Michael

The very unofficial poll

Since it seemed to me to be sort of an unfair fight and a point was made, I closed my poll a couple days early.

It’s obvious that two campaigns have enough supporters (and programming savvy, since I know it can be done) to game the system in such a way that they’ll do well. If this were an actual scientific survey it’s obvious the top two wouldn’t get 98% of the vote as they did.

But here’s how this poll turned out:

David Craig – 2,153 (52.95%)
Larry Hogan – 1,831 (45.03%)
Brian Murphy – 29 (0.71%)
Bob Ehrlich – 15 (0.37%)
Charles Lollar – 15 (0.37%)
Marty Madden – 9 (0.22%)
Blaine Young – 5 (0.12%)
Pat McDonough – 3 (0.07%)
E.J. Pipkin – 3 (0.07%)
Michael Steele – 3 (0.07%)

Compare this with a straw poll recently done at the Maryland YR Convention, where among those I listed on my ballot David Craig won, but with just 25 percent. He was trailed by Michael Steele with 21%, Larry Hogan at 13%, Blaine Young at 8%, and Charles Lollar and Brian Murphy at 4 percent. Marty Madden and Pat McDonough got no votes.

I suspect that if someone actually did a real, scientific poll with these ten names on it Michael Steele and Bob Ehrlich would be the top two and it would comprise about 50 percent of the vote. That’s simply based on name recognition at this point, and not any substantive discussion of issues.

The next tier would feature David Craig, Larry Hogan, and Brian Murphy, and it would get about 30 percent of the vote.

The bottom tier would be led by Young, with McDonough, Pipkin, Lollar, and Madden bringing up the rear.

But neither Ehrlich nor Steele has made any overtures toward running in 2014, and that small 20 percent or so who would like a fourth Ehrlich run are very, very likely to be disappointed. In the meantime, David Craig is all but officially in and has been talking like a candidate for months; meanwhile Larry Hogan has a 12,000-strong Change Maryland group as a possible support base. Brian Murphy obviously has some residual 2010 support to count on as well.

The others have name recognition, but only in one part of the state: Young in the Frederick area, McDonough around Baltimore, Pipkin on the Upper Eastern Shore, Lollar in southern Maryland, and Madden around Howard County. With the exception of Pipkin in 2004, none have embarked formally on the rigors of a statewide race.

Of course, the process is a long way from over since we are still over two years out from the GOP primary, and not everyone mentioned as a hopeful will actually decide to run. My belief is that when all is said and done we will have three and perhaps four viable candidates vying for the nomination, since it’s an open seat. But it’s obvious which ones are trying to put their name into circulation as a front-runner.

Shorebird of the Week – May 31, 2012

Lost in the hubbub about a mega-piching prospect who recently departed Delmarva is the work of another 19-year-old starting pitcher who has excelled when called upon. But Eduardo Rodriguez has shown over his nine starts that he can contribute quality innings, and thanks to scoring rules he’s tied for the team lead in quality starts (defined as six innings pitched with three or fewer earned runs) with three. These were consecutive from May 5-18, against Charleston, Kannapolis, and Hagerstown.

The Venezuelan is with his first full-season team since beginning his pro career in 2010 with the Orioles’ entry in the Dominican Summer League, but the numbers have remained solid throughout his advancement in the system – 3-4 with a 2.13 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in 2010, 1-1 with a 2.22 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in 2011 (primarily with the Gulf Coast League Orioles) and 1-1 with a 2.43 ERA and 1.19 WHIP here with Delmarva so far this season. All but one of his 32 total career appearances have been starts, and he’s had a couple outings this season which were shortened due to weather – generally it appears that Eduardo is capable of at least six good innings per start.

While he hasn’t been quite as dominating at this level – not averaging about a strikeout per inning as he had with the rookie league teams – Rodriguez is still exhibiting pinpoint control as he’s only walked 13 in 37 innings so far this season. Nor is he susceptible to the longball, as the one home run he’s given up in 151 1/3 career innings occurred in his lone Aberdeen appearance to close out last season. In other words, the kid can pitch.

