20071030 News Clips

News Clips

Oct 30, 2007

STATE NEWS

Republicans protest O'Malley plan
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-te.md.gop30oct30,0,4146273.story
With some chanting "No new taxes" and hoisting signs reading "Impeach O'Malley Now," hundreds of protesters packed a Republican-organized rally yesterday in the shadow of the State House to decry the General Assembly special session called by Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley to consider taxes and slots. "We have been hearing a lot of talk about the citizens of Maryland wanting to invest in the state as a whole," said Sen. E.J. Pipkin, an Eastern Shore Republican. "But I don't think you want your governor or this legislature to be in charge of your portfolio." Republican legislative leaders h ave said they will fight passing revenue-raising legislation without also reviewing the annual budget.
"We cannot sustain a government that is growing at a higher rate than we can afford to pay," said House Majority Leader Anthony J. O'Donnell, a Republican delegate from the Eastern Shore, to the cheers of placard-waving supporters. "We don't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem."
"We beat in-state tuition for illegals in Maryland," said Del. Warren E. Miller, a Howard County Republican. "The reason we beat it was because of your letters. Let's scare the liberals. Let's scare the governor."

'No new taxes:' Md. groups rally against O'Malley's tax hike plan
http://www.examiner.com/a-1017723~_No_new_taxes___Md__groups_rally_against_O_Malley_s_tax_hike_plan.html
" No new taxes" was the rallying cry Monday of demonstrations by taxpayer, conservative and Republican groups around the State House. "I'm going to stand up and oppose every stinking tax," said Del. Donna Stifler, R-Harford, typifying the comments of dozens of GOP lawmakers. Stifler said she was getting 80 to 100 e-mails and phone calls a day opposing any tax increases.
The late afternoon rally had been organized by the party and promoted on conservative talk shows for several days.
The Republican message was consistent: Maryland doesn't have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem.
"What we're witnessing today is the flight of common sense from Maryland," said Del. Warren Miller, of Howard County.

Protests welcome back Assembly
http://www.washingtont i mes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071030/METRO/110300072/1004
Hundreds of anti-tax demonstrators greeted lawmakers on their return yesterday for a special General Assembly session to consider Gov. Martin O'Malley's plan to increase taxes and legalize slot machines to cut the state's $1.7 billion budget shortfall. Voters opposed to the plan by Mr. O'Malley, a Democrat, began their protest in the early morning by flooding the state Capitol with nearly 1,000 phone calls before noon, then packing Lawyer's Mall in front of the State House to call state Democratic leaders the " 'Taxes' Axis of Evil."
Republicans said yesterday that they were pleased with their position opposing unpopular tax increases.
"For the first time in my five years down here, I've seen the other side of the aisle on the defensive," said Delegate Donald H. Dwyer Jr., Anne Arundel Republican. "I'm surprised, Montgomery County and Baltimore City elected officials are very concerne d ."
The Maryland Republican Party has sent an e-mail to supporters urging them to lobby 10 Democratic senators from moderate to conservative districts.Interest groups have also begun lobbying lawmakers, opposing various taxes in Mr. O'Malley's plan.
The Maryland Retailers Association began running ads opposing the 20 percent sales-tax increase.

Unity Is Urged as Assembly Convenes
O'Malley Gives Case To Plug Budget Gap
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/29/AR2007102902024.html
Gov. Martin O'Malley urged lawmakers to "move beyond conflict to find consensus" as they convened last night for a high-stakes special session on Maryland's projected $1.7 billion budget shortfall. The session, which legislators expect to last at leas t two weeks, is extraordinary for its scope and its potential consequences. Special sessions are typically convened for quick action on a single issue; O'Malley is pushing the largest overhaul of Maryland's tax code in four decades. Republicans, who are in the distinct minority in the House and Senate, were far less charitable in their assessments of O'Malley's chances for success and his remarks. "There obviously is no enthusiasm for raising taxes," said Senate Minority Leader David R. Brinkley (R-Frederick). "He's taking a tremendous gamble."
House Minority Leader Anthony J. O'Donnell (R-Calvert) dismissed O'Malley's speech as containing "some platitudes, but no real substance." O'Malley last night blamed Maryland's budget problems largely on an income tax cut initiated a decade ago and passage of a landmark education plan in 2002 without new revenue to pay for it.
He balanced this fiscal year's budget by using nearly $1 billion from t he state's rainy-day fund, a move he said would provide time to search for long-term solutions and to let wounds heal after four years of partisan battles between lawmakers and Ehrlich. As a result, Maryland's budget is projected to remain balanced until June, when the current fiscal year ends.

