Key Points:

• The overriding issue this November will be jobs, job creation and job recovery. Under President Obama, we've now seen 26 positive months in a row of private sector job growth.
• Government should never dictate to faith how to define sacraments but we need to protect equal rights among our citizens. #MD4ME
• Our marriage equality law has some of the most specific protections for religious freedom in the country.

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Dr. Janie Hydrick, thank you very much. It’s great to be with all of you. My fellow Democrats, distinguished citizens, distinguished elected officials, Martin Harvier and distinguished tribal leaders, Chairman Roe, and all of you.

I love and greatly admire your former Governor, Janet Napolitano. She is a terrific person and a terrific governor, and we’re all very proud of the leadership she’s now providing at the Department of Homeland Security.

It is good to see friends like Fred DuVall who have been such a tremendous help to the Democratic Governors Association through the years – and also to meet some new friends like Chad Campbell, as well as many friends who came to a reception just before this event to help us with our Maryland Marriage Equality campaign.

I bring you greetings from your friends in Maryland – the original "Land of the Free and Home of the Brave" – where this year we embark upon the bicentennial of the War of 1812, and our moment in history with the Defense of Baltimore and the birth of the Star Spangled Banner..."

At first blush, it may seem like our states are fairly different – East-West, Grand Canyon-Chesapeake Bay, Sequoia trees and Saguaro cactuses – but there is one thing we most certainly have in common. During the winter months, both our states are heavily populated by Marylanders.

We also share something else in common; you are the proud home of the ASU Sun Devils,…we’re the summer home of Dick Cheney. Actually, I’ve come to have a new found respect for Dick Cheney, who actually made some calls to help us pass marriage equality in Maryland – and that was even before he had his heart enlarged.

For all our differences, there is much that our two states have in common. First among them is the strength we draw from our diversity – diversity of geography, diversity of economy, and above all, a beautiful diversity of people. One of the things that differentiates Arizona's Democrats from the tea-partying elements in your State House, is that you understand and believe that the diversity of your state, and of our country, is a strength and not a weakness.

When my Irish great grandparents first emigrated to the United States, they settled in Bisbee to work in the Copper Queen Mine. Immigrant people, whose native tongue was not English, but whose hopes and dreams for their children were purely American.

Yours is a beautiful and blessed State.

And you and your fellow Arizonans have a chance to lead the way in restoring the forward movement of our country,…indeed, Arizona can make history by casting the 270th electoral vote that gives President Obama four more years to keep moving America forward, and not back!

You can make history by replacing Jon Kyl in the United States Senate with Richard Carmona!

You can say “no” to Sheriff Joe and “yes” to Paul Penzone!

And you can turn the page on the "Do-Nothing," Republican Tea Party Congress by electing Ron Barber in June, and then winning the 1st, 2nd, and 9th districts in November!

I for one am optimistic that through your hard work, you will convince your fellow Arizonans to turn Arizona blue. Why? Three words: Mayor Greg Stanton. Three more words: Mayor Jonathan Rothschild. There is a certain camaraderie among mayors – once a mayor always a mayor. One of the things I loved best about my job as Mayor is that you bring people together to get difficult, important things done. That’s what these great mayors are doing every day. They are living proof that good things happen when we as Democrats focus on jobs.

DIGNITY

It's great to be hosted tonight by the people of the Salt River Indian Community. This past year, for the first time in Maryland's 380-year history, we recognized the Native Peoples of our place, the Piscataway tribes. In a very moving ceremony in our State House rotunda you could see in the faces of those little Piscataway boys and girls, and the yearning that exists in every human heart to be recognized, to be seen, to belong.

In many ways, that's what it means to be an American, isn't it? To belong. To be connected in a personal way to the ongoing revolutionary story of a great and generous people, a people united by the belief we share in the dignity of every individual... the dignity of work, the dignity of a job, the dignity of every child's home.

The dignity that exists in the eyes of every American child of immigrant parents who want to be able to go on to college, who pledge allegiance to the flag of the Republic they have the ability and the desire to make stronger, better. The dignity that inspired us to pass the DREAM Act in Maryland, and that inspired President Obama to pledge to sign the national DREAM Act, too.

Like so many of your own parents, my father fought the forces of fascism and imperial tyranny in World War II so that his children and grandchildren could walk freely on the streets of their hometown without being stopped, without cause, and forced to show their papers,... for the freedom from fear anywhere in world: and most especially here.

Tonight in our short time together, I would like to speak with you about the challenges that you and I – led by our courageous President Barack Obama – have taken on. I'd like to speak with you about the two competing and very different visions that struggle for our country's future. And finally, I’d like to suggest how we win the important electoral choice at hand,...

FORWARD OR BACK?

First of all, what is it about our vision that it makes it so fundamentally different in direction from that of our current day Tea Party Republican opponents?

You see, people like Richard Carmona, people like Congressman Grijalva and Congressman Pastor, people like President Obama, Democratic governors, Democratic mayors, Democratic Party activists and citizens, we believe in an America that is not only united by our belief in the dignity of every individual, we see an America that is moving forward.

We see an America that is still growing in every way. An America that is creating jobs and expanding opportunity. An America that is once again strengthening and growing the ranks of an ever more inclusive middle class; an America with greater economic security and greater freedoms for the many.

Our vision, like our parents and grandparents, is of an America whose best days are still ahead of us,...this is our vision.

Now, what of their vision?

Sadly, one of the longest Republican presidential primaries in my adult memory has come to a close. In a way, I hated to see it end. My wife's favorite television series is the Good Wife. My favorite television series was the sad reality show called: "The Republican Presidential Primaries." In the end, everyone got voted off the island of fear and loathing, except Governor Romney who won the survival game armed with nothing but an endless supply of money and his trusty Etch-a-Sketch.

But we saw in the course of their primaries – between the booing of the uniformed serviceman who happened to be gay, and the cheering for unplugging patients on life-support – was a very different vision for America's future.

Governor Romney along with a new breed of Republican governors like Jan Brewer – and the tea-partying legislators who have taken over their once proud Party – they pledge allegiance to a very small, narrow, exclusive vision of America's future: an America of the one percent, by the one percent, and for the one percent.

It is not a vision that keeps faith with our grandparents vision, or is loyal to a better life for all of America's children.

It is the vision of an America that can no longer afford to grow its middle class or send its children to college, or to the doctor. An America where jobs and opportunities are shrinking. An America where women's rights, worker's rights, even voting rights are all being rolled back. An America whose best days are behind her.

Sure, Mitt Romney says he'll focus on jobs – that's what Jan Brewer said too – but in easier times when Mitt Romney was governor of Massachusetts, his state ranked 47th out of 50 states in rate of job growth.

He promises to veto the DREAM Act, which he falsely calls a handout when he knows it is not. Governor Romney says that 1070 should be a “model” for the nation. His solution to immigration reform is quote unquote “self-deportation.” Governor Romney is the most extreme nominee on the immigration issue of any nominee in recent history.

So, when Jan Brewer and Mitt Romney say they want to take America back, we might ask them, back to what? Back to the 1950's? Back to the days of “aspirin as birth control”? Back to the days before voting rights?

Back to the record job losses of the Bush recession? Back to devastating days of ever rising home foreclosures and ever rising unemployment rates? Back to the days of record deficits and the wars without end of the Bush Administration?

I suppose in their minds, nothing says job creation quite like creating an official tea party license plate!

We don't want to go back, we want to move forward.

FORWARD, NOT BACK

Progress is a choice. Job creation is a choice. Expanding opportunity and making college more affordable, rather than more expensive, is a choice. Investing in research and development for an economy that lasts is a choice.

Harnessing the power of life science and biotech and better ways to feed, fuel, and heal this world; creating a new chapter together in the revolutionary story of America – this too is a choice.

These things won't happen by themselves – they only happen when we choose, together, to make them happen.

No President since Franklin Delano Roosevelt inherited a worse economy, bigger job losses, as many wars, or as large a deficit as our President inherited from the bad decisions of former President George W. Bush. Let's all agree tonight never to say the words “deficit,” “recession,” or “job losses,” without preceding them correctly with the personal pronoun “Bush.”

The truth can darn well defend herself, but she needs to be stated. So I hope I can have your help with some audience participation – when you hear me say "moving America", let me hear you say, “forward, not back!”

With 26 months in a row of positive private sector job creation -- sing it with me -- President Obama is moving America forward, not back!

With more jobs created last year than during the entire disastrous 8 year presidency of George W. Bush, President Obama is moving America forward, not back!

By driving home foreclosures down to the lowest level in four years, President Obama is moving America forward, not back!

By driving unemployment down to its lowest levels in three long years, President Obama is moving America forward, not back!

Facts are stubborn things: Job creation is up. Unemployment is down.

And because of President Obama's leadership, General Motors is alive and hiring, and Osama Bin Laden is not -- we move forward, not back!

IT'S NOT A CAR, IT'S A COUNTRY

Our parents and grandparents didn't give us a car, they gave us a country. It's not a thing to be traded in when the carburetor gets old or its engine starts to knock. She is something to be treasured, loved, strengthened, and built up.

It's not about what other countries are doing to us, it's about what we can and must do for ourselves.

To create jobs, a modern economy requires modern investments: investments by all of us, for all of us. Educating, Innovating, Rebuilding. That's not a Democratic or a Republican idea; it's an economic and historic truth. It is an American truth. It was true for our parents, it was true for our grandparents, and it is the truth that has built our country.

And so, as we search in this election for the good intentions of our neighbors, for common ground, and for the way forward, perhaps we should ask one another -- how much less do we think would be good for our country? How much less education would be good for our economy? How much less public safety? How many fewer college degrees would be good for our global competitiveness? How much less research and development would be good for our country's new economy, or the challenges we face on this finite planet? How many hungry American kids can we no longer afford to feed?

CONCLUSION

I leave you tonight with a story. The time is 1814, and Washington has been burned to the ground. The people of Baltimore have seen the glow from the flames of destruction in the southern sky. And the British General who burned Washington to the ground, has declared “I am going to march on Baltimore and dine there” – because even then we had great restaurants – "and then I'm going to burn it to the ground."

Well, the people of Baltimore had something else planned. Against the overwhelming “shock and awe” force of its own day, the people of Baltimore stood firm. Sixty percent of the defenders of Baltimore were immigrants. One out of five were African-American citizens of a slave-holding country, only one third of whom at the time were free.

The Star Spangled Banner -- the giant flag that was hoisted over Ft. McHenry as the British guns finally fell silent -- was stitched together by black and white hands, men's hands, women's hands, hands of freedom, hands that were not free, the hands of nation that is always growing and evolving – and the thread that stitched those stars and stripes together was the thread of human dignity, the dignity of home, the dignity of work, the dignity of every individual.

The United States of America is the greatest job-generating, opportunity-expanding entity ever created by a free people in the history of civilization. Let us not be the first generation of Americans to give our children a lesser quality of life with fewer opportunities and fewer freedoms.

The better and stronger America we seek is ahead of us -- like the dawn's early light – it is forward, not back. Thank you all very much.

Click here to read the Governor's acceptance speech.

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March 23, 2012

As Prepared for Delivery

Thank you and Cathy for your leadership of the great state of Connecticut – you have a great mayor, and great governor – in Dan Malloy. Dan, thank you.

Once a mayor, always a mayor. I consider that the highest title, second only to “citizen of the Republic.” It is really great to be with all of you. You look so good from up here – what a tremendous, large, enthusiastic crowd you have here in Connecticut for the Jefferson Jackson Bailey Dinner.

It was great to see Barbara Kennelly and her family a little earlier. It’s also great to be with Lieutenant Governor Wyman, Mayor Segarra, Chairwoman DiNardo, and all of you. You have a great congressional delegation, you know that? Rosa DeLauro, John Larson, Chris Murphy, Joe Courtney, Jim Himes. And you have such a great tradition of public service and Democratic leadership in our state: Chris Dodd, who represented Connecticut so well for so many years. Kevin Reynolds, congratulations to you on your well-deserved leadership award tonight.

It is also good to see my god-brother, Dan Pickett whose father, Jack -- my godfather -- was a stalwart of the Connecticut Democratic Party. Our families shared some great days at Crystal Lake in Middletown.

If you think about it, Connecticut and Maryland have a lot in common. Both our states have tremendous strengths in this new economy if you look at, for example, the Milken Institute and Kauffman New Economy index rankings. What’s more:

You are the Nutmeg State; Maryland is the Old Bay State.

You are the Constitution State; we are birthplace of the Star Spangled Banner.

You are the home of professional wrestling, … and we are next door to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

Speaking of professional wrestling – we’re seeing a lot of that among the GOP presidential candidates lately, aren’t we? Have you watched any of these presidential debates among the Republican candidates? They’re wonderful to watch – they’re a lot like Linda McMahon’s WWE: lots of bombast, lots of bluster, but at the end of the day not really grounded in reality, are they?

Since our nation's Revolutionary founding, the people of Connecticut and the people of Maryland have led these United States forward. And the common thread that has united our work together is the thread of human dignity -- the dignity of work, the dignity of a job, the dignity of every child's home, the dignity of every individual.

Tonight, I’m very honored to be here with all of you, and I thank Dan Malloy for the invitation, Governor, to be with you.

I want to share with you just a couple of thoughts, if I may, about the questions that we need to answer in Maryland and that we need to answer here in Connecticut, if we are as a nation to move forward and not back.

While Governor Malloy, while President Obama, while Democratic governors across our country focus on creating jobs and expanding opportunity to move America forward, there is a new strain of Republican – and they are not like the Lincoln Republicans of old. They are governors, they are legislators, they are candidates – they are better financed than ever before, and they are determined to take America back.

And they seek to take us back not only economically to the miserable years of job loss and recession that was the presidency of George W. Bush, but they also seek to take us back culturally, with divisive wedge issues that are designed only to make us fear one another, to make us separate, to make us divide, to drive us apart.

Now unlike the longer and better traditions of the Republican Party of Lincoln, this new Tea Party of Romney, of Gingrich, of Santorum and others pledges allegiance to a very small, narrow, exclusive idea of our country. Their idea is of an America that can only create opportunities for the few. An America that can only accommodate the freedoms, the equal rights, the voting rights of some. An America of the one percent, by the one percent and for the one percent.

So when they say they want to take America back, all of us together need to ask, “back to what”?

Back to the record job losses of the Bush recession? Back to the days of aspirin as birth control? Back to the days before voting rights? Back to the record deficits and wars without end of the Bush Administration?

Instead of creating jobs and expanding new opportunities, when this new strain of Republicans gain power – and you’ve seen it in state after state – they put all their energy not into job creation, not into expanding opportunity, but into concentrating wealth, into limiting opportunities, restricting freedoms, and rolling back rights.

What am I talking about? I’m talking about rolling back voting rights, rolling back women's rights, rolling back access to healthcare, rolling back worker's rights, rolling back the very promise of shared responsibilities, and expanded opportunities for all. Crafting a future of restricted freedoms, and limiting the highest possibilities to only the few.

And folks, Connecticut – this is not some scary tale of what they might do if they get elected. This is what they are already doing. They are doing it in Florida, they’re doing it in New Jersey, they’re doing it in Wisconsin, they’re doing it in Ohio, and they’re doing it more recently in Virginia.

Now, here in Connecticut, when faced with the choice of moving forward or back, you chose to move forward by electing a Democratic governor in Dan Malloy for the first time in twenty years. I’ve never known a governor that works as hard, or a mayor that works as hard, as Governor Malloy. He can’t clean up in twenty years of mess in just two years, but he’s moving Connecticut forward.

I don’t have to remind you what he inherited: a deficit that was actually larger on a per capita basis - $3.6 billion – than any state in America. But he’s moving Connecticut forward.

Governor Malloy doesn’t make excuses; he brings people together. He makes tough decisions, he makes progress. Progress to create jobs, progress to expand opportunity, the sort of progress that only happens when leaders have the guts to make the tough decisions and the right decisions now. And this is the audience participation part: and I want you to sing it with me when you hear the chorus, are you ready?

With 16,300 jobs Connecticut businesses created last year, Team Malloy is moving Connecticut – all together now – forward, not back.

By stabilizing Connecticut’s finances in the toughest of fiscal climates, Team Malloy is moving Connecticut forward, not back.

By launching "Bioscience Connecticut" to create jobs and opportunities today and the jobs of the future, Team Malloy is moving Connecticut forward, not back.

With tough choices to make Connecticut’s pension system sustainable for the long term, Team Malloy is moving Connecticut forward, not back.

And by fighting for Connecticut’s working families, by fighting to extend collective bargaining rights for child care and home care providers, Governor Malloy is moving Connecticut forward, not back.

Now at the national level, no President since Franklin Delano Roosevelt – let’s be honest – inherited a bigger mess than President Obama inherited. Anyone can lead in easy times; it takes guts, it takes strength, it takes courage to lead in tough times. The sort of guts, the sort of strength, the sort of courage that Dan and I saw in our President the other day when he met with the Democratic governors of the United States of America.

We have a lot of work still to do, but my fellow Democrats, let's not take our eyes off of the road we have chosen to travel. Twenty four months in a row of positive job creation. We haven’t done that as a country since 2005, 2006. With more American jobs created over the last year in the private sector than were created all eight years of George W. Bush, Barack Obama is moving us forward, and not back.

By driving unemployment down to it’s lowest levels in three years, President Obama is moving America forward, and not back.

By driving home foreclosures down to their lowest levels in four years, Barack Obama is moving America forward, and not back.

By saving the 1.4 million jobs in the auto industry, Barack Obama is moving America forward, and not back. UAW.

We’ve got an important decision to make this November. And there is no reality outside of the context of story. I don’t think that as Democrats, we have a better story to tell our neighbors about the difference between presidential leadership for jobs of Barack Obama, and Mitt Romney’s Etch-A-Sketch candidacy – we have no better story to tell than the story of the turnaround of the American auto industry.

It did not happen by chance, it did not happen because of luck, it happened because of choices. It happened because of presidential leadership. The investment the President asked our country to make in this turnaround was unpopular. Lots of critics. But President Obama knew that the base of American manufacturing jobs is the American auto industry.

He knew that if GM collapsed, likely the other American auto industries would collapse with them. The supply chain, which creates another two jobs for every one in the auto industry, would also collapse. And he did what we elected him to do. He made the right decisions, he turned around the auto industry, and millions of Americans are working today because of it.

Get this – the story goes on. The good news is GM repaid that loan. GM last year had their most profitable year. GM is now number one in the auto industry, and American manufacturing is now growing and hiring again for the first time since the 1990s, something your governor pointed out the other day on the Front Lawn of the White House: our President has done something nobody thought would happen again – American manufacturing is hiring and putting people back to work again.

Now contrast that for your neighbors with Mitt Romney. What was Mitt Romney's approach? Governor Etch-A-Sketch? We don't have to wonder, because he actually wrote it in an editorial at the time. His turnaround plan, his plan for turning around American manufacturing and the auto industry was summed up in four words: "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt." That’s what he said. That's not an economic policy, that's not an economic plan. That’s a lack of an economic policy. That's lack of leadership. No wonder after four years of Mitt Romney in Massachusetts, you know where Massachusetts ranked in job creation among the 50 states? 47th. 47th in job creation.

As Americans, we realize that we all do better when everyone does better. Success breeds success. Recovery builds on recovery. Yes, the facts are stubborn things, and the truth must be stated: under President Obama's leadership, GM is alive and hiring, and Osama Bin Laden is not.

Barack Obama for President!

Progress is a choice. Job creation is a choice. Moving forward and not back, this too is a choice.

For the last decade, let’s be honest with one another – we have been severely under-capitalizing and under-utilizing the great idea that our parents gave to us of the United States of America. We have been selling our country short, selling our children’s future short.

Therefore, today we face a host of deficits – yes, we face a federal deficit in our federal budget – but we also face an understanding deficit, we face a jobs deficit, we face a compassion deficit, we face and understanding deficit – and these, my friends, these are the enemies within.

It’s not what other countries are doing to us; it’s what we are not doing for ourselves. To create jobs, a modern economy requires modern investments: investments by all of us, for all of us. Educating, Innovating, Rebuilding. That’s not a Democratic or a Republican idea, is it? That’s an American idea. It’s an historic and an economic truth. And so, in this upcoming election, as we search for the good intentions of all of our neighbors, for common ground, and for the way forward, let's ask one another honestly - how much less do we think would be good for our country?

How much less education would be best for our children? How much less public safety would be good for our cities? Without anger, meanness or fear -- how many fewer bridges, roads, and tunnels can we do without? How many of our seniors can we no longer afford to care for? How many hungry American children can we no longer afford to feed?