So what will become of Eduardo in the future? He hasn’t appeared on the prospect radar screen quite yet but continuing his success at the full-season level may place him on the map. With a new draft crop coming in later next month, my guess is that Rodriguez will pitch to a limit of about 100 to 110 innings – if the Shorebirds stay with a six-man rotation he could come close to getting a full-season complement of starts; otherwise, he may be throttled back somewhat in August. But he’s one pitcher who gives a light-hitting Shorebird squad a good chance of winning so he should remain a rotation mainstay.

Maryland budget fixed – for now

At the estimated cost of $20,000 per day, the just-completed three-day Maryland General Assembly special session enabled Governor Martin O’Malley and his liberal Democratic allies in the state legislature to wrap up their work on the FY2013 budget. Through a combination of a $263.8 million tax hike which mainly falls on middle- to upper-class wage earners and a complex budget reconciliation, including the passing of the teacher pension burden down to the county level, the state has successfully framed the fiscal picture O’Malley wanted to paint for Maryland.

But for those of us who have observed Martin O’Malley’s five-year reign over Maryland, the result of this special session simply seems like deja vu all over again.

(continued at Examiner.com…)

Shorebird of the Week – April 26, 2012

For all but three games, John Ruettiger‘s brief 40-game professional career has been spent at Delmarva.

One of the few bright spots from a wretched second half of 2011 where the Shorebirds staggered home with a 20-50 record and a 14-game losing streak, the Illinois native and product of Arizona State University has a pretty famous uncle named Rudy but is trying to establish his own name in a different sport.

And the Orioles are noticing, as the younger Ruettiger went 4-for-11 in 12 spring training games with the big club. Perhaps they’ve seen the fact that John is sporting a .316/0/15/.771 OPS in his 37 games with Delmarva dating back to last year. And since Ruettiger won’t turn 22 until after this season, he’s at a professional level which is probably appropriate for his development but one where’s he hitting for a high average. He may be moved rather quickly, though, given that he was an eighth round selection last season by the Orioles (he was also picked in the 35th round by Texas in 2008, but chose to go to college.)

One area where John has improved his game from his initial campaign is utilizing his speed. While he went just 2-for-6 in steals last year, Ruettiger is tied for third in the league (and leads the Shorebirds) with 8 stolen bases, being caught just once.

Rolling on a nine-game hitting streak – a stretch where he’s hitting .400 – John may not make it though the entire Delmarva season without being plucked by the Orioles and promoted to Frederick; fortunately for Delmarva fans the Keys outfield is holding its own so far. But that may not last, and it’s beginning to look like Ruettiger will need a new challenge soon.

The Scott response

Just as I did with Scott Shaffer a few days ago, I’m going to publish Audrey Scott’s refutation of points made by yours truly and others in its entirety, aside from minor formatting revisions to make this work on my site. It will not be blockquoted.

This comes from a letter to Central Committee members, with two pages being a general letter and a third page entitled “My Response.” I’ll have additional comments at the conclusion, which will come after Audrey’s note commences on the other side of the jump.

Continue reading “The Scott response”

Pork in the Park 2012 in pictures and text

Today is Earth Day, and what better way to celebrate than to fire up the barbecue grill and cook some meat?

Well, the weather may not cooperate today but yesterday was a nice day to be at Pork in the Park.

It was the ninth rendition of the annual event, which is claimed to be the largest barbecue festival east of the Mississippi River, and there were fairly decent crowds brought out by the summerlike weather.

We arrived around noontime or so, and the last photo was taken at the time we left, around 5 p.m. I think they’ve had larger crowds, but then again Pork in the Park was more spread out this year.

One of my favorite parts of the festival is walking back among the competitors to see what I can see. Sometimes it’s the whimsical signs, like these examples below.

Nor was it just the signs. You thought the neighbor who left the Christmas lights up all year was bad?

