Ehrlich

At first blush, my reaction toRobert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s column ("Wondering aloud: thoughts on religion and politics, energy and athletics," March 4) is, how could a seasoned politician have so many unanswered questions? But on closer reading, the object is to promote sharply partisan falsehoods by implication. Let's consider a few of the whoppers. First, there is the notion that President Barack Obama should be regarded as anti-business. Compare the performance of the stock market during the president's term with that during the Bush years and tell me which president should be regarded as anti-business by Wall Street.

Campaign 2012 is now joined. The darts heretofore traded between the Obama and Romney camps now have extra-sharp tips. And it's going to stay this way through to Nov. 2. Most pundits predict a "razor close" and "particularly ugly" campaign. I concur. So, which storyline is a political junkie to follow in light of the 24/7 coverage given to this race for the ages? Which subplot is most instructive with regard to the ultimate outcome? A few thoughts for your consideration: •Youth.

Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. confirmed Tuesday that he will try to reclaim his former job as governor, hoping to benefit from a national anti-incumbent sentiment that emerged since the last presidential election and has deepened during the health care debate. If victorious, Ehrlich, a Republican, would become the first politician in modern Maryland history to win a rematch after losing as an incumbent governor. Ehrlich was defeated by Democrat Martin O'Malley in 2006, the only sitting governor ousted by voters that year.

Political consultant Julius Henson may have written the automated message that encouraged Democrats to stay home from the polls on Election Day 2010, but he didn't force voters to believe it, jury foreman Renee Johnson said Friday, explaining the split verdict in his case. "We, as a people, because we live in a democratic society, we have the choice of believing or not to believe. You choose to believe it, it's on you," said Johnson of East Baltimore, adding that tactics intended to influence voters are nothing new for political operatives such as Henson.

Re "Ehrlich pledges no new taxes if he is returned to Annapolis" (Aug. 26): If Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. is returned to office, maybe he should reduce the "fees" that he increased. Roger L. Kegley, Abingdon

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele spoke briefly at a state party fundraiser Thursday evening and repeatedly urged audience members to work hard for a victory in November. "My friends, don't screw this up," Steele told a roomful of about 700 at the BWI Airport Marriott. "We've got work to do. Don't take a good night for granted. This is going to be work. Hard work. We've done it before." The night saw the closest public interaction between Steele and Republican former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. in recent months.

Is George F. Harrison Jr. the nom de plume of Gov. Martin O'Malley's press secretary, or is it that The Sun only publishes anti-Ehrlich missives ("Ehrlich would be wise not to focus on the past," Readers respond, April 13)? As anybody knows who was involved in the issue during the Ehrlich years, the failure to pass a slots bill lies squarely at the feet of House Speaker Michael E. Busch. Because of Mr. Busch and Mr. Busch alone, Maryland is 10 years behind Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia with respect to this source of revenue and jobs.

A documentary about Jack Abramoff being released today already has a cult following: Maryland Democrats. The party of Gov. Martin O'Malley is promoting the movie, Casino Jack and the United States of Money, because rival candidate Republican former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. pops up in it. Ehrlich is in a smiling snapshot with the disgraced lobbyist, who is now serving four years in federal prison. The Democrats say Ehrlich's connection to Abramoff "runs deep," pointing to a Hanukkah party Abramoff attended at the Governor's mansion and a $16,000 donation that Ehrlich accepted from Abramoff, though he returned it. They also have a mutual friend, Edward B. Miller.

I want to congratulate The Baltimore Sun on its steady capitulation to the paranoid conservative segment of our population - the righties who accuse any publication or broadcast of liberal bias simply because they allow a cross-section of viewpoints. The latest in this surrender to the right is the bringing on-board of former Maryland Gov.Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.as a columnist ("Ehrlich and The Sun: Once enemies, now partners," Jan. 29). Wouldn't it seem more fitting to replace the late Ron Smith with someone from the center instead of the right, another libertarian, perhaps?

Gov. Martin O'Malley is right to be somber about the most recent jobs numbers in Maryland ("Job losses force subdued tone in O'Malley camp," Sept. 23). I doubt anyone views this as good news. Sadly, Mr. Ehrlich is attempting to use these numbers to bolster his campaign, and he uses this opportunity to criticize his opponent for "simply not understanding how to create jobs. " Mr. Ehrlich would like Marylanders to view our state in a vacuum. Does Mr. Ehrlich really believe that Marylanders don't know that we are experiencing the effects of a national recession, one of the deepest and longest recessions since the Great Depression?

