Stop pointing fingers

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

The state of Maryland is in budget crisis. It is unproductive and futile to point fingers and blame the previous administration for our shabby state of affairs. There is a distinct difference between accountability and blame and the simple fact is, Maryland's budget decisions have been dominated by liberal Democrats for generations. Even when we were led by a fiscally conservative governor, Bob Ehrlich, the Democratic majority rejected legitimate efforts to increase revenue, improve savings and limit spending – endeavors which would have generated billions of dollars for the state of Maryland.

Realistically, these efforts failed to pass not because they were ill-conceived or not fiscally sound. They were rejected because they were recommended by "the other side." The people of Maryland can no longer accept this type of narcissistic, self-serving behavior from our public servants. We deserve better.

Last week, the House Republican Caucus offered a plan to the O'Malley Administration that will balance the budget for the state of Maryland and reduce the tax burden on her citizens. I urge all Marylanders who want our economy to thrive, be you Democrat or Republican, to call and write your delegates or senators to support the Republican proposal.

It is distasteful to discriminate against any good plan simply because a group with an R behind their names developed it, instead of the group with the D. Please stop the madness now, and hold our elected officials accountable to the will of the people.

Julie A. Van Orden, Mechanicsville

The writer is the president of the St. Mary's County Republican Club.