Well, it is Christmas City BBQ so I suppose I should give them a pass. But the salute to Tabasco made me scratch my head.

Yet it always amazes me what a big business this is, with specialized trailers and everything for the more serious teams.

There were a couple new wrinkles in the competition field, though. One was the involvement of Smithfield, a national pork processing company.

The other was the taping of ‘BBQ Pitmasters’, a cooking competition show which will air later this summer. A film crew was taping three teams in their own contest.

Still, there were dozens of teams trying to grab the brass ring, or at least a check and trophy. Here’s one putting the finishing touches on their entries.

It wasn’t all barbecue, though. There were other vendors who sold all kinds of wares.

Not sure what you can buy off these guys. But it broke my heart to leave the political field solely to them.

I noticed they had no Obama items there, nor any Ben Cardin. And they only had a few trifold fliers for Wendy Rosen which were geared for the primary. I asked if she would be here and the nice lady didn’t think so.

Five bucks would get you a ride on this beast. But if you wanted a higher perspective, it was $60 a couple for a helicopter ride.

Don’t tell anyone, but I’m glad to see this fairly new exhibitor. Not sure what they would recommend with pork but I would go with the Primal Pale Ale. It’s the other light beer.

Admission and shameless plug: I actually prefer North Carolina style BBQ over traditional sauce. These guys did it up right, with a nice and tangy sauce and flavorful pork that was tender. Hope they come back next year.

Since you probably can’t read the finer print based on the 480 pixel photo width, it’s The Little Red Pig BBQ out of Marshville, North Carolina. I saw that and immediately knew where dinner would come from. That’s not to disparage any of the other rib vendors, but I think I’ve tried most of the other ones.

I think the owner of this beauty was stopping by before he went to the monthly car show just down the road.

And I just wanted to add this final picture as a further tweak to Gaia lovers.

The inscription on the hood says: ‘Silly Jeepers, Leafs are for Trees.’ I took it as a swipe at Nissan’s electric car, and having a photo of someone who enjoys tearing around the wilderness in a carbon-belching vehicle just fit.

And while Gaia may have had the last laugh with the weather (I seem to recall it also rained the last time Pork in the Park was held on Earth Day) just the fact that thousands showed up to enjoy meat cooked over charcoal – a concoction which, when done correctly, belches out a smoky aroma which tofu just can’t match – made my weekend and put all the enviroweenies in their place. Low-impact tourism it ain’t, and I was glad to participate.

I also managed to get enough photos of people using thousands of watts of amplification – no acoustic crap here – that I can do a decent enough Weekend of Local Rock post. Look for it next weekend.

Shorebird of the Week – April 19, 2012

Washington Nationals farmhand Billy Burns may never get to the big leagues, but there’s a good chance he may become an answer to a trivia question etched as part of Orioles lore: who was the batter that ended the string of 26 consecutive hitters retired by Dylan Bundy to begin his professional career?

Normally when I do the Shorebird of the Week I have to look up a number of statistics, but since the younger Bundy (his brother was Shorebird of the Week on August 5, 2010, making Dylan and Bobby Bundy the first brother combination to be so honored) just began his professional career this season, the numbers are easy – 9 innings pitched, no hits, runs, or earned runs, no record, and 15 strikeouts to go with that lone Burns walk. The WHIP is a sick 0.11.

How else can you describe a phenom whose first professional game experience came in a major league exhibition game? Kid, welcome to pro baseball – now get big leaguer Jacoby Ellsbury out. He did, but he walked the next batter – some former MVP named Dustin Pedroia. That was the only blemish on his inning pitched, just like Burns was the only blemish on his first nine innings in A ball. I guess Dylan needs to work on that control.

Something the Shorebirds are doing differently with the 19-year-old Oklahoman, as well as their other starters this season, is working in a six-man pitching rotation. The stated reason is so they can have two bullpen sessions between starts, but Bundy is also on a limit of 120 innings pitched this season. This explains why he’s only thrown three innings per start, although plans are to allow him four in his next start scheduled for Tuesday.

