Martin O’Malley Has Lost His Mind

Today Governor O’Malley (D-MD) said the following of Governor Christie:

“Today, O’Malley issued a statement through the Democratic Governors Association, which he is the chairmen of, criticizing Christie for a “failure to make tough choices.”

This statement is so laughably false that it almost deserves no discussion.  One can criticize Governor Christie for a whole litany of things, but seriously Marty, “failing to make touch choices?”  If there is one single thing that everyone can agree Christie has done, it is making tough choices for the future of the state.  O’Malley also criticized Christie for “putting New Jersey at a disadvantage for creating jobs and opportunity,” and then said that in Maryland:

“We have been making the tough fiscal decisions to make government smaller and smarter, so that we create jobs and improve our schools.

Just like he fudged Baltimore’s crime statistics (I lived there, it is FAR from safe), O’Malley seems to delight in making bellicose and false statements.  In contrast to NJ, where Christie and the Legislature didn’t raise business-killing taxes, O’Malley passed a budget with a 16-18% increase in personal and corporate taxes, and a 20% increase on the sales tax.  It’s no surprise that Maryland, even BEFORE these taxes were passed, lost 37,847 citizens to domestic migration.   His budget also raised spending by 5.9% (all of this was 2008 in the midst of the recession).

But despite his dismal record, O’Malley’s 2012 budget is actually very similar to Governor Christie’s approach!  The budget slashes local government aid, and also cuts aid to the employee retirement system, which is exactly what he is criticizing Christie for doing! It also transfers money out of the Transportation Trust Fund, makes cuts to Medicare and lays off 1,000 state workers.

While this sounds rosy and makes him a hypocrite for criticizing Governor Christie’s approach, it doesn’t change the fact that O’Malley raised taxes for two consecutive years, driving businesses out of Maryland and right into the welcoming arms of Virginia and even the dreaded state of Delaware!

Oh, and unlike Christie’s budget, it still leaves a ~1.6 billion dollar deficit for the state.  So much for an ‘honest and civil” debate over the issues Marty.  If this is a preview for 2016, then I’ve got a whole box of popcorn ready for munching.

1 Comment

  1. "Making tough choices" is a term liberals use instead of "raising taxes". See, cutting spending is not making tough choices, that's cowardly according to liberals.

    Maryland is "making tough choices", which includes costly union worker volutnary buyouts, kicking the can down the road on pension reform, borrowing and fees on hospitals.

    Oh, and how's this for "tough choices" from the Washington Post:

    ". . . just last month, the administration agreed to $750 bonuses for most state workers, guaranteed pay raises for the next three years, and a salary-grade increase in 2014 . . "

    Yeah, tough choices.

    Keep up the good work.

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