State’s Political History Has A New Review
Kevin E. Dayhoff October 3, 2012
“Maryland Politics and Government: Democratic Dominance,”
written by Drs. John T. Willis and Herbert C. Smith, is an in-depth look at
Maryland’s political identity.
Steeped in history and tradition, the dark wood paneling of
McDaniel Hall on the campus of McDaniel College was the perfect setting for a
recent book talk on the arcane, distinctive, and uniquely byzantine political
history of the State of Maryland..
The University of Nebraska noted that the reference book is
“certain to set the standard for understanding the politics of Maryland for
years to come…”
“It’s truly a labor of love,” Dr. Smith says, “explaining
that he and Dr. Willis have gone through a number of updates trying to capture
a political system that is essentially a moving target,” according to
an
article on the McDaniel College website.
The long-awaited 432-page book, written by two longstanding
friends of mine, was released on January 1, 2012, and is part of the Politics
and Governments of the American States Series by the University of Nebraska
Press.
Dr. Willis is the director of the government and public
policy program at the University of Baltimore. He has served as Maryland’s
secretary of state from 1995 to 2003 and is the author of “Presidential
Elections in Maryland.”
Dr. Smith, the director of government relations at the
college, has been a professor of political science and international studies at
McDaniel College since 1973.
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Click
here to read an excerpt from
Maryland Politics and
Government: Democratic Dominance.
Maryland Politics and Government: Democratic Dominance John
T. Willis, Herbert C. Smith
January 1, 2012
Sets the standard for
understanding the politics of Maryland for years to come
Then, an in-depth look
at Maryland’s political identity, with longtime political analyst Herb Smith
and party official John Willis, authors of “Maryland Politics and Government:
Democratic Dominance.” Herb Smith is a professor of political science and
international studies at McDaniel College. John Willis is director of the
government and public policy program at the University of Baltimore. He has
served as a Democratic party official and was Maryland’s secretary of state
from 1995 to 2003.
Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Contents:
The Maryland identity
A Maryland political
history
Contemporary political
patterns
Maryland public
opinion
Political parties,
interest groups, and corruption
The Maryland
Constitution
The Maryland General
Assembly
The Maryland governor
and the executive branch
The Maryland judiciary
The politics of
taxation and spending
"Pleasant
living" policies and politics
Maryland in the
federal system
Local governments in
Maryland
Maryland's future
Further reference for
Maryland study.
Tucked between the
larger commonwealths of Pennsylvania and Virginia and overshadowed by the
political maneuverings of its neighbor, Washington, D.C., Maryland has often
been overlooked and neglected in studies of state governmental systems.
With the publication
of Maryland Politics and Government, the challenging demographic diversity,
geographic variety, and dynamic Democratic pragmatism of Maryland finally get
their due.
Two longtime political
analysts, Herbert C. Smith and John T. Willis, conduct a sustained inquiry into
topics including the Maryland identity, political history, and interest groups;
the three branches of state government; and policy areas such as taxation,
spending, transportation, and the environment.
Smith and Willis also
establish a “Two Marylands” model that explains the dominance of the Maryland
Democratic Party, established in the post–Civil War era, that persists to this
day even in a time of political polarization. Unique in its scope, detail, and
coverage, Maryland Politics and Government sets the standard for understanding
the politics of the Free State (or, alternately, the Old Line State) for years
to come.