There’s little doubt that Bundy has the stuff to compete at the major league level, with the question only being when he gets there. My gut instinct is that we may not see Dylan beyond what would be his fifth scheduled start on April 30, with the question then becoming whether he only moves up to Frederick or has dominated the South Atlantic League to such an extent that a jump to Bowie is warranted. Since he would only have about 17 innings of work in, I tend to believe the former will be the case.

Fortunately for Delmarva fans, if the rotation holds his next two starts would bookend the upcoming homestand so you might just want to get out there. Something tells me the 2,672 fans who saw his home debut will swell to 15,000 or more (to hear them tell it, anyway) once Dylan arrives at The Show.

Tolerance: the Left doesn’t practice what it preaches

An example of sign vandalism provided by Protect Marriage Maryland.

If you thought the debate over same-sex marriage was going to be genteel and conducted by adults, don’t say you weren’t warned of what was to come.

This was sent by Protect Marriage Maryland as an example of some of the sign vandalism and theft which has occurred since churches and supporters of traditional marriage around the state began putting up signs urging people to “protect marriage” over the first few months of the year in response to the bill signed by Governor O’Malley legalizing same-sex marriage in 2013. Of course, PMM is among the groups seeking to place the issue on November’s ballot.

And with a number of events where people are expected to gather before the initial May 31 signature gathering deadline (including next weekend’s Pork in the Park celebration and the Salisbury Festival the following weekend) we could see efforts made at intimidating those who would seek or give their signatures to petition the bill to referendum. The template is already there based on some of the events surrounding last year’s petition drive to put in-state tuition for illegal aliens on the ballot, not to mention the controversy which swirled around California’s gay marriage referendum and its aftermath. The price of deviating from political correctness can be steep.

Yet I’ve often wondered why those who believe gay marriage must become the law of the state are so afraid. They trumpet polls which state their side is winning, and while it takes the signatures of just 3 percent of those who voted in the last gubernatorial election to place a referendum on the ballot, it was nearly a 20 year hiatus since the last time Maryland had seen a successful push for allowing voters to decide. If they are so right there shouldn’t be a need to deface signs and perhaps intimidate petition signature gatherers and contributors to the pro-marriage effort, should there?

I happen to believe in traditional marriage and I’ve already signed the petition to place the issue on the ballot. Hopefully somewhere around 150,000 to 200,000 Marylanders will do the same, and while they’re at it place our gerrymandered Congressional districts to referendum as well. (Somehow I don’t think anyone will be putting out signs exhorting us to save the Congressional districts, though.) Perhaps I will take a little flak for doing so, but I happen to believe that changing the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples will eventually lead to it including adult-child weddings and unions between multiple partners of one or both genders. Once one threshold is crossed, those who will take a mile when given an inch won’t be satisfied with the one notch in the bedpost they’ve achieved.

And spare me the equation of the relatively recent legalization of interracial marriage and same-sex marriage. Once civil rights advocates got their desire to eliminate racial barriers to marital bliss, they were completely satisfied. Yet getting all the legal benefits and protections of marriage through the adoption of civil unions isn’t good enough for the radical queer movement – it has to be considered the equal of marriage between one man and one woman, or nothing.

Finally, it’s worth reading this gay man’s theory that being gay is more of a fad than anything, done for shock value. If what he’s saying is true – and admittedly this is very anecdotal, single-source evidence – then perhaps we should rethink the idea of changing a century or more of law (not to mention many generations of custom) for the flavor of the day.

Remember, the maturity level of some gay marriage proponents is measured by the behavior they exhibit. Is defacing a sign an indicator that the merits of same-sex nuptials can be rationally argued? I don’t think so.

Shorebird of the Week – April 12, 2012

Making his second tour of duty with the Shorebirds and now holding down second base for the team, Sammie Starr has lived up to his name thus far on an offensive level.

