|
The Gazette
Ehrlich favors
special session over referendum by Steven T.
Dennis, Thomas Dennison and C. Benjamin Ford ANNAPOLIS -- Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. criticized talk of a slots referendum Thursday, but did not rule it out, one week after legislative leaders floated the idea in The Gazette. Ehrlich called on House Speaker Michael E. Busch to pass slots outright rather than push a referendum. "Let's have a special session and let's get it done," Ehrlich (R) said Thursday afternoon on WBAL radio. Ehrlich told reporters in Rockville earlier in the day that a referendum was "messy" and not his first choice, but he said he would be willing to sit down with Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. to discuss the idea. Miller (D-Dist. 27) of Chesapeake Beach pushed the idea of a budget summit to work out a referendum deal last week, and Busch (D-Dist. 30) of Annapolis said he was open to the idea; the pair discussed a referendum over a steak dinner Monday night. "I'm not interested in seeking a short-term out on this issue for the speaker," Ehrlich said Thursday. "If this is another way to delay slots, it is not [going to work]. I have seen this movie before and it has a bad ending." But Ehrlich said on WBAL that Busch's apparent willingness to consider a referendum without a tax increase attached was "a major positive step in the right direction." "He understands where the governor is on taxes and he's not going to connect up taxes with slots," Ehrlich said. Busch's position, as always, was a bit murkier. He told The Gazette on Thursday that he was willing to consider a referendum without a tax increase because he did not see a way to get the 85 House votes and 29 Senate votes needed for a combo package of taxes and a slots referendum. But Busch said he would continue to oppose passing a straight slots bill unless a solution including taxes is attached. He said he has not yet met with the House leadership and does not know if the rank and file would support a referendum. When the idea of a referendum was broached last month, the Democratic caucus was split, Busch said. "If the governor thinks it's a viable option, then you go to your caucus," he said. "I don't think you can summarily say you're not going to give the people of Maryland an opportunity to have a say on this." Miller said he hopes to continue playing matchmaker with Busch and Ehrlich, trying again to set up a summit. Plans to do so this week were delayed by surgery on Ehrlich's baby son, Joshua, who is recovering at home. "The governor needs to hear from the speaker -- out of his own mouth, in his own words -- what he feels he can accomplish in the House to help solve this budget crisis," Miller said. He put the chances of a special session at better than 50 percent, but acknowledged that Ehrlich is reluctant to agree to a referendum. "The governor feels that there has already been a referendum," Miller said, but said Ehrlich should acquiesce. "It would show that he is a big man, that he can listen as well as speak and that he is willing to let the people have their say." Republican Party Chairman John M. Kane, meanwhile, slammed the referendum idea. "Referendums are for wussies," he said. "Mike Busch is trying to run for cover. He knows he's on the wrong side of this issue." Busch's continued evolution on the slots issue is what led in part to the vote of more than 200 Republicans at their convention last weekend to name the speaker "man of the year," Kane said. "His efforts to raise taxes and foster a culture of obstructionist politics in Annapolis have done so much to strengthen the Republican tide in Maryland." Anti-slots forces in the House, led by Del. Peter V.R. Franchot (D-Dist. 20) of Takoma Park, are calling the special session/referendum plan a desperation move by Miller: Ehrlich will never go for a referendum and Busch is simply being "polite" to Miller by entertaining the notion of a referendum. "Ninety percent of this is Mike Miller and 10 percent of this is Speaker Busch's polite response," Franchot said. "There are no details, no plan, no schedule other than Mike Miller throwing a Hail Mary pass and saying what an honest broker he is." Passing a referendum through the House will not be an easy task -- especially if the speaker is not driving the issue, he said: "It would be all-out hand-to-hand combat on the House floor among Democrats." If the issue does go to referendum, it holds risks for both sides. Democrats are worried that Ehrlich could canvass the state supporting slots and drum up support for President Bush's re-election. Republicans fear that the slots question will drown out the governor's message as he builds support for his 2005 legislative agenda, and could prompt stories about big money gambling interests funneling money into the state leading to Election Day. And if slots goes down to defeat, it would be a major blow to the governor. "It would dominate the political scene," said Kevin Igoe, a Republican strategist. "The governor is still in the driver's seat, though, because he's got longstanding support for slots and even when slots haven't been approved he's been able to prevent tax increases." Sen. Thomas McLain Middleton (D-Dist. 28) of Waldorf said Ehrlich could risk accusations that he is the obstructionist. "If the governor says, 'No, hell, no,' about a referendum it could work against him because people are upset that there is no willingness for the state's leadership to come together and solve this budget problem," he said. |
