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“The tea partiers are focusing on the expansion of government — and its threat to the independence of citizens.”– Michael Barone

The Opportunity

Tea Partiers in Maryland and elsewhere represent a fresh force in American politics, and one not chained to party apparatus.  In Maryland, they are perhaps the only group capable of successfully encouraging the likely Republican candidate for governor, Bob Ehrlich, to run explicitly on a smaller government no-new-taxes platform. 

Specifically, they should ask Mr. Ehrlich to sign the gubernatorial no-new-taxes pledge  – -which Mr. Ehrlich declined to do during his first term.

They should also consider urging Mr. Ehrlich to make Maryland competitive for real (private sector) jobs by advancing the abolition of the state corporate tax along the lines one analyst recommended for Virginia - -

“Abolishing this tax, with a date certain 12 to 24 months in the future, creates a “wow” factor for growth while still building tax revenue until the actual implementation. This window buffers state revenue while building the base that culminates in a sustained growth of revenue created by an ensuing 0.5 percentage point to 1 percentage point expansion in the annual growth rate of Virginia’s GDP. This roughly translates (on the low end of expectations) to creating new jobs for the entire city of Bristol — population 17,000 — every year.” (Underscoring Forum’s.)

The Challenge

Maryland Tea Partiers need to raise the concerns most crucial to them with candidate Ehrlich and without getting any organizer’s “permission.” 

The fundamental question is whether a sometime centrist like Bob Ehrlich can reinvent himself as a leader in the fight against a disciplined movement of the left aimed at controlling Maryland’s economy and society. Old-fashioned Annapolis horse-trading skills alone won’t do the job. To be really effective, Mr. Ehrlich will have to spend more time with the grass roots and less time among the Annapolis governmentalists (of both parties). And he must grasp the serious nature of the left’s political force - - now reenergized by the enactment of Obamacare — that Americans are up against nationally as well as in Maryland.

Of course, Mr. Ehrlich will have to win over the values and Second Amendment voices that were estranged from him in 2006.  But that is a subject for a coming post. Stay tuned!

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UPDATES APRIL 5!

• Is candidate Ehrlich breaking away from the big-government folks? Baltimore Sun’s Julie Bykowicz writes today  “TV reporter-turned-candidate joins Team Ehrlich” “Barth has been a reporter for WMAR, Baltimore’s ABC affiliate, and for WTTG, Fox in Washington. In 2006, he ran for the House of Representatives seat vacated by Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin. A registered Democrat, Barth lives in Columbia.” 

• To rescue Maryland, will Mr. Ehrlich emulate New Jersey governor Chris Christie’s determination? NRO’s Veronique de Rugy also points us to the Mercatus Center’s “Institutions Matter: Can New Jersey Reverse Course” which can serve as a useful road map for Maryland fiscal activists.
  

• Will the former governor sign a no-new-taxes pledge? A Republican stalwart emails: ‘Good luck with this. I don’t see it happening. Ehrlich had no respect for the county central committees and he had no respect for the grassroots workers. Since he still blames Bush for his loss, I don’t see him being any different if he is elected this go round.’”

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