The diminutive Ontario native – listed at 5′-8″ – played his collegiate ball at the University of British Columbia, which may have factored into his low selection in the draft; Starr wasn’t picked until the 34th round back in 2010. After a reasonable inaugural season at Aberdeen (.242/0/6/.615 OPS) where he got into 35 games, Starr began his 2011 exploits with 3 games at Frederick, going 1-for-9. Overmatched there, Sammie came to Delmarva for a few weeks and hit .194 in just 9 games here before returning to Aberdeen and putting up a solid .284/2/15/.828 OPS in 23 games. Starr, who will turn 24 at the end of May, has yet to appear in more than 35 games over the course of a season so his starting job with Delmarva may turn out to be an extended audition to see if he can handle this level of play and advance his career.

And after initially holding down the ninth place in the order, the hot start by Starr has been rewarded with a push to the number 2 slot in the lineup in last night’s series wrapup at Kannapolis. While he went 0-for-4 in the 2-hole, that still leaves Starr leading the team with a .333 average (7-for-21) in the early going – more importantly, he still has an on-base percentage of .500 and maintains a .476 slugging percentage (for an OPS of .976). Part of his knack in getting on has come from being hit-by-pitch 4 times this season already – all in 3 painful days at Asheville.

As long as he continues to be a pain for opposing pitchers to get out, we won’t care just how Sammie gets on base.

Last race standing

About 35,000 votes were cast, and as of tonight’s results there were just 82 votes separating the two front-runners. But this evening John LaFerla conceded the Democratic nomination in the First District Congressional race to Wendy Rosen. In a statement on his Facebook site LaFerla wrote:

Now that most of the absentee and provisional ballots have been counted, it is clear that the result of the Democratic Primary in the 1st Congressional District will not change and I will not be nominee of our party.

I would like to congratulate Wendy Rosen for winning the nomination of our party and I wholeheartedly endorse her candidacy and urge all my supporters to get behind her so we can defeat Andy Harris this November.

I want to thank everyone who supported our campaign to bring common sense to Congress. While we came up short, the issues we talked about remain vital to the future of our District and our Nation. While I won’t be in Congress, I hope to continue working with all of you in other ways to build a brighter future for everyone in our community.

So for the first time in recent memory no one from the Eastern Shore will be among the two major-party contenders for the Congressional seat, after a streak of Eastern Shore representatives for the First District – which for the decade between 2000 and 2010 was roughly a 50-50 voter split between Eastern and Western shores – came to an end with the election of Andy Harris. Both Wayne Gilchrest and Frank Kratovil lived on the Eastern Shore; while Harris owns a condominium on the Eastern Shore his principal residence is in Baltimore County, as is opponent Wendy Rosen’s.

Yet while the First District was perhaps made even more Republican, there is peril in Andy’s re-election bid. There’s no doubt that the public perception of Harris as stiff and uncaring will be made even more apparent as he faces a female opponent for the first time as a Congressional candidate. Certainly the Sun and other media outlets will do their best to soften Rosen’s image over the summer. (Harris defeated female Democratic opponents in both his State Senate re-election runs in 2002 and 2006, however.)

In an interview on Forbes.com Rosen describes herself as a “recovering Republican” who left the party for because she perceived it as unfriendly to small business:

Her frustration has grown to disenchantment with the Republican Party, which she says only supports big business and eventually led to her decision to run for Congress as a Democrat.

“I always thought the Republican Party supported small business and included small business in that definition (of being pro-business),” she says. “I think the Democratic Party is more receptive to creative ideas needed to revitalize our smallest businesses. The Republican Party represents the defense industry and the insurance industry. They talk the talk but don’t walk the walk.”

I have to chuckle on that one because she’s about 180 degrees out of phase, at least when it comes to the current occupant of the Oval Office and titular head of the Democrat Party. If there’s anyone who is selling government to the highest bidder who can afford the largest group of lobbyists it’s those in Rosen’s current political home.

