Conservatives Oppose Slots

In a remarkable post on Red Maryland, the state's most prominent conservative bloggers have come out against the slots referendum.

The majority of them are not inherently opposed to gambling, but say that the state's constitution is an inappropriate place to specify the location of casinos. Many of them would favor a straight-up slots bill if passed by the state legislature, a position consistent with those of former Governor Ehrlich and House Republicans. None of Red Maryland's authors argue that slots are inherently immoral, a view shared by many religious people on both sides of the aisle.

Mark Newgent deserves special credit for this bit of brutal honesty:

If Democrats could vote against slots to screw Ehrlich, why can't Republicans vote against it to screw O'Malley?

For the most part, the argument of the right is essentially process-related, but many rank-and-file conservatives may prefer slots to a tax increase (assuming they see a trade-off). The right may account for a quarter or more of Maryland's electorate. If grassroots conservatives agree with the views of their leaders, the referendum could be in serious trouble.