Why I’m supporting Brian Murphy’s MD gubernatorial campaign

Some of you are saying, who is Brian Murphy? That’s what I find often when I mention him to friends.  And, why is that?  Why don’t we know his name?

Mostly because the Maryland Republican establishment has already tried to decide for Republican voters that only Governor Bob (Ehrlich) can beat the incumbent Democratic Governor Martin O’Malley.

So, let me understand this logic. Former Governor Ehrlich promises to be marginally better than the current Democratic governor on issues such as spending, taxes, and just possibly keeping Maryland from becoming even more of a “sanctuary state” for illegal immigrants.

His four previous years as governor were lackluster at best, so much so that grassroots folks didn’t work hard for him in 2006 and he subsequently lost to Mr. O’Malley.  Now we are expected to make the leap of faith and assert that only Ehrlich can beat O’Malley, huh!

Maryland is in a fiscal mess. We all know it.  On the budget desperation scale, we are not far behind California, New York and New Jersey.  Why not look to someone outside the establishment, someone who isn’t beholden to special interests?  How about a businessman like Brian Murphy?  Wouldn’t that be refreshing for a change?  He is most definitely not a career politician and for me that is one of his most appealing attributes.

Mr. Murphy supports issues near and dear to our hearts in western Maryland.  He is pro-life, strongly supports the second amendment right to bear arms, is the only gubernatorial candidate who has signed a pledge to oppose any new taxes, and is the only candidate who wants to get illegal immigration under control in Maryland and has publicly supported an Arizona-like bill for our state.

Conservatives and Tea Party types are facing the same dilemma from coast to coast—support the person who is most in line with their views on government or hold one’s nose and support the establishment candidate whose positions are blurred in an attempt to make everyone happy.  I say primaries are where this should be sorted out.

It is good for our country and good for Maryland to have vigorous primaries. The Democrats lost their chance to hone their positions when O’Malley’s primary challenger dropped out, but we conservatives still have an opportunity for a vigorous discussion of the issues and we should all be welcoming such debate and not playing games and pretending that Governor Bob is our only hope.  If nothing else, we should be letting Mr. Ehrlich know that there is a conservative groundswell he must not ignore.

I’ll be a good soldier and support whoever wins the Republican primary, but when we have governors Chris Christie (NJ), Jan Brewer (AZ) and Bobby Jindal (LA) as rising stars it is hard to imagine right now that Bob Ehrlich could morph into such a leader, but there is an excellent chance a new, young, enthusiastic candidate like Brian Murphy could.

Visit Mr. Murphy’s website here.

Update July 3: The Gazette has a lengthy article about Mr. Murphy, here.

And be sure to read this post on Ehrlich’s pick for Lt. Governor Mary Kane and illegal immigration.

Dates to remember! August 24th is the last day to register as a Republican.  September 14th is the primary election!