Allan Kittleman

Do my eyes deceive me? Is a newly minted leader among Maryland Republican lawmakers now slamming the sort of budget cuts he’s been demanding? Is he now concerned about the household budgets of state employees? Has the Maryland GOP suddenly lost its compass and the stomach for trimming state spending at the same time?

After a nasty internal fight for “power” within the minority caucus that never got much press because everyone involved wanted to keep it that way, newly crowned Senate Minority Leader, Republican Senator Allan Kittleman issued this amazing statement as his first order of business.

"Governor O'Malley's proposal to now cut one-quarter billion dollars from a budget only three months old will wreak havoc to state employees and those who depend upon state services for their livelihood.”

Forget for now that someone needs to explain to the good senator that state budgets must be balanced as a matter of constitutional law.

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State Senate Republicans are taking shots at Gov. Martin O'Malley's (D-Baltimore) fiscal policies, following Tuesday's caucus meeting.

"Governor O'Malley's proposal to now cut one-quarter billion dollars from a budget only three months old will wreak havoc to state employees and those who depend upon state services for their livelihood," state Senate Minority Leader Allan Kittleman (R-West Friendship) said in a statement.

The caucus argued that contrary to conventional wisdom, former Gov. Bob Ehrlich (R-Baltimore) was not to blame for the so-called fiscal crisis. They say Ehrlich secured a $1.2 billion surplus as protection against future budget shortfalls.

Maryland's Senate Republican Caucus re-organized its leadership on Tuesday.

State Sen. Allan Kittleman (R-West Friendship) got bumped up from minority whip to minority leader and state Sen. Nancy Jacobs (R) will reside as the caucuses new minority whip.

One GOPer thinks the race to succeed state Senate Minority Leader David Brinkley is already decided.

Senate Minority Leader David Brinkley (R-New Market)State Senate Minority Leader David R. Brinkley (R-New Market) has announced he will step down from his leadership post, possibly as soon as next month, when Senate Republicans are set to re-organize.

"When it comes time for election, I'll let someone else take it over," Brinkley told the Baltimore Sun. "I've got plenty on my plate."

Brinkley's future as a leader in Annapolis was called into question in June, when a domestic disturbance at his home and his chief of staff's temporary leave caused uneasines in a GOP caucus that prides itself on family values.

Senate Republicans might hold a re-organizing meeting as early as September. Minority Whip Allan Kittleman (R-West Friendship) and Nancy Jacobs (R-Edgewood/Abingdon) are considered top contenders for the job.

So Monday came and went, and none of those who were talking so cavalierly about giving Republican state Senate Minority Leader David Brinkley the boot made their move. Not atypical of the political set.

One person heard that Brinkley might have given a statement to the Sun yesterday, but that turned out to be nothing. Nope. It's pretty clear he won't say anything for some time.

Word is that State Senate Minority Whip Allan Kittleman (R-West Friendship) is calling other members of the GOP caucus informing them that Minority Leader David Brinkley will relinquish his leadership position in order to work through his family problems.

The calls are a sign that Kittleman would likely become the new Minority Leader.

Sen. Allan KittlemanSays McCain "Grasping For Straws"

State Sen. Allan Kittleman, the Republican minority whip, said he was "very optimistic" that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney would emerge victorious in the Florida GOP primary.

Kittleman is a vice chairman for the Romney for President Maryland Statewide Steering Committee. He said the former governor's message was "resonating" with voters in the Sunshine State.

Romney and Arizona Sen. John McCain were in a statistical tie for first place in pre-primary surveys. Republican polls close at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time throughout most of the state. The Pandhandle region of the state operates under the central time zone, where polls will close at 7 p.m. Central Standard Time.

Among Romney and McCain, Kittleman said the former governor was the "true conservative."