'Malley calls for 'correcting course'
Governor urges legislators to join in fixing shortfall
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-te.md.session30oct30,0,6317043.story?coll=bal_tab01_layout
Opening the special session that could define his four-year term, Gov. Martin O'Malley told Maryland lawmakers last night that "it is time for us to correct our course" by enacting his sweeping plan to eliminate a projected $1.7 billion sho r tfall in next year's budget. Addressing a joint session of the General Assembly, a somber O'Malley used the eight-minute speech to argue that the challenge is "consensus," not the "capacity" for the state to shoulder a bigger tax burden. O'Malley has proposed a plan that would rely on new tax and slots revenues to address the state's fiscal woes.
Senate Minority Leader David R. Brinkley, a Republican who represents Carroll and Frederick counties, called the speech underwhelming. "Here you have a speech where he's called everyone in to do an unpleasant task," Brinkley said. "I didn't hear any support. There were no applause lines. There was nothing where people were warm and fuzzy on this whole thing."
He criticized O'Malley for continuing to "play the blame game," such as when the governor called the projected deficit "inherited." "It's time to get past that," Brinkley said. " H e won the election; he's governing. Stop trying to blame [former Republican Gov. Robert L.] Ehrlich. Stop trying to blame the legislature before." At a Republican-led rally outside the State House before the start of the special session, lawmakers urged a crowd of several hundred to jam the phone lines of Democratic legislators and complain about proposed tax increases. "What we are witnessing today is the flight of common sense from Maryland," said Del. Warren E. Miller, a Howard County Republican. "Our founders knew overtaxing our citizens would lead to rebellion. Send a signal to Martin O'Malley and the liberal establishment that we've had enough."
Three legislative committees have scheduled joint sessions starting today to begin getting into the details of the governor's six bills.

Session's 'stakes are high'
O'Malley kicks off special gathering on taxes, slot s
http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071030/NEWS01/710300319
Gov. Martin O'Malley appealed to Maryland lawmakers Monday to support his proposals to handle a $1.7 billion budget deficit in a special session, describing the huge shortfall as "one of the toughest fiscal challenges in the 373-year history of our state." Republicans have criticized O'Malley's budget plan as heavy on taxes and light on fiscal responsibility and have withdrawn support for slot machines. They've denounced the special legislative session as an excuse to rush through large and unnecessary tax increases. In the letter to Senate Minority Leader David Brinkley, Miller also asked the GOP to submit a detailed proposal of reductions in spending that it favors over O'Malley's plan. Brinkley said the state's fisc a l woes could be solved by slowing growth in spending and a slot machine plan hammered out in a regular session.
"They're creating the hype that there's an emergency for all these tax increases, and they're trying to pass the responsibility on to somewhere else," Brinkley said. "The fact is we don't need to be here."

Election set to replace Annapolis alderman
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/annearundel/bal-md.ar.election30oct30,0,3236879.story
A special election has been scheduled in Annapolis for the alderman's seat vacated by Michael Christman, Mayor Ellen O. Moyer said yesterday. The primary election in Ward 2 will be held Nov. 27, with the special general election Dec. 19.
The winner will fill the final two years of Christman's term. The Republican, one of o n ly two on the eight-member city council, was elected in 2005 but officially resigned last week, noting frequent travel for his job.
GOP Alderman David H. Cordle Sr. has said his party is looking at potential candidates.

Some fear slots will hurt economy
http://www.examiner.com/a-1017722~Some_fear_slots_will_hurt_economy.html
Officials are concerned that slot machines at Laurel Park could derail a booming local economy and deter potential employers, including incoming federal contractors.
Elected officials and neighborhood advocates say slots aren't needed at Laurel Park because the area is under revitalization.
"With BRAC expansion, we have a growing economy on science and technology," said County Executive John R. Leopold. "That's where we should focus our energy." I f the decision were up to voters, who could have a say by way of a 2008 referendum, the economic concerns of leaders could be voiced by the surrounding communities that oppose slots.

Lie-In D.O.A.
http://www.citypaper.com/digest.asp?id=14714
On Sunday, 246 people were supposed to lie down in War Memorial Plaza to provide a visual representation of the people who have been murdered this year in Baltimore City. It was a noble idea and one that we were rooting for. Finally, a visual that would bring home what Baltimore's homicide statistics really mean in loss of life. Finally, people were getting together to show our leaders that we aren't OK with so many citizens' lives being taken.
But rather than destroying the image of Baltimore as a city indifferent to its own blood- soaked streets, the rally illustrated it. Maybe 200 people showed up at War Memoria l Plaza, significantly fewer than the number of homicide victims to date. No elected officials were present, though Mayor Sheila Dixon and City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake sent representatives who did not address the crowd. Even U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, who goes to everything, just sent a representative.
We don't doubt the sincerity of the organizers of Sunday's event. But it's almost shocking how few people attended and how little interest was shown by our city's leadership, considering the fact that Baltimore's murder rate is almost double Philadelphia's.


