Gov. "Bobby Haircut" to Business Leaders: WAKE UP!!

Free Enterprise Watch is committed to being the voice for pro-business allies who are not consistently represented in Virginia public policy debates. At times, the business community is not as good as it should be in mobilizing resources and communicating with elected officials and the public. Maryland Governor Bob Ehrlich agrees with us. A recent interview had this to say about the governor:

Ehrlich is famous for chastising businessmen — his natural constituency — and to their faces. He once accused them of having "Patty Hearst Syndrome," meaning they were soft on their captors and abusers. He says that businessmen like to go with winners, or probable winners, rather than politicians who support their interests (low taxation, light regulation, etc.). And they are miserable organizers.

The governor cites an example: Facing a Democratic legislature — the only kind of legislature Maryland would have — he defeated an increase in the sales tax. So the retail merchants decided to have a thank-you event for him — to which only 100 people showed up. Ehrlich turned to an aide and said, "This is the problem. The teachers' unions can put 10,000 people outside my house overnight, but when we deliver for business . . ." Not that the merchants weren't appreciative, says Ehrlich. It's just that they have work to do — shops to run — and little time for political activism. By contrast, "trial lawyers and other people who feed off government" are in politics virtually full-time — "and that is a political dilemma for anyone who approaches the issues as we do."

Free Enterprise Watch is one resource for business leaders to get their message out. We will mobilize support for policies that create jobs and expand Virginia's prosperous economy.