Baltimore Sun: Maryland MUST consider scrapping its state #obamacare exchange.

The sound that you just heard was Martin O’Malley’s Presidential ambitions getting shot in the gut:

…the pace of enrollments is still far too low. If the [Maryland state] exchange is able to replicate its best weekday and weekend performance during every one of the 104 days between now and the end of the open enrollment period on March 31, Maryland will still only achieve about three-quarters of its goal of signing up 150,000 people with private coverage. The site may be better, but better isn’t good enough.

Under those circumstances, the question raised by Rep. John Delaney, a Montgomery County Democrat, about whether it would be better for Maryland to scrap its effort to build its own exchange and instead join the federal one has merit. Indeed, Gov. Martin O’Malley acknowledged on Monday that the option — and all others — remain on the table.

That’s a hard possibility for Governor O’Malley to acknowledge. Under his leadership, Maryland was one of the most aggressive states in the effort to build out its own exchange — a strategic decision that appears in retrospect to have involved no small amount of hubris and political ambition. Walking away now from all that effort and tens of millions in expenditures would be particularly embarrassing.

What is so astounding about this is that the Baltimore Sun is usually a reliable water-carrier for Democrats in Maryland: if you read the whole editorial, you immediately get struck by the fact that apparently in its world healthcare.gov is doing a whole lot better than it is in ours. If the paper is seriously discussing shutting down the Maryland state exchange anyway, then things are bad for the O’Malley administration.

Needless to say, this is also going to have an effect on the governor’s election next year: the Lt. Governor’s gubernatorial bid will probably get scuppered for certain if he