2016 Postmortem

Last edited Sun Jul 19, 2015, 05:50 AM - Edit history (1)

In his mayoral elections, majority black Baltimore voted heavily for O'Malley -- 90% for election and 87% for reelection -- and then voted heavily for him twice in his gubernatorial elections. Those facts speak for themselves.

Noisy critics tend to shout down and drown out the voices of quiet supporters. Counting actual votes reveals the real story of where people stand and what they believe. That's why, in Congress, shouting out "yeas and nays" in a "voice vote" is almost always followed by a request for a "roll call" vote.

"Shouting down" someone we think we disagree with is no substitute for the give and take of real dialogue. Real dialogue, which begins with listening, advances the search for common ground and genuine problem-solving. In that process, we learn from each other and often surprisingly realize that we agree more than we disagree.

That's what democratic engagement is all about, and that's why votes count.