O'Malley, hands down.

It's not even close. I can find redeeming qualities in our President. Especially since he's decided to come to the center since the 2010 elections. Honestly, President O'Bama is the only centrist in Washington these days.

As far as O'Malley goes, like that bumper sticker says - don't blame me, I voted for Ehrlich.

Unfortunately, the Maryland Constitution doesn't provide for impeachment of the Governor. Alas, we are stuck with this money grabber for the duration of his term.

Once again I'll repeat my chant, Vote the incumbents out! It's the only way they will learn that they are supposed to serve us. We do not need, nor do we want, career politicians!!!!!!

Well maybe it's a good thing, Otherwise Lazy Bob Ehrlich would have only lasted only a couple of weeks.

Thank goodness for the Tea Party. Finally, we have a group of Americans willing to standup to spineless politicians that have done nothing but live on credit for the last 40 years.

Yes, really, let's have a Tea Party. Let's have more folks calling for smaller govt, lower taxes, reduced spending, and fiscal responsibility. Please, please, please! (this is not sarcasm). All O'Malley knows is tax and spend.

Seriously Robert? That is where your mind has wandered? Who is the disturbed one? OM wants to raise taxes in State that is losing its private companies residents to neighboring states and dependent upon an institutional and Federally funded economy that is going to be facing a potentially devastating defunding threat. And your concern is a would be politician from Ohio? We want people with ideas, humility and the ability to execute government functions and not ideological legislators looking to make a career on oppressing tax payers. Check your hardware and make sure it is still attached.

Like many liberals whenever Robert is faced with someone with fresh ideas and a sense of fiscal responsibility he resorts to disinformation and name calling. Instead of coming up with positive ideas to actually help avert economic disaster he tries to deflect the issue with some archaic reference or blatant instigation. I am hard pressed to think of anything positive that O'malley has done for our state. Certainly his fiscal policies are as inept as Obama's and that is the reason that businesses are fleeing our state. Lets look at his former office as mayor of Baltimore City. He did a wonderful job of taxing the dwindling base of taxpayers to the point that no one wants to move there and then passed the buck to his protege Steala Dixon. These are the kind of people this state has historically elected to office and now it is time to pay the piper. We cannot continue to spend money with no regard to the consequences. Our federal meal ticket will soon expire and this state will have to face the sobering reality that you cannot spend more than you make and taxing people to pay for the things you cannot afford will only further complicate the problem. It's a shame that there are so many people like Robert who just refuse to see the light until it is too late. Ironically, once it reaches that point they (extreme liberals) always seem to find someone else to point the finger at (like the tea party) instead of owning up to the mess that they made.

That's right, Lisa. Just like California and New York, they're already fleeing MD. Only Robert (above) and his ilk will be left to pay the taxes. They want it; let them!

Anne, Is right on!! Owe'Malley now has to PAY (thru us taxpayers) for all his ridiculous lies and deceits. He is a man who claimed to have STOPPED BGE with their rate increase. Only to have them postponed till AFTER the election to make him look good. Attack Ehrlich's PCS members as being in BGE's pocket, only to replace them with his on people who did nothing as the BGE rates increased. Then gave them a 42% pay increase!!! The man has NO SHAME!!! He delayed ALL the Maryland deficits till now that he is no longer able to run for governor. Let's hope (for all our sake) that the voters THIS TIME see him for what he is (as he runs for senate or some other office) and gets him out of all elected offices.

Lets remember that not only did Maryland have to foot the bill for Owe'Malley's postponement of the inevitable BGE price increase brought on by Paris Glendenings implementation of a price ceiling; they had to pay the interest on the loan that he used to postpone the price increase. O'malley is a typical politician who uses sleight of hand to postpone debt until he will no longer be held accountable. His budget proposals have proven his pass the buck policies over and over again. I guess the rainy day fund and stimulus were meant to balance our state budgets. But hey it's ok, we'll just raise the sales tax, increase the beverage tax, tax technology companies, double the fee for registering a vehicle, raise property taxes, and increase the tolls on the highways to pay for it. That will almost certainly draw businesses to our state and stimulate job growth. Lets not forget that we have to bear the burden of illegal immigrants with this budget too. We are all going to have to make sacrifices to make this state prosper.

