O’Malley Madness

Maybe I’m brain-dead this morning, so please tell us:

Isn’t Bobby Ehrlich just as responsible — the State Board of Education has significant power over the local Boards?

Does O’Malley have any actual authority in the matter, or is this a(nother) cheap shot at him?

And, why is this on “Delmarva Dealings” — the subtitle is “political dealings in and around the Delmarva Peninsula”?

1. To the best of my knowledge this is a Baltimore City policy.

2. I don’t know how much actual authority O’Malley has in the matter. I also actually doubt that this issue was even near, much less on, O’Malley’s radar. While I will concede that this is a shot at O’Malley, I won’t concede that it’s cheap.

3. The key word here is “around”. We put up posts on state and national issues.

Hope that answered your questions.

Cato:

As Perry Mason once said: “you opened the door… so:

What’s the extent of your knowledge on the matter — some, none, etc?

Do you know for a fact that “this is a Baltimore City policy”? And, if so, is it subject to review or modification by the state B. of Ed.?

And, if O’Malley had no authority, why isn’t it a “cheap shot”?

When you ask “What is the extent of my knowledge?” I assume you are asking from a common, rather than epistemological point of view. My knowledge is clearly some. I am basing my views on an article in the Examiner and my admittedly limited knowledge of state and city education policy.

As I have found the “Examiner” to be fairly trustworthy to date, when they state that it is a city policy I have no reason to doubt them. As to modification by the state BOE, GET REAL! You know as well as I do that the Baltimore City Schools are off limits to the state BOE. When they have attempted to implement policies to improve the Baltimore schools the legislature has done everything they could to stop them. Couldn’t embarrass O’Malley in an election year.

As to being a cheap shot, no. It’s called alliteration. If O’Malley’s name was Donohue I probably wouldn’t have brought him into it as strongly. I just liked the sound of O’Malley Madness. You know, hoops, March Madness.

On the policy front, I don’t believe for one minute that O’Malley will be any improvement on Ehrlich. He’ll manage to accomplish some things that Ehrlich wanted but was denied by that disgraceful cabal in Annapolis, but I didn’t agree with most of those things anyway (slots, etc.) I wasn’t a fan of Ehrlich’s and to date I am more a fan of O’Malley’s band than his policies. Will he be better than Glendenning? No doubt. Does Maryland deserve better? You bet!

Do you believe that O’Malley would say no to something like a Wal-Mart bill? Of course he wouldn’t.

You probably assume correctly, whatever that BS word means. In point of fact, you prevaricate [see, I'm multisyllabic, too] about your knowledge. And you concluding paragraph belies your claim that you were simply being cute with the man’s name.

At last you have revealed your animus — speculation about how he will deal with the next Wal-Mart bill.

NO, NO, NO!

I did not prevaricate as to my knowledge of this situation. I linked to an article from the “Examiner”. You may not wish to take the reporter’s word, that’s fine.

As to my supposed animus towards Governor-elect O’Malley, it again depends on which definition of animus you are using. If you are using it to mean a basic disposition you are correct. However, I believe that you are using the other definition. I may have some prejudice against Mr. O’Malley, but I certainly bear him no ill will.

Are you going to tell me with a straight face that he would not sign another incarnation of the “Wal-Mart bill”? PLEASE. He will do whatever he feels necessary to secure him a second term. That means keeping his liberal base happy as well as the labor unions.

I often make the statement that “I failed Mind Reading 101 in school” but this is a no brainer. Does this make O’Malley a bad person? No. It makes him a liberal politician. This should be morally neutral. If he is a good or bad person it is because of other reasons. The fact remains that he is a liberal Dem governor in a quasi-liberal and heavily Dem state. He needs that base to push his big government programs which are at the heart of the Maryland Democratic party.

Feel free to comment back, but I probably won’t get back to you until Monday or Tuesday. Have a great weekend and a Happy New Year.

I’m not trying (”going”) to tell you anything about O’Malley. My reason for commenting on you post is because of the strong suspicion, now confirmed, that you were taking a “cheap shot” at the man.

If you did not prevaricate about your knowledge, then I never stole apples from Harry Byrd’s orchard.

BTW, it’s fine with me that you have no use for O’Malley as Governor; I’m not mad about him either. But trumped up innuendo warrants critical response.

Ditto on the greetings.

Cato:
You wrote:
“The fact remains that he is a liberal Dem governor in a quasi-liberal and heavily Dem state.”

If the Free State is only quasi-liberal, which state would be a GENUINE-liberal state?

As Cato says; PLEASE!

Tricky Dick, you are correct on the front side of your comment. I should really have said that Mr. O’Malley is a quasi-liberal Dem governor.

My reasoning behind this is quite simple. The power structure in the Free State is not truly liberal (in the post-New Deal sense of the word). The majority of men and women who control power in this state are power seekers, not public servants. If somehow the electorate of this state changed overnight to one that was staunchly conservative, many of these “leaders” would be singing the praises of Ronald Reagan.

They are simply balancing the demands of a broad array of constituencies to remain in power. The only method that is available to the modern Democrat party is to hand out taxpayer paid goodies. If you are a regular reader you will note that I have made the same claim of the post-Gingrich, DeLay - Hastert-Frist GOP majority in Congress.

Many of us toiled for years to see an idea based conservative majority in government and we wound up with Tip O’Neill light. The same problem is occurring in Virginia where a GOP-controlled state senate has taken the attitude that the only way to remain in power is to hand out massive amounts of transportation dollars rather than fixing the problem at hand. The GOP-controlled House of Delegates has finally offered a set of solutions and are being vilified in the press as “passing the buck”.

As to what states are genuinely liberal, first look to California. Even they are not TRUE liberals. You may not want to take the definition, but a true liberal (in the modern sense) is a socialist. They have no principles other than the discredited belief that the government can solve most if not all of our problems.

Yes, many of us poke fun at the People’s Republic of Maryland, but it is not as bad as some other states.  You need to remember that I am an ideological conservative, not someone who changes with circumstances.  In the political environment I grew up in we were “encouraged” to study the idea’s upon which our beliefs were based.  This was most prominent in Morton Blackwell’s “Read to Lead” concept.  Modern day liberals and far too many self-professed conservatives believe that you adapt these beliefs to the current circumstances.  This is one reason we are back to a Dem-controlled Congress.  Give me an unabashed liberal like Barney Frank any day of the week.  At least he’s honest and I know where he’s coming from.
Have a Happy New Year!

Ablogbunny -

Please explain the trumped up part. As I stated before, this particular issue may not have been on O’Malley’s radar. He still appoints members to the school board. In Wicomico, we can blame it all on the governor.

Cato
Yes the term quasi fits Martin (et.al.)like a glove.

Point well taken.
Under the classical definition most Dems. are not liberal, they are just panderers (a polite word for prostitute).

LINO’s Liberal In Name Only

Jerry Brown is another true liberal that comes to mind. He BELEIVES!