Republicans and those in the rural areas of Maryland represented mostly by Republican legislators are among the only categories of voters in which a majority support the slot machine constitutional amendment on the November ballot, according to a recent poll.
But Republicans and their lawmakers are still very divided on the issue, especially because of the way this gambling proposal is written. That includes a strong slots proponent like former Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich, who failed in several efforts to get it passed.
The issue is so divisive that the Senate Republican caucus didn’t even take a vote on the ballot question Tuesday, knowing they couldn’t reach a super majority.
In the past week, two of the most socially conservative Republican senators, Janet Greenip of Anne Arundel County and Alex Mooney of Frederick, joined the steering committee of Maryland United to Stop Slots. Both had voted against the constitutional amendment during last November’s special session.
So did Sen. Allan Kittleman, the new minority leader, but he had voted for slots proposals twice during the Ehrlich years. “I can’t support the way they’re doing it now,” Kittleman said, particularly writing the locations into the constitution, leaving no flexibility.
He also believes local zoning laws will put some of those slots sites off limits.
Kittleman said he would be willing to vote for a bill authorizing slots, even if the constitutional amendment fails.
Ehrlich agreed. “My druthers would be to get rid of this and pass a bill,” he told The Examiner.
“This constitutional amendment offends a lot of people,” Ehrlich said. “It’s really a flawed approach. People realize this is not the right way to proceed. It’s a constitutional amendment — you can’t change anything.”
“I really believe that [House Speaker] Mike Busch passed this to make sure it failed — in the way he did,” Ehrlich said.
The ex-governor has made similar remarks supporting slots but opposing the constitutional amendment on his weekly WBAL radio show. But he was vague when asked twice if he was going to take a more active role in opposing the ballot question.
“I’m not in public office,” Ehrlich repeated.
Even Republicans who supported the measure, such as Western Maryland Sen. George Edwards, are taking a laid-back approach.
“I just tell people the facts and tell them to vote however they want,” Edwards said. “People make up their own minds.”
“I’m not thrilled it’s a constitutional amendment,” he said, but “it’s not the kind of issue I’m going to beat the bushes on.”