The country – this country that Connecticut has always carried in its hearts – this country that we work to build up, it is not a small, or narrow, or limiting place. Not a place of less. Our idea of country is a land that creates opportunities not just for the few; not just good jobs for a couple generations; not health care, homeownership, college education for fewer and fewer; freedom, opportunity, and equal rights only for some. Like our parents and grandparents, our idea of America is something bigger, something always growing better, a place that’s always becoming more inclusive, more extensive.

You and I are Democrats because we believe in an America large enough to hold the hopes and dreams of every one of our children.

We are Democrats because we believe the way forward is always to be found through greater respect for the human dignity and equal rights of all.

We are Democrats because we believe in an America where, together, we choose to move forward, not back.

And so, Connecticut, let’s re-elect Barack Obama President, let’s send a Democrat to the United States Senate from Connecticut, because in the words of Bruce Springsteen, “the country we carry in our hearts is waiting.”

Thank you all very, very much. Great to be with you all. Goodnight.

Governor O'Malley signed the Civil Marriage Protection Act of 2012 making Maryland the 8th State to recognize civil marriage rights and religious freedom equally. Read his oped in the Huffington Post where he talks about the reasons why he signed the bill into law.

Dignity for All: Why I Signed Same-Sex Marriage into Maryland Law

During the debate in Maryland's House, I joined same-sex marriage supporters outside of the chambers who were anxiously awaiting the vote. I met two moms and their 4-year-old son Will. After standing for hours, Will was tired and seemed a bit uninterested. I could only imagine how hard it would be to understand the complex discussions as a 4-year-old.

But the next day I saw a photo of Will and his family taken right after the House voted in support of marriage equality. His little face was lit up with joy, and he was cheering as his moms hugged him with the love that only a mother can provide. Will may not have understood the debates, but his smile after the vote proved one very important thing: even a 4-year-old knows the value of human dignity.

Yesterday was a day for Maryland's children. It was a day for human dignity. After years of hard work, we signed a bill into law that protects individual civil marriage rights and religious freedom equally. Yesterday, we came together as One Maryland and showed that there is more that unites us than divides us.

Our efforts were in essence about the dignity of every child's home. All of us, wherever we happen to stand on the marriage equality issue, can agree that all our children deserve the opportunity to live in a loving, caring, committed, and stable home, protected equally under the law.

Religious freedom was the very reason for our state's founding. And at the heart of religious freedom is respect for the freedom of individual conscience.

We are a people of many different religions and many different faiths. The only way forward in a pluralistic society of diverse faiths such as ours is to have laws that protect and respect the freedom of all, equally.

That's why we joined together -- as clergy and faith-based leaders, as community activists and civil rights leaders, as volunteers, as legislators, and as citizens -- and passed a bill that provides equal protection under the law for every individual, and the free exercise of religion without government interference.

The common thread running through our efforts together in Maryland is the thread of human dignity: the dignity of work, the dignity of faith, the dignity of family, the dignity of every individual, the dignity of a free people who, at the end of the day, all want the same thing for our children.

We are One Maryland.

Belling the No-New-Taxes Cat

Credit Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland with political courage in daring the Legislature to face up to the state’s neglected roads and transit needs by, yes, raising the gasoline tax. It was last increased 20 years ago with no index for inflation. State lawmakers, fearing the voters’ wrath, have neglected this responsibility ever since.

In his State of the State address, Mr. O’Malley, a Democrat, bucked the no-new-taxes delusions with a blunt reminder that, sooner or later, taxpayers must pay for the services they enjoy. He also proposed several revenue and fee increases to pay for education and other programs.

The gas-tax proposal would phase in across three years an additional 6 percent sales tax on gasoline, the same that is levied now on general goods. This would float with the wholesale cost of gas and eventually add an estimated 18 cents to the cost of a gallon while raising $615 million a year in revenues.

While Republicans and some Democrats loudly protest that the governor is asking too much of taxpayers in hard times, their complaints of his “job killing” agenda hardly stacks up against the likely growth in transportation projects. For drivers, the net effect would leave the total cost of state and federal fuel taxes at 17 percent of the pump price, compared with the 20 percent it was 20 years ago, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Mr. O’Malley, in his final term and a subject of presidential speculation for 2016, is not backing down. He argues that elected officials can no longer escape the “tough choices” of public service by resorting to no-new-taxes pandering that never built a bridge nor paved a road.

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Highlights from 2011:

• Through November, we created 26,700 new jobs
• We had the largest single-month drop in the unemployment rate since 1984
• Our schools continue to rank #1 in the nation
• Crime is at its lowest level since 1975
• We met the spending affordability committee guidelines for 5 years
• We remain one of only eight states to maintain a Triple A bond rating
• Together, we expanded health care to 300,000 previously uninsured Marylanders--more than half of whom are children

More here: http://www.gov.state.md.us/documents/2011ReviewFinal.pdf

This year, our top priority will remain creating and saving jobs through a balanced approach of tough, targeted choices that spur job creation.

I'm always so amazed by how many Marylanders spend their free time volunteering and working to create a positive impact in our communities. That's why, this holiday season, we launched the Maryland: Stronger Together campaign, a way to highlight the important work of Maryland volunteers and encourage more Marylanders to get involved.
 
Katie, Lt. Governor Brown, members of my administration and I have been volunteering with folks across our state at shelters, soup kitchens and various non-profits. There's still plenty of time to join and we hope you'll take part in the Maryland: Stronger Together campaign.
 
From our family to yours, Happy Holidays.

The President’s act will allow us to rebuild our roads, bridges and tunnels while at the same time creating jobs. Here’s a list of five projects that would benefit immediately:

1. Replace the I-695 Baltimore Beltway bridge over Milford Mill Road in Baltimore County. The existing bridge was constructed 50 years ago, and it’s now no longer wide enough to accommodate today’s traffic demand.
2. Replace the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge (Maryland-4) over Woodyard Road (Maryland-233) in Prince George’s County. The dual bridges that handle Pennsylvania Avenue traffic over Woodyard Road are no longer wide enough to accommodate the traffic load.
3. Improve safety at Martin Luther King Boulevard (or Maryland-704) in Prince George’s County. This project will make it safer for both automobile and pedestrian traffic along this road. It will create bike lanes, decrease traffic speed by reducing the number of traffic lanes, and make safety upgrades to sidewalks and pedestrian signals.
4. Improve the intersection of Maryland-22 and Old Post Road near Aberdeen in Harford County.
5. Replace the MTA Kirk Bus Facility in Baltimore City. Right now, this bus facility is obsolete, and it causes a lot of noise and pollution for its neighbors. The new LEED-Silver certified facility will bring maintenance and operations activities of the facility indoors, reducing noise and air pollution while improving efficiency.

This filibuster by Senate Republicans contradicted the advice of economic experts, who project that the bill will create almost two million jobs, and it rejected the recommendation by 16 Democratic governors that Congress consider this bill without delay.

With this rejection Republicans have unfortunately made it clear that they will stop at nothing to deny the President a political victory, even if that also means denying many Americans the opportunity to find work.

Creating jobs need not be a partisan issue. Many of the proposals in the American Jobs Act are being put into action by governors—both Democratic and Republican—in the states. And every one of the ideas in the American Jobs Act has been supported by members of both political parties. Yet partisan politics are getting in the way of commonsense, bipartisan measures that we know will create jobs.

Every day, the American people work hard at their jobs. Rightfully so, they expect government to do ours. This is our opportunity to work together for all Americans to create jobs and opportunity now.

I urge Congress to reconsider last night’s vote and immediately pass this bill. --Governor Martin 

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"The President has put forth a balanced and responsible plan to reduce the deficit and accelerate our nation's jobs recovery. President Obama is right to focus on the smart decisions and smart investments-in education, innovation, and infrastructure-that we know will create jobs and opportunity now. And unlike the proposals put forth by Congressional Republicans, President Obama's plan asks Americans of all income levels to contribute their fair share to reducing the deficit.

I look forward to working with the President, Congress, and governors of both parties to identify ways that we can reform Medicaid. I am confident that we can find commonsense solutions to reduce costs and improve patient outcomes without dropping health care coverage for our most vulnerable citizens or shifting costs to individuals and the states.

“I join the President in urging Congressional Republicans to put aside partisan politics and to focus on creating jobs and opportunity now for our families.”

Click here to learn more about the nearly 19,000 jobs that the plan will create for Maryland.

He writes, "While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks."

"Since 1992, the I.R.S. has compiled data from the returns of the 400 Americans reporting the largest income. In 1992, the top 400 had aggregate taxable income of $16.9 billion and paid federal taxes of 29.2 percent on that sum. In 2008, the aggregate income of the highest 400 had soared to $90.9 billion — a staggering $227.4 million on average — but the rate paid had fallen to 21.5 percent."

Read the full text here and below:

Stop Coddling the Super-Rich

By Warren Buffett

OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched.

While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks. Some of us are investment managers who earn billions from our daily labors but are allowed to classify our income as “carried interest,” thereby getting a bargain 15 percent tax rate. Others own stock index futures for 10 minutes and have 60 percent of their gain taxed at 15 percent, as if they’d been long-term investors.

These and other blessings are showered upon us by legislators in Washington who feel compelled to protect us, much as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species. It’s nice to have friends in high places.

Last year my federal tax bill — the income tax I paid, as well as payroll taxes paid by me and on my behalf — was $6,938,744. That sounds like a lot of money. But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income — and that’s actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent.

If you make money with money, as some of my super-rich friends do, your percentage may be a bit lower than mine. But if you earn money from a job, your percentage will surely exceed mine — most likely by a lot.

To understand why, you need to examine the sources of government revenue. Last year about 80 percent of these revenues came from personal income taxes and payroll taxes. The mega-rich pay income taxes at a rate of 15 percent on most of their earnings but pay practically nothing in payroll taxes. It’s a different story for the middle class: typically, they fall into the 15 percent and 25 percent income tax brackets, and then are hit with heavy payroll taxes to boot.

Back in the 1980s and 1990s, tax rates for the rich were far higher, and my percentage rate was in the middle of the pack. According to a theory I sometimes hear, I should have thrown a fit and refused to invest because of the elevated tax rates on capital gains and dividends.

I didn’t refuse, nor did others. I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone — not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 — shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain. People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off. And to those who argue that higher rates hurt job creation, I would note that a net of nearly 40 million jobs were added between 1980 and 2000. You know what’s happened since then: lower tax rates and far lower job creation.

Since 1992, the I.R.S. has compiled data from the returns of the 400 Americans reporting the largest income. In 1992, the top 400 had aggregate taxable income of $16.9 billion and paid federal taxes of 29.2 percent on that sum. In 2008, the aggregate income of the highest 400 had soared to $90.9 billion — a staggering $227.4 million on average — but the rate paid had fallen to 21.5 percent.

The taxes I refer to here include only federal income tax, but you can be sure that any payroll tax for the 400 was inconsequential compared to income. In fact, 88 of the 400 in 2008 reported no wages at all, though every one of them reported capital gains. Some of my brethren may shun work but they all like to invest. (I can relate to that.)

I know well many of the mega-rich and, by and large, they are very decent people. They love America and appreciate the opportunity this country has given them. Many have joined the Giving Pledge, promising to give most of their wealth to philanthropy. Most wouldn’t mind being told to pay more in taxes as well, particularly when so many of their fellow citizens are truly suffering.

Twelve members of Congress will soon take on the crucial job of rearranging our country’s finances. They’ve been instructed to devise a plan that reduces the 10-year deficit by at least $1.5 trillion. It’s vital, however, that they achieve far more than that. Americans are rapidly losing faith in the ability of Congress to deal with our country’s fiscal problems. Only action that is immediate, real and very substantial will prevent that doubt from morphing into hopelessness. That feeling can create its own reality.

Job one for the 12 is to pare down some future promises that even a rich America can’t fulfill. Big money must be saved here. The 12 should then turn to the issue of revenues. I would leave rates for 99.7 percent of taxpayers unchanged and continue the current 2-percentage-point reduction in the employee contribution to the payroll tax. This cut helps the poor and the middle class, who need every break they can get.

But for those making more than $1 million — there were 236,883 such households in 2009 — I would raise rates immediately on taxable income in excess of $1 million, including, of course, dividends and capital gains. And for those who make $10 million or more — there were 8,274 in 2009 — I would suggest an additional increase in rate.

My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It’s time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice.

Warren E. Buffett is the chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway.

 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/opinion/stop-coddling-the-super-rich.html

Watch Governor O'Malley talk about how tea-party obstructionism in Washington is keeping us from restoring the balanced approach that America's always used: investing our future, investing in job creation and also being fiscally responsible at the same timeomy ours.

Anne Arundel 

Annapolis

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/birthdayhouseparty/gpk8d8

Laurel

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/birthdayhouseparty/gpk8wf

Millersville

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/birthdayhouseparty/gpk8gs

Baltimore City

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/birthdayhouseparty/gpk8c5

Baltimore County

Lutherville-Timonium

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/birthdayhouseparty/gpk8vz 

Calvert County

Prince Fredrick

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/birthdayhouseparty/gpkp5v

Carroll County

Westminster

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/birthdayhouseparty/gpkyt2

Charles County

La Plata

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/birthdayhouseparty/gpkp5w 

Fredrick County

Fredrick

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/birthdayhouseparty/gpk9d7 

Harford County

Aberdeen

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/birthdayhouseparty/gpkpwh

Howard County

Columbia

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/birthdayhouseparty/gpk8d9

Montgomery County

Silver Spring

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/birthdayhouseparty/gpk8qz

Prince George's

Bowie

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/birthdayhouseparty/gpkyrc

College Park

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/birthdayhouseparty/gpkp54

Fort Washington

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/birthdayhouseparty/gpkp5y

Bowie (on the 6th)

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/birthdayhouseparty/gpk957

Largo

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/birthdayhouseparty/gpkp5l

St. Mary's County

Leonardtown

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/birthdayhouseparty/gpkytd

Read his post in the HuffingtonPost to learn more:

"This week, Moodys placed our country's AAA bond rating under review. We are now no longer weeks away from default, we are days. The threats are real, the consequences are great and the implications for our country's future financial health are frightening.

Over the past few weeks, we've seen divisiveness and political gamesmanship like we've never seen before. We've seen a new wing of the Republican party emerge with one goal and one goal only and that is to defeat President Obama in the upcoming election -- even if it means killing the jobs recovery and risking our country's financial stability.

I want to be very clear. If these Republicans do not join with President Obama to raise the debt ceiling, it will have a devastating effect on our state and every state across our country.

Public workers would be laid off, thousands of people would lose vital health services and every state would risk a downgrade to its bond rating -- a rating which helps us fund important public projects, like schools and roads, at a lower cost to taxpayers.

But there is a way forward, There's a way forward that doesn't involve a debt default or drastic cuts that hurt America's working families. There's a way to balance budgets, pay our bills and make investments that create and save jobs while moving us toward that better future that we all prefer. And I know this because this is what we -- and every other Democratic Governor -- are doing in our states every day.

Here's how we move forward. We must start by retiring the Bush-era tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires -- tax cuts that helped created the economic mess that we're in now and the deficit we're working to pay down. We must look for cost-savings from efficiencies in Medicaid and Medicare. We must make cuts where they make sense.

But the best way to retire the Bush deficit and get us out of this mess is by accelerating our nation's job recovery. And the best way to do that is with investments in education, innovation and infrastructure projects that rebuild and restore our communities while putting people back to work.

We need to come together as Americans. We must educate, innovate, rebuild and restore if we want America to survive and thrive. There are very real threats facing our nation, but there is also a way forward. We have the wherewithal, we just need the will."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gov-martin-omalley/debt-ceiling-default_b_903669.html

Gov. Martin O’Malley at the Utah Democratic Jubilee Dinner

Thank you all. Thank you, thank you. Hey, it’s great to be with you, what a tremendous turnout here in the state of Utah. Are y’all fired up? (Audience cheers.) Are you fired up? (Cheers). Ready to go? (Yeah!) Fired up? (Yeah!) Ready to go? (Cheers) I say Barack, you say Obama. Barack! (Obama!) Barack! (Obama!) Barack! (Obama!)

Folks, you know what, we can all have differences of opinion but there’s only one way to go for the USA, and that is forward. And we’re going to do that by reelecting Barack Obama in 2012 (Applause.)

I want to say thank you for your kindness. I’m going to share a few thoughts here tonight.

I am very, very appreciative of what it means to serve for six years as a party chair. That has to be one of the most important, and also at the same time one of the most thankless jobs in any party, and so Wayne—who for six years that Katie has allowed him to do this job—we salute you and thank you. (Applause.)

I also want to thank Vice Chair Karen Hale and her husband Jon. Senator Romero—is he here? I’ll say it again since a lot of people want to cheer and clap. Senator Romero! (Cheers) Also Representative Litvack. (Applause) And you all have a great mayor in Mayor Becker. And he’s accomplished big things.

This Utah Democratic Party, Mr. Chair, is my kind of party, because you have a lot of mayors. And I love mayors. Ralph Becker, Peter Corroon, and former Mayor Rocky Anderson is a dear friend of mine in the US conference of Mayors. There’s something great about the job of mayor. Because there’s no Democratic or Republican way of filling a pothole or picking up the trash. You don’t have to explain to people why you’re doing what you’re doing, and there’s no way to hide whether or not you’re doing it. And I think that’s the sort of leadership our country needs right now. Make no mistake about it: our country is at a critically important junction.

We are in a fight for our economic future. You know, just down the road at the National Governors Association, we had three governors visit us from China—from provinces of China. And they are making investments in their country. We have profound differences, but they are making the investments required for a modern economy to create jobs. And moving forward, that’s what our President needs us to do. When he talks about the imperative of educating, innovating, rebuilding—it’s really all about that most important building block that there is for expanding and growing our middle class, for making our country better than when our parents gave it to us. And that is a job.

The most important place in our country is the family’s home. The most important decisions that are made are the decisions made around that kitchen table. How are we going to raise our kids? How are we going to pay the bills? How are we going to send them to college? And add to that all of the devastation that’s happened to us economically because of the wrong-headed policies that drove this great and strong Republic into the worst economic downturn that we’ve seen in a long, long time. You know, there are important but difficult things that we can only do together. And the most important thing we need to do together right now is to rally around our President and to move our country forward. To create jobs and to create opportunity and to have the guts and the courage and the willingness to bet on the better America that requires action right now.

Now, Wayne Holland mentioned my kids, and I have my son William, who is a very old soul. He is now 13, but he came into this Earth with about 80 years of experience under his belt, I truly believe. In early cultures they call it early enlightenment. And I’m fond of this story when we were watching the History Channel—there aren’t many 8-year-olds who watch the History Channel—and there was a story about Rosa Parks and that history. And he’s watching this, and he’s saying “you’ve got to be kidding me.” He said, “Some people in the front of the bus, some people in the back of the bus.” He said, “Dad, back then,” which he implied to mean sometime in the time of the dinosaurs, the American Revolution, he said “back then, they said some people had to ride in the front of the bus and some people in the back of the bus?” And I said, “Yeah, that was the law.” And he said, “They said that and you guys actually listened?” And I said, “Well, yes we did,” and he said, “Well didn’t they know they were all going to the same place? Didn’t they know they were all going to the same place?”

I have to tell you I haven’t spent a lot of time in your state. You have a very beautiful state. It’s very far away from Maryland. But for all of our diversity, there’s a lot more to the United States that unites us than divides us, and we are all going to the same place. And in fact, there are still good people in the party of Lincoln that want America to be stronger, and want America to be better.

Tonight I wanted to talk to you about jobs, about that imperative that we have in our generation of extending opportunity. Also I’d like to talk to you about the differences, because by golly, this is a Democratic dinner, and we have to underscore our differences. And there are very profound differences about how we see some Democratic governors—most Democratic governors governing—and the way that some Republic governors are governing. And it’s critically important that we understand the differences here, especially when we look at what’s happening around us.

We don’t need to recap the pain of these past several years in this recession. But give this a moment of perspective. Thirty years ago when I graduated high school, our country ranked #1 in high school graduation rates among our global competitors. Today, we’ve slipped to 11th.

Thirty years ago, our country, America, ranked #1 in college completion. My dad was one of those guys that went to college only because of the GI bill. A generous but insightful country that understood that the more you learn the better you earn and the better the contributions you could make to your country. Today, we’ve slipped from #1 in college completion to #12.

As a nation, even with all of the signs of climate change and the stresses that our planet’s population is placing on natural resources, we actually spend more in our country every year on potato chips than we do on research into clean and renewable energy.

We’re better than that. And it’s not what the other countries are doing to us; it’s what we’re not doing for ourselves. It’s what we’re not doing for ourselves.

Both Marylanders and people who are proud of this place called Utah, we, regardless of when our families came to this country, have inherited a legacy of a pioneering, and revolutionary people. Not a cowardly people, not a retractive or retreating people. These are not people who believed the future was a gift; these were people that understood the future’s an achievement.

