New day dawns for State House and Maryland

Congratulations to Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. on his stunning defeat of some of our present leaders in the State House ("Ehrlich wins," Nov. 6).

Hello to the new future of Maryland and goodbye to the Glendening-Kennedy cronyism style of government.

Goodbye to: unconstitutional redistricting plans, transferring campaign funds from the governor's accounts to be used against another candidate, turning a budget surplus into a huge budget deficit, and having the governor try to sneak through the back door to become chancellor of the University System of Maryland.

Hello to: a new beginning in Annapolis, new leadership and ideas, budget accountability and acumen, stable family values, vision and legislative experience and integrity.

As they say, out with the old and in with the new.

Eric J. Benzer

Baltimore

Ehrlich deserved a pat on the back

The Sun could have made some points by simply starting its editorial Wednesday morning with a modest "congratulations" to our governor-elect ("Now for the real work," editorial, Nov. 6).

The Sun is in a powerful position to aid the unification that is required to accomplish anything. This doesn't mean showing blind allegiance -- just common decency.

Patricia T. Harbin

Parkville

Endorsing Townsend gave Ehrlich a boost

As a Maryland Democrat, I would like to thank The Sun for its endorsement of Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend ("Townsend for governor," editorial, Nov. 3).

That endorsement was a positive factor in the election of Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and Michael S. Steele.

Now there's a change coming to Annapolis.

Simon D. Haislip Jr.

Baltimore

State's Democrats are out of touch

Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend -- endorsed by The Sun ("Townsend for governor," editorial, Nov. 3). Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. -- endorsed by the citizens of Maryland ("Ehrlich wins," Nov. 6).

Ms. Townsend and the Democratic leadership tried to paint Mr. Ehrlich as an extremist, as the candidate of the National Rifle Association and as someone who is out of touch with Maryland citizens.

Perhaps it is the Democratic Party that is out of touch with the people of this great state. Perhaps the Democratic Party missed the message -- stop wasting breath talking about gun control and start talking about violent criminal control.

David J. Miliman

Baltimore

Put Neall in charge of state's budget

The most pressing problem facing Governor-elect Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. will be the huge budget deficit the state faces.

I suggest he give strong consideration to naming state Sen. Robert R. Neall as budget director. No one knows the budget better or is less afraid to tackle sacred cows.

The state wouldn't have the present mess if the current governor had heeded Mr. Neall's advice.

Robert J. Dvorak

Arnold

President Bush won a huge victory

Reading The Sun's editorial "Stuck in neutral" (Nov. 6), one would have thought President Bush and the Republicans had failed in their attempt to gain control of Congress.

To quote The Sun, "Even before the first ballots were counted last night it was clear the national government would remain divided."

So The Sun is telling us that nothing really happened in the election. This is in spite of the fact that Mr. Bush and the Republicans accomplished something that hasn't happened in 60 years when the president and his party picked up seats in both houses of Congress in a midterm election.

No one expected either party to claim 60 seats in the Senate, but with the Republicans taking the majority, and Republicans taking over the chairmanship of Senate committees, the logjam in the Senate will be broken and President Bush's agenda will now get out of committees and reach the floor for a vote.

No matter how you try to spin it, Tuesday was a great day for Mr. Bush and the Republicans and, I hope, for the American people.

Murray Spear

Baltimore

GOP victories bode ill for nation

Two post-election thoughts.

First, Sen. Tom Daschle and Rep. Richard Gephardt must immediately resign as minority leaders of the Democratic Party. They lack a message and a presence that resonates with voters.

Their Midwestern liberalism is dead. Their ideas are old and their partisanship is clumsily apparent. They stayed on the left edge on the issues when the middle ground was theirs to capture. They could not change their stripes, and we will all suffer for it.

Second, the next two years will be the most dangerous for this country since the Civil War. We have elected officials who have no heart and whose only allegiance is to corporate America.

In short order, we will be at war with Iraq. Soon we will see the air we will breathe and smell the water we will drink. New and glorious cancers will be created, all in the name of corporate profits and competition.

The crusade to make the United States a Christian state will gain momentum. Huge deficits will rob our future as the rich get even more and greater tax breaks.

This wealth will never trickle down, and the gap in wealth will grow to obscene proportions.

Alan McAllister

Severna Park

What could voters have been thinking?

Slipping off to sleep before the final tallies, I woke up Wednesday with shock to a dismal morning.

Here we go off to war. And there goes any hope that my grandfather will ever take his daily heart medicine every day, that our financially strapped public schools will receive much-needed support, that guns will be fingerprinted so police can have a little extra help in catching psychos who shoot at our children, or that the Supreme Court will again shine during my lifetime, as it did years ago, in favor of civil rights.

What were Americans thinking?

Annette Bryson

Baltimore

Mend fences, rally behind new leaders

Give credit to the Maryland voters for keeping their heads, sorting out the issues for themselves and not letting the hidden agendas of others influence their choices.

Clearly, the voters have thumbed their noses in the face of tradition in favor of creating new traditions ("Ehrlich wins," Nov. 6).

Let us rally now behind the new administration to heal old wounds, mend broken fences and meet the challenges that face our state as one people united for the common good.

Carolyn Johnson

Baltimore