(My latest for WYPR … linked here. TL)
ROCKVILLE, MD (wypr) – “Once more into the breach. This time it’s history, part two.”
This time it’s different.
Former governor Bob Ehrlich is challenging the man who ousted him less than four years ago, Martin O’Malley. And he hopes to use his status as the challenger attacking an incumbent in an anti-incumbent year to his advantage.
Now it’s O’Malley who must defend some very unpopular budget choices and a string of tax increases. This is a situation Ehrlich told a crowd of a couple hundred supporters that he is very familiar with.
“It’s not just about the past folks, it’s about the future. While we’re talking about contrast, what do we know? We know they raised taxes and we tried to cut them. We know they spend beyond our means and we spent within our budget. They kill jobs, we help create them.”
So, maybe the talking points aren’t that different from four years ago. But the roles are definitely flipped, and so is the mood of the nation. Now Ehrlich is the challenger in a Republican-favoring election cycle, as opposed to when O’Malley ran as the challenger in 2006 in a Democratic-leaning year.
