Martin O'Malley must govern some other state I don't live in

So Governor O'Malley unleashed his State of the State address (and you can even listen to it, if you really are in to self-flagellation) on an unsuspecting populace today, and apparently the Governor is seeing things just a bit differently than the rest of us.

Let's review some "highlights":

But the future of our State is very much determined by the strength and the security of the families of Maryland – the hard-working and loving families that we have the honor and responsibility to represent. And today, the vast majority of Maryland’s families, like families throughout our country, are finding it harder and harder just to pay their bills and maintain the quality of life that they have worked so hard to achieve.

The Governor is absolutely right. We need somebody who is going to make sure that taxes are not raised on the Middle Class, and that somebody is standing up for those who are subjected to ever rising energy costs. I just only wish that this imaginary person were Governor, instead of Governor O'Malley, who continues to do what he can to make it tougher and tougher for families to survive in our state. It is stunning that he can say this without snickering, given the financial harm he has inflicted upon the middle and working class people of our state.

Continuing....

For the sad truth of our shared reality is that over the last seven years, real wages in our country have grown by only 1 percent. And unfortunately, the same cannot be said for everything else a family needs to survive.

Over the last seven years, the price of a gallon of milk is up 30 percent, the cost of a loaf of bread is up 20 percent, and yet real wages have increased by just 1 percent.

The cost of a gallon of gasoline is up almost 100 percent over that same time-frame.

And the cost of health insurance is up 78 percent, and yet real wages have by only 1 percent.

Yes, and the State of Maryland was nice enough to drive the cost of the sales tax up in this state by 20-percent and also raise the cost of income taxes as well. So realistically, that makes Martin O'Malley a key part of the problem and not part of the solution.

But we don’t need those numbers and figures to tell us that people are hurting; we see it in their eyes, we hear it in their voices.

And I see it in my bank account, with the numbers and figures tell me how much money Martin O'Malley is responsible for taking from me.

No wonder many of us are frustrated when – in the midst of this national economic downturn – we were also forced to confront a long neglected and huge structural deficit. The frustration is totally understandable. And there is good reason for all of us to be concerned and worried about our economic future.

But, as we have seen, Governor O'Malley has done anything to actual address the structural deficit. All Governor O'Malley did was ensure that the middle and working class families suffered financially, while making minimal cuts to the budget while still making sure that pet projects are funded at impractical and unaffordable spending levels.

Apparently, O'Malley has also established priorities for the state as well:

• To strengthen and protect our middle class, our family owned businesses and family farms,
• To protect our commitment to improve public safety and public education in every single part of our State,
• And to protect opportunity – the opportunity to learn, to earn, to enjoy the health of the people we love, as well as the health of the land, the water, the air and the Bay that we love – for more people rather than fewer.

Is this a joke? Is he serious? Because I'm not sure that anybody is doing less to address these priorities than Martin O'Malley. Families, businesses, and farms have been weakened by O'Malley's reckless spending and tax priorities. How is public education being improved given O'Malley's personal vendetta against Nancy Grasmick, focusing more on removing her than taking real steps to improving our schools? How are the people of Maryland having greater opportunities to learn and earn in these O'Malley years?

It continues to go on like this:

In the coming weeks, months and years ahead, we will be undertaking a number of efforts – legislative, regulatory -- and legal if need be -- to secure fair and reasonable energy rates while also ensuring an adequate supply for our future. Deregulation has failed us in Maryland and we cannot allow our future to be determined by that mistake.

And isn't it something that this gem is contained in a speech the same day that we get reports of higher electric rates?

Now, let's wrap it up towards the closing statements:

Let’s stay focused on the fact that people are counting on us to make these tough times more bearable. Let’s work together – regardless of personality, party or place – to face the challenges ahead.

What tough economic times call for is leadership. Leadership that is responsible to the needs of the people and the needs of the citizenry. What the people need is lower taxes. What the people need is a government that spends within its means. What we need is leadership that will in fact face the challenges without regard to personalities or party. Unfortunately, we currently have a Governor that governs on the basis of his partisan stripes, his desire for revenge, base jealousy, and the greed of personal power. This Governor is the antithesis of what he calls for in his own speech.

We know that Maryland is a stronger state than most. We can get through these tough economic times more quickly than other parts of our country, but only if we can continue to come together to protect the priorities that make us strong.

And again, what we have here is a Governor that is not committed to real priorities that benefit Maryland's working and middle class families. We have a Governor who is committed first and foremost to putting politics before people, and in governing only to benefit his party and his political career.

This Governor's State of the State address is a hubristic nightmare that can only come from the mouth of somebody who believes more in his press clippings, self-genuflection, and his own greatness than he does in doing what is best for the people of Maryland. While the people of Maryland suffer through an impending recession and higher taxes, O'Malley tries to takes steps to improve his political standing, and to continue to implement his O'Malleynomics on our state, with potentially disastrous (yet strikingly obvious) future consequences.

It is sad and depressing to think that middle and working class families of Maryland have to suffer through another three years of Martin O'Malley's reckless mismanagement and misplaced policy priorities.

Ass Kissing to the Extreme

I would be embarrassed to write something that was so genuflective of any individual. But, it's just standard operating procedure for the gang on Calvert Street:

For three weeks, the State House has operated as a crucible as Gov. Martin O'Malley put the heat on the General Assembly to shape a compromise over his deficit-reduction package. It wasn't always pretty. But in the end, lawmakers cast the tough votes to raise taxes and gave the governor much of what he wanted.

It was an impressive victory for Mr. O'Malley - with significant and lasting implications. At a minimum, it means the state's structural deficit has finally been brought under control beyond the piecemeal, "take from Peter to pay Paul" approach of the last administration.

While next year's projected $1.7 billion deficit has been largely resolved, it will still require significant spending cuts. But there's no reason to expect the problem to return within the next several years - if appropriate spending discipline is maintained.

What a bunch of ridiculous, brown-nosing, ass kissing, embarrassing, pathetic, juvenile drivel. It is sad that such garbage even gets printed in a "major" daily newspaper...

Drinking the Green Kool-Aid

This quote in this post completely defies logic:

One thing is clear. O'Malley emerges from the Special Session as a bold and decisive "can-do" leader. He knew what needed to be done. He put together a comprehensive and reasonable legislative package. He took a huge risk by calling a Special Session when the outcome was far from assured. He had the humility to treat the Assembly and its leaders as equal partners.

Where to begin? The Governor's legislative package was comprehensive only in the fact that he attempted to raise many taxes at once. At no point can any portion of the Governor's package be considered reasonable, however, when one takes into account that O'Malley's understanding of economics led him to the conclusion that in order to fix an alleged deficit that the state needed to spend more money. That's only reasonable if you are insane.

And, sorry, you cannot legitimately expect us to think that O'Malley tried to treat the legislators as equal partners when they attempted time and again to browbeat legislators into supporting their scheme and, failing that, just bought them outright.

Apparently, all of this makes sense if you drink the green Kool-Aid. Because only those who are true believers in O'Malleyism truly support taxing Maryland's working families back into poverty, which is what O'Malley and the Democratic leadership have just engineered.