And if you look at Rosen’s key issues, it’s clear she’s trying to portray herself as a friend to small business. But what I see from her is more micromanagement and government picking winners and losers. I’m not seeing the big ideas which will level the playing field and allow all companies a fair shake like a reduction in regulations and a more sound tax policy which would put more money in their pockets, allowing them to hire more workers and create more jobs. That’s how you “fill those vacant shops and give small business owners the tools and support necessary for them to succeed” – you get out of their way.

Wendy rails about how too many items come from other countries and aren’t American made, but has she considered why the products are made overseas? Well, there is a cost of labor advantage, but by the time you add shipping costs that is practically negated. Yet taxing business at the industrialized world’s highest rate (as of April 1 Japan lowered its corporate tax rate below that of the United States) and writing reams of regulations (a study for the Small Business Administration in 2010 pegged the annual regulatory cost at $1.75 trillion – yes, that’s trillion with a “tr”) isn’t going to create American jobs. Nor will it win many friends in the business world – that is, unless you have the lobbyists and clout to write the rules in such a way to stifle competition. She’s suspiciously silent on those aspects of the issue. And what about the energy industry and gasoline prices?

I’m pleased Wendy seems to have found a way to succeed in her chosen field, although when she talks about walking the halls of Congress for over 10 years she begins to sound like the lobbyists she detests. But I think we have tried things her way for a number of years and those methods don’t work anymore. Back off the entrepreneurs of America, give them breathing room from excessive burdens, and watch them grow.

A fork we stick in Rick

So it ends, not with a bang but more of a whimper.

The news that Rick Santorum has opted to suspend his campaign just two weeks before a multistate primary where opponent Mitt Romney would be expected to do well in all the states – except possibly Santorum’s home state of Pennsylvania – coupled with the withdrawal in all but name by Newt Gingrich over the weekend (“he had more things to hit with than I did”), means that Mitt Romney will be the GOP nominee come September. Sure, Ron Paul is still in the race but he hasn’t won a primary yet.

Obviously that’s frustrating news to Santorum backers (like The Other McCain) as well as residents of the five states (including Delaware) who were expectantly awaiting their turn in the national spotlight, but it also brings up a couple interesting questions.

Who will be the second banana on the ticket? We saw a rejuvenated Republican Party for a brief time in 2008 when Sarah Palin was selected, so one would hope Romney assuages conservatives with a strong pick.
Will the electorate in the remaining states which have not conducted primary elections embrace Mitt as the nominee?

I don’t know what the rules are for ballot withdrawal in the remaining states, but it’s quite likely that the last four standing (Romney, Paul, Gingrich, and Santorum) are on the ballot in 17 of the 19 remaining states (Nebraska and Montana are caucus states.) And we can look back at Virginia for a case study in just how much anti-Romney sentiment was out there – in a contest limited to Mitt Romney and Ron Paul, Romney couldn’t even carry 60 percent of the vote. Had it been Santorum or Gingrich on the ballot straight up against Romney, Rick or Newt may have carried the state.

It would be quite surprising now if Romney didn’t get a clear majority of the votes, but the depth of anti-Romney sentiment may be most expressed in states where Santorum or Gingrich were thought to be strongest (most likely Texas, Kentucky, Arkansas, Indiana, and South Dakota among remaining primary states.) But this ceding of the Presidential field could also have a detrimental effect on conservatives in downticket races as well – one example being the U.S. Senate primary in Indiana where moderate Senator Richard Lugar faces a primary opponent in Richard Mourdock.

But all the talk of a possible brokered convention and a white knight coming in to save the GOP will now be replaced by emotions from anger at the establishment to outright despair from the Right that Romney can’t win and we’re doomed to another four long years of Barack Obama. Yet if every conservative in the country came out and voted, we would win because Democratic turnout tends to lag behind Republican regardless of whatever tricks the Democrats try to pull. It’s simple math – around 40 percent of the country self-identifies as conservative while only 20 percent or so self-identify as liberal. Even if the squishy middle splits evenly, we win.