John as a many year democrat, I now put my faith in most republcans. I can see the corruption inmd. I can see how omalley is pushing to the max with higher food, gas,*omalley wants another $1.00 tax added to gas*, utilities, speed and red light camers, Higher tolls, fines, permits. Everything has risen in cost drastically. Yet taxpayers pay $2billion a year to illegal aliens and $1billion a year in Md. goes to their children through grade 12 and because of the dream act that is a nightmare to voters, we expected to subsidize all illegal aliens in college and can come from all over our country to get lower cost college using our tax $$.. This is true and things omalley won't tell you. He caters to illegals "his New americans" John, because they vote. Welfare is now at 30% fraud and food stamp in Md. is #2 in the country for fraud. Maryland is #50 in america for job creation yet New americans working all our large outfits like whiting/turner/ akehurst/ many builders etc because they are omalley's campaign supporters. Illegal aliens are voting. Voter fraud is outrageously high in md california,nevada and a few others. They keep the corrupt in office. Omalley, viva la babs and others are corrupt. Corrupt = Tax $$ for political gain.

that's interesting, amdactivist.
As a long standing Republican all my life, I've basically abandoned the party due to their fiscal policies today. The Tea Party has brought some good, but it's (in my mind) to the point now where the good they do is about to turn bad.

They have forced Democrats to become centrists. However their complete unwillingness to raise taxes to any degree whatsoever flies in the face of common sense fiscal policy (much less debt reduction).

I will now vote Democrat (nationally) until these idiots in the Republican party kick Grover out of power and start allowing for both tax increases (especially on the mega wealthy, but not alone) and tax reform for corporations. Revenue increasing PLUS major cuts (with cuts comprising the appreciable majority) are the only realistic way to bring our debt down.

Cuts alone will do nothing more then promote class warfare. It's happening all around the world, and the seeds - the very beginnings - are occurring in cities around this country today.

Just wait until 2012 & beyond. The libs are going to come unglued.

It is a felony too!

I LOL'd.

Great statement Dottie!

AMD: Republicans are taking it too far, that's the problem for me. The Tea Party had value in reversing the free spending of the 2000's. However, in my mind, they've passed the point of being beneficial, and into the realm of equally detrimental to the country as the problems they formed to combat. They've tipped the scale too far in the other direction - with no plans on stopping.

I fundamentally agree with Republicans/Tea party folks on spending. However as I said it is an irrational and inexcusable flaw to ban ALL tax revenue streams, whether they be individual or corporate.

Unlike those morons at the last Republican debate, I'd WELCOME a 1 to 5 ratio of tax increases to cuts. Really, we just need 1 to 3, in my mind. 1 to 5 alone is really risky.
When they all - even Huntsman - said they wouldn't agree to a 1 to 10 ratio of taxes to cuts...I cringed.
There is no way a rational person can actually support this type of deficit reduction.. Cuts work - to a point. These same geniuses who want to cut everything will one day realize how foolish and short sighted this is.

If I was tasked with cutting 5 trillion from spending in the next 10 years (a fairly ambitious total), I'd do it 4 to 1. 4 trillion in cuts, 1 trillion in new taxes and corporate tax reform. I'd wager the bulk of this trillion would be garnered by simply lowering the corporate tax rate (yes, lower) and removing most loopholes and subsidies.

The Tea PArty people have a hard time of practicing what they preach. Just look at Joe Walsh.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/6720892-418/tea-party-rep.-joe-walsh-sued-for-100000-in-child-support

ROTFLMAO The Tea Party at it's finest. "The Party of Fiscal Responsibility".

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/tea-party-patriots-investigated-part-3

Robert: Most national level politicians don't practice what they preach.

I've worked on many Whiting and Turner jobs and I can assure with 100% certainty that although they do not directly employ illegals they do employ subcontractors that almost exclusively employ illegals. Frankly, since they are the ones in control of the money I don't really see the difference.

You can't say anything about the subject with 100% certainty. Have you looked at their employment papers?

Yes I can Robert. You have no idea what position I hold or what I do for a living and when I say that I am 100% certain, that is exactly what I mean.

Then if you are 100% sure they are "illegal" then why don't you call ICE?

You are full of Dookie.

"Then I say, the earth belongs to each of these generations during its course, fully and in its own right. The second generation receives it clear of the debts and incumbrances of the first, the third of the second, and so on. For if the first could charge it with a debt, then the earth would belong to the dead and not to the living generation. Then, no generation can contract debts greater than may be paid during the course of its own existence." --Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1789

"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government." - Thomas Jefferson

Whaaat! Bob Ehrlich gave more $$ to CASA than the Governor did.

The burden runs downhill all the way to the people who can least afford it: the poor, the elderly and the disabled. All while the billionaires pay less, as a percentage of their income than the average middle income family. This isn't right.

Bart: I agree. Then the Billionaires fabricate jedi-mind trick statistics saying how 45-50% of Americans don't pay federal tax, when truth is, it's because they don't earn enough money to do so!

TEA party = Taxed Enough Already! Like most average citizens and families, the government (Federal/State/Local) need to live/operate within their means and not on unlimited credit spending at the burden of the 50% whom do pay their taxes....I'm a Republican and I applaud the Tea Party for taking a stand when the overwhelming majority of liberal Democrats and some of my own Republicans won't. If we average "Joe American's" have to stay within our budget, so does Annapolis and Washington.

Butch: I simply don't agree. If you think our taxes are bad, you should look around the world. Americans have it easy.

