Martin O’Malley obviously doesn’t read monoblogue or else his minions wouldn’t send an e-mail to me that says…
Dear Michael,
I wanted to take a moment to thank you for your help and support over the last six months.
But this is half the fun of being on the standard Democrat mailing lists, to get e-mail that a) gives me a good laugh and b) I can pick apart point by point. His note is in italics, my responses in standard font. I’m going to rework the order of paragraphs slightly too.
During the campaign last year, we came together to fight for the working families of our state. And as this Sunday’s Washington Post points out, together we have made tremendous progress. Read the Washington Post Article.
We’ve made historic investments in K-12 education and school construction…
Part of the increase was simply mandated by the General Assembly in the Thornton bill. But has the money produced any results? If you want more bang for the education buck, why not throw your support behind charter schools; or, even better, allow money to follow the child?
…passed landmark environmental protection legislation…
I assume he means the Clean Cars Act, certain to drive our area’s auto sales to Delaware or at least ratchet up the cost of cars so that the more-polluting old ones stay on the road longer. But he could mean the additional restrictions on stormwater drainage or even the upcoming limit on the amount of phosphorus in your dishwashing detergent.
…froze college tuition increases…
This so that everyone pays for the added costs of educating the child, not the user – plus nothing is said about room and board costs and the numerous “fees” that now are added into the college student’s tab. We won’t even go into the idea O’Malley’s party supported of in-state tuition for illegal immigrants.
…protected families from hidden taxes and fees…
Given that a number of Democrats are openly supporting hikes in the sales tax and gasoline tax, I suppose old Martin is right on the button there. These taxes and fees aren’t being hidden so don’t say that we who wish prudent, responsible, and accountable government didn’t warn you.
…and passed a first in the nation living wage for Maryland workers.
One where there was no fiscal statement done so your party cheerfully had NO IDEA what the cost would be to the taxpayer. To be fair, as passed the bill only applies to contractors doing work for the state. (But just wait, the camel’s nose is under the tent now.) Of course those employers aren’t going to eat the difference, they need to make a little bit in the bargain as well.
But there is more to accomplish to improve our quality of life and meet our common goals to:
- Strengthen and grow middle class families, and family farms and businesses;
Yet you want to raise taxes on those same families by increasing the gasoline tax and sales tax, not to mention expanding greatly the number of services liable for the payment and collection of sales tax?
- Improve public safety and public education in every part of the state;
How about improving public safety by getting tough on illegal immigrants who plague parts of our state? Meanwhile, let’s improve public education by adding and encouraging choices in how a child is taught, not sucking up to the teachers’ unions every chance you get.
- Expand the opportunities of learning, of earning, of enjoying the health of the people we love – and the land and water we love – to more people rather than fewer.
Yes, get government out of the way and we can accomplish that.
Over the next few months, we will need to come together again to get our fiscal house in order and overcome the obstacle presented by the $1.4 billion structural deficit that we inherited.
Martin, you also inherited a $2 billion surplus that you chose to spend down to the bare minimum allowed. So you made the choice not to address the structural deficit.
And we will do so in a way that is fair to Maryland’s working families, that invests in our shared future and where giant corporations pay their fair share.
I suppose I don’t qualify as a working family because I’m single and make a decent living. But aside from that, why is it that on the one hand you want giant corporations to pay what you consider a “fair share” – in other words, higher taxes to drive them out of state like MBNA was several years ago – but on the other hand you subsidize them to provide jobs that pay just a mediocre wage (like at the Allen poultry plant in Hurlock.) If you want giant corporations to pay their fair share, how about lowering corporate taxes for all and making the state more business-friendly so more corporations are here to add to your pot?
I look forward to working with you over the next few months to continue the progress we have made in fighting for Maryland’s working families, and our children.
It’s always about the children, isn’t it? Martin, if you really care about the children, encourage them to start working toward the 50 year plan I’ve proposed – one that will give them a safer world that they’re more able to succeed in using their God-given talents, not government handouts.
You know, I can’t wait until my next e-mail from the O’Malley camp. Maybe the next one will explain why the higher taxes his party passed and their version of a nanny state ready and willing to wipe our ass is good for us.
