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This morning, I read a story in The New York Times about tea party-backed Republican governors who are dismantling important environmental protections in their states, going well beyond what previous Republican governors have done and in some cases even going against the wishes of Republican legislatures.

This is a great example of why governors matter, and why we can’t afford to elect more Republican governors who put ideology ahead of common-sense solutions.

In contrast, Democratic governors across the country are managing to protect our environment and create jobs at the same time.

Follow @democraticgovs on Twitter for more “From the Chair’s Desk” posts.

Jobs. Opportunity. Now.,

Martin O’Malley

Chair, Democratic Governors Association

P.S. – Yesterday, I appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe to talk about how Democratic governors are working to balance and move forward to create jobs and expand opportunity, without demonizing working families. You can watch it here.

Check out this great new website by the Beshear campaign, highlighting Governor Beshear’s record of standing up for Kentuckians. As you can see on the site, Governor Beshear is as singularly focused on job creation as other Democratic governors across the nation.

Follow @democraticgovs on Twitter for more “From the Chair’s Desk” posts.

Jobs. Opportunity. Now.,

Martin O’Malley

Chair, Democratic Governors Association

E.J. Dionne had a great column today that highlights the contrast between the Republican and Democratic approaches to balancing budgets. It’s the difference between what I call “performance governing” and “governors who perform.”

For many of the governors in the other party, it’s all about slash and burn. You get a lot of bombast and conflict but not a lot of real solutions at the end of day.

At the DGA, we have Democratic governors like Jerry Brown, Dan Malloy, Pat Quinn, Mark Dayton, and Neil Abercrombie. They may not get national headlines, but every day they show how it’s possible to balance budgets and move forward at the same time.

Let us know what you think. Follow @democraticgovs on Twitter for more “From the Chair’s Desk” posts.

Jobs. Opportunity. Now.,

Martin O’Malley

Chair, Democratic Governors Association

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No glory for governors trying to do the right fiscal thing

By E.J. Dionne Jr.
Thursday, March 3, 2011;

If you want to get national attention as a governor these days, don’t try to be innovative about solving the problems you were elected to deal with – in education, transportation and health care. No, if you want ink and television time, just cut and cut and cut some more.

Almost no one in the national media is noticing governors who say the reasonable thing: that state budget deficits, caused largely by drops in revenue in the economic downturn, can’t be solved by cuts or tax increases alone.

There is nothing courageous about an ideological governor hacking away at programs that partisans of his philosophy, including campaign contributors, want eliminated. That’s staying in your comfort zone.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/02/AR2011030205530.html