And it’s not like the incumbent has much of a record to run on, unless you define record deficits, record number of adults out of the work force, and record high gas prices as records to brag about. Obama has those.

So here we are: Obama vs. Romney. It wasn’t my personal choice (since I voted for Santorum after all my other good choices split the scene) but that’s the way it’s going to be.

And now for something (almost) completely different:

I have it on very good authority that someone familiar to local voters is going to jump into the First District Congressional race. That’s all I’m going to say for now, but watch this space for more details.

The terror is not over, folks

From the sounds of a wild last few minutes of the 2012 General Assembly Session, we have a budget without the means to pay for it. Fortunately for the state, it wouldn’t take effect until July 1 so it’s extremely likely we will have a Special Session called by Governor O’Malley.

The state had 90 days to get this done – and they failed. But we have the distinct possibility of gay marriage and we ratified the 17th Amendment nearly 100 years after passage. Way to go, guys…that’s the leadership we deserve I guess for voting so poorly all these years.

I’ll surely have more reaction in the morning.

Update: First out of the chute, Delegate Nic Kipke:

In unprecedented action the House stands adjourned Sine Die and the Senate stands adjourned Sine Die. Hundreds of bills did not pass including all of the tax increases! The people have won a huge battle! Now Governor O’Malley will have to call a special session to raise taxes on Marylanders giving you another chance to contact your elected officials to voice your concerns.

Update 2: Delegate Donna Stifler’s reaction:

WOW!!! Worst sine die since I’ve been down here. No balloons and confetti this year. Never seen anything like what I saw tonight. Rules changing to fit results, people not being allowed to speak, just unreal. Glad to be done. Or at least until the Governor calls a special session so we can finish.

The “mainstream” media weighs in: Washington Post and Baltimore Sun. Maryland Reporter also has their take.

It sounds to me like the state has a budget, but one just not as large and laden with tax and revenue increases as they would like. If so, it seems like there is no need for a Special Session because the so-called “doomsday” budget (which, if it’s $500 million less than proposed, is STILL larger than last year’s) is balanced and approved. Governor O’Malley cannot veto a budget, by state law.

But it’s most likely that a Special Session will be called because we know better than to think Martin O’Malley will leave Democrat leadership hanging out to dry in this state. They both have something the other wants: O’Malley makes the Democratic leadership relevant as they jockey for position in a post-O’Malley political landscape and the Democrats have the power to make this state into the liberal Potemkin village the governor wants to show for his 2016 Presidential bid. For example, O’Malley probably has no use for the gay population of Maryland aside from their votes, but gay marriage is one of those progressive issues he has to show “leadership” on to be a national Democratic contender, sort of like being pro-abortion became required for national Democrats a couple decades back.

Update 3: Delegate Michael Smigiel calls out the “doomsday” misnomer:

I need the help of everyone who reads or posts on this site. I need you to call the media, radio, TV and newspapers around the State and make sure they stop reporting the “Doomsday Budget” means “deep cuts in services”. The simple fact is the “Doomsday Budget is $ 400 million more than last year’s budget. How can cuts be necessary when you grew the size of the budget by 400 million dollars? O’Malley is trying to spin this as some great tragedy for entitlements and education. It is an opportunity to show fiscal restraint and responsibility.

Because, Michael, the spoiled child Martin O’Malley and his special interest buddies didn’t get all the wealth redistribution they wanted. In the end, it’s not really about how much is spent and raised, it’s all about power. If they hold the money and they get to decide what to do with it, that’s a huge ego trip which can’t be replicated if We the People control our own purse strings and spend as we see fit. Don’t ever forget it.

Update 4: The pithy Maryland Democratic response:

Only (Maryland Republicans) would gloat over the prospect of firing teachers and police officers.

Prove it. And let’s not forget exactly who could have passed anything they wanted because they have enough of a majority to do so. Sorry, Democrats, you OWN this mess but I don’t foresee you taking any steps to clean it up soon because it will give you a convenient excuse to blame Republicans. That narrative doesn’t play here.