OPINION:

A fascinating dynamic is playing out in two capital cities just 30 miles apart. You might call it a tale of two leaders.

In Washington, under the leadership of President Trump, the federal government is undertaking its most aggressive internal audit in American history. With an unsustainable $36 trillion national debt and annual budget deficits reaching absurd levels, the president has tapped Elon Musk and empowered the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to examine our nation’s books and dramatically cut out-of-control spending, shrink the size of the bloated bureaucracy and reform America’s budgeting practices.

Mr. Trump’s responsible budgetary actions have become so rare in government that it almost feels revolutionary. At the end of the day, it’s just common sense. Mr. Trump, the no-nonsense businessman, has identified a problem and refuses to kick the can down the road on our looming bankruptcy like most garden-variety politicians would. The president is making the hard decisions that will save America — exactly what he was hired to do. Watching Democratic politicians and their allies in the biased mainstream media attack Messrs. Trump and Musk for shining a light on wasteful spending should tell you all you need to know.

In the capital city of Annapolis, Maryland, Gov. Wes Moore has decided to handle his responsibilities as a chief executive far differently. Upon taking office in 2023, Mr. Moore decided to follow in the footsteps of President Biden by making irresponsible spending decisions designed to please the various entrenched interest groups that constitute his left-wing base. Mr. Moore’s advisers were undoubtedly counseling him to embrace the woke culture, diversity, equity and inclusion policies, and big government generally to position himself for a 2028 presidential run in which he would have to navigate a primary dominated by far-left voters.

Because of Mr. Moore’s pivotal decision to behave like a standard liberal politician by doubling down on the broken status quo, he squandered the multibillion-dollar state budget surplus he inherited. He turned it into a projected multibillion-dollar deficit overnight. The warnings of “go woke, go broke” were ignored, and now the state is in a financial crisis.

To deal with his disaster, Moore is proposing — you guessed it — more crushing tax and fee increases, along with spending cuts. In a state legislature where leftist Democrats possess total control, passing tax increases won’t be the problem; enacting spending cuts will be. Anyone paying attention knows full well that Maryland Democrats are probably incapable of passing meaningful spending cuts because it’s too easy riding the gravy train. Unfortunately for Mr. Moore and his budget proposal, a recent Maryland polling analysis found that “voters constantly express a willingness to pay taxes for needed services like transportation and public safety, but not for a problem they believe their elected representatives created.”

If Mr. Moore were an innovative, reform-minded leader, he would immediately authorize a DOGE-style audit in Annapolis. A Trump-Musk-type review would undoubtedly turn up enormous waste, fraud and abuse across state government, but don’t hold your breath. Mr. Moore needs the special interests happy for his reelection campaign next year. Let’s be brutally honest: Running on fiscal responsibility is no way to win a Democratic presidential primary.

Herein lies the problem for Democrats: Their radical big government ideology isn’t compatible with the hopes, dreams and beliefs of the American people. Tens of millions of Americans believe the government is broken and spends far too much, taxes are too high, inflation is out of control and illegal immigrants are prioritized over citizens. Hardworking taxpayers, regardless of demographic, are in a reform-minded mood. So, the question is this: Do Democratic politicians in positions of responsibility like Mr. Moore have the capacity to listen to constituents and speak truth to power?

This is Mr. Trump’s leadership model and what sets him apart from typical politicians. Mr. Trump was elected to expand the economy, reform the government and secure the border. He knows the most efficient way to kick-start the economy is to cut taxes and regulations and cut reckless government spending in the process. These are tried and tested pro-growth policies that give families and job creators flexibility and certainty. Sadly, today’s Democratic Party leaders don’t like to listen to everyday Americans. That’s why Mr. Moore is offering anti-growth tax increases and public-sector jobs — more malaise, dependency and bureaucracy — the opposite of Mr. Trump.

It doesn’t take a genius to understand that Mr. Moore’s decisions are taking Maryland in the wrong direction. His policies will cause families and businesses to flee the state because staying doesn’t make sense. People like what they see from the state governments in Florida, Texas and Virginia, not California, New York and Maryland. However, the realities of today’s Democratic Party and his ambition probably make taking up pragmatic reform politically impossible for Mr. Moore.

• David N. Bossie is president of Citizens United. He served as deputy campaign manager for Donald J. Trump for President.