So to create jobs, we know that the modern economy requires modern investments. And that’s not a Democratic idea, that’s not a Republican idea, that’s an economic fact.

Now does that mean that we just spend our way into recovery without balancing our budgets? Heck no. The 20 men and women that serve as Democratic governors throughout our country have to balance their budgets every day as well. They do it in a different way than some of our Republican opponents. We don’t vilify humans. We don’t bash humans. We don’t like the mess that George Bush left us in any more than anyone else, but we bring people together. We acknowledge the reality of the present, and we make the decisions we must in order to make a better future, in order to make our government work.

Well, does that mean you just spend your way to a better economy? No, far from it. I didn’t run promising this—but we cut $6.8 billion from our state budget in the State of Maryland. But we’ve also protected our priorities—we’ve gone four years in a row without a penny’s increase in college tuition. We funded education at all-time high levels, and have been three years in a row the best public schools in America—not by chance, but by choice and investment in our future. (Applause)

And I can hear the birds in the rafters now—“I bet you also raised taxes”—yup, you know what, we did, we asked people to pay another penny for a better future for our kids. (Applause)

What does that do to your business climate, what does that do to your competitiveness as a state? Well, we think the most important thing that we have to offer to businesses in the new economy is smarter, and better educated people. (Applause)

And maybe that’s why the US Chamber of Commerce named Maryland one the top two states for innovation and entrepreneurship. Maybe that’s why the Kauffman Foundation put us in the top three for taking advantage of the new economy. Maybe that’s why the Milken Institute ranked us number two in science and technology. The future is not a gift, the future is an achievement.

But let me talk to you a little bit, because I know the people of Utah are very proud of your dinosaur history. Right? That’s what they told me—very proud of it. So let’s have a little fun here—turn to your neighbor and say let’s have some fun here. I’d like to talk to you, ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to talk to you about dinosaurs and tea praters.

They can be a very volatile Jurassic Park mix.

If you look up the definition of “tea party” in the dictionary, you will read this among several definitions: “A group of children who play with imaginary friends.” You know, there are some newly-elected Republican governors—and I want to underscore not all—but there are some characters who actually do play with imaginary friends.

There is for example a very colorful character from the state of New Jersey who has declared that high-speed rail is candy. That Pell Grants to send people to college are candy—that’s not the sort of real things that government should be doing.

And for all their bombast and bluster, there is this newly elected group, tea party, FDR-hating, Republican governors who’d have us believe a whole lot of things that aren’t true.

In their make-believe world, that we could eat cake to lose weight. They would have us believe that massive, permanent tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans don’t actually cost the public a dime—they’re free, no expense.

They’d have us believe that massive, public sector layoffs somehow are good for the economy—that somehow that makes us stronger.

Some of these Tea Party Republican governors would have us believe that bridges are kind of like trees—if you leave them alone they’ll somehow grow taller and stronger with age.

But you and I both know that their tea party is a lot more Alice and Wonderland than it is Sam Adams. It’s a lot more Mad Hatter than it is James Madison. (Applause)

And when this small new stem of Republican governors say they want to take America back, well, we know they really mean they want to take America backwards. Like back to the 1920s. In their backwards, make-believe world—where colorful characters like Chris Christie of New Jersey reside—there is no need to pay bills, no need to protect bond ratings, no need to invest in the future. Because in their make believe world, down is up, up is down, candy is a vegetable, and vegetables are candy.

So rather than making the tough choices necessary to create jobs and bring people together, to do what President Obama has called on all of us to do, which is to educate, innovate, and rebuild, instead they use this crisis to go after unions, to dismantle Democratic progress, to settle old political scores.

Is it any wonder that in places like Ohio, places like Wisconsin, that people are having “buyer’s remorse?” They thought they were voting for change, they were voting for more job creation, they didn’t know they were voting to send us back into the ideological ditch of the late ’20s.

You know, many years ago, Adlai Stevenson came here to Utah, and he addressed a group of great Democrats like this one. And I wanted to share this with you. He said, “… the same Republicans (the dinosaur-wing of that party) who object to service from our Government – who call everything “creeping socialism” … these same men begin to hint that we are ‘subversive,’ .... when we boast of the great strides toward social justice and security we have already made and the still greater strides to come,… we must never let them confuse us about the difference between what government should do if possible and what it must do if America is to survive."

And my friends, right now we are at one of those junctures, where we have to figure out as a people how we can get those things done that are necessary for our very survival.

We are watching in our own time, I submit to you, have you been watching the television? About the default, and the total lack of intellectual honesty, any sort of flexibility or reasonableness. We are watching the latest incarnation, I believe, of the dinosaur wing of the Republican Party.

A dinosaur wing that refuses to allow more moderate members of the party of Lincoln to engage in the honorable compromises necessary to get our country through these tough times and into better times. It is this sort of intransigence, this sort of extremism, that economic observers across the political spectrum all agree that is wrong for the country, is not in our best economic interest.

What ever happened to that proud Party of Lincoln?

Get this. There is a new Jurassic Park predator that has emerged on the modern political landscape. Let’s call him Partisan-a-saurus. Partisan-a-saurus.

Now imagine, if you would, the body of Tyrannosaurus Rex, and the head of Eric Cantor.

And Partisan-a-saurus has one goal and one goal only: and that is to keep President Obama from getting reelected by killing jobs and the recovery.

Now they’ve got two ways to do this. They can use force, massive cuts to retire a Bush deficit, which they didn’t give a whimper of objection to in the last eight years,… or their other device is to insist that our country needlessly be driven in to defaulting on her debt for the first time in the proud history of this Republic.

Now get this, Partisan-a-saurus never objected when for eight years George Bush was spending without funding the things that he chose to do—like tax cuts for the wealthiest of Americans. Partisan-a-saurus never objected to year after year of an increase in the federal deficit when George Bush was president. Partisan-a-saurus in fact probably even voted a few times to raise the debt limit when there was a Republican president, and Partisan-a-saurus never objected at all when a series of wars were charged to our children’s credit cards instead of being financed as they were fought. (Applause)

Folks, I have a lot of friends that have a great deal of respect for many people in the Republican Party. But I don’t have a lot of respect, in fact, I have no respect for the sort of cynical, political game that is being played with America’s standing in this world and our credit rating. It is a cynical, cynical game. (Applause) It is a cynical game of politics and our country’s fragile jobs recovery is the ball that they are kicking around.

Commenting on these extremist efforts to drive the United States into the deepest default, get this, the US Chamber of Commerce—now hardly a mouthpiece for the Democratic Party—recently wrote that pushing the United States towards default, by not raising the debt limit is “a risk that our country must not take.”

The Economist magazine, hardly a mouthpiece for the Democratic Governors Association, called their extremism, and I quote again, “economically illiterate, and disgracefully cynical.”

And you know—given the conservative efforts of that columnist magazine—that might be an awfully generous description on their part.

Friends, you and I know that there is not a modern nation on the planet that can retire its debt with ten percent unemployment. We need to get our people back to work, we need to America back to work, because America only wins when America goes to work with decent jobs. (Applause)

So, the choice is ours. The same choice that founded this country, the same choice that drew people to Utah, the choice we have to make. Quite frankly, a lot of the hardships we have to overcome are nothing compared to what they had to overcome. But we cannot allow Partisan-a-saurus to take over the Republican Party or the future of our country.

There are some things that we have to come together to do. And getting out of these very difficult times is one of them. Our President is right. We need to do a better job of innovating, educating, and rebuilding a new economy so that America can survive and America can thrive.

There’s something else I want to ask of all of you and, frankly, we’ve had some fun tonight, we’ve drawn some distinctions. But in all seriousness, I think there is a different type of politics that we need to rise to as a party. And that is the politics that allows for the truth that there are still good and responsible people in the Republican Party. And we need to allow for space for that goodness to breathe.

If we assume that members of their party don’t have at least partially good intentions for the better America that all of us want for our children, then we become victims to the same political quackery that is threatening to bring their party down. So as we underscored our differences tonight, let’s never lose sight of the fact, that there is so much more that connects us. That we are all, in fact, going to the same place.

Too many of our countrymen have come to confuse what it means to be an American citizen with what it means to be a member of Sam’s Club. And there’s a big, big difference. There is a big, big difference. (Applause) 

So in these difficult and challenging times, you and I have to acknowledge that there is no progress without struggling. That there is goodness in every citizen in this country. And we need to find out a way to stand out together. Face the challenges of our own day, and not only face them, but actually face them and win. And not just for ourselves, but really for our kids. And for the future that depends on us, and the future that is watching. Thank you all very, very much. (Applause)

Today, once again, all three major bond rating agencies affirmed Maryland's AAA bond rating. We remain one of only eight states to maintain this seal of fiscal responsibility--a true reflection of the O'Malley-Brown administration's strong, stable and prudent financial management and a large contrast to the Congressional Republicans who continue to put short-term political gain ahead of America's families and businesses. 

Read the rationale behind the bond rating agencies' decision to maintain Maryland's AAA bond rating to learn more.

Fitch, in assigning its AAA rating and stable outlook, said, “Debt oversight is strong and centralized, and the debt burden is moderate. The state has policies to maintain debt affordability, and the constitution requires GO and transportation bonds to amortize within 15 years. Pension funding levels have deteriorated, although the state is undertaking extensive pension and other post-employment benefit (OPEB) reforms.” 

Fitch Ratings further said, “Financial operations are conservative, with the state consistently demonstrating a strong commitment to maintaining budgetary balance through the downturn, including through repeated spending cuts, fund balance transfers and revenue increases. The state has also maintained flexibility in the form of RDF (Rainy Day Fund), which has remained funded at or near 5% of general fund revenues in recent years.”

Moody‟s, in explaining its Aaa rating and stable credit outlook, said, “The outlook for Maryland‟s general obligation debt is stable. The state faces significant budget pressure, including the need to address the declines in retirement system funded levels, that will test its financial management abilities. The stable outlook reflects Moody‟s expectation that the state, consistent with its history of strong financial management, will appropriately address its structural budget gap and pension funding concerns.”

Moody‟s also said, “The highest quality rating reflects Maryland‟s strong financial management policies, stable economy with high personal income levels, and ability to maintain positive available reserves despite sustained pressure on its budget. The rating also acknowledges the state‟s above average debt burden and low retirement system funding levels.”

In assigning its „AAA‟ long-term rating and stable outlook, Standard & Poor‟s said, “The stable outlook reflects what we view as Maryland‟s economic strength and historically strong financial and debt management policies. We believe the state has proactively responded to recent structural budget imbalance and we would expect it to continue to focus on achieving structural budget balance. Maryland has made a steady commitment to funding reserves, which we believe enhances its flexibility in the current economic environment.” 

Standard and Poor‟s further states: “Once the budget is approved, the state monitors both revenue and expenditure performance on a regular basis and reports results in addition to an economic update. Budget adjustments have historically been implemented regularly on a timely basis. The governor has the authority to make adjustments to the budget and has a track record of doing so. Deficits can‟t be carried forward into the next fiscal year.”

Referring to pension reforms enacted during the 2010 Legislative Session, Standard & Poor‟s said, “The enacted reforms are expected to raise the State funded ratio to 80% by 2023, three years sooner than currently projected. The actuary also projects the system will reach nearly full funding by fiscal 2031.”

All three rating agencies point to the State‟s strong, diverse economy. Standard & Poor‟s referred to Maryland‟s “diverse, broad-based economy, which has historically outperformed the national economy...strong wealth and income levels, coupled with unemployment that remains below the national average through economic cycles.” Fitch Ratings said, “The state is wealthy and its diverse economy, benefits from its proximity to the nation‟s capitol.”

Moody‟s said, “Maryland‟s economy has diversified in recent years, but continues to be proportionally more affected by the activities of the federal government than any other state...the ongoing Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) reorganization is expected to result in a significant increase in new jobs.” “The state projects a direct employment increase of about 21,000 jobs as a result of BRAC reorganization by the end of calendar 2011.”

 “Republican leaders in the House and Senate must begin to put the well-being of American businesses and families ahead of their short-term political gain. Republicans in Congress are betting that they can win the next election if they continue to stall or even stop America’s jobs recovery. But America’s families have too much at stake and it’s time for the Republicans in Congress to come together with their Democratic counterparts and President Obama to pass common sense legislation to create jobs and balance the budget.

“To create jobs, a modern economy requires modern investments. America is hurting, and our economy is hurting because we have failed over the last ten years to make sufficient investments in priorities like public education and America's infrastructure.

A Balanced Approach

By Governor Martin O'Malley

"President Obama cannot and should not agree to the false choices being disingenuously laid out by Congressional Republican pretenders.

We must pay our bills on time, and we must retire the Bush deficit over time. And we must do this with a balanced approach that allows us to create and save jobs at the same time -- just as former President Clinton did after inheriting the Reagan-Bush deficit. We cannot allow fiscally irresponsible tea-partying Republicans to kill job creation and increase unemployment under the false pretext of controlling spending and limiting debt. Whether by massive Medicaid cuts that fall on state governments or by needlessly driving the United States into a default position, the damage to the jobs recovery is the same.

These Congressional Republican pretenders would like us all to believe that notwithstanding their complicity in creating the Bush deficit with huge tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, notwithstanding their approval of a series of desert wars financed by debt, notwithstanding routine increases in the debt ceiling during then Bush and Reagan presidencies, that now every national priority -- including creating and saving jobs -- must wait until the Bush deficit is immediately retired.

These Republican phonies and their new era tea-party collaborators don't care about job creation or fiscal responsibility. Their priority isn't jobs, it isn't fiscal responsibility, it's politics. They have one goal and one goal only -- to defeat President Obama in the upcoming election by killing the jobs recovery now. And they do this in one of two ways: by radical, abrupt, and massive budget cuts on the one hand, or by driving our country needlessly into default on the other hand.

There is not a modern nation on the planet that can retire its debt with 10 percent unemployment.

These political calculators think they are slick, and they think Americans are all gullible and stupid. They think they have slyly figured out that they can win the election only if America loses jobs. These scammers and schemers believe they can win the election only if they can stall or stop the jobs recovery. They think no one is going to call them on it. And they might be right.

In the meantime, they are willing to inflict as much damage on state governments or the nation's credit rating as it takes to realize their goal.

President Obama cannot and should not agree to the damaging choices being falsely laid out by Congressional Republican pretenders.

Creating and saving jobs must be our nation's top priority.

This is what we promised; this is what we must deliver."

Follow Gov. Martin O'Malley on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/governoromalley

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gov-martin-omalley/a-balanced-approach_b_888015.html

AS BARACK Obama visits Ireland for the first time as president, I am reminded of a simple gesture of kindness that altered the course of American history.

In October 1960, Dr Martin Luther King jnr was roused from bed in the middle of the night on trivial charges stemming from his protests against racial segregation. King was denied bail and sentenced to four months of hard labour in a Georgia prison camp, which many feared he might not survive, either by lynching or by a convenient “accident”. This was not, on the turbulent surface of the times, John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s problem. The Massachusetts senator was locked in a close race for the White House. If he had any chance to win, he needed to keep the support of white Southern Democrats – Southern Democrats who, for the most part, hated everything that Martin Luther King stood for.

Yet JFK, without a flicker of cynicism, picked up the phone and called King’s pregnant wife, Coretta, offering her comfort and his help. When Kennedy’s campaign managers found out, they were livid and figured it a thoughtless act that could well cost the election.

But empathy is a powerful energy in the art of politics. It is a signpost of deep character. And it is this depth of character that has been displayed for a couple of centuries by generations of African Americans and Irish Americans – two people, deeply and properly linked.

On that day, in 1960, Kennedy linked with King. The signal was clear: the civil rights movement would have a powerful ally with Kennedy in the White House. And the African American community responded by providing the votes needed to elect the first Irish Catholic president. The course of history changed. Black merged green and green merged black.

Irish-Americans and African-Americans dropped their hyphens . . . and once again became one.

Civil rights was not an impossible dream. Thousands of brave African Americans stepped forward to make it happen. And with their Irish American public servant in the White House, they changed the course of the United States.

Over the centuries, both cultures have known deep abiding pain and cruelty – a racial suffering played out at the hands of governments and, indeed, fellow countrymen. “The arc of the moral universe is long,” said Dr King, “but it bends towards justice.” He and countless others, believed in the dignity of the individual, and the possibilities of hope. The most fearless hearts, the audacious dreamers, have always maintained a sense of optimism that often flies in the face of the available evidence.

During the American Revolution of the 1770s, “green” and “black” fought alongside each other for a fledgling, imperfect nation. When the citizens of Baltimore banded together to repel the British during the War of 1812, three in five were immigrants, and one in five was black – some were free, some slaves. The defence of Baltimore inspired Francis Scott Key to write what would come to be called, The Star-Spangled Banner, our national anthem, a gallant streaming of unity over the ramparts of race.

Yet Baltimore was still a place that slaves such as Frederick Douglass had to flee to gain their freedom. When Douglass published his autobiography, fugitive slave laws made it unsafe for him to stay in America. He travelled to Ireland by ship, confined to steerage class below-deck, as part of a two-year lecture tour around Britain and Ireland. He found, in his words, “a total absence of all manifestations of prejudice against me, on account of my colour”. He wrote home, “I seem to have undergone a transformation, I live a new life.” From Daniel O’Connell, the Great Liberator, Douglass would see first-hand the power of nonviolent resistance in Catholic Emancipation – a lesson that helped shape generations of American civil rights activists.

The hardships that Douglass witnessed at the start of the Great Famine served as a preview of the Irish and African American experience. There were occasions when the cultures clashed (as in the 1863 draft riots in New York City), but it was a clash of people who could recognise each other’s desires. Together, they worked the most dangerous and back-breaking jobs. Together, they built from muscle, music and dream the land that would become a reflection of themselves.

Both cultures made the cities, built their homes, lived in close quarters, stretched every cent they could save. They became Americans and still managed to honour where they came from. When duty and patriotism called, they gave their heroics to a country not always kind to them.

The links are myriad: music, poetry, language, exile, loss, humour, beauty, even the trenchant practice of politics.

In an Oval Office address, Kennedy called the cause of civil rights “a moral issue, as old as the scriptures, and as clear as the constitution”. To those who would keep the codes of the past and argue that segregation was tolerable, he asked who would volunteer to have his skin colour changed and be discriminated against. And it was 50 years ago this month that Kennedy’s younger brother, Robert, publicly predicted an African American could be elected president within the next 40 years. He cited the election of an Irish Catholic president to prove the point that bigotry could be overcome.

It may seem quaint now, but it was audacious then.

Two months later, a baby boy named Barack Obama was born in Hawaii. His mother told him he could be president one day.

She was right.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0524/1224297636768.html

"Senator Ford, Governor Beshear, First Lady Beshear, Mayor Abramson, Mayor Fisher, Congressman Yarmouth, Chairman Lodgson, fellow Democrats, it’s great to be here with all of you. I bring you greetings from your friends at the second leg of the Triple Crown.

It is a great honor to be here with you tonight with two of the best leaders in America, Steve Beshear and Jerry Abramson. Let me say a brief word about each of these men.

I myself was once a mayor, and there is a certain camaraderie among mayors. One of the things I loved best about my job as Mayor is that you bring people together to get difficult, important things done. There is no Democratic or Republican way of filling a pothole or more efficiently collecting the garbage. There’s no way to hide whether you’re doing the job or not. Mayors see problems and they bring people together to tackle them, and get things done. That’s the sort of Mayor Jerry Abramson was, and that’s why all of us in the US Conference of Mayor’s elected him our leader, and that’s why Governor Beshear asked him to be your Lieutenant Governor

And that’s exactly the type of leadership that your Governor brings to the State House! Steve Beshear is one of the best governors in America. I know that while Steve and Jane have a real partnership, we know who the real boss is. Jane, as chair of the DGA, thank you for allowing Steve to run again!

I think that our states share a certain affinity:

You have Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby; we have Pimlico and the Preakness, which is only a week away. So how about we do this dinner again next week in Baltimore? Chairman Lodgson’s treat!

You’re the home of Louis Brandeis, we’re the home of Thurgood Marshall.

In Maryland, we’re known across United States for our crabs, in Kentucky, you’re represented in the United States Senate by that famous crab, Mitch McConnell!

We gave the world one of its kookiest rock n’ roll musicians in Frank Zappa; you gave us Rand Paul.

Seriously speaking, there is a real Bluegrass-Blue crab connection in this room tonight.

In both our States, we understand that leadership is about bringing people together to make the tough, difficult but right decisions that allow us to balance budgets, move our states forward, and invest in our future all at the same time.

And in both of our states, we understand that to move forward, we need to stay laser-focused on creating and saving jobs.

Because, America wins only when America creates jobs,… and America retires her deficit only when America employs her people.

