‘Eviction notice’ symbol of Maryland Republican resurgence

Editor’s note 5/14/22: This piece, originally written for Examiner.com, has been brought home.

If Governor Martin O’Malley had chanced to take a stroll around his home at Government House Thursday morning, he would have found a bright red “Eviction Notice” taped to his fence; a document which told him “we’ve had enough of your tax and spend policies, and we’re tired of you driving our jobs away.”

But unless there’s an occurrence on an order even beyond the old political corruption saw of finding O’Malley in bed with a dead girl or a live boy – perhaps a case where the smoldering wisps of smoke emitting from the Paulette Faulkner case become a fire even majority Democrats can’t ignore – our governor will remain in office until early January of 2015. So it’s obvious the “eviction” is only symbolic.

Yet the upcoming Special Session will likely prove divisive to majority Democrats, some of whom will be forced to take a political position unpopular in their districts. If the copies of these budget reconciliation bills which were leaked to the left-wing state political blog Maryland Juice are legitimate replicas of what will be introduced tomorrow, it appears Governor O’Malley is considering both income tax increases and reduced deductions for middle- and high-income earners on the revenue side and a shift of teacher pensions to the counties on the expenditure side as the major portions of a budgetary fix.

Conversely, Republicans believe they are on the right side of the issue with Maryland GOP Executive Director David Ferguson noting,

“This Special Session is a great opportunity for Marylanders to see the difference between Democratic mismanagement and Republican leadership. It is a shame the Democrats won’t consider the Republicans’ alternate budget solution introduced this session. It doesn’t raise taxes, swell spending, or shift teacher pensions to local governments.”

Ferguson also called on Martin O’Malley to “quit focusing on the White House.”

General Assembly Republicans have produced an alternative budget for several years, but it has never been considered by the Democrat-controlled body.

Democrats and their allies in the media contend the new income tax bite isn’t going to be that great or affect a large number of taxpayers, and if the revision of rates is taken as a single issue they may be correct. But when combined with the previous tax hikes requested by Martin O’Malley and legislative Democrats in the 2007 Special Session – increases which were then supposed to solve the state’s financial problems – along with the upcoming doubling of the ‘flush tax’ for most Marylanders and higher tolls on several vital state arteries, the state’s voracious appetite for new revenue to spend becomes far more noticeable.

The Republicans’ hope that voters have long memories in 2014 may be somewhat of a stretch, but given the early campaign activity by a number of possible GOP statewide contenders it’s obvious the longtime doormats of Maryland politics believe morning in Maryland is close at hand.

Editor’s note: My plan is to be in Annapolis covering the evening’s events, although all is subject to change and there’s a significant chance of rain in that area this afternoon and evening. I suspect the show will go on, though.