraced fully. But while accusations of being insufficiently tough on Marxist enemies of capitalism are heard regularly on the national political scene, members of Maryland’s General Assembly aren’t regularly accused of being red.
In their weekly Thursday’s list column, Center Maryland, a new website covering state politics and policy, highlights what they call “The Extreme Team.” The leading member on the left wing is College Park’s own Sen. Jim Rosapepe, a Democrat.
Center Maryland's take on Sens. Jim Rosapepe and Andy Harris
Other names on the list include Sen. Paul Pinsky (D-Prince George’s) and Sen. Jamie Raskin (D-Montgomery) for the left, and porn-hating Sen. Andy Harris (R-Baltimore County) and Del. Pat McDonough (R-Baltimore County) on the right. But for now, let’s focus on Rosapepe.
Their description of Rosapepe’s liberalism is:
We must nationalize the means of production — bringing a little of Romania to Maryland.
The reference to the eastern European nation is due to Rosapepe’s time as the U.S. ambassador there under President Bill Clinton. But the larger implication of “nationalize the means of production” is to link Rosapepe to the once-Communist policies of the former Soviet satellite.
But the piece is light-hearted, so why is sarcastically labeling an otherwise unremarkable liberal Democrat a Communist a crime? For that, look after the jump.
Now, Rosapepe is very liberal. Environmentalists give him a perfect legislative rating. And he was tied for first on the Progressive Maryland Education Fund’s legislative rankings. He’s one of the strongest supporters of higher education in the General Assembly. No one doubts he’s generally a dependable vote for progressive groups.
But he’s no Communist. With his wife, he recently wrote a book about Romania under its former Communist dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu. The book’s title? “Dracula is Dead: How Romanians Survived Communism, Ended It and Emerged Since 1989 As the New Italy.” Sounds pretty explicitly anti-Marxist to us.
Now of course there is room for exaggeration in political discourse, particularly when it’s done light-heartedly like Center Maryland’s feature is. But the group should know better. From Center Maryland’s About page:
Maryland had a long tradition of moderate, pragmatic leadership, with Democrats and Republicans coming together to build the university system, promote economic growth and plan for our state’s future.
Increasingly, however, Annapolis is becoming more like Washington. The incentives in Maryland’s political system are set up to elect and reward behavior that drives our public discourse toward narrow political extremes … Center Maryland isn’t about people or posturing – it is about creating a platform to advance reasonable and responsible ideas.
Decrying partisanship and then labeling an otherwise-unremarkable liberal Democrat as a Communist is hypocritical. Pointless, groundless name-calling increases political divisions, even if it is coming from a “moderate source.” And it’s just going to make Annapolis more like Washington, not less.
If Center Maryland wants people to “advance reasonable and responsible ideas,” it should permit politicians to advocate their positions without smearing them (even if the smear is largely sarcastic). Yes, extremism should be condemned. But for the most part, everyone on both the right-wing and left-wing lists is safely within the mainstream of American politics.
If you want better government, the solution is debating, not demonizing.