Make no mistake about it, we are in a fight for our country’s economic future, and to win, every state has to make tough decisions to move themselves forward,… As Harry Truman said, when it comes to tough choices, “If it’s right, make it, and let the popular part take care of itself.”

But not every state is fortunate to have someone like Governor Beshear in their State House. For all their bombast and bluster, there is a group of ideological, narrow-minded, short-sighted, throwback, antique, FDR-hating, tea-partying Republican governors -- and Senator David Williams would like to join them -- who, when faced with these same tough times, have not been either willing or able to bring people together to make the right decisions that move us forward to a better economy with more jobs and more opportunity.

So tonight, I’d like to talk to you about the differences between Democratic governors and Republican governors on jobs,… on opportunity,… and on the tough choices we must make right now in order to move forward.

Jobs. Opportunity. Now.

Let’s have a show of hands. How many of you believe that you have a better quality of life than that of your parents and grandparents? … Second more troubling question: How many of you believe just as firmly that your children and grandchildren will enjoy a better quality of life than you have?

Virtually everywhere I go, far fewer hands go up on that second question, but don’t be embarrassed: there are reasons for your anxiety.

We are all entitled to our own opinions, but we are not entitled to flourish facts. Fact number one,...

Over the past decade -- thanks to the wrong minded policies of George W. Bush -- incomes have declined for 95% of Americans. For middle class families, it’s harder today to afford gas and groceries or to make that monthly mortgage or rent payment.

As Americans, we’re no longer just competing for jobs with our neighbors in other states, we’re now competing in a new global economy. Thirty years ago, when I graduated high school, the United States ranked #1 in high school graduation rates among our global competitors. Today we’re 11th,… Thirty years ago, America ranked #1 in college completion. Today we’re at #12… As a nation, we now spend more on potato chips than we invest through our government into energy research and development.

These trends won’t reverse themselves. It’s not what other countries are doing to us – it’s what we’re not doing for ourselves.

The real challenge we face is not primarily financial or technological, it is political. – Do we still have the ability as a nation to govern ourselves well? To make the tough but right decisions and investments that expand opportunity and improve our children’s lives?

Fact number 2,...

A modern economy requires modern investments, the sort of smart investments that we can only make together. If we are going to create jobs again, if we are going to employ our people again, and if we are going to grow our middle class again by expanding opportunity, then we must balance and move forward all at the same time.

Across our country, Democratic governors, in the toughest of times, are doing just that: balancing budgets, making tough choices, creating jobs, and moving forward all at the same time.

Balancing a state’s budgets, but creating jobs is ALSO critically important.

Governor Beshear has proven here in Kentucky that you can balance budgets while bringing people together, making tough decisions, investing in the future, and making government work.

Forward Not Back

You have a big choice to make in Kentucky this year, and it comes down to one, timeless question: do we move forward, or do we slip back?

Governor Beshear knows what it takes to move Kentucky forward. His top priority in these tough economic times is creating and saving Kentucky jobs. Don’t just take my word for it. Ask Moody’s, which projects that Kentucky will have one of America’s top five highest job growth rates this coming year.

It’s not every day you have a Governor that’s actually bringing jobs from Mexico to America. But Governor Beshear is teaming with Simba USA, who are closing their plant in Mexico and expanding their plant in Rowan County…how about that? You’ve heard of outsourcing? Well, my friends, that’s insourcing!

You have a Governor who has balanced nine budgets without raising broad-based taxes on working families or businesses. You have a Governor who has been willing to take on the tough fights to reduce the size of state government to the smallest it’s been in nearly two decades. You have a Governor who has cut spending by $1.3 billion. And if you want to know just how serious Steve Beshear is about fiscal responsibility you can log into eBay, where he put two state airplanes up for sale.

But as Governor Beshear has balanced, he’s also made the right choices to move Kentucky forward. Choices like protecting public education while Senator Williams and the Republican senators tried to slash it by $50 million. Choices like modernizing Kentucky’s businesses incentive program to create and save Kentucky jobs. Choices like getting health care to 50,000 children.

Sen. David Williams wants to take Kentucky back,…Steve Beshear is moving Kentucky forward,.. and the choice is up to the people of Kentucky:

Do you want a Governor who protected the investments you make in public education,… or a candidate who tried to cut public education, even as he used taxpayer dollars to buy himself a $17,400 multi-media center, complete with a 60-inch plasma TV?

Do you want a Governor who gave himself a paycut,… or a candidate who spent more than $52,000 on cherry veneer wood paneling for his senate office?

Do you want to move forward with Governor Beshear? Or do you want to let Senator Williams take Kentucky back?

Wonderland

Senator Williams, Mitch McConnell, and Rand Paul would have us believe a lot of things that aren’t so. In their make-believe world, they would have us believe we can somehow eat cake and lose weight,… They would have us believe that unions cause recessions,... And they would have us believe that bridges are,… well, kind of like trees: if you leave them alone, they get taller and stronger with age! At their tea-party there is no need to pay bills, no need to get serious about spending, no need to invest in the future. Down is up. Up is down. Candy is a vegetable. And vegetables are candy.

But of course, we know that their type of tea party is more Alice in Wonderland than it is Sam Adams. It is more Mad Hatter than James Madison.

Conclusion

These are difficult and challenging times. There are no easy answers. But there is only one way to go, and that is forward; there is no progress without struggle, no victory without sacrifice. And America needs Kentucky, and America needs our generation -- as she has needed every generation -- to stand up together, face the challenges of our own day, and not only face them, but face them and win. Not just for us, but for the people who are watching that come after us.

Thank you, Kentucky -- for jobs and opportunity now, let’s move forward not back, with Steve Beshear and Jerry Abramson."

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

"Thank you very much – it’s great to be here tonight.  Do me a favor, turn to your neighbor and tell them, “It’s great to be a Democrat in New Jersey!”  Turn to your other neighbor and tell them, “It’s good to be a Democrat in New Jersey.”  Now everybody all together say, “We’re moving forward, not back!”

Chairman Wisniewski, Speaker Oliver, Senate President Sweeney, Governor Florio, proud Democrats from the Delaware to the Hudson,…

We have a number of mayors in the audience.  If there are any mayors, raise your hand.  I myself was once a mayor, and there is a certain camaraderie among mayors.   I loved my years as Mayor of the City of Baltimore.  One of the things I loved best about my job as Mayor is that you bring people together to get difficult, important things done.  There is no Democratic or Republican way of filling a pothole or more efficiently collecting the garbage.  There’s no way to hide whether you’re doing the job or not.  

I bring you greetings from your friends in Maryland.  If you think about it, we actually have a lot in common, don’t we

• You're the home of Frank Sinatra,… We're the birthplace of Billie Holiday;
• You're the home of the New Jersey Devils,… we're the vacation home of former Vice President Dick Cheney;
• We house much of the federal government – and nationally nobody seems to care,… you house the Giants and Jets,… and nationally nobody seems to notice;
• In Maryland, we threw out a mean-spirited, ineffective, Republican governor after just one term,…

 And in New Jersey,… Well, let's just say it's good to know we have so much in common.

Forward, Not Back 

It's great to join you tonight.  The reason I wanted to come here, Mr. Chairman, when you asked me, is that I think that our states share a certain affinity.  We are a Revolutionary people.  In New Jersey and in Maryland, we understand what it takes to move forward.  We understand that leadership is about bringing people together to make the tough, difficult – but right – decisions that allow you to balance budgets, move your state forward and invest in our future – all at the same time.

For our country to win the future, every state has to make tough decisions to move themselves forward.  Every state is needed.  Every state is important – especially states as strong and as gifted as New Jersey.

For all their bombast and bluster, there is a group of ideological, narrow-minded, short-sighted, throwback, tea-partying Republican governors, who are not making the tough decisions or the right decisions necessary to create jobs and expand opportunity, so we can move out of this extremely difficult period of time that we were left in by the prior national administration.

So tonight I'd like to talk to you about the differences between Democratic governors and Republican governors on jobs,… on opportunity,… and on the tough choices we must make right now in order to move forward. 

Jobs. Opportunity. Now. 

Across our country, Democratic governors – in the toughest of times – are balancing budgets, making tough choices, creating jobs, and moving forward ALL AT THE SAME TIME.  

Balancing budgets is important – but what some Republican governors seem to lose sight of is this.  They seem to forget that creating jobs is also critically important.  Long term, we have to get our economy moving.  We have to create jobs.  We have to expand opportunity.  And in the words of Bruce Springsteen, “you can't start a fire without a spark.”

President Clinton knew that.  With Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez at his side, he built a fiscally responsible bridge to the future.  He created jobs, he cut spending, he made government work, he created record surpluses – and he did these things all at the same time.

That's what President Obama is striving to do,...  That's what Democratic governors across our country, from New York to California, are moving forward to accomplish,… That's what your Democratic state legislators are fighting for here in New Jersey,…

Does that mean we just spend our way into recovery without balancing budgets? No, far from it.  All 20 Democratic governors are balancing budgets – and they're doing it while bringing people together, making tough decisions, investing in the future, and making government work. 

Do you really think we can just spend our way into a better economy?  No, far from it. In Maryland, we're cutting $6.6 billion in state spending while still making record investments in public education, defending our Triple A Bond Rating, igniting the best year of job creation since 2007, and driving unemployment down to the lowest rate in nearly two years.

Does that mean you just raise taxes without any regard for your business climate?  In fact, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Milken Institute, and the Kauffman Index all rank Maryland in the top two or three among the 50 states for innovation, entrepreneurship, science, and our ability to win in this new economy.

A Fight for our Future 

Why does it matter whether Maryland is moving forward, or whether New Jersey or any other states are moving forward? 

Let's have a show of hands.  How many of you believe that you have a better quality of life than that of your parents and grandparents?  Second, more troubling question:  How many of you believe just as firmly that your children and grandchildren will enjoy a better quality of life than you have? 

That’s the fear of fear itself in our own time.  We have political opponents, but there is no bigger opponent in our own country right now than that pessimism, that fear of fear itself that some in the other party seek to capitalize on.

Make no mistake about it: our country is in a fight.  It is a fight for our economic future.  It is a battle for jobs and opportunity in a changing new economy.  And the choices we make today – the choices we make as a people right now – will determine what sort of future our children will have. 

Get this: Thirty years ago – when I graduated high school – the United States ranked #1 in high school graduation rates among our global competitors.  Today we've slipped to 11th,…   Thirty years ago, America ranked #1 in college completion.  Today we've slipped to #12,… As a nation, we now spend more on potato chips than we invest through our government into energy research and development – and the Congressional Republicans' budget would cut that even further. 

It's not what other countries are doing to us,… it's what we're not doing for ourselves.

That's why, especially in the toughest of times, as Democrats, we know how critically important it is to invest in our children’s future.  That's why we choose to invest in education, research, development, healing, cures, and new technologies. We have always as a people had the ingenuity and the guts to see these waves coming and to be able to make that wave of change ours. “You can't start a fire without a spark.” 

As Democrats, we know that we must invest in job creation and a stronger middle class, because expanding opportunity is the surest path to return our country to long-term fiscal health.

Not Focused on Job Creation 

Unfortunately, there is a new breed of tea-partying Republican governors who are not focused on job creation.  They are engaged in an historic overreach.  They care more about settling old scores than they do about creating new jobs.  Rather than advancing innovation, they push narrow ideology.  Instead of expanding opportunity, they seek to make teachers, firefighters, and nurses pay the price for a recession that America's workers did not create. 

Instead of standing up for the middle class, we get stand-up comedy routines from colorful characters like your Governor.  But his record is no laughing matter:

• Raising property taxes on the middle class, senior citizens and on the disabled, while giving tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires;
• Driving up his own YouTube ratings, while driving down New Jersey's bond ratings;
• Killing tens of thousands of ARC tunnel jobs, while New Jersey unemployment climbs to 9.2%.
• Raising tuition at America's second most expensive state universities, while our global competitors make college more affordable;
• Slashing public education – and even losing 400 million Race-to-the-Top investment dollars because of sloppy, messy paperwork! 

Candy or Vegetables? 

Probably the most disappointing of all, given the strengths you have as a State, and disappointing especially if you are a mom or dad looking for a job in New Jersey, is Governor Christie's totally dismissive attitude toward the very things that create jobs, the things that we can only do together – educating, innovating, and rebuilding our transportation infrastructure to create jobs.

In February, Governor Christie tap-danced across the national media stage – entertaining a standing-room-only audience of enthusiastic FDR-haters – he took great delight in dismissing the job-creating potential of important initiatives like high speed rail, internet broadband, and electric cars.  He called them – and I quote – “the candy of American politics.”  

Friends, job creation is serious business.  Job creation is not candy!  Look someone in the eyes who’s out of work and can’t keep food on their family’s table and try to tell them that these sort of job-creating initiatives are merely candy.  Job creation is the most important thing we should be doing right now.  What of kind of a make-believe world does Chris Christie live in, where rebuilding our nation's infrastructure, connecting our businesses large and small to broadband internet, creating jobs through innovation and next-generation manufacturing, can be looked upon as “candy”?

That's not American exceptionalism, that’s American infantilism,…

But these tea-partying Republican governors would have us believe a lot of things that simply aren't so:

• In their make-believe world, they would have us believe we can somehow eat cake and lose weight,…
• They would have us believe that unions cause recessions,...
• They would have us believe that massive permanent tax cuts for the wealthiest of Americans doesn't cost a dime. In fact, it inspires them to run down to the nearest unemployment office and hire more people to wash their Maseratis,…
• And they would have us believe that bridges are,… well, kind of like trees: if you leave them alone, they get taller and stronger with age!

At the Republican Governors' tea party, where colorful characters like Chris Christie preside, there is no need to pay bills, no need to protect bond ratings, no need to invest in the future. Down is up, up is down; candy is a vegetable, and vegetables are candy,...

But of course, we know that their type of tea party is more Alice in Wonderland than it is Sam Adams.  It is more Mad Hatter than James Madison. 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, New Jersey, my message is this: what was true in Jefferson and Jackson's day is still true in ours.  These are difficult and challenging times.  But there is no progress without struggle, no victory without sacrifice.  And America needs our generation – as she has needed every generation – to stand up together, face the challenges of our own day, and not only face them – but face them and win.  Not just for us, but for the people who are watching that come after us.

With all of the assets you have in your favor as a state – your diversity, your geography, your world-class workforce, your leading institutions of discovery and higher learning – you have so many advantages in this changing new economy.  And our country needs you.  Don’t give up.  You are a great state.  This temporary difficulty will pass.  And New Jersey will lead the way forward.

I leave you tonight as I began, with the words of your own Bruce Springsteen:  “It is through the truthful exercising of the best of human qualities – respect for others, honesty about ourselves, faith in our ideals – that we come to life in God's eyes. It is how our soul, as a nation and as individuals, is revealed,… It is time to move forward. The country we carry in our hearts is waiting.”

Thank you. 

As Delivered:

"It’s really great to be here with all of you. And it’s an honor, President Schaitberger, always to be with you, and an honor to serve alongside you on the Homeland Security Advisory Council.

Your president, Harold Shaitberger, is one of the most forward looking leaders not only of the labor movement but also when it comes to public safety and homeland security and understanding that when the bad stuff happens, the phone doesn’t ring first in Washington DC—it’s 911. And it’s all of his members who go into the places that the rest of us are running away from. So, Harold, thank you for your leadership for a stronger America, for a safer America, and for also understanding, as you do, with the guts that you show in the political arena—that the fight for a growing and stronger middle class is all of our fight. And that we’re all in this together.

I also want to thank, as well, General Secretary Tom Miller, and to your 4th District Vice President and the former President of the Baltimore local, Bill Taylor.

And thank you to Mike Rund and the Professional Fire Fighters of Maryland, many of whom I saw in the hallway on the way in here, for your early support and all your hard work in this last campaign in 2010 where we were able to defeat our Republican opponent by twice the margin as we had the first time out, four years ago. That would not have been possible without the help of the fire fighters of Maryland and I thank you guys for that.

And Kevin O’Connor, thank you for everything that you do and for your friendship.

Fire deaths in our State are down 32 percent (knock on wood) thanks to the hard work of the firefighters of Maryland. And it will always be one of the highest honors of my life to stand beside you, stand behind you, support firefighters and the tremendous work they do for all of us.

To the brave and dedicated ranks of the International Association of Fire Fighters—those who are here today and the 300,000 you represent across the nation, I want to say two words that you do not hear enough, and they are: Thank you.

Thank you for everything that you do every day to protect the lives. And thank you for what you also do in leading the good fight for SAFER, and leading the fight for FIRE grants. You are fighting hard because you know that SAFER and FIRE grants keep firefighters on the job. You know they ensure that your departments have the funding to support you and your fellow firefighters. And speaking as a former Mayor, I can personally attest to what SAFER and FIRE grants mean for the city’s ability to protect and support the brave men and women of our fire departments, equipping us with the interoperable communications and systems that save lives.

I also want to thank you, not only for risking your lives every day, but for what you’re doing right now in the political arena—especially at this time in our country’s history. You know, there are some things that we can only do when we do them together, and improving public safety is one of them. It’s the most important and sacred responsibility of a free people, and therefore, those of us in government need to stand behind you so that you can continue your life saving work of protecting all of us.

President Shaitberger has asked me to share with you a few thoughts about how we can tackle these challenges together—especially as our country is now facing this confusing time as we try to retool and retune and make this new changing economy ours. You and I know that our country can only succeed in this economic competition if we are also protecting public safety.

The flagpin I wear is not any flagpin. It is 15 stars and 15 stripes. The flag that flew at Fort McHenry. The flag that gave birth to the Star-Spangled Banner.

The story of that happened in 1814. Washington DC, the town where we sit, had been sacked and burned to the ground by the shock and awe attack of the British army. And the British general said that he was going to march on Baltimore, dine there (because even then Baltimore had great restaurants), and then he was going to burn Baltimore to the ground.

But the people of Baltimore had something different planned. Instead of running away, they stood up. They dug trenches over Patterson Park. Many of the merchants sunk their own ships—their own livelihood—in the harbor to block the oncoming British navy. 60 percent of the defenders of Baltimore were immigrants. One out of five were black citizens of a still as yet very imperfect country. But they joined forces, and they carried the day. They stood up together against those odds.

Well, the onslaught and the shock and awe that we face today is not that of the British army. It is instead a narrow-minded ideology that would put tax cuts for the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans ahead of public safety for America. And you and I need to stand up and say, ‘That is not the country we protect. We are better than that and we are in this together.’ … We are better than that.

Now these other guys, many of them in ‘the tea partying wing of the Republican governors,’ they stand up and say, ‘We want to take us back.’ They want to take us back. I’ll tell you where they want to take us back to—they want to take us back to the days of Coolidge. They want to take us back to the days of Hoover, when what our nation needs right now are leaders in every statehouse that want to move us forward. That want to move America forward. That want to be able to look our grandkids in the eyes and say you’re going to enjoy a better quality of life and better opportunities than the ones that we have enjoyed.

Like the patriots of Baltimore, we need to stand together in the face of this narrow-minded ideology. And we do stand with you in Maryland as all of you stand up against the Midwestern repression that we’ve seen in Wisconsin and that we’ve seen in Ohio and that’s being threatened now in Florida. Public safety employees deserve the same decency and respect as every other employee in this world.

Look, don’t get me wrong: You know better than anyone else the way local governments are strapped. And you know the cause of it, too: It’s a recession that was brought about by the prior administration in Washington—the worst recession that we have seen since the Great Depression. The road ahead is not easy, but the tea-partying Republican governors want to use these difficult times to sharpen their ideological ax, settle old scores. They want to sharpen their ideological ax to permanently cut pay and benefits to you. They want to sharpen their ideological ax to do away with your ability to collectively bargain. They want to sharpen their ideological ax to do away with your ability to organize.

I have never known a successful company in the private sector that ever improved performance, improved efficiency and improved production by waging war against their own employees. I’ve never seen it. These fellows say, ‘Why can’t government be more like a business?’ When did you ever see a business where the CEO went after his own employees? Took away their right to bargain? Tried to put a gag on them and told them they couldn’t be involved in the political process?

We know. We know—you and I know that public sector employees—whether they are firefighters, teachers, or whomever—they deserve a seat at the negotiating table. In fact, the public is best served when labor and management join forces together—not only in times of ease but especially in the toughest times to protect the priorities that unite us. They deserve the right to collectively bargain, just as we know that process is used for much more than just paychecks and pensions and benefits.

Take the example of our Professional Fire Fighters of Maryland. They have been a tremendous partner in upping our game on homeland security, in saving lives, in delivering progress for our people. We need to be able to hear that voice. We can’t improve public safety in these challenging times unless we are all at the table. And notwithstanding the fiscal and political difficulties of these times, we know that we are stronger when we are able to talk with each other. When we’re able to treat each other with dignity and respect.

