Ehrlich (Maryland Governor) respects his elders, especially the good ol' boys

Baltimore Sun ^ | Jan. 22,2004 | Dan Rodricks

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Ehrlich respects his elders, especially the good ol' boys Dan Rodricks

Originally published Jan 22, 2004

IGUESS BOBBY Governor's next big announcement will be that he's bringing Joe Staszak (see note at the end of this column) back from the dead to serve as racino commissioner. I like what I've been seeing in the Ehrlich administration -- giving the old guys another round. It's like they're dispensing political Viagra on State Circle.

Our governor is young, he's dynamic, he has virtually no sideburns, and he's very respectful of the elderly, particularly the been-there-done-that pols who were hot when Mandel was governor.

Speaking of Mandel: Marvelous Marvin is now on the University of Maryland Board of Regents. He has quite a resume, including 19 months in federal prison for a mail fraud conviction (later overturned on a technicality).

When running for office in 2002, Bobby Governor said he wanted to end the culture of corruption in Annapolis. And what does he do? He appoints an octogenarian, scandal-tarnished former governor to a prestigious board that oversees the state's vast university system.

George Bush has No Child Left Behind. Bob Ehrlich has No Old Pol Left Behind.

Now the governor has hired Paul Weisengoff, a 71-year-old former state delegate from the good old days of Mandel and his racetrack cronies, to help his administration persuade the General Assembly to allow something like a billion slot machines all over Maryland, as long as they're almost all at racetracks, especially the ones that paid Weisengoff to lobby for them for years.

You got that?

Essentially, the governor, with taxpayer money, is picking up Weisengoff's lobbying tab on behalf of the racetracks. It's like Weisengoff was released on waivers by Joe De Francis, the racetrack executive with the fabulous hair, and Bobby Governor picked him up -- $28,000 for the 90-day legislative session.

"It's a cut in salary from what I was getting from Joe," Weisengoff said the other day.

(Hey, it's OK, Paul: Rafael Palmeiro isn't going to make in Baltimore what the Rangers paid him last season, either.)

I know how this looks, my friends. It looks like the governor is a little too chummy with racing interests that want racinos here.

But maybe the guy can't help himself. Maybe he's too nice, or he's hopelessly nostalgic. Maybe it's just Bobby's Way.

A few months ago, he suggested that another senior citizen, William Donald Schaefer, already state comptroller, be appointed to the board of the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association.

What can I say? The governor respects his elders.

He also seems to have a soft spot for the has-been.

Last year, after only a month in office, Ehrlich gave Clarence Mitchell IV, the former state senator, a $92,000-a-year job at a time when the state was facing a huge budget pinch.

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The more things change the more they remain the same.

Maintaining the status quo.

Republican governor or RINO or Democrat running as a Republican.