After about eight hours of deliberations Thursday, the Baltimore Circuit Court jury considering the fate of political consultant Julius Henson went home for a second day without reaching a verdict. Henson, 63, of East Baltimore, faces charges of election fraud, conspiracy and failure to include a campaign authority line on an automated call he orchestrated on Election Day 2010. Prosecutors say Republican former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s campaign used the call in an attempt to suppress black votes.

Political consultant Julius Henson's attorney used a stack of fake oversized money, invoked slavery and called prosecutors' election fraud case against his client a "bunch of bull-honky" during his closing argument Wednesday afternoon. Using props, charts and a blend of humor and outrage, Edward Smith Jr. talked to the jury for an hour, shifting his style between folksy and erudite. He quoted lyrics from the song "Backstabbers" by the O'Jays, showed jurors a photo of what he called a "twisted" man meant to represent the prosecution, and recommended that the deputy state prosecutor "just walk out the door right now" rather than present his arguments.

Many of you know I was fortunate to play high school football at Gilman and college football at Princeton. What most of you do not know is that I worked as a graduate assistant on the Wake Forest football staff to pay for my room and board during law school. These experiences instilled in me a strong sense of the appropriate role of academics and athletics in our secondary schools and colleges. So it should come as no surprise that I have a strong opinion as to the increasingly aggressive calls to pay college athletes in revenue-producing sports.

Political consultant Julius Henson took the witness stand Friday to defend himself against charges he tried to suppress the black vote on Election Day 2010, saying his job in former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s campaign was to encourage minorities to vote for the Republican. Henson said he had proposed working as a general consultant with a "bold" broad-based plan to help Ehrlich return to the governor's mansion. Instead, Henson said, his designated role was "outreach" to black communities.

I was shocked by the brazen disregard shown toward the public byRobert L. Ehrlich Jr.in his recent column on the war against terror ("Do we have what it takes to beatal-Qaida?" April 27). Mr. Ehrlich characterizes peace groups as placating and ignoring "those whose primary goal it is to terrorize and destroy the world. " This claim is baseless. These groups simply want a more just and fair world where America is respected instead of hated. Yet Mr. Ehrlich goes on to declare that Americans are "lazy" and "withdrawn" in "the absence of organized, direct threats.

In his Sunday column, former Maryland Gov.Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.writes that "advocates [of same-sex marriage] have attached themselves to the civil rights movement" and that we're making parallels to a "Jim Crow brand of discrimination" ("Maryland will reject same-sex marriage," April 15). That's offensive and plain wrong. It's also part and parcel of the strategy adopted by some to pit Marylanders against each other. Mr. Ehrlich should stop echoing the anti-gay voices in his party - like the National Organization for Marriage (which funds and runs the Maryland Marriage Alliance)

Three months after announcing his candidacy for governor, former Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. made it official Friday when he and newly chosen running mate Mary Kane filed paperwork with the Maryland State Board of Elections. "I feel really great about it," Ehrlich said afterward. He and Kane spent the morning as guests on Washington-area television and radio news programs. They have 10 parade appearances scheduled during the Fourth of July weekend, Ehrlich said.

Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. confirmed Tuesday that he will try to reclaim his former job as governor, hoping to benefit from a national anti-incumbent sentiment that emerged since the last presidential election and has deepened during the health care debate. If victorious, Ehrlich, a Republican, would become the first politician in modern Maryland history to win a rematch after losing as an incumbent governor. Ehrlich was defeated by Democrat Martin O'Malley in 2006, the only sitting governor ousted by voters that year.

In his column against gay marriage,Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.once again demonstrates why he is not the true heir and successor to Ron Smith ("Drawing a line at same-sex marriage," April 15). Mr. Smith and his keen intellect pursued truth whether it agreed with his prior beliefs or not while Mr. Ehrlich has shown again that he couches partisan viewpoints in intellectual language to disguise the truth. There is, indeed, a likely coalition against the gay marriage act. Leaders in my own faith, the Catholic Church, are drumming up a bandwagon to get signatures for referendum against the act. I won't be signing it. Opponents all blindly and stubbornly ignore the fact that we are at this point recognizing the validity of gay marriage not in spite of Christian beliefs, but because of them.

Maryland's present flirtation with gay marriage is only the latest chapter in a long-running culture war. In the "Free State's" case, it will ultimately come down to the people through a ballot initiative. A likely result: a coalition of Catholics, African-Americans, Hispanics and conservatives from both sides of the aisle send the measure to a decisive defeat. (Such a result would make Maryland the 32nd state to defeat a gay marriage referendum.) Opponents of all stripes will be tested in unique ways.