Bob Ehrlich

Today I received a campaign flyer in the mail that states, "Bob Ehrlich has made $2.5 million working for one of America's largest lobbying firms. " However, articles in The Sun on June 27 and October 21 reported that the allegation is false. Mr. Ehrlich has never been a registered lobbyist. The tone and the truthfulness of a political campaign are reasonable measures to evaluate a candidate against the fundamental qualifications of integrity and decency. The strategy of Nazi propagandists in the 1930s was simple: Tell a big lie repeatedly and people will believe.

Over the last several days there has been a deluge of "Ehrlich for Governor" lawn signs placed along every major thoroughfare in Baltimore County. Literally every 10 feet there is another little blue sign, one after another, along both sides of York Road, Frederick Road, Harford Road, Belair Road, etc. These signs are quite annoying, especially because they are all illegally placed in medians, along public property, on overpasses, and up and down interstate exit ramps. If Bob Ehrlich is so concerned with government spending, why didn't he make the connection that the thousands of his illegally placed lawn signs have to be collected by Baltimore County Code Enforcement, which is funded by taxpayers?

I just saw a commercial approved by the O'Malley for governor campaign which tells the viewer all the bad things Bob Ehrlich has done, like earning a living, while he has been out of office. There isn't one word in the commercial telling the viewer what Gov. Martin O'Malley plans on doing for Maryland or how he plans to do it. Has Mr. O'Malley not been listening to folks who state again and again they are sick and tired of listening to opposing-candidate bashing with little other substance?

The resent flood of O'Malley campaign blarney would have you believe that the governor is responsible for making an education from the University of Maryland affordable to "middle class working families. " He also contends that Bob Ehrlich raised tuition at the University of Maryland by 40 percent. Gov. Martin O'Malley also contends that Mr. Ehrlich is not to be trusted because the former governor claims that he did not raise taxes but that he did raise user fees that are in fact the same thing.

When asked about political "attack ads," American voters overwhelmingly express their disapproval of them. Yet negative ads persist because they work. As Nov. 2 approaches, the airwaves are filled with such ads accusing rival candidates of all sorts of dastardly deeds, of possessing questionable character and of being stooges of powerful special interests. I read an interesting comment by political science professor Ken Warren of St. Louis University that people often have the misconception that negative ads must be true in order to be aired.

In his debate Thursday with Martin O'Malley, Bob Ehrlich compared poor foreigners who sneak into the United States to criminals who break into a home at night. He couldn't resist mocking Mr. O'Malley's odd and patronizing references to undocumented immigrants as "new Americans. " "If someone breaks into my house, is that a new member of my family that night?" Mr. Ehrlich asked, pleasing the xenophobes who broadly associate immigration with criminality in their ongoing effort to demonize the millions of men, women and children who have crossed U.S. borders in quest for a better life.

A document making the rounds in Maryland political circles would appear to be a casting call for a Bob Ehrlich campaign ad. One reason there's interest in that: The spot would be shot in California, and Ehrlich has campaigned on the need to bolster Maryland's film industry. Another reason: Among the parts to be cast are Homeless Person #1 and Homeless Person #2, bringing to mind the last time Ehrlich went out of state for homeless people. In 2006, his campaign bused them in from Philly on Election Day to hand out literature that suggested — falsely — that Ehrlich was backed by several black Democratic leaders.

Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. : It's a consequential race, obviously, because when you elect an executive, executives count. Executives impact lives. They impact business cycles, they impact the ability to create jobs in a particular state. They impact taxpayers. They impact our vision and our future. So that's the reason we have so much interest in this debate, that's why there are all the signs and bumper stickers running around, that's why all the TV commercials are running as well. Governors count.

Sounds like Ehrlich spokesman Andy Barth is "making stuff up" when he refers to Gov. Martin O'Malley's "pitiful failure" to get slots up and running in Maryland. Maybe he's confused. Wasn't it almighty Bob Ehrlich who failed pitifully? Last time I looked, slots are up and running in Maryland — because of the actions of Governor O'Malley and his administration. Jeff Meyers, Towson

I have been watching with fascination a string of commercials for Bob Ehrlich blaming the current governor for the loss of jobs and businesses in the state. The implication is that Mr. Ehrlich is so exceptional that, had he been in office the last four years, there would have been no world-wide recession. Who knew? Jeffrey Dier, Lutherville