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Why Won’t He Talk About GOP-Proposed Budget Cuts?

Bob Ehrlich has been slinging a lot of mud recently — on his show and in the newspaper — but we’ve noticed that he’s been remarkably silent when it comes to actually offering ideas for Maryland.  His refusal to articulate even a modest agenda is beginning to make us wonder whether he has any ideas at all, short of repeating his term as governor, when he aligned himself with special interests, went on a spending binge, and drove the state into a fiscal mess.  While it’s far easier, and safer politically, to sit back and throw grenades than to offer real proposals – which require serious thought and actual research — it’s hardly becoming of someone who wants to be taken seriously as a gubernatorial contender and not just another right-wing talk show host.

Now, Ehrlich’s decision to prioritize his own ambitions over Maryland’s future is hanging his fellow Republicans out to dry, as he has steadfastly refused to take a position on the centerpiece of the GOP legislative agenda: a series of major cuts to the state budget.  It’s been two weeks since Republican state legislative leaders stuck their necks out by proposing the cuts, and Ehrlich has so far simply declined to discuss the proposals or offer any alternative budget cutting proposals, despite hosting a radio show about Maryland politics.  On his show two weeks ago, Ehrlich mentioned the GOP budget proposals but didn’t comment.  Last week, Ehrlich, who once deflected a listener question about budget cuts by responding, “I am no longer governor, so I don’t have to make those decisions,” didn’t bring it up at all.  We wonder how legislative Republicans feel about the lack of political cover they’ve received from their party’s presumptive standard-bearer.  And we wonder how Marylanders feel about a candidate for governor unwilling or unable stake out a position on a key issue.

Maybe Ehrlich doesn’t want to draw attention to his record spending that helped create Maryland’s fiscal problems.  Maybe he just lacks the political courage to comment on a GOP plan that slashes education, the environment, state employees, and funding for local jurisdictions, and in so doing has divided the Republican Party.  In any event, his silence stands in stark contrast to Gov. O’Malley and legislative Republicans, who have met the challenge of budget cuts head-on to forge bipartisan agreement on securing Maryland’s fiscal future.

Bob Ehrlich has talked big on budget cuts, in spite of his own record as a big spender, but he’s offered few specifics.  He’s boasted that he would “cut more than he has to” if he is returned to office, and he’s said that he opposes the use of federal stimulus funds for ongoing expenditures in Maryland’s budget.  He owes it to Marylanders to explain what those positions mean:

Does he support the Republican budget-cutting plans?

Does he agree with the O’Malley budget cuts?

If not, what cuts does he support?

What additional cuts would he then make to fulfill his promise to “cut more than he has to”?

Would he return the federal stimulus funds, and what corresponding cuts would he make to compensate for the loss of those funds?

This isn’t the first time Ehrlich has let others on the right do the heavy lifting while he has sought to obscure his own record for political gain.  He has recently misled the tea party protesters, attempting to co-opt their movement without honestly disclosing to them his history of big spending.

But we get the sense that Ehrlich’s act is wearing thin even among his allies in the legislature, who are pushing self-proclaimed fiscal conservatives to put up or shut up.  Here’s what state Sen. David Brinkley (R-Frederick) had to say regarding the budget cutting proposals:

“If you are not going to support these reductions, then tell the people where you are going to raise their taxes, because there will be no choice.”

Well, Bob?