The tea-partying Republican governors would have us believe on the contrary that ending collective bargaining is somehow a fiscal necessity—but you and I see it for what it is: It is a political ploy. It is ‘get even’ time. It is take out the ideological ax. Some of these states, they’re even pushing through tax cuts for the wealthiest people and then turning around and telling the public employees that they need to make up the difference because, ‘Golly, times are tough.’

Well if times are tough, why are they pushing through tax cuts for the wealthiest of people who’ve already enjoyed a windfall? You know what? Our federal tax burden right now in terms of percentage of GDP is lower than it’s been at any time since Harry Truman.

And yet the Republican governors would have you believe that they’re the only ones in the 50 states that balance their budgets. We all balance our budgets. Some of us do it showing dignity and respect for the people that are being asked to sacrifice every day, that are asked to be part of the solution. Some of their guys instead have chosen to use this as ‘get even’ time.

In Maryland, we understand the importance of working together with labor. We deal openly, honestly, and with respect. And yes, sometimes we’re not always able to agree. But there is one fundamental thing upon which we always agree. And that is that we sit down at the table. That we appreciate the work you do. That we honor the work you do. And that we honor your families and the sacrifices you make.

We have had to cut about $5.6 billion over the last four years in our State. And yet, we’ve built what’s regarded as the #1 public school system in America for three years in a row. We’ve been able to lower fire deaths. We’ve been able to reduce violent crime to its lowest levels in years. We have been able to go four years in a row without a penny’s increase in college tuition.

And together with the Professional Firefighters of Maryland we have improved public safety and fire safety.

We are investing in a statewide interoperability network, enhancing your capabilities to improve public safety—not using this recession as an excuse not to do that, but using the imperative of what we face in this time of asymmetrical warfare to say that we must do it now. We would not have been able to do that without the firefighters helping us to protect that priority in our budget.

Together, we have secured millions in Homeland Security and Port Security grants in our State, things we would not have been able to do without you and your organization.

Together, we’ve enacted a law for safer-burning cigarettes, working to take one more fire-starter out of the equation.

And together, we’re committed to protecting our fire fighters from cancer and other occupational hazards.

We’ve done this, and more while working together with organized labor—not only keeping our collective bargaining laws intact, but in our State, we’ve actually been expanding collective bargaining. Not demonizing or degrading the people who work hard and serve the public because of their vocation, but coming together around the table and finding ways to move forward together.

Unions and efficient government. Unions and improved performance. Unions and improved public safety. I don’t see them as mutually exclusive. I see them as something that’s integral to be brought together if we’re going to accomplish what we all hope for, not only for our generation, but for the next.

In conclusion, let me just say this: We undoubtedly face tough economic and fiscal times, with tough choices (and they are not easy) and determined opponents who want to use this time to advance their ideological cause. To take us back to the days of Coolidge and Hoover. But we do not run away. We band together and stand up….

So when they try to pull our seat from the bargaining table, we can’t lie down. We have to stand up.

When they push for tax cuts for the wealthiest of Americans instead of jobs for firefighters, do we lie down, or do we stand up?

[Audience: Stand up!]

When they try to make cuts for the wealthiest 1 percent a higher priority than public safety, do we lie down, or do we stand up?

[Audience: Stand up!]

When they try to take us back to the days of Coolidge and Hoover, do we lie down, or stand up?

[Audience: Stand up!]

My friends, the best days in life are not the easy days. They’re the tough days when you pick yourself up off the mat and you move forward. These are pivotal times. And I applaud this organization, and I applaud your courageous leader for not lying down, for not running to the back, but for standing up wherever that fight is taken. Whether it’s Wisconsin, whether it’s Ohio—wherever that fight happens—it’s a fight that is not restricted to just one state. It’s a fight for our country’s future, it’s a fight for a safer future, and it’s a fight for your future. Let’s stand together and let’s stand up and move forward.

Thanks very much."

Read the Baltimore Sun’s take on the Offshore wind legislation, The Capital’s explanation of the electric vehicle legislation, the Washington Post’s description of InvestMaryland, and an oped by Jim Strong of the United Steelworkers of Maryland and Mike Tidwell of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network on the Offshore Wind initiative.

Watch this video about the rally:

Here are a few excerpts:

From the Baltimore Sun: “The wind farm envisioned by the legislation would represent too great a benefit to the residents of this state to be ignored.”

From the Capital: “For Maryland to look at this issue (electric vehicles) and set the right incentives and policies is critical”

From the Washington Post,” InvestMaryland seeks to pioneer a stronger economy by injecting a larger degree of capital into forecasted growth industries at no immediate cost to Maryland taxpayers.”

From the Gazette: “By making Maryland a leader in the construction and deployment of offshore wind turbines, the O’Malley bill would create thousands of jobs, help stabilize electricity rates, and — oh, yeah — help solve a big part of the global-warming problem.”

In case you missed it, here's the video from Governor O'Malley's interview on MSNBC's Harball yesterday. While other Governor's are using their workers as scapegoats for the tough decisions they have to make, Governor O'Malley is committed to continuing to work together to make progress on our shared priorities. 

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Governor O'Malley--recently elected Chairman of the Democratic Governor's Association--delivered these remarks at the Virginia Jefferson-Jackson Dinner.

"Thank you all very much,…

Let begin by thanking Chairman Brian Moran for his tremendous leadership and hard work in making this tremendous night happen. This sort of gathering does not happen by itself, and Brian with salute you and thank you for your leadership. (applause)

And to Mayor Dwight Jones, thank you for your leadership of our great host City of Richmond.

Early this morning, three members of your Congressional delegation – Jim Moran, Bobby Scott and Gerry Connelly helped win the fight against national House Republican efforts, that would have taken 3,000 cops off the beat and 2,300 firefighters out of our nation's firehouses. Let's have a round of applause for their leadership.

To Tim Kaine, thank you for your very kind introduction and thank you for your friendship. It's great to join you here today. Governor Kaine and I have long had a bond, not just as Governors of neighboring states, but as former mayors.

Being Mayor is a great job because you manage for results on the front lines of the big challenges that impact our quality of life. There is no Democratic or Republican way of filling a pothole or more efficiently collecting the garbage. Mayors see problems and they bring people together to tackle these problems, and get things done,...in fact, I think are exactly the sort of qualities we need more of in the U.S. Senate, don't you? (big applause)

I also want to acknowledge two great leaders who so many of you have worked so hard on behalf of – Mark Warner and Jim Webb.

I understand the guy Senator Webb beat says he wants his old job back,… that he wants to take one of Virginia's Senate seats back. We have experience with this sort of thing in Maryland,...so here is some neighborly advice:

When George Allen, John Boehner, Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck tell you they want to take Virginia back,... you might ask them,… you might ask one another, “back to what?... "

Back through the trail of record job losses, record foreclosures, small businesses losses, and bank system wreckage of the Bush recession? Back to shattered alliances abroad and shattered dreams at home? Back to Katrina,..."heck of a job, Brownie?...."

Now you make your own decision, but I can assure you that your neighbors in Maryland don't want to go back. We want to move forward, and I bet you do as well.

Forward Not Back

As Marylanders and Virginians, we know we can accomplish important things when we work together to solve problems and move forward. With leaders like Tim Kaine, we joined together to fight crime, and to save the Blue Crab and improve the health of our Bay. Together we are pursuing the renewable energy potential of Atlantic off-shore wind. And in 2008 with volunteers from Maryland crossing the border to volunteer alongside Virginians, we put Barack Obama over the top.

As a boy growing up just across the Potomac, I have fond memories of weekend trips with my mom and dad and brothers to powerfully beautiful places in Virginia called, Mt. Vernon,...Ashlawn,... and Monticello,...

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Virginians all, patriots and founders -- they changed the world by winning for us the power of self-determination, a living Republic capable of adapting time and again to the economic and global challenges of every age.

The Democratic Party -- the Party of the people -- built the American Century, led our people to finance and win two world wars, rebuilt our industrial and transportation infrastructure, and with the GI bill expanded our middle class and middle class prosperity to a scale and level never before achieved in the history of the world.

I want to talk with you tonight about jobs,...about opportunity,...and about the job-creating importance of the choices we make right now. For surely, no family can build a better future without a job; no progress is possible for our nation without jobs.

Nothing to Fear

Let's have a show of hands. How many of you believe that you have a better quality of life than that of your parents and grandparents? Second more troubling question,.... How many of you believe just as firmly that your children and grandchildren will enjoy a better quality of life than you have?

...Virtually everywhere I go, far fewer hands go up on that second question,...

If we are going to win elections and govern -- if we are going to move forward -- we must be willing to confront our biggest opponent: that fear of "fear itself" in our lifetimes

Our country is in a fight, it is a fight for our economic future. It's a battle for jobs and opportunity in a changing new economy. And the choices we make today -- the choices we make as a people right now -- will determine what type of future our children will have.

If our children are going to be winners and not losers in this changing economy, we must find the will to balance budgets while also investing in the stronger country our children need, and the better future our children deserve. We must forge the consensus necessary as a people to balance this bicycle while peddling forward at the same time,...

Jobs. Opportunity. Now.

President Obama was exactly right when we said last week in Maryland that to create jobs in this new innovation economy, every American must be equipped with the skills to “compete with any worker, anywhere in the world.”

Thirty years ago, the United States ranked #1 in high school graduation rates among our global competitors. Today we're 11th,… Thirty years ago, America ranked #1 in college completion. Today we're at #12,… As a nation, we now spend more on potato chips than we invest through our government into energy research and development.

These trends won't reverse themselves by themselves; we cannot expect other nations to stop their job-creating progress just because we have decided to slow down. In the global competition for jobs and opportunity, we must move forward as a nation, or other countries will surely create the jobs we should be creating here.

Balance and Progress Together

Have you ever tried to balance on a bicycle without peddling forward? It is pretty much impossible to stay up for very long on a bicycle that isn't moving forward,... And they don't peddle themselves --especially when you are trying to go uphill,...

The same is true of a state or a nation.

Like President Obama, Thomas Jefferson understood as President what it takes to balance and move forward at the same time. Where would be as a nation if Jefferson had allowed our fight against the Barbary Pirates to distract him from balancing the nation's finances while also securing the Louisiana Purchase?

Where would Virginia be today if as Governor, Mark Warner hadn't shown courage and leadership in 2004, when with t ough fiscal choices and a willingness to pull people together, you saved Virginia's Triple A bond rating and set the table for important investments to improve public education?]]>

Where would Virginia be today without Tim Kaine's commitment to fiscal discipline, along with his foresight to "renew Virginia." Even while cutting billions of dollars in spending, Governor Kaine advanced green-technology, improved early childhood education and technical education, revamped workforce training, and made historic investments to rebuild higher education in Virginia.

Democratic Governors, are balancing budgets, making the tough choices, and moving forward ALL AT THE SAME TIME,... And why??? Because Governor Warner and you,... because Governor Kaine and you,... wanted Virginia and Virginia's children to be winners in this changing new economy, that's why...

Wonderland

Now many of the current crop of tea partying Republican Governors would have you believe that they are the only governors who balance their budgets every year. But you know better in Virginia. You know all of the states have to balance their budgets.

But the tea partying Republican Governors live in a different world than ours.

Yes, the tea partying Republican governors would have us believe a lot of things that just aren't so.

But of course, friends, their type of tea party is more Alice in Wonderland than it is Sam Adams. The Republican Governors' tea party is more Mad Hatter than James Madison.

They would have us believe we can somehow eat cake and lose weight. They would have us believe that we can somehow just cut our way to a better future – no need to invest in education or rebuild our infrastructure. They would have us believe that the financial cost of wars are best charged to our children's credit cards. They would have us believe that massive permanent tax cuts for the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans -- who, by the way, claim twenty-five percent of the nation's wealth -- don't balloon the deficit or cost the Republic anything at all.

At the Republican Governor's tea party, where colorful characters like Chris Christie of New Jersey preside, there is no need to pay bills, no need to protect bond ratings, no need to invest in the future. Down is up, up is down; candy is a vegetable, and vegetables are candy,...

Together

But this isn't Wonderland; this is reality. We are Americans. And in our Republic we know there are some challenges so large that we can only hope to tackle them together.

Creating jobs, spurring innovation, harnessing off-shore wind, expanding opportunity in this new economy, improving public education and public safety, making college more affordable, rebuilding a 21st century transportation and cyber infrastructure,....these things won't happen by themselves.

We must choose to move forward.

None of these choices for our nation are easy choices now. But now is when we must make them. No generation of Americans ever built monuments to their own comfort.

To win the future, to make it in America, and to make sure that our children are winners in this changing new economy,… we must balance and peddle forward at the same time,...we must cut spending by improving performance,... we must educate, innovate and rebuild. We must create jobs and expand opportunity, and to do this, we must make the tough choices and the right choices right now,...

The Chesapeake Crescent Economy

In this changing new economy, innovation is key.

And when it comes to innovation, our region, the Cheasapeake Crescent --– Virginia and Maryland together -- can lead the way forward .

Across both of our states, Marylanders and Virginians are working together in labs, classrooms, and businesses to advance new technologies, cures, treatments, and sciences that are remaking our world and revolutionizing the way we “feed, fuel, and heal” our world. From the next generation electric motors rolling off the assembly line at GM in Baltimore County,… to Terry McAuliff's work here in Virginia with GreenTech Automotive.

The creative and talented minds of our region attract more Research and Development investment than any region of our country. We are home to more than 70 federal research labs, and some of the world's leading institutions of science, discovery, and higher learning. Our people are some of the most highly educated and skilled anywhere in America, with more PHD scientists and engineers per capita than any place in our America.

We are well equipped for greatness. And our region is blessed with a diversity that also fuels innovation and creativity.

Conclusion

In conclusion, what was true in Jefferson's day is true in ours. There is no progress without struggle, no victory without sacrifice. And America needs our generation -- as she has needed every generation -- to stand up and overcome the challenges of our own day, and win.

Our nation was not built by faint-hearted cowards and couch potatoes. Greed and selfishness are not the civic virtues of this Republic. Bombast and workforce abuse are not the leadership qualities of governing that forge consensus and progress.

We are a Revolutionary people. We are fully capable -- when fully alive and engaged -- of accomplishing revolutionary things.

The liberating legions of the American Armies of our parents' and grandparents' day did not fight and die to defeat fascism just so we could sit back on our haunches and watch our bridges crumble along with our children's prospects for a better future.

They fought for us,... And they trusted us to fight for the generations that would come after ours. And I am not going to let them down and neither are you.

As Democrats, we believe in the courageous community of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's America. We believe in John Kennedy's America, always seeking the new frontier. We believe in Bill Clinton's fiscally responsible America, that can balance a budget and expand opportunity while also building a bridge to the 21st Century and beyond.

An America where we choose to move forward, together. Forward today by creating jobs, forward today by expanding opportunity. Forward today by making the tough decisions, and the fiscally responsible decisions, that allow us to build a better future now."

But while the innovation continues, all too often, our innovators are unable to obtain the seed and early stage dollars necessary to move forward. And that's why we need InvestMaryland.

InvestMaryland is a new investment program that will unlock $100 million in venture capital funding for high growth potential companies, create thousands of good paying jobs and unlock hundreds of millions and perhaps billions of dollars in economic activity.

It's an efficient, cost-effective investment in Maryland's future that could mean the difference between growing the next MedImmune or Human Genome Sciences here in Maryland or in another state or country.

It's also a smart investment with no up-front cost for taxpayers. For every dollar we put into InvestMaryland, we recoup 100% of our principle investment plus 80% of the profits from successful business ventures.

In every part of our state, our fellow citizens are working to transform global challenges into the jobs and opportunities of the new economy right here in Maryland. We have the ability through InvestMaryland to remove a major obstacle.

Whether we run ahead or whether we run in place--the choice is ours. We need InvestMaryland.

Where to watch:

• At noon, we’ll be live streaming an enhanced version of the State of the State address (complete with slide overlays and explanations) Watch here.
• Watch the enhanced version live streamed on facebook
• Follow @governoromalley on twitter for live updates

Have a question?

• Use the hashtag #MDSOTS on twitter—members of my staff will be answering questions live one hour before and one hour after the address
• Post a comment on facebook—members of my staff will be answering questions throughout the day on Thursday and Friday

Ask Lt. Governor Brown:

• Lt. Governor Brown will be answering your questions on Youtube on Friday at 4pm
• Email your questions to ltgov@gov.state.md.us or connect with him on Facebook and Twitter

Want to know more? 

• Check out the specially designed State of the State web page for helpful links, videos and more!

Where: Fifth Regiment Armory
Baltimore, MD
219 29th Division Street
Baltimore, MD 21201

When: Wednesday January 19th, 2011
7:00pm-10:00pm

How: Click here to purchase tickets

We hope that you can make it.

“Democratic governors will lead the way back to our party’s resurgence,” said Chairman O’Malley. "Democratic ideas are already leading the way to restore our economy, whether it’s expanding access to capital for small businesses, strengthening our workforce, and spurring job creation with strategic investments to support the private sector.”

“Democratic governors this year were honest about our shared challenges and the tough choices ahead of us; we fought back and we won. In 2011 and 2012, as both Democrats and governors, we will continue this record of being honest, making the tough choices, and winning.”

Governor Bev Perdue, who became the first female governor of North Carolina in 2008, said that governors have a unique role and will lead the way on creating jobs.

“While Washington plays political games, we’re rolling up our sleeves out in the states to create jobs,” Gov. Perdue said. “Nothing could be more important than focusing on the businesses that are creating jobs in this country, and that’s what we’re doing in North Carolina and what Democratic governors are doing around the country.”

O’Malley thanked outgoing Chair Governor Jack Markell of Delaware for his strong service to the DGA.

“Jack has done an outstanding job for the people of Delaware and for the Democratic Party,” O’Malley said. “He was an excellent Chairman, raising record dollars and leading efforts that allowed Democratic gubernatorial candidates to weather the political storm better than Democrats running for other offices across our country. It’s been an honor to serve with Jack as a member of his leadership team, and I hope to build upon the strong foundation he built at the DGA. “

Governor Markell thanked his fellow governors for their confidence in his leadership and their dedication to electing Democratic governors.

"Whether it's getting people back to work or making sure our kids are graduating ready to compete and win against the world, our response to these challenges now may shape our nation's direction for years," Gov. Markell said. "Our Governors have had the courage to make the tough choices to keep their budgets balanced and their states moving forward. Our candidates had the courage to step up and run on real issues in a toxic political environment. They were supported by an incredible staff at the DGA that never gave up. Under Governors O'Malley and Purdue, and with the addition of some great new Democratic governors, the DGA will keep fighting for what matters."

The DGA was a bright spot for the party on Election Night, holding Republicans well below expectations switching five seats from Republican control and winning the majority of targeted races. The DGA raised record amounts of money and successfully put into place Project 2010, a four-year mission to elect Democratic governors.

This campaign was about the tough choices that will allow us to provide a better future for Maryland families: creating jobs, investing in education, keeping college affordable, improving our public safety, and positioning our state to succeed in the new economy.

It was a campaign powered by the thousands of volunteers like you who knocked on doors, called their neighbors, and gave generously of their time and energy.

We faced some very difficult challenges, including a hostile national political climate and an experienced and determined opponent, but thanks to you we were able to prevail by the largest margin of victory in a Maryland governor's race in 20 years.

This simply would not have been possible without your help.

As a small token of gratitude, we have put together a short video with some highlights from the campaign.  Click here to watch this short video.

We face tremendous challenges over the next several years, as a state and as a country. There is still much work to be done to restore hope and prosperity following the most devastating global recession in a generation.  

But Tuesday brought us a step closer to that better future.  Thank you for being a part of our continuing work to move Maryland forward.

Sincerely,

 

Governor Martin O'Malley

Where: American Visionary Art Museum; 800 Key Highway Baltimore, MD
When: Doors open at 8pm
Who: Governor O'Malley, Lt. Governor Brown, Senator Mikulski and YOU!
RSVP here.

We have the momentum, but we need your help to bring this thing home. Watch this video and then sign up for a "Get out the vote" volunteer shift here.

O'Malley Administration Partnered With Law Enforcement to Clear DNA Backlog, Enact Strong Domestic Violence Legislation, and Crack Down On Sexual Predators

Baltimore, MD (October 22, 2010) -- The O'Malley-Brown campaign today released a new TV ad touting the O'Malley-Brown administration's strong public safety record. The ad, "Safety," is currently airing in the Baltimore market.

It can be viewed here.

"Governor Martin O'Malley has made protecting Maryland families a top priority," said Tom Russell, O'Malley-Brown Campaign Manager.

"Under Governor O'Malley's leadership, violent crime in Maryland is down to its lowest level since 1975.  It's yet another area where out state is making progress and yet another reminder why we must continue to move forward in this election."

