Ehrlich Radio: We listen so you don't have to.

Last weekend, Bob Ehrlich urged listeners of his talk radio show to attend a TEA Party rally in Annapolis sponsored by Americans for Prosperity and other TEA Party organizations. It’s not the first time MD Republicans have tried to latch on to the TEA Parties. However, it looks like Ehrlich is trying to curry favor with the TEA Partiers before they find out he’s not actually a fiscal conservative and they Scozzafava him. It makes sense that Ehrlich would want to distract everyone from his own spending record. In case folks have forgotten, we thought it would be a good idea to remind them of a few facts about Ehrlich’s spending record while in office.

Ehrlich proposed the largest-ever increase in state spending. Ehrlich’s FY 2007 budget proposal contained the largest-ever increase in state spending. It spent nearly $700 million more than revenues and included nearly 300 more positions than recommended by the Spending Affordability Committee.  (Department of Legislative Services, Budget Analysis, January 23, 2006)

Ehrlich exceeded the spending affordability guidelines. Ehrlich’s FY 2005, FY 2006 and FY 2007 budget proposals each exceeded spending limits recommended by the Spending Affordability Committee.

Ehrlich was criticized for reckless spending that didn’t “take into account the possibility that the economy might eventually sour.” A January 2006 Baltimore Sun editorial criticized Ehrlich for his spending increases, arguing they were reckless because they would cause budget pain in future years if the economy declined: “But it’s hard to endorse a management philosophy that doesn’t look beyond 2006 – or take into account the possibility that the economy might eventually sour.”

Something tells me that Ehrlich won’t be joining his listeners at this rally, but if he does, he’d probably be a little worried if the TEA Partiers found out that he’s not really one of them.