EDITORIALS.OP-EDS

Robert Ehrlich: Budget plan bilks taxpayers, ignores history
http://www.examiner.com/a-1017691~Robert_Ehrlich__Budget_plan_bilks _ taxpayers__ignores_history.html
Maryland's liberal establishment is at it again. Less than nine months after restoring one party-rule, the liberals in Annapolis are pushing massive tax increases based on a revisionist account of Maryland's budget history. Let me set the record straight. Despite inheriting a raft of new spending programs, my administration left Maryland in strong fiscal health. We nearly tripled the Rainy Day Fund to $1.4 billion, and at the end of fiscal year 2006, Maryland enjoyed a $1 billion budget surplus and remarkably low unemployment. As recently as December of 2006, general fund revenues were up despite high gas prices and a slowdown in the housing market. We also preserved Maryland's Triple A bond rating, which saves residents money by allowing the state to borrow at low rates.
Government was leaner and more effective than it was when we inherited it, which is why I am so troubled by the administration's plans to enact historic new t a x increases.Here's what leaders in Maryland don't get: We don't have a revenue problem; we have a spending problem. With creativity and slower budget growth, legislators can align Maryland's spending with its needs without raising taxes. Yet they inherently believe that low taxes are a problem that must be "fixed" in order to expand government's reach into our wallets and our lives. So as our government leaders rush to Annapolis this week to raise our taxes, ask yourself: Have they made a real attempt to tighten government's belt? Or are they simply playing that old Annapolis routine of "scare 'em, tax and spend?" The stakes in Annapolis are high. This is our state. Call your legislator today. Let your voice be heard. To find out how to contact your legislator go to mlis.state.md.us/.

O'Malley's tax increases will burden students
By Ashley Barbera - Chairman of Federation of MD College Republicans
http://www.retrieverweekly.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=2664&format=html
As some of you know, Governor Martin O'Malley visited UMBC to speak to students about his proposed tax increases. The event was invite-only, and if your name was not on the very short list of invited students you were out of luck. Even if by some miracle you had found out about the event, you would not have been permitted to attend. Thus, the vast majority of the student body was denied the opportunity to hear from or question the Governor about a very important policy issue.
Now, don't get me wrong, I completely support funding higher education. As a member and former President of the Student Political Involvement Network, a nonpartisan organization on campus, I have spent years talking with legislators on both sides of the aisle, encouraging them to set aside their differences and find a way to keep college education affordable for all Maryland students. That being said, the tax increases that Martin O'Malley is proposing are not the right answer.
Measures such as doubling the gas tax and increasing the sales tax are extremely agressive in nature. They affect most those who can least afford them. It does not make sense to claim that funding higher education through tax increases would make college more accessible to the poor when it is the poor who will suffer most from those burdens. Many UMBC students are commuters and travel fairly long distances to come to school every day. Doubling the gas tax will significantly increase the cost of transportation for these students.I have been very disappointed in UMBC this week. I normally brag about our school when I tal k to other Republicans around the state and the country-"Some schools are known for being unfair and attacking conservative viewpoints, but not MY school. They're fair. They'll play devil's advocate for both sides. They let us think for ourselves." After this week, I am not sure if I could ever say that again and have it be completely true.

Was Ehrlich right about multiculturalism?
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.multicultural30oct30,0,4084309.story
When he was governor of Maryland in 2004, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. stirred a hornet's nest when he denounced multiculturalism as "bunk" on a talk-radio show. Because many Americans believe multiculturalism merely means teaching children in a wholesome way about diverse cultures, Mr. Ehrlich drew heat. Now, th e National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME), the main advocacy organization for multiculturalism, is coming to Baltimore to hold its 17th annual national convention tomorrow through Sunday. Here is a perfect opportunity to examine the agenda and see if the former governor had a point.
School board members ought to be particularly interested, because they approve the doling out of taxpayers' money for K-12 teachers from every state to attend the NAME convention.
It is not necessary to accept my contention that ideological indoctrination permeates the multiculturalists' deliberations. Go to www.NAMEorg.org and read the full convention program. Better yet, ask to attend sessions that are of particular interest to you. After all, your tax money is paying for them, and for the lessons that teachers bring back for your children.
Then, decide for yourself whether Bob Ehrlich was right.