• After inheriting a backlog of 24,000 unanalyzed and 15,000 uncollected DNA samples, Governor O'Malley allocated the necessary resources to eliminate the backlog leading to case closures and arrests of violent fugitives.  In 2009 alone, 103 murderers, rapists, and other criminals who might otherwise be walking the streets, were arrested thanks to DNA technology.
• Governor O'Malley and Lt. Governor Brown worked with countless stakeholders and advocates to take firearms out of the hands of domestic abusers in Maryland.  Governor O'Malley also signed legislation into law that allows a tenant who is a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault to terminate a residential lease or request that their locks be changed with certain written notice, including a final protective or peace order.  Lt. Governor Brown, the administration's point person for domestic violence policy, worked with legislators and stakeholders to pass the bill.
• Governor O'Malley signed bipartisan legislation to increase mandatory minimum sentences for sexual offenders and require mandatory lifetime supervision of sexual predators.

Ehrlich Falls Back on Shrill, Increasingly Desperate Attacks As His Campaign Loses Momentum

Baltimore, MD (October 21, 2010) -- Governor O'Malley emerged as the clear victor in Thursday's WOLB debate, which covered a wide range of subjects including jobs, education, health care, public safety, wellness issues, and veterans issues.  O'Malley focused on the tough choices we've made to keep our state moving forward for all Marylanders, while former Governor Ehrlich fell back on more shrill, misleading, and increasingly desperate attacks.  
 
In his closing remarks, O'Malley noted that Maryland is making the difficult choices to move forward in challenging times.

"We have to keep moving forward. In order for our President to be successful in moving our country forward, we need to keep Maryland moving forward," said O'Malley.  
"In every fight I have stood up for you. I serve no special interest but the interests of the people of our state.  We need a Governor who is willing and able to bring people together and secure a better future for our children."
 
By contrast, Bob Ehrlich continued a troubling pattern of shrill and desperate attacks that have increased in frequency as his campaign has slipped in the polls and lost momentum.  Ehrlich failed to make education a priority when he was Governor, spent more than any governor in Maryland history, and jacked up college tuition 40%.

Ehrlich received an "F" from the NAACP every year between 1997 and 2002.

"Congressman Gilchrest has served our state and our country with honor and distinction.  I am humbled to have his support in this election and I am honored to call him my friend" said Governor Martin O'Malley.  "Moving our state forward isn't about partisanship and ideology, it's about working together to build a brighter future for the next generation and preserving our natural resources that are absolutely vital to our quality of life."

O'Malley continued, "I look forward to continuing to work with Congressman Gilchrest on our efforts to restore the health of the Chesapeake Bay, protect our State Parks, and teach our children to be environmental stewards."

"Governor O'Malley is to be commended for making the tough decisions to move Maryland forward during very difficult economic times," said Congressman Gilchrest.  "His efforts to restore the health of the Bay, preserve our open space, and teach our children important lessons about environmental stewardship are helping to improve the quality of life for countless families on the Eastern Shore.  I know Martin O'Malley.  I have counseled him on environmental policy and I know he makes all of his decisions with the best interests of Maryland families in mind."  

Congressman Gilchrest represented Maryland's Eastern Shore for decades and is well known for his strong stance on protecting Maryland's environment--a commitment shared by the O'Malley-Brown administration.  Before he was elected to Congress, Congressman Gilchrest served in the United States Marines and was a high school teacher at Kent County High School. 

Governor O'Malley has been recognized as a national leader in implementing effective environmental restoration policies.  And because of his innovative BayStat program and effective policies, the Maryland Blue Crab population is at a ten-year high and the Bay is the healthiest it's been since 2002.

Rally with President Clinton

Federal Hill Park
This Thursday, October 21st
Gates open at 3:00 pm

Tickets or RSVP Strongly recommended

RSVP Here or on Facebook

The O'Malley-Brown campaign today released a new TV ad starring Senator Barbara Mikulski, the first Democratic woman elected to the U.S. Senate.  In the ad, which is currently airing in the Baltimore market, Senator Mikulski draws on her 25-year relationship with O'Malley to describe him as a "hard working, 24/7 kind of guy" who is always on the side of Maryland families.  The Senator goes on to highlight O'Malley's record of fiscal responsibility and freezing college tuition to make it more affordable for Maryland families.

“Mikulski”
TV :30
SEN. BARBARA MIKULSKI:
Martin O'Malley's always been a hard working , 24/7 kind of guy.
I've known him for 25 years.
A lot of late night chats, always about families, what they're going through, how to protect them.
He shrunk the state budget, cut billions.
Even in these tough times, he froze college tuition rates to make it more affordable.
For him, it's always about us, the people.
And there's never a doubt whose side he's on.  He's on our side.
Martin O’Malley Moving Maryland Forward.

Saturday, October 23^rd, 2010 from 2-5pm
Music by O’Malley’s March and The Kelly Bell Band
At Bourbon Street
316 Guilford Avenue
Baltimore, MD
RSVP Here

Sunday, October 24^th, 2010 from 5-7pm
Music by Governor O’Malley, Pat Garvey and Brendan’s Voyage
At Ireland’s Four Fields3412 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, DC
RSVP Here

Tickets - $50 per individual
To RSVP by phone or if you have any questions, please contact:
Erin Gorman at egorman@martinomalley.com or 410-468-4004

Ehrlich Admits in Second Debate He Doesn't Care About Prince George's Jobs Moving Out of State -- Among the many differences between the candidates in yesterday's second gubernatorial debate, none was perhaps more shocking than former Governor Bob Ehrlich's admission that he would allow Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder, a top donor to Ehrlich's campaign, to move the beloved franchise out of Maryland and back to the District of Columbia.  Such a move would cost Prince George's County hundreds of jobs and would violate the terms of a binding 30-year contract between the Redskins and the State of Maryland.
 
Mentioning that Snyder had given money to his campaign, Ehrlich discussed moving the Redskins out of Prince George's County, saying "we'll have those discussions" and there are "issues regarding the stadium."  He described the decision as "a function of discussions with Mr. Snyder."
 
In contrast, Governor Martin O'Malley stated clearly and unequivocally that he would keep the franchise at its current location in Landover, MD.
 
A video clip of the exchange is available here.
 
"I don't care how close Bob Ehrlich is with Redskins owner Dan Snyder or how much money Snyder has given to Ehrlich's campaign. What he’s proposing would be a slap in the face of all Marylanders and would ship Prince George's County jobs out-of-state," said Tom Russell, O'Malley-Brown campaign manager.
 
"Ehrlich has repeatedly rooted for bad news and talked down Maryland in this campaign. But I never thought he would go as far as conspiring to move an iconic franchise out of the state."

12:00:  Opening remarks:  Governor Martin O'Malley opened the second debate of the campaign with a positive message of moving forward in tough economic times. 
 "As this national recession comes to a close, Maryland is moving forward. We are creating jobs, we're doing through innovation, and we're moving forward," said Governor O'Malley. "I have fought every battle on your side."
O'Malley highlighted the progress Maryland has made in a number of key areas, including cutting state spending by $5.6 billion, boosting the rate of private sector job growth this year to the highest levels since 2000, making record investments in public education, fighting to make college more affordable, and investments in mass transit.
 O'Malley's forward-looking tone contrasted sharply with former Governor Bob Ehrlich, who pledged to take Maryland backwards and repeated old attacks that have been discredited by the media as "false" and "dishonest."
 In the first debate, Ehrlich made at least a dozen false claims in attempt to mislead voters about his record.

12:05: Bob Ehrlich says to "trust" him. These real Marylanders know better.  Youtube Video
12:06:  Fact check: @ehrlich4md said 6.5 million people in MD. US Census 5.7. Another rounding error?
12:07: Gov. O'Malley talks about new ideas to create jobs in MD. Learn more here.
12:10: Ehrlich raised taxes and fees by $3.3B. Get the facts
12:12: Here's the Chamber of commerce report that ranks MD #2 in country for entrepreneurship
12:13: Ehrlich misleads on Maryland's business climate. Get the facts.Ehrlich claims to care about the business climate, but hurt businesses by hiking their taxes and fees.  Ehrlich signed legislation raising corporate filing fees from $100 to $300 annually, a $60 million per year increase.  The bill also required that other companies including LLCs, partnerships, and real estate investment trusts pay the full fee.  Ehrlich’s backing of the plan came despite Republican complaints that it would hurt small business owners.  Ehrlich raised property taxes on Maryland businesses and families by $690 million and tried to raise corporate income taxes until he ran into opposition from business owners.  Ehrlich also signed legislation mandating steep increases in unemployment insurance taxes.  [Department of Legislative Services]

12:15:  Ehrlich Continues More of the Same Negative, Misleading Attacks to Open Second Debate  - Governor Martin O'Malley opened the second debate of the campaign with a positive message of moving forward in tough economic times.   "As this national recession comes to a close, Maryland is moving forward. We are creating jobs, we're doing through innovation, and we're moving forward," said Governor O'Malley. "I have fought every battle on your side." O'Malley highlighted the progress Maryland has made in a number of key areas, including cutting state spending by $5.6 billion, boosting the rate of private sector job growth this year to the highest levels since 2000, making record investments in public education, fighting to make college more affordable, and investments in mass transit. O'Malley's forward-looking tone contrasted sharply with former Governor Bob Ehrlich, who pledged to take Maryland backwards and repeated old attacks that have been discredited by the media as "false" and "dishonest."  In the first debate, Ehrlich made at least a dozen false claims in attempt to mislead voters about his record.
12:16: The facts on millionaires form the Baltimore Sun: Maryland is #2 per capita in the USA.
12:17: Bob Ehrlich was the biggest spender in MD history: Get the facts here.
12:18:  FACT CHECK: EHRLICH HAS PROPOSED A BILLION IN NEW SPENDING, NO PLAN TO PAY FOR IT EXCEPT CUTTING EDUCATION
Bob Ehrlich has no plan to pay for his sales tax cut and has actually said he will wait until after the election to tell voters how it will be paid for. [The Baltimore Sun, “O’Malley Wants More Details on Ehrlich’s Road Map,” September 24th, 2010]  Ehrlich underfunded education and has promised to cut education funding again. Despite his promise to fully fund the Thornton Plan, Ehrlich refused to fund the GCEI. Subsequently in 2006, officials in 13 Maryland school systems said they would lose an estimated $72.3 million because of his failure to fund the GCEI. These funds would have helped reduce class size and expand programs like all-day kindergarten. These programs have shown to be crucial in the progression of a child’s education. Now, Ehrlich is promising to refuse to fund the GCEI again, a move that would cut support for Montgomery, Prince George’s, and other counties by hundreds of millions of dollars.  As a Congressman, Ehrlich received failing grades from teacher groups and supported both education spending cuts and the elimination of the federal Department of Education. [The Washington Post, “Ehrlich Budget Leaves Some Schools Short,” January 27th, 2006]
12:19: According to Jay Hancock of the Baltimore Sun, job growth was better under Gov. O'Malley than it was under Gov. Ehrlich, compared to other states.
12:20:  Yesterday, The Sun provided the real facts on Ehrlich's false job claim.
12:22:  Bob Ehrlich raised taxes, tolls and fees on hard-working families by more than $3 billion. Ehrlich increased the state property tax by $693 million, tripled corporate filing fees, raised the car tax by 58% for cars and 66% for SUV’s, and increased various highway, bridge and tunnel tolls, among other fee hikes. [Department of Legislative Services]
12:26:  Ehrlich's transportation plan is more expensive. Get the facts from the Sun
12:23: Yes, Bob Ehrlich left a $1.7B deficit. Get the facts here.
12:27:  According to the Baltimore Sun editorial page, light rail is more effective than bus rapid transit.
12:41: .@ehrlich4md called multiculturalism 'bunk' http://bit.ly/aRM8mTO'Malley O'Malley celebrates our diversity #mddebate

Committed to the Purple Line and Red Line. Gov. O’Malley has put his support behind the locally-preferred alternatives for the Red and Purple Lines in order to ensure that our transportation network is fast, clean and efficient. Gov. O’Malley understands that we need to modernize our current rail-systems in order to create jobs and economic opportunity, ease commute times, and reduce our carbon footprint.  Ehrlich’s opposition to the Purple and Red Lines would take Maryland backward.  Although estimates show that a light-rail would be more cost-effective and environmentally friendly than a rapid bus transit system, Ehrlich has promised to kill plans to implement the Purple and Red Lines even as they enter their final planning stages. [The BaltimoreSun, “The Problem With Bus Rapid Transit,” August 20th, 2010]

12:37: O'Malley talks about his family. Watch this ad about his childhood neighborhood.
12:39: Ehrlich was for Casa de Maryland before he was against it.  He helped provide it with $700,000 in state funding while he was governor.  –The Baltimore Sun, June 20, 2010,
12:45: The Sun, "Ehrlich Would Cut School Funding"
12:50: .@Orioles Yes, this was a debate question:  My advice to win:  Practice, Practice, Practice.  #mddebate
12:52: Gov. O'Malley made a $1.3B investment in school construction--the greatest investment in MD history #mddebate
12:56: O'Malley secured the largest utility recovery for consumers in MD history
12:59 O'MALLEY WINS SECOND DEBATE WITH FORWARD-LOOKING PLAN FOR MARYLAND
Ehrlich Attempts to Mislead Voters About His Record, Launches More of the Same Desperate and Discredited Attacks That Fall Flat

Baltimore, MD (October 14, 2010) -- Governor O'Malley won the second gubernatorial debate with a clear focus on jobs and the economy, leveling with Marylanders about the tough choices we've made to move our economy forward.  In his closing remarks, O'Malley noted that Maryland is making the difficult choices to move forward in challenging times and will continue to move forward with the right leadership. "We need a Governor who is on our side...I love the people of our state, I'm optimistic about our future, if we have the courage to move forward" said Governor O'Malley.
 By contrast, Bob Ehrlich struggled to lay out a clear vision for the next four years, instead falling back on discredited and misleading negative attacks and pledging to take Maryland back to the failed policies of the past, when he raised taxes and fees on every Maryland family by a total of $3 billion, spent more than any governor in Maryland history, and jacked up college tuition 40%.
At a particularly telling moment in the debate, Ehrlich flatly denied that he raised the property tax, when in fact he raised property taxes on Maryland homeowners and businesses by $693 million.
Despite being asked repeatedly by panelists, Ehrlich refused to state how he would pay for the billion in new campaign promises he has proposed.

The Facts:

Under Gov. O’Malley’s leadership, Maryland was ranked #2 in the country this year by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for entrepreneurship and innovation, and one of the top states for job growth. [US Chamber Study of Enterprising States]

Forbes ranked Maryland one of the best states to do business in 2009. [Baltimore Business Journal, September 24, 2009]

Ehrlich Misleading Claim #2: Maryland hasn’t created one net new job in the last three years

The Facts:

Maryland’s 33,200 jobs gained since January represents the best job growth over that period since 2000. According to The Washington Post: “Despite hard times, Maryland has the 13th-lowest percentage of people out of work in the nation; many states with lower rates are sparsely populated places such as the Dakotas and Wyoming. And while joblessness everywhere was much lower in 2006, at the conclusion of Mr. Ehrlich's four-year term as governor, Maryland was actually lower in the national unemployment rankings -- in 16th place -- than it is now.” [U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; The Washington Post, “What a suppressed report says about Maryland’s economy,” October 8, 2010]

Ehrlich Misleading Claim #3: Maryland has dropped in its business rating significantly

The Facts:

Under Gov. O’Malley’s leadership, Maryland was ranked #2 in the country this year by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for entrepreneurship and innovation and #3 in the most recent state report by the Kaufman Foundation for its ability to move forward in the new economy. [US Chamber Study of Enterprising States / Kaufman Foundation: State New Economy Index, 2008.

Ehrlich Misleading Claim #4: “We brought BRAC here, that was a success of our administration.”

The Facts:

Ehrlich can’t claim credit for bringing BRAC jobs, which are determined by the federal government. In fact, columnist C. Fraser Smith wrote, “One of the odd lapses in the Ehrlich administration was its failure to make much of BRAC … Mr. O’Malley has made BRAC a major concern.” [The Baltimore Sun, April 29, 2010]

Ehrlich Misleading Claim #5: O’Malley Raised Spending

The Facts:

Gov. O’Malley decreased General Fund spending by 3 percent, the first governor in generations to actually reduce the budget over four years. [Department of Legislative Services]

The Baltimore Sun reported, “O'Malley has made repeated rounds of cuts to keep Maryland's budget in balance over the last four years - in fact, cutting projected spending far more than Mr. Ehrlich did.” [The Baltimore Sun, April 8th, 2010]

Ehrlich Misleading Claim #6: The governor doesn’t set tuition, the Board of Regents does; the governor doesn’t set the property tax, the Board of Public Works does

The Facts:

• “Acknowledging that worsening state finances mean campaign promises must be bent, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. released a new budget-balancing plan yesterday that relies on an increase in the state property tax and higher fees from corporations.” [The Baltimore Sun, “Tax boost in revised Ehrlich budget,” March 15, 2003]

• “Mr. Ehrlich proposed the property-tax increase in his supplemental budget” [The Washington Times, April 12, 2003]

• “Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. voted yesterday to raise Maryland's tax on homes and other property by nearly 60 percent” [The Washington Post, May 1, 2003]

• “During Ehrlich's tenure, in-state tuition at some schools, including the flagship campus at College Park, rose more than 40 percent. The increases, approved by university regents, came largely in response to cuts in state funding early in Ehrlich's term, as he sought to close budget shortfalls.” [The Washington Post Maryland Politics Blog, April 21, 2010]

Ehrlich Misleading Claim #7: “We funded Thornton”

The Facts:

Despite his promise to fully fund the Thornton Plan, Ehrlich refused to fund the GCEI. Subsequently in 2006, officials in 13 Maryland school systems said they would lose an estimated $72.3 million because of his failure to fund the GCEI. These funds would have helped reduce class size and expand programs like all-day kindergarten. These programs have shown to be crucial in the progression of a child’s education. Now, Ehrlich is promising to refuse to fund the GCEI again. [The Washington Post, January 27th, 2006]

Ehrlich Misleading Claim #8: The structural deficit exists because Maryland took stimulus dollars

The Facts:

The structural deficit not only existed before the stimulus and before O’Malley’s term; it actually got worse under Ehrlich. Ehrlich left Gov. O’Malley with a $1.7 billion deficit. [Department of Legislative Services]

Ehrlich Misleading Claim #9: O’Malley has added $124 billion in new spending

The Facts:

Gov. O’Malley decreased General Fund spending by 3 percent, the first governor in generations to actually reduce the budget over four years. [Department of Legislative Services]

Gov. O’Malley has had “the leanest budgets in the last 50 years.” [MarylandReporter.com, May 19, 2010]

Ehrlich Misleading Claim #10: O’Malley’s advertising has been “uniformly negative”

The Facts:

O’Malley has run more positive advertising than Ehrlich, who has run almost entirely negative campaign.

Ehrlich’s negative attack ads have been called “dishonest,” false,” “misleading,” and “total malarkey” by independent news organizations. [TBD Facts Machine; October 5, 2010 / WBAL TV, October 5, 2010 / WBAL TV, September 29, 2010. / TBD Facts Machine, October 5, 2010]

Ehrlich Misleading Claim #11: “We tried to cut taxes; the legislature wouldn’t let us”

The Facts:

Most of Ehrlich’s tax increases were proposed by him. He enacted the biggest increase, the $643 million state property tax hike, without legislative approval. He also raised tolls by $300 million without legislative approval and created the $150 million “flush tax.” [The Washington Post, “May 27th, 2004]

Ehrlich Misleading Claim #12: O’Malley cut school construction funding

The Facts:

Gov. O’Malley provided nearly $1.3 billion for school construction after Bob Ehrlich provided just $837 million over his term, an increase of over 50 percent. Ehrlich, on the other hand, cut school construction by over $170 million. O’Malley’s $400 million allocation in his first year was intended largely to make up for the lack of funding under his predecessor and was never intended to be sustained over the long term. The $250 million annual funding level proposed by O’Malley for the next four years is consistent with recommendations made by the Kopp Commission. Bob Ehrlich, who initially criticized O’Malley for spending too much on school construction, has not said how much money he would allocate for school construction over the next four years. [Department of Legislative Services; The Washington Post, July 8, 2010]

The script of the ad is as follows:

"Trust"
Female#1 :  Bob Ehrlich says he wants to fix Maryland
Male #2: But he increased state spending by record amounts.
Female #2: Ehrlich raised $3 billion in taxes and fees
Female #3: Including property taxes
Female #4: And a 40% increase in college tuition..
Male #1: And now he's made over a billion dollars in new promises?
Female #5: With no plans to pay for them
Female #6: Except for cutting education
Female #1: Cuts that will layoff teachers and increase class sizes
Female #7: That's not a budget
Female #8: And Bob Ehrlich's not the kind of leader
Female #1: We can trust.

