Bob Ehrlich

On MSNBC's 'Hardball,' Fmr. Gov. Bob Ehrlich (R) Pushes Back Against Liberal Spin on Voter ID Laws
By Ken Shepherd | October 9, 2014 | 1:08 PM EDT

Former Md. Governor Bob Ehrlich (R) pushed back against Howard Dean and Chris Matthews on Wednesday night's Hardball when the topic of voter ID laws came up and the liberal duo pushed the tired meme that such laws were Republican plots to disenfranchise poor and minority voters who tend to be Democrats. 

Ehrlich pushed back that such laws were common sense to establish a voter's identity and thus protect every voter's vote. The former Republican congressman also noted that MSNBC studios require a valid government-issued photo ID to visit.

NBC's Todd Excuses Democratic Fearmongering: 'What Campaigns Aren't About Scaring Some Voters?'
By Kyle Drennen | January 3, 2014 | 1:01 PM EST

In a taped interview with former Maryland Republican Governor Bob Ehrlich aired on Friday's MSNBC Daily Rundown, host Chuck Todd scolded the GOP for supposedly not making "any progress" in reaching out to minorities and women since the 2012 election, citing the party's  defeat in the 2013 Virginia governor's race: "You lost because the Democrats were able to essentially win social issues – used social issues as a wedge." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]

Ehrlich hit back: "But that's a euphemism, let's just call it what it is. It was scaring young women." Todd dismissed the accusation: "What campaigns aren't about scaring some voters?" He then went after Republicans: "Attacking health care is scaring voters, too." Ehlrich replied: "Attacking a dysfunctional health care is not scaring anybody. ObamaCare is scaring enough people."

Labeling Bias from Balt Sun: 'Ehrlich Wants Tax Cuts; O'Malley Wants More Investment'
By Ken Shepherd | October 29, 2010 | 3:08 PM EDT

Liberal Democrats love to couch increased government spending as "investments." It's smart political marketing, but it's a less-than-truthful spin on what government spending is or does. When's the last time you got a dividend check from your state government giving you your share of the "profit" from a road or bridge project?

But it's when journalists buy into that spin that we at NewsBusters really have a problem.

Take the Baltimore Sun, which today told readers that while rivals Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) and former Governor Bob Ehrlich (R) are focused on the economy in their closing campaign pitches, "Ehrlich wants tax cuts; O'Malley wants more investment."

Noted Annie Linskey in a story filed on BaltimoreSun.com last night (emphasis mine):

WaPo Boosts Its Outlier Md. Gubernatorial Poll; Veteran Political Observer Dismisses It, Citing Oversampling of Dems
By Ken Shepherd | October 1, 2010 | 12:52 PM EDT

In my beloved home state of Maryland, this year's governor's race is a rematch of the contest four years ago, and most polls show a close race, with current Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) up a few points over former Gov. Bob Ehrlich (R), but at or below the crucial 50 percent mark.

Enter the Washington Post, which two days ago released a poll that shows O'Malley up by 11 points, breaking the 50 percent mark. As might be expected, Post journalists are hyping the results, casting the race as possibly starting to break decisively in O'Malley's direction.

In an online chat, the Post's Chris Cillizza vouched for the poll by stating that  pollster "Jon Cohen is the best in the business, so yes," O'Malley has indeed opened up a wide lead over Ehrlich. Today, the Post's Mike DeBonis penned a column about how O'Malley is "right now, in a place where a lot of his fellow Democrats around the country sure wish they were."

Eh, not so fast, veteran Maryland political observer Blair Lee argues in an October 1 article for Gazette.net.

The Post poll oversamples demographic groups that are O'Malley-friendly and doesn't take into account the heightened energy among Maryland Republicans and depressed primary turnout from Democrats this year, Lee argues (emphasis mine):