All I'm saying is, you tea party people need to remember all this "living within your means" bluster when a couple years from now you don't get the same services and local funding from our government as we used to. Whether its highway upkeep, parks/rec funding, school upkeep, snow cleanup funding, I could go on and on.

There's a balancing point between cuts and tax hikes, and it's considerably more on the side of cuts then hikes. Still, without appropriate tax hikes and tax reform (at both the state and national level) this country will continue to degrade both socially and economically. History has proven this out.

Tim, the amount of waste that in our federal government is deplorable. I find it hard to understand why we need to raise taxes again when so much money is simply thrown away. Perhaps every federal agency should be subjected to an independent audit to find more revenues before we propose more tax increases. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/sen-tom-coburn-criticizes-wasteful-government-programs-2010/story?id=12437190
Why should taxpayers continue to be forced to throw money at these kinds of programs. Though I generally don't agree with totalitarian statements like the tea party stance of no taxes period, I am glad that they exist to help to counteract some of the wanton spending engaged upon by our congressional leaders and the current administration. I think that the implementation of a national sales tax on all purchases not necessary to survival in lieu of income tax would be a way to solve alot of this countries problems. Who cares if we have illegal immigrants if they have to pay the same taxes as everyone else. And the super rich wouldn't be able to get around paying taxes because they have to spend their money on something. It's just a thought but our current system obviously doesn't work and I think that if everyone were forced to pay their fair share the overall burden on the middle class would be drastically reduced.

Tim,
Nick summed it up nicely. It is really scary how some lefties just don't get it. Unfortunately we are getting to a point in American Society where there are more receivers than payers. Once that point is reached, the receivers will continue to vote themselves ever bigger slices of a pie that someone else has baked.
Americans are generous, but there is no need to give more to bloated local, state, and federal governments until they show true reform in how they spend it.

Nick,

I appreciate Tom Coburn's relatively impartial budget mindset. I agree with the bulk of your argument. I am anti-Tea party because of their staunch refusal to accept anything even resembling tax reform.

This country needs both tax reform AND spending reform. I agree that the Tea party has done some good - I've simply said they are going too far now.

I would love to see independent auditing of all government spending (federal, state, county). I am all for trimming true waste.

I just consider the mega wealthy only paying 15% (give or take) taxes on investments and hedge funds when they SHOULD be paying the max rate of 35% to be waste as well, in it's own way. Because like bad spending, it's money the government SHOULD have. Same goes for other tax loopholes, and all the subsidies that are completely unnecessary. Same goes with all of these mega corporations not paying anywhere near the "35% corporate tax rate".
Some subsidies have merit, but today many don't.

I just can't get into the Republican mindset of today that is all or nothing. No taxes, no tax reform, all cuts. Conveniently benefits the rich.

How right you are, Cassandra! The U. S. is still far and away the richest, most powerful nation in the world. Even the recent debt ceiling "panic" has little to do with the reality of the US's ability to pay its debts, and everything to do with the parties playing politics. Even the explanation S & P gave for the recent downgrade had everything to do with our government's inability to come to an agreement when EVERYTHING is at stake. It's all about politics now. How very sad. The US used to stand for something. Now it's all about how we can't do things.

Robert Armstrong, is that your real name? You are a real tool. Are you an operative for Rachael Madcow?

I do not DEMAND that someone give me an answer. I have a right to my opinion, as you do. The topic is O'Malley calling for budget cuts and tax increases. That is the topic of just about every state in the union and the Federal Government.
And, last I checked, this wasn't a Blog, the Patch asks for comments. I am making comments. End of story.

I agree. How can they justify needing more money when everything is suck a mess.

Infrastructure improvements were suppose to have been a big part of the first Obama stimulus plan which he lauded there would be "plenty of jobs created from these shovel ready projects." Oh, but wait, he just recently ADMITTED that the projects weren't in fact "shovel ready as he had thought." So where did all that stimulus money then go? Hmmmmm!!!!!!!!

That's all godo and fine, Butch, but there is a failed logic in America. To date, that logic has been "if we give the wealthy all kinds of breaks then they will create jobs." So I ask: 'WHERE ARE THOSE JOBS?'

The weathly should NOT have loopholes or tax breaks that are not given to the middle class and the poor. This is WHY there was a revolution in the 1917 in Russia. Do we need that again but this time on our shores? Think about it.

Trickle Down Economics has been proven time and again, over the past 3 decades, to be an irrelevant and thus failure of an economic policy.
It hasn't made the economy inherently worse over time, but it hasn't improved economic growth (defined by GDP) either. It's effects are limited solely to benefitting the rich.

Serriously, look no further then last year. Repubc demanded President Obama extend the BTC's for the wealthy. They claimed "It'll create jobs!". So the President gives in. Job creation? LOL. Nowhere to be found. Then they simply turn around and blame the President for spending too much.