I was at WJZ's studios today for the taping of our first debate, and I have to tell you: Governor O'Malley knocked it out of the park.

Independent news media are already calling Governor O'Malley the "clear winner," saying he was "poised and in control," "prepared," and "set the terms of the debate from the start."

I strongly encourage you to see this for yourself.  If you're in the Baltimore area, join us tonight at Mother's Federal Hill Grille, located at 1113 S. Charles Street.  We'll be there beginning at 6:30PM cheering Governor O'Malley on as he lays out the clear choice we face in this election.

If you can't make it to Mother's, you can watch the debate tonight at 7PM on WJZ and other media outlets or view the live stream on your computer at WJZ.com.

Governor O'Malley is focused and ready to Move Maryland Forward, but we need your help in this crucial final stretch.
 
If you'd like to attend this Thursday's Washington Post debate at noon in Washington, D.C., you can register here.

Register now, as seating is limited and offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

Ehrlich Stumbles With Discredited, Negative Attacks; Pledges to Take Maryland Backwards

Baltimore, MD (October 11, 2010) – Governor O'Malley emerged as the clear victor in the first gubernatorial debate, leveling with Marylanders about the tough choices we've made to move our economy forward.

In his closing remarks, O'Malley struck an optimistic tone, noting that Maryland is making the difficult choices to move forward in challenging times and will continue to move forward with the right leadership.

"In every tough fight I have always been on your side," said Governor O'Malley.

"Big banks, the big utility companies, and the big mortgage companies have all the government affairs specialists money can buy. But I serve only one interest: yours," added O'Malley.

By contrast, Bob Ehrlich struggled to lay out a clear vision for the next four years, instead falling back on discredited and misleading negative attacks and pledging to take Maryland back to the failed policies of the past, when he raised taxes and fees on every Maryland family by a total of $3 billion, spent more than any governor in Maryland history, and jacked up college tuition 40%.

Facts: Ehrlich mismanaged the state DNA database, leading to criminals going free. Under Gov. Ehrlich, 24,000 DNA samples went uncollected, and the DNA database analyzed only 20% of the samples that went to the laboratory. As a result, criminals that could have been matched to crimes by their DNA instead went free. [Department of Legislative Services, Analysis of the FY 2007 Executive Budget; Maryland Department of State Police – Budget, http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us; StateStat]

Ehrlich tried to pay parolees not to commit crimes. His administration proposed paying paroled prisoners $25 a month to stay crime-free and report on time to probation and parole officers. [The Washington Times, "Ehrlich Plan for Parolees Drawing Fire," November 26th, 2003; The Washington Times, "Parole for Pay Plan Let Go," February 25th, 2004]

Ehrlich vetoed legislation to address gang problems in Maryland. [http://mlis.state.md.us/2004rs/veto_letters/hb1285.htm]
Under Gov. O'Malley, Violent Crime Has Fallen to a Historic Low. According to 2009 crime data, Maryland's violent crime rate is at its lowest level since modern crime-tracking began in 1975. Furthermore, Gov. O'Malley signed tough new legislation to protect Maryland's children from sexual predators, including mandatory minimum sentences, lifetime supervision of sexual predators and the elimination of parole for the worst offenders. [Baltimore Sun, "MD Crime at 35-year Lows, Governor Says," May 10th, 2010; Maryland State Police]

Gov. O'Malley Eliminated the DNA Backlog and Put Violent Criminals Behind Bars. After inheriting a backlog of 24,000 unanalyzed and 15,000 uncollected DNA samples, Gov. O'Malley allocated the necessary resources to eliminate the backlog which lead to case closures and arrests of violent fugitives. Thanks to this DNA technology, 267 murderers, rapists and other criminals who might otherwise be walking the streets were arrested. [The Washington Post, "O'Malley Touts Progress on Arrests from DNA," August 6th, 2010; State of Maryland Uniform Crime Report, 2009]

Gov. O'Malley's Innovative Crime-Fighting Policy Solutions. As Mayor, Martin O'Malley reduced crime in Baltimore by 40%. Now, Gov. O'Malley is continuing his fight against crime by forming new partnerships with local governments in order to utilize new technology to share information between officers and agencies. Gov. O'Malley is leading the way towards obtaining a new state-of-the-art digital fingerprinting technology for Maryland, as well as fighting for an expansion of Maryland's DNA fingerprinting law to convict violent offenders. [http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/08conoff/html/msa13090.html]

THE FACTS:

Bob Ehrlich's only rationale for his candidacyis blaming Gov. O'Malley for the global recession - which Maryland has weathered better than almost any other state under O'Malley's leadership.

Thanks to Gov. O'Malley, Maryland has retained jobs better than all but four other states. "According to the federal statistics, while 2009 saw every state lose jobs, Maryland retained jobs at a higher rate than all but Washington, D.C., and four states: Alaska, North Dakota, Virginia and New Hampshire. Maryland lost 41,000 nonfarm payroll jobs at a 1.7 percent rate during the year. In contrast, the U.S. lost jobs at a 3.0 percent rate." Maryland's standing was fueled by its nation-leading technology job growth, an O'Malley Administration priority. [The Gazette, "Maryland Top State in Tech Growth in 2009," February 1st, 2009]

Strategic tax cuts to keep and create jobs. The Job Creation and Recovery Tax Credit signed into law this year by Gov. O'Malley will give any business that hires an unemployed Marylander a tax credit of $5,000. In the FY2011 budget, Gov. O'Malley allocates $20 million for the new jobs program. Gov. O'Malley has entered into innovative public-private partnerships to create thousands of jobs at places like the Port of Baltimore and has established Maryland as a national leader in biotechnology. [Department of Budget and Management: FY 2011 Budget Highlights]

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce this year named Maryland one of America's leading states in growing jobs. The chamber praised Maryland for initiatives championed by Gov. O'Malley, including STEM education and the Maryland Export Initiative. [U.S. Chamber of Commerce, "Maryland Among Nation's Leaders in Growing Jobs," May 19th, 2010]

Bob Ehrlich helped send Maryland jobs overseas. As governor, Ehrlich encouraged the outsourcing of Maryland jobs to other countries, and repeatedly vetoed legislation to protect jobs from outsourcing. After he left office, Ehrlich worked for a law/lobbying firm which advertises that it specializes in outsourcing American jobs. [Department of Legislative Services; Womble Carlyle website.]

Gov. O'Malley provided record funding for K-12 education, increasing funding over Ehrlich's term by $6.3 billion. Over his four years, Gov. O'Malley provided a record $21.8 billion for education. Ehrlich provided $15.4 billion over his four years. [Department of Legislative Services]

Gov. O'Malley increased education funding by more than Ehrlich, in much tougher times. Ehrlich increased education funding over four years by $5.5 billion. Gov. O'Malley increased education funding over four years by $6.3 billion. O'Malley's commitment to education came despite the global recession and budget cuts in other areas. [Department of Legislative Services]

Ehrlich opposed the education funding he now touts as his Accomplishment. Although he now claims credit for education funding increases mandating the Thornton Plan, Ehrlich refused to sign the legislation guaranteeing the funding. [The Washington Post, January 19th, 2006]

Ehrlich has promised to cut education funding if returned to office. Ehrlich's only budget-cutting proposal this year is to cut education funding by $126 million a year by eliminating funding for the Geographic Cost of Education Index. [The Baltimore Sun, September 30th, 2010]

THE FACTS:

Gov. O'Malley's Tuition Freeze Saved the Average Student $2,415 in Tuition. Estimates by the nonpartisan Department of Legislative Services show that the tuition freeze saved Maryland students significant money at every campus, including $2,931 at College Park, $2,312 at Towson University, and $2,378 at Morgan State. [http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/budget_docs/all/Operating/HIGHED_-_Higher_Education_Overview.pdf]

The Governor Does Not Control the Cost of Room and Board, Books, Transportation, Fees, and Other Expenses Ehrlich Cites to Make His Claim. Ehrlich's assertion that College Park's tuition has increased to $22,115 or 26% ($5,767) includes tuition and fees, plus housing, food, books and transportation. Still, largely due to the tuition freeze, the combined cost of tuition and room & board for in-state students at College Park in 2007 when O'Malley took office was $16,468. In FY11, this number will be $17,793, or an increase of $1,325 (8.4 percent). In comparison, the total cost when Ehrlich took over in 2003 was $12,999. By 2007, that had gone up $3,469, or 26.7 percent. [http://www.usmd.edu/usm/adminfinance/budget/tuitfees]

THE FACTS:

Gov. O'Malley has reduced state spending by 3% while Ehrlich increased it by 30% (over $3 billion). Ehrlich's claim relies on counting federal stimulus dollars as state spending. These funds provided $1.6 billion for Medicaid, $1.1 billion in K-12 education funding, $780 million to update our aging infrastructure, and $150 million for public safety. Bob Ehrlich took millions in federal funds when he was governor. [Department of Legislative Services]

Gov. O'Malley has cut $5.6 billion in spending, and 4,200 positions. [Department of Budget and Management]

The Baltimore Sun reported, "O'Malley has made repeated rounds of cuts to keep Maryland's budget in balance over the last four years - in fact, cutting projected spending far more than Mr. Ehrlich did." [Baltimore Sun, April 8th, 2010]

THE FACTS:

Bob Ehrlich's only rationale for his candidacy is blaming Gov. O'Malley for the global recession – which Maryland has weathered better than almost any other state under O'Malley's leadership.

Thanks to Gov. O'Malley, Maryland has retained jobs better than all but four other states. "According to the federal statistics, while 2009 saw every state lose jobs, Maryland retained jobs at a higher rate than all but Washington, D.C., and four states: Alaska, North Dakota, Virginia and New Hampshire. Maryland lost 41,000 nonfarm payroll jobs at a 1.7 percent rate during the year. In contrast, the U.S. lost jobs at a 3.0 percent rate." Maryland's standing was fueled by its nation-leading technology job growth, an O'Malley Administration priority. [The Gazette, "Maryland Top State in Tech Growth in 2009," February 1st, 2009]

Strategic tax cuts to keep and create jobs. The Job Creation and Recovery Tax Credit signed into law this year by Gov. O'Malley will give any business that hires an unemployed Marylander a tax credit of $5,000. In the FY2011 budget, Gov. O'Malley allocates $20 million for the new jobs program. Gov. O'Malley has entered into innovative public-private partnerships to create thousands of jobs at places like the Port of Baltimore and has established Maryland as a national leader in biotechnology. [Department of Budget and Management: FY 2011 Budget Highlights]

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce this year named Maryland one of America's leading states in growing jobs. The chamber praised Maryland for initiatives championed by Gov. O'Malley, including STEM education and the Maryland Export Initiative. [U.S. Chamber of Commerce, "Maryland Among Nation's Leaders in Growing Jobs," May 19th, 2010]

Bob Ehrlich helped send Maryland jobs overseas. As governor, Ehrlich encouraged the outsourcing of Maryland jobs to other countries, and repeatedly vetoed legislation to protect jobs from outsourcing. After he left office, Ehrlich worked for a law/lobbying firm which advertises that it specializes in outsourcing American jobs. [Department of Legislative Services; Womble Carlyle website.]

CLAIM: "Maryland's unemployment has doubled."

THE FACTS:

Maryland's unemployment has remained 25% lower than the national average. While every state has suffered rising unemployment due to the global recession, Under Gov. O'Malley, Maryland has been a national leader in retaining jobs. [Bureau of Labor Statistics]

Bob Ehrlich was handed a much better global economy – and squandered it. Under his administration, in which he encouraged outsourcing Maryland jobs and hiked taxes and fees for businesses, Maryland fell behind the national average in jobs growth for the first time in years. [Bureau of Labor Statistics]

Baltimore, MD (October 11, 2010) -- Governor O'Malley opened this morning's debate focused on jobs and the tough choices necessary to move Maryland forward. The Governor offered an honest assessment of the tough choices made to create jobs, transform Maryland's economy, and protect Maryland's priorities during difficult economic times. Governor O'Malley asked for continued support to move Maryland forward.

"We are starting now to create jobs again in Maryland - 33,000 jobs created since January in our state," said Governor O'Malley. "We are starting now to transform our economy and climb out of this deep recession, and that is why the choice the people of our State have to make in this election is so very important."

"The former Governor says he wants to take Maryland back. I humbly ask for your support to move Maryland forward," O'Malley said.

Governor O'Malley highlighted accomplishments during his first term including cutting state spending by $5.6 billion, standing up to big banks to help keep families in their homes, record investments in public education to help build the nation's #1-ranked public school system, fighting to make college more affordable, bringing violent crime to its lowest level since 1975, and restoring the health of the Chesapeake Bay.

"With decisiveness and fiscal discipline we have cut state spending by greater amounts than any Administration in history; and yet together, we have also protected our priorities -- public safety, public education, and the environment. We have improved our schools, we've made our neighborhoods safer, we've made college more affordable for more families, and we have taken strong actions that are working to restore the health of the Bay," said O'Malley.

"There are two qualities I love most about the people of our State: number one, our core belief that we're all in this together. And number two, when the people of Maryland face adversity, we don't make excuses, we make progress; we move forward. And we never give up."

Ehrlich launched negative ads this week in the Washington, D.C. market, capping off a series of since-discredited attacks on economic reports and higher education that have been debunked by independent fact checks.

"Bob Ehrlich's will do anything to change the subject from his failed record, including misleading voters with false attacks that have been discredited by independent media organizations," said Tom Russell, O'Malley-Brown Campaign Manager.

"We know that Bob Ehrlich is getting more and more desperate every day as he slips in the polls, but that doesn't give Ehrlich the right to intentionally mislead voters," added Russell.

Images on Flickr

HIRED GUN FOR SPECIAL INTERESTS

Highlights Ehrlich lobbying firm’s work for Casino developers

Baltimore, MD (October 5, 2010) -- The O'Malley-Brown campaign released a new radio ad today focused on Bob Ehrlich’s record as a hired gun for special interests. The newest radio ad highlights the work done by Bob Ehrlich’s law and lobbying firm for a casino developer to put a casino at a family-friendly shopping mall in a residential community. Since Bob Ehrlich was fired as governor in 2006 he’s earned $2.5 million representing special interests like casino developers at his Baltimore-based firm.

“This ad is about who Bob Ehrlich is really working for, and the fact that he is not on the side of Maryland families,” said Rick Abbruzzese, O’Malley-Brown Deputy Campaign Manager. “Especially in these tough economic times, Marylanders need a governor on their side, representing their interests and allowing their voices to be heard.”

While in office Bob Ehrlich vetoed an increase in the minimum wage, cut funding for public education, and jacked up college tuition by 40%. In contrast, Governor O'Malley has made historic investments in public education, has fought to make college more affordable, and has made the tough decisions to put Maryland’s working families first.

The full text of the ad is available below. Click here to listen to it:

Mills

:60 Radio

Female One: I DON'T KNOW ABOUT this idea for a casino at Arundel Mills Mall.

Female Two: I know, I worry about our neighborhoods and kids.

One: But whether you are for it or against slots at the Mall -- the fact is Bob Ehrlcih helped get this whole thing started...

Two: I read that...

One: (cutting in)... yea, Ehrlich was working for the Casino developers.

Two: HE'S BEEN WORKING FOR A LOBBYING FIRM...

One: And MADE 2.5 million DOLLARS...

Two: 2.5 million dollars since he GOT fired from the Governor's office.

One: So, it makes sense he'd go work for these Casino folks who want slots at the Mall.

Two: ...you know, Ehrlich's always kinda been for the special interests...

One: I know, as Governor he always took the side of big corporations.

Two: umm...and this Casino at the mall? He's WORKING FOR the developers AND NOT US.

One: Ehrlich...urg...he's a typical politician.

Two: ...I know oh listen I gotta run...

One: Me Too, Wish 2-million-dollar-Bob was here to pick up the check.

Laughs.

MOM: Paid for by Friends of Martin O'Malley. M. Cadogan, Treasurer.

Governor O'Malley traveled to College Park in a 31-foot RV dubbed the "On Your Side" Express, nicknamed "The Katie." Governor O'Malley and Lt. Governor Brown will travel the state for the "On Your Side" tour for the final month of the campaign to meet with Marylanders and discuss their vision to move Maryland forward.  Check out "The Katie" below:

 Governor O'Malley and Lt. Governor Brown have always put the needs of Maryland's family and family-owned businesses first and the tour will highlight their continued commitment to Maryland's working families.

 The stop is the first of many scheduled around the state. Governor O'Malley will be traveling with a kitchen table.

 He explained, "We're traveling the state with this kitchen table because we know that families across our state make their toughest decisions around the kitchen table. That's where my mom and dad always brought us together to discuss the good things and tough decisions we would have to make as a family."

 "And that's what we've done to move our State forward. We've rolled up our sleeves and made the tough decisions always on the side of working families in our state. This tour will represent my continued commitment to protecting and advancing the needs of Maryland's working families," said Governor O'Malley.

 Giuls Kunkel, Senior at the University of Maryland, Vice President of College Democrats and one of the stars of the O'Malley-Brown T.V. ad "Tuition" started the program and explained, "If it were not for the freeze in college tuition, I may not have been able to afford college. I know that Governor O'Malley is on my side."

 Governor O'Malley was joined by dozens of other college democrats and O'Malley-Brown supporters. He talked about how affordable, quality education is key to moving Maryland forward. After college tuition sky-rocketed 40% under Bob Ehrlich, Governor O'Malley and Lt. Governor Brown made the important investments that allowed Maryland to become the only state in the nation to freeze college tuition for four years in a row.

Daniel Borman, President of the University of Maryland college democrats presented Governor O'Malley with a University of Maryland sticker to put on his table.

Daniel said, "Governor, we wanted you to have this sticker to remind you that we appreciate you fighting for us. And to let you know that we are on your side too."

RSVP is not required, but recommended. Please join us!

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7TH
Bowie State University
14000 Jericho Park Road
Bowie, Maryland 20715
Doors Open at 1:00 p.m.

Parking may be tight.  The rally site is easily accessible via public transportation from both DC & Baltimore.  MARC Train, Penn line, Bowie State Stop.

Tuition:

Tradition:

Education Compare:

Everyone knows a fee is a tax, and everyone knows it was Ehrlich's cronies at the PSC that failed to do anything about the 72% BGE rate hike. When voters fired Ehrlich, Martin O'Malley stepped in to clean up Ehrlich's mess and won $2 billion in rebates from the electric companies, all while Ehrlich was enriching himself to the tune of $2.5 million working for a lobbying firm representing special interests.

Now Ehrlich is trying to play the same desperate blame game with economic statistics and betting against Maryland's future success. Here are the facts: since January, over 33,000 jobs have been created in Maryland. It's the best job growth in a January to August period in Maryland since 2000.  Get the truth about Bob Ehrlich's claims here.

Gov. O'Malley eliminated $1.5 billion in ratepayer liability.  Under the terms of the Settlement, the O'Malley/Brown Administration insisted that Constellation Energy take over financial responsibility for the decommissioning of the two Calvert Cliffs nuclear plants, thereby saving Maryland ratepayers a projected $1.5 billion between 2016 and 2036.

Gov. O'Malley saved BGE customers $20 million annually.  As a part of the Settlement, BGE ceased collecting a certain administrative charge on ratepayers' monthly bills, for an annual savings to customers of $20 million, or $130 million over the relevant 6 1/2 year period.  The Settlement also required BGE to delay filing its electric distribution rate case for at least six additional months, estimating to have saved BGE customers at least $10 million in avoided costs.

Energy Rates Today at 2006 Levels

In addition, acccording to the Baltimore Sun, BGE customers are expected to save as much as $161 annually when rates begin to plunge this summer to their lowest level since 2006.  Maryland ratepayers will enjoy lower electric bills starting in June - extending a downward trend that began last October and is expected to continue through 2012, according to BGE.

"Bob Ehrlich has proposed a billion dollars in new spending this election season. When asked how he'd pay for it all, Ehrlich says 'vote for me and I'll tell you later.' The last time Bob Ehrlich made a lot of empty promises, he went on a record-setting spending spree and left the state $1.7 billion in the red. The voters of Maryland deserve better than more empty promises from Bob Ehrlich," said Tom Russell, O'Malley-Brown Campaign Manager.

The O'Malley-Brown campaign has accepted a number of debate invitations in a effort to make sure that Bob Ehrlich is forced to discuss his agenda for Maryland with voters.

Yesterday, Lt. Governor Anthony Brown asked Mary Kane to participate in one-on-one debates.

