Baltimore, Maryland. A Republican revolution struck Maryland tonight. Too bad the revolution had little to do with the ideologies of the GOP. The Maryland gubernatorial race was a battle of campaign strategists, not ideologies. The issues influenced the election only in a minor sense; Republican Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. won because of campaign tactics and the strength of the get-out-the-vote campaigns. The loser is not only Democrat Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, but also the state of Maryland, when fanfare and false promises dominate over real crises facing the state.
The election of Ehrlich as governor is history in the making. A Republican has not held the governor's office in Maryland since 1969, when Spiro T. Agnew left to join Nixon to campaign for Vice-President. Yet Ehrlich has managed to defeat his Democratic opponent Lieutenant Governor Townsend. A self-proclaimed moderate Republican, Ehrlich has built a large group of "Democrats for Ehrlich" that was critical to his ascension into office. He built such a strong bipartisan base by out-campaigning Townsend from the get go.
During the summer, Ehrlich amassed large amounts of money and began campaigning months before Townsend began her serious campaigning. Ehrlich bumper stickers and lawn signs dominated the area before Townsend began handing them out. Ehrlich's early campaigning was essential to his success. Challenging the former lieutenant governor, Ehrlich knew to focus on name recognition.
In addition, Ehrlich accumulated more campaign contributions than Townsend did. Townsend thought she could get by on name recognition alone, as a Kennedy and as lieutenant governor, but it was her poor campaigning that cost her the election.
Ehrlich won because the GOP has a much stronger voting base that consistently votes in every election. In addition, a lot more Democrats voted for Ehrlich, and they are more eager to have their voices heard when they are motivated enough to vote against their party. Ehrlich's ability to cross party lines while holding onto his Republican base was due to an early campaign and poor management under the previous Democratic Paris Glendening-Townsend administration. The Democratic failure to maintain fiscal responsibility in Annapolis and to live up to their campaign promises of 1994 and 1998 gave Ehrlich the time to strike the shaken Democratic base.
Accidents and coincidences also benefited Ehrlich on Election Day. Little things like a rainy election day also brought storm clouds over Kennedy's campaign. The get-out-the-vote campaigns that Democrats often benefit from were hampered by poor weather. In an election this close, even the weather alters democracy. Townsend had little going for her throughout the entire campaign while Ehrlich was playing hardball since the spring.
However, Ehrlich's success is shallow and he faces serious challenges ahead -- budget deficits, a traffic problem, an educational system on the decline and a rising crime rate. Ehrlich offered no realistic solutions to the problems of a sluggish economy and the deficit.
When Townsend and Ehrlich campaigned, they decided the best policy toward the $414 million budget deficit this year was to pretend it was not there. They offered separate minor revenue raising plans; Townsend favored to increase the cigarette tax by a dollar to make it the highest sin tax in the country while Ehrlich favored the legalization of slot machines in Maryland to raise revenues. Neither of these measures is enough to reconcile such a large deficit, let alone the promises of improved education, transportation, health care and public safety. The candidates took the citizens as fools who do not realize the reality of the budget crisis in Maryland caused by the recession and the out-of-control spending of the previous administration.
Both candidates picked running mates based solely on politics. Ehrlich chose an African-American, Michael Steele, to try to appeal to the Democrats; Townsend chose a conservative, Charles R. Larson, to try to appeal to the Republicans. Everything about the election is political; little about it was to suit Maryland's needs.
Ehrlich toted himself as a moderate, and the campaign worked. He expressed that he will respect a woman's right to choose, clean up the Chesapeake Bay, and make health care a top priority. He neglected his anti-gun control position, his support for a faith-based initiative, and his lack of a well thought out budget plan.
Not that Townsend was any better. She took credit for anything Glendening accomplished, but took no responsibility for the irresponsible spending of the last eight years. She had no plan either on what services she would cut, only what she would add. Rhetoric dominated this campaign, and the voters of Maryland chose a governor on trivial campaign promises.
Ehrlich won last night for his shrewd politician skills; Townsend lost because she lacked them. Ehrlich's issues never challenged Townsend's -- the voters never had a chance to vote on the issues. Nevertheless, Ehrlich earned his spot at the governor's mansion through his campaign success -- now he has to prove himself with real policies and leadership in Annapolis.
(Patrick Harvey's column usually appears Mondays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at pharvey@
cavalierdaily.com.)
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