Ehrlich Did More than Fail at Slot Machines

With Governor Ehrlich taking his last walk this week, and Martin O’Malley taking his place, many have seen fit to disparage the time that Ehrlich spent in office – claiming it was all about slot machines. They think that the only thing that Ehrlich did was try to get the slot machines legalized and he even failed at that. However, Governor Ehrlich did a whole lot more than just spend his time talking about slot machine legalization.

Firstly, he was the first Republican governor of Maryland in 33 years – that in of itself is quite an accomplishment. And even if slot machines were not legalized, he showed that a Republican could care about the environment, something they are not really known for. He reduced the number of people who worked for the state, which is good or bad depending on how you look at it, or if you were one of the people eliminated – and made sure income and sales taxes did not go up even without slot machine revenue to replace the money they were lacking.

He may have spent too much time trying to get the slot machines legalized, but he made the office human. His family spent time at the residence and hosted parties, and will continue to stay in the area after his term is up. Governor O’Malley will be attempting to pass a slot machine legalization bill as well, and maybe he will get it done, but he will be a Democrat in a Democrat court when he does it.



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