Campaign season in the air, on the air
Freshly confirmed Republican gubernatorial candidate Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. gave his radio talk show listeners a taste this morning of how his campaign may intersect with his hosting duties.
"We don't want this to devolve into a 'We love Bob, we love Martin' segment," Ehrlich said as his WBAL show began at 9 a.m., referring to Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley. He promised robust debate about state policies. However, later in the show, he took a brief call from "Martin from Annapolis," a man who, in a Bill Clintonesque voice, mocked the current governor's solid union support.
Ehrlich hosts the Saturday program with his wife, Kendel Ehrlich. He said he will stay behind the microphone until July, when he officially files his candidacy with the State Board of Elections. He said the station would offer equal time to O'Malley.
Asked whether the governor was interested, spokesman Rick Abbruzzese replied in an email, "It's clear that former Governor Ehrlich and his wife, Kendel, now plan to run their campaign out of the law offices of Womble Caryle and WBAL radio studios. For now, Governor O'Malley is focused on the last few weeks of the legislative session and creating the conditions for economic growth and job creation in our state."
Ehrlich also manages the Baltimore office of North Carolina law firm Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice. He will formally announce his gubernatorial campaign April 7 in Rockville and Halethorpe and said he will give details about his professional plans at that time.
The Republican former governor devoted much of his two-hour show to discussing the Democratic administration's spending plan, which he criticized as a prelude to tax increases next year, and recent state legislation -- a departure from the more national tone his show had taken lately.
He took calls from a few Democrats -- another change -- who challenged him on his distaste for national health care reform. Two Republican lawmakers briefly phoned in with Annapolis updates.
Ehrlich directly addressed several callers' questions about his candidacy. One asked if he considered challenging popular Democratic U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, to which Ehrlich replied, "Yes, briefly." He said he views the governorship as "where the action is" and believes he could make a greater, quicker impact in Annapolis than on Capitol Hill.
Kendel Ehrlich will appear on Richard Sher's Square Off on WMAR-TV tomorrow night.
Comments
If Ehrlich can stay on the air with his propaganda show until June then O'Malley should be given equal time for free until June. This must be a violation of some type of campaign law. Let everyone be treated fair and let the voters decide.
(From Julie: As noted, for what it's worth, the station has offered time to O'Malley.)
Posted by: FairTimeForAll | April 3, 2010 3:18 PM
This state runs through tax dollars like a 21 year old runs through miller lite.
the bay is still an ecological disaster after all the money and pro environment democrat style initiatives.
our schools systems are filled with lazy, ignorant, and "entitled" kids who have spoiled lazy babyboomeresque parents.
this state needs to start cutting spending
before we end up like california.
vote these clowns out of office...
Posted by: Lee | April 3, 2010 3:35 PM
Ehrlich is pathetic. If he wants to reach out to a state where Dems outnumber Republicans by a margin of 2 to 1 he should ditch his cushy job on right-wing radio and start talking to the people! I'm sick of the status quo and I have no love for O'Gov. But 4 more years of Bobby Haircut??? You MUST be joking!
Posted by: Ron | April 3, 2010 4:46 PM
O'Malley has free and unfettered access to all broadcast media in MaryLand by the fact that he is Governor and, when he makes a speech, it's news. The Baltimore Liberal Progressive Democrat Sun is in the tank for him as well. And MaryLand voters are the d-u-m-b-e-s-t bunch of sheep I have ever seen anywhere. They will always vote for a "D" with a Pavlovian fervor unless that "D" is KKT, which shows some glimmer of base-level intelligence. Somewhere. All Conservatives need to volunteer to be judges at the polling places in MaryLand this November. Oh yes. One more thing. O'Malley should voluntarily call in to the Ehrlich Show on WBAL and debate Ehrlich live, on the air, no pre-picked audience. Nah. Forget it. It would take a man to do that.
(From Julie: We're actually just "The Baltimore Sun," but thanks for writing in.)
Posted by: HarlanR | April 3, 2010 6:29 PM
The sun paper reports all the positive things on Owe- Malley and has never said anything bad about him. they are the voice of the democratic party. they think we are stupid. i know you probably will not post this becuase people will read it and start to think. but in all honesty your paper is very biased towaRDS THE DEMS
Posted by: Joe | April 3, 2010 7:38 PM
Fairtimeforall: check your facts maryland has the best educational system in the nation If you have not heard and If Robery Ehrlich thinks he is going to win what he lost back guess again, He has already proved that he kind not run the state in his first term so why would maryland voter's give him another term when they voted him out the second time around , If he is the only candidate that the republican party has to offer , Martain O'Mally will be reelected by a landslide. This is just one man opinion.
Posted by: Anonymous | April 3, 2010 8:35 PM
Isn't the current Governor running his reelection campaign from the statehouse? What's the difference?
No one can complain about Ehrlich's radio show when the station WBAL has offered equal time to OMalley and his lovely wife.
Not just Maryland but the whole country is going to end up like California if government spending is not reined in.
Greece would be a better analogy, broke and riots in the streets due to the austerity plan.
Status Quo would be reelecting OMalley and the increased taxes that he will push in 2012. One look at the current budget reveals that fact.
Posted by: jay | April 3, 2010 10:05 PM
Keep Bob Ehrlich on the air!
It's the best place to catch him making stuff up.
Recently he told his listeners he didn't raise taxes in 2003. Ha! Less than two months after swearing in that year following a campaign against raising taxes, Bob Ehrlich proposed a a 57 percent property tax hike, and he can’t blame legislative Democrats since he enacted it through the Board of Public Works.
The next week Bob Ehrlich told his listeners that his congressional pension wasn't excessive because, he said, "we fixed that with the Contract with America." His wife said, "when you were in Congress, they adjusted those types of benefits to fit federal employees, under speaker Newt Gingrich."
That was a figment of their imagination. Pensions were not even mentioned in the Contract with America, and they were not altered while Bob Ehrlich was in Congress.
Surely Bob Ehrlich's opponents don't want to take away is his microphone.
- Steve Lebowitz, Annapolis
Posted by: justdafacts | April 4, 2010 1:54 PM
Does Rick Abbruzzesse need to file an in-kind contribution for his comments? I assume he was on state time making a political comment? Only kidding. Although O'Malley's people did file just such a complaint about Ehrlich. Sad O'Malley has gone negative so early.
(From Julie: I talked to Rick at 11:30 a.m. on a Saturday. He was at home.)
Posted by: Larry | April 5, 2010 8:56 PM
Hey Steve Lebowitz your remarks reminds me of your hero's broken BGE promises from 2006.
OMalley sure fixed them sir.
Posted by: jay | April 6, 2010 12:08 PM