"We're thrilled with the tremendous support we're receiving from the Maryland business community. Job creators are backing our campaign because they know we are making the tough choices to invest in the future and position our state for future economic success," said Governor Martin O'Malley.

The announcement of business community support builds on a series of television ads emphasizing O'Malley's efforts to boost small businesses and create 21st century manufacturing jobs in Maryland.

Baltimore business leader Mark Fetting had this say about his endorsement of O'Malley: "Governor O'Malley's leadership has helped steer Maryland through very difficult times in a fiscally responsible manner. As a chief executive, I understand the tough decisions he's had to make, and how those decisions have put Maryland in a strong position to grow out of this recession."

The full list is available below:

Ronald P. Adolph, The TAC Companies, LLC, President and CEO

Hussain Ali, All American Mechanical Inc., President

Stephen, J. Allen, Health Facilities Association, CEO

Paul Allen, Constellation Energy, Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs

Eugene Amobi, Tech International, President

Louis M. Aronson, Saul Ewing LLP, Partner

Wajahat Ashai, Allied Trading Inc., President

Hasan Askari, HASCON LLC, President

Gary Attman, Future Health Care, President

Peter Auchincloss, Watermark Corp., President

Norman R. Augustine, Lockheed Martin Corp., retired Chairman and CEO

Doug Austin, UPD Consulting, President and CEO

Ahmed Awad, Medical Diagnostic, President

Arif Ayub, All Tune and Lube, Owner

Thomas J. Baltimore, Jr., RLJ Development LLC, Co-Founder and President

Eric Bargar, Raymond James Financial Services

Michael Batza, Heritage Properties, Owner

Michael Beatty, H&S Properties Development, President

Rick Berndt, Gallagher, Evelius & Jones, Managing Partner

Khalid Bhatti, Mimar Architect, Principal

Hon. James J. Blanchard, DLA Piper, Partner

Sharon R. Bland, The Clear Solution, Principal

Cheryl and John Blazer, Blazer Enterprises, Principals  

Dr. George Bone, IC Care, President

Thomas S. Bozzuto, Bozzuto Management Co., CEO

Toby Bozzuto, Bozzuto Development Group, President

Paul Brathwaite, The Podesta Group, Principal

Christopher Brandt, Audacious Inquiry, President

Kirsten Brecht, New City Companies, Managing Partner

John M. Brophy, Sr., ACS State & Local Solutions, Executive Vice President

Chet Burrell, CareFirst, CEO

Jennifer Busse, Whiteford, Taylor & Preston, Partner

Keith Campbell, Campbell and Company

Kelly Cantley

David Carroll, Capitol Strategies, Founder and Principal

Judith Carroll, Carroll Engineering, President

Dickie S. Carter, Urban Service Systems Corp, President

Alan C. Cason, McGuire Woods, Managing Partner, Baltimore Office

Pat Caulfield, Coakley & Williams Construction, Co-Owner & CEO

Winston Chan, Multimax, Inc., President

Steven C. Chen, 3e Technologies International, Founder, VP, GM

Munawar Choudhery, Ellicott Amoco Services Inc., President

Muhammad Sharif Choudhry, Stark Inc, President  

Atif Choudhry, SA FATRADER LLC, President  

Gabriel J. Christian, Law Offices of Gabriel J. Christian

Pete Collier, Baltimore Grand Prix, COO

Molly Corbett, Corbett Nonprofit Consulting, President

Mary Ann Cricchio, Da Mimmo Restaurant, Owner

Raymond Crosby, Crosby Marketing Communication, President

Michael Croxson, Care One Services, President

Marwan Daas, Ilias LLC, President

Mark Dambly, Pennrose Properties, President

Robert Dashiell, Law Offices of Robert Fulton Dashiell

Jay Davidson, Baltimore Grand Prix, CEO

Joe Deboy, ARA Construction Corporation, President

James H. DeGraffenreidt, Jr., Washington Gas Light Company, retired Chairman/CEO

Connie DeJuliis, DeJuliis & Associates, President

John K. Delaney, CapitalSource, Chief Executive Officer

Gurmeet Dhillon, Dhillon Engineering, President

Brad Dockser, Real Estate and Investments

William Dockser, CRI Inc., Chairman

Douglas Doerfler, MaxCyte, Inc., President and CEO

Chris Doherty, Columbia Partners Private Capital, Managing Director

Chris Donatelli, Donatelli Development, President

John Eckenrode, CPSI, President

Richard H. Edson, Housing Capital Advisors Inc., Managing Director

Jimmy Fagan, James Joyce, Proprietor

Michael L. Falcone, Municipal Mortgage and Equity LLC, President/CEO/COO

Todd Ferrante, Park Place Jewelers, Owner

Mark Fetting, Legg Mason, CEO

Stanley Fine, Rosenberg, Martin and Greenberg, Partner

Dr. Robert Fischell, Fischell Enterprises, Chairman/CEO

Morton Fisher, Ballard Spahr LLP, Senior Counsel

James A. Franzoni, SF&C Insurance Associates, Inc., Founding Partner

Howard E. Friedman, Lanx Capital, Chairman

Karen Garner, Research and Engineering Development Inc., President

Jack Garson, Garson Claxton LLC, Partner

Robert H. Geis, Jr., Venable LLP, Partner

Syed Fazal Ghaznavi, Travel Wings, President

Michael Giangrandi, AJ Michaels Co.  Inc., Senior Counsel

Brian Gibbons, Greenberg Gibbons Commercial Corp, President & CEO

Edward C. Gibbs, Jr., Gibbs & Haller, Partner

Brendan Gill, Mackenzie Commercial Real Estate Services

Morgan Gilligan

Wayne Gioioso, Mid-Atlantic Properties, President

Bradley Glaser, Vanguard Equities, Principal

Alan H. Gottlieb, Lerner Enterprises, COO

Andy Graham, Esquire

James P. Grant, First Municipal Credit, President and CEO

Ajay K. Gupta, GSecurity, President

Glenn Gutridge, Ilias LLC, Vice President

Ed  Hale, 1st Mariner Bank, Chairman and CEO

Syed Haque, Hamda Realty LLC, President

Anthony Harrington, Albright Stonebridge Group LLC, President and CEO

Lisa Harris-Jones, Harris, Jones & Malone, Principal

Anwer J. Hasan, EA Engineering, Science, and Technology, Vice President, Business Unit Director

Joseph Haskins, Jr., Harbor Bank, CEO

Harold Herndon, Compliance Corporation, President

Sandra S. Hillman, Hillman PR, President

Samuel K. Himmelrich, Jr., Himmelrich Associates, President

William Hite, The United Association of Plumbers & Pipefitters, General President

Humberto Ho, Ho Brothers Development, Vice President

Robert N. Hockaday, Jr., The Spenceola Group, Principal

Timothy A. Hodge, Jr., Miles & Stockbridge, Partner

Douglas M. Hoffberger, Keystone Realty Company, Inc., Vice President

Denis Horgan, James Joyce, General Manager

Kanan Hudhud, Frederick Oncology Center, President

Yasin Hussain, GNC, owner

Reza Jafari, E-Development International, Chairman and CEO

Shahid Jamil, Syzco, President  

Christopher Janian, H&S Properties Development Corp

Ajaz Janjua, Super Eagle Travel, President

Mark Jensen, Bowie & Jensen, Founding Partner

David E. Johnson, Stratford Realty Mgmt. Co. LLC, President

Pless Jones, Sr., P&J Contracting, Owner

Lisa Junker, Colbert, Matz & Rosenfelt, Vice President

Lisa R. Kazor, Savantage Solutions, President

Stephen J. Kearney, Kearney O'Doherty Public Affairs, Principal

Edward Kelly, Citigroup, Vice Chairman

Frank Kelly, Kelly and Associates Insurance Group, Chairman

Cliff Kendall, Computer Data Systems, former Chairman and CEO

Kim Kennedy, K&K International, President

Robert C. Kettler, Kettler Company, Founder and CEO

Faisal Khan, Faisal Brothers, Inc., President 

Kashif Khan, KG General Contractors and Maryland Custom Homes, Managing Member

Pervaiz Khan, PGK Inc, President

Karen Khan, Golden Fuels Inc, President

Ayub Khan, Optimal Solution IT LLC, President

Michael E. Klein, Metropolitan Management, Managing Partner

Daniel Klein, Klein Enterprises

Jay Knerr, Kite Loft, Owner

Martin G. Knott, Jr., Knott Mechanical, President

Owen Knott, Knott Mechanical, COO

Satish Korpe, Potomac Engineers, CEO

Charles Kumi, Kumi Construction, President

Jon M. Laria, Ballard Spahr, Partner

Wonro Lee, Good Trading, Inc., CEO

Chris Lee, Ports of America Chesapeake, CEO

Belkis Leong-Hong, Knowledge Advantage, Inc, President

Mukesh Majmudar, Star Hotels, President/CEO

Tim Maloney, Joseph, Greenwald, & Laake, Partner

Thibault Manekin, Seawall Development, Real Estate Development

Aris Mardirossian, Technology Patents, Inc., President

Ricardo Martinez, Project Enhancement Corporation, President

Tim McCully, Atlantic Federal Mortgage Co., President

Ambassador Tom McDonald, Baker Hostetler, Partner

Wayne McDowell, McDowell's Complete Chimney Service, Inc., President

Mel McLaughlin, McLaughlin Company, President and CEO

Gary N. Michael, The Michael Companies, Owner

Herb S. Miller, West Developers, Chairman and CEO

Chris Millitello, Arrow Bike, Proprietor

Raza Mir, Santa Fe International Inc., President

Scooter Monroe

Nate Mook, Localist.com, CEO

Charles J. Morton, Jr., Venable LLP

Ram Mukunda, Integrated Global Networks, CEO

Rajan Natarajan, PhD, Artisys Corporation, Director of Business Development

Sayed Naved, Banyan Technology, President

Damian C. O'Doherty, Kearney O'Doherty Public Affairs, Partner

Karen Olson, BioMarker Strategies, CEO

Eric G. Orlinsky, Saul Ewing LLP

Yomi Osoba, Environ Civil, President

Edissa Padder, Padder Health Services, LLC, President 

Feroze Padder, Heart to Heart, LLC, President 

Jerry Parrott, Human Genome Sciences, Vice President of Corporate Communications

R. Scott Pastrick, BKSH & Associates Worldwide, President and CEO

Anil Patel, Northstar Management LLC/Best Western Hotel, President

Jay Patel, Star Development Group, Vice President

David Peck, Sound Vision Systems, President

R. Donahue Peebles, Peebles Corporation, Owner

Klaus Philipsen, ArchPlan Inc., President

Abba David Poliakoff, Gordon Feinblatt, Chairman of Security Practices

Linda F. Powers, Toucan Capital Corp., Co-Founder

Paul B. Prager, Beowulf Energy, CEO

K. Mark Puente, Riverside Consulting, Healthcare Consultant

Rick Raley, Coombs Drury & Reeves Insurance Agency, Owner

Dave Rather, Mother's Federal Hill Grille, President

Deborah Ratner Salzberg, Forest City Washington, Real Estate

Mubariz Razvi, FiberElectronics, CEO 

Bill Roberts, Verizon Maryland, President

Wayne L. Rogers, Synergics Energy, Chairman

Michael D. Rosenbaum, Catalyst IT Services, CEO

David Rutstein, Venable Law Firm, Counsel

Majid Sahi, Sahi Petroleum, President

Khalid Said, Tanis Hospitality Management, President

Jay Salkini, Tecore, President

Truman T. Semans, Brown Advisory, Partner & Vice Chairman

Dr. Vinod K. Shah, Shah Associates, Founder and Cardiologist

Jim Shea, Venable Law Firm, Managing Partner

Gregory Stephen Shockley, Shenanigan's, Owner

Raghid Shourbaji, Top Notch Service Inc., President

Dana Shourbaji, Little Light House, President

Manni Sidhu, Sidhu Associates, President

Ambassador Thomas Leland Siebert, Wexler Walker, Senior Counsel

Robert E. Smith, Jr., Savantage Solutions, Vice President

Jim Smith, Subway, Owner

Shaun Smithson, Star Management Group, Senior Vice President

Francis Smyth, Century Engineering, President

Chris Spann, The Wine Market, Owner

Charles F. Sposato, Cecil Federal Bank, Chairman

Ken Stadlin, Kenergy Solar, President

Macky Stansell, Macky's Bayside, Owner

Dana B. Stebbins, The Cornelius Group, Inc.

Jay A. Steinmetz, Barcoding.com, President

Richard T. Stewart, Montgomery Mechanical Service, President

Joe Stone, Joe Stone Insurance, President

Mark Sump, Activate, President

Craig A. Thompson, Venable LLP

Charles G. Tildon, III, United Way of Central Maryland

Bill Titelman, Grant & Eisenhofer P.A., Director

Maurice Tose, TCS, Chairman and CEO

John Trupiano, Smart Logic Solutions, President

K. Robert Turner, Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund LP, Managing Partner

Patrick W. Turner, Henrietta Development Corp., President

Stan Udihiri, REI Drayco, President

Hon. Ted G. Venetoulis, Publisher

Dr. Ivan C. Walks, Ivan Walks & Associates, Founder

H. Thomas Watkins, Human Genome Sciences, CEO

Len Weinberg, Vanguard Equities, Principal

Dan Whitehurst, Clark Turner Signature Homes

Mike Whitson, Tri-County Abstract, President

Patrick H. Williams, The Cormac Group, Partner

Bethsaida Wong, Powersolv, VP Government & Community Relations

Robert Wray, Mp3Car, Founder and President

Thurman W. Zollicoffer, Jr., Whiteford Taylor, Partner

The goal of the O'Malley-Brown campaign is to have a series of substantive debates between Governor O'Malley and Robert Ehrlich, and Lt. Governor Brown and Mary Kane, on the important issues facing our state. The O'Malley-Brown campaign has already accepted a number of debate invitations and proposed formats, and will continue to work with the Ehrlich campaign to make these debates a reality.

Governor O'Malley and Lt. Governor Brown are looking forward to robust discussions, similar to the debates held in 2006, that require each candidate to answer specific questions on the opportunities and choices facing our state. As we come through this national recession, Maryland families deserve more than empty campaign rhetoric and talking points--they deserve to hear the candidates discuss in detail their plans to grow Maryland's economy and protect our future.

Tell Bob Ehrlich and Mary Kane that you want them to participate in the debates.  Tweet @Ehrlich4md and @Kane4md and let them know that you want robust debates on the issues that matter to you.

The O'Malley-Brown campaign  launched its newest television ad today--the first ad from either campaign to air in the DC market. The ad, shot in front of O'Malley's childhood home in Rockville, features Governor Martin O'Malley talking about the importance of education in his own life and his record of putting education first as governor.

Gathered around the Callahan kitchen table, participants held a wide-ranging discussion about issues such as the effect of the national recession on their daily lives, the need for excellent public schools, college affordability, and women's health issues, among other topics.  

Want to host a kitchen table discussion of your own? Email us at volunteer@martinomalley.com.

It's a really exciting day for us at the O'Malley-Brown campaign. Our signs are up, our volunteers are out in full force and Governor O'Malley is going to be stopping by headquarters later on tonight (check back tonight for pictures of his visit!) While it's an exciting day, it's also a really tiring day. Most of our staff have been up since 5:00AM, putting up signs, preparing emails and getting ready for the day. But when we get tweets in from people like Natasha Tynes, it makes the lack of sleep all the worthwhile.

Natasha Tynes wrote: "Just voted for the first time. Go O'Malley." She even attached a picture of herself:

Do you remember your first time voting? Did you vote today? We want to hear from you.  Send a picture of yourself voting to zpagonis@martinomalley.com and check back later today for more Primary Day updates.

Bob Ehrlich raised $3 billion in taxes and fees, is the biggest spender in Maryland history, raised tuition rates by 40% on thousands of Maryland college students, and increased the state’s property tax by 58%, costing Maryland families more than $690 million when he was governor.  But our ad isn’t about Bob Ehrlich’s failed record, its about Bob Ehrlich’s credibility – and Marylanders, in their own words, just aren’t buying it.

As Marylanders join with millions of Americans to celebrate Labor Day, we thought we'd share
Fun Facts about Labor Day and Bob Ehrlich's Failed Record.

1. Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.
2. Bob Ehrlich vetoed an increase in the minimum wage that would have benefited thousands of working families in our state. That's right, in 2005 when Bob Ehrlich was governor, he vetoed legislation that would have increased the minimum wage by just one dollar.
3. Traditionally, Labor Day is celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer. The holiday is often regarded as a day of rest and parties. In terms of US sports, Labor Day marks the beginning of the NFL and college football seasons. NCAA teams usually play their first games the week before Labor Day, with the NFL traditionally playing their first game the Thursday following Labor Day.
4. Even before he was governor, when Bob Ehrlich was in Congress for eight years, he voted against increasing the minimum wage five times.
5. While in congress for eight years, Bob Ehrlich voted to give himself a raise at the same time he was voting against a modest increase in the minimum wage for working families.
   
   

The dream team was made up of an unlikely bunch: our field director, finance staff, communications team, and a handful of volunteers ready and willing to cook up food for 1,000 hungry Prince Georgians. They arrived at 7:45 in the morning, set up shop and got to work. All day they slaved over the hot grills, flipping burgers, grilling hot dogs and serving up delicious (but slightly unhealthy) potato salad and baked beans. And the day didn't end until 9pm.

You see, at the O'Malley-Brown campaign, every effort is a team effort. No job is ever too large or too small, too intellectually challenging or too mundane and the phrase "Not in my job description," does not exist. Everyone helps out and goes the extra mile to make sure that our events run smoothly and that our phone banks are full.

Because we have one mission, one goal and one focus. We work together because we believe in what we do. We work together because we know that Governor O'Malley and Lt. Governor Brown will move Maryland forward.

And that's why on Monday morning when the "Grill Team" came in to find pictures of themselves plastered in hair nets all over the Washington Post Blog, they didn't complain or throw a fit. They laughed.

Early Voting

This Friday marks the first day of early voting in the 2010 primary elections. Encouraging Marylanders to vote is a no-brainer for public officials on both sides of the aisle, but if Bob Ehrlich had had his way early voting would never have been possible. Ehrlich's record of opposing early voting is an insult to Maryland families. Ehrlich vetoed early voting legislation when he was governor, and he continues to stoke unfounded fears about the process--even as his own Republican party says Republicans are "not concerned about [early voting] at all."  Ehrlich's opposition to early voting is especially troubling in light of his history of employing dirty voter suppression tricks for his own political gain.  In contrast, Governor O'Malley has been a strong proponent of making it easier for Marylanders to vote and have their voices heard.

O'Malley Visits College Park

As college students across Maryland head back to campus this week, Gov. O'Malley dropped by the University of Maryland at College Park to visit with parents and students, made sure the dining hall food was up to par, and reiterate his commitment to keeping college affordable for Maryland families.

Bob Ehrlich oversaw a 40% increase in in-state tuition when he was governor, while Martin O'Malley fought to freeze college tuition for four years to make college more affordable for Maryland families. Ehrlich's public statements and record indicate that Maryland families can expect a major tuition hike if Ehrlich returns to the governor's mansion.

Governor O'Malley fought for billions in K-12 funding and helped make Maryland schools the nation's best for two consecutive years. Bob Ehrlich ignored key education initiatives like the Thornton law and failed to fund the Geographic Cost of Education Index--a program that provides extra assistance to jurisdictions where the cost of education is greater. 

Thank you for your continued support, and please--vote early so that we can continue to move Maryland forward.

Sincerely,

Rick Abbruzzese

O'Malley-Brown Campaign

You’ll meet Sign Boss, you’ll learn how to build a field organization, put together events and get out the vote on Election Day – and you’ll get inside information about the campaign from the candidates themselves.

Today's post is about the team who is out in the field everyday working hard; the sign crew. Led by Sign Boss Cullen Hall, this crew is out 7 days a week. And like the postal service, this crew will get you your sign no matter what. The high temperatures, rain storms and sporadic weather won't stop these guys. Watch this video to learn more:

Maryland has the top-ranked public school system in the country, and these federal grants will help our state make them even better. Read about the grants by clicking the links below.

We have a good story to tell in Maryland about our commitment to public education and the recognized quality of our schools. While our outstanding educators, administrators, and community leaders work hard to continue to improve those schools, we still need the right leadership to keep our state moving forward when it comes to education.

Under Governor O’Malley and Lieutenant Governor Brown, Maryland is leading the way. The $250 million “Race to the Top” award is only one part of a long-term strategic policy initiative aimed at reforming Maryland's public schools and ensuring that every child receives a world-class education.

Read these articles and check out our education issues page to learn more.

Baltimore Sun: “Maryland wins Race to the Top funds”

Washington Post: “Efforts to revamp schools by D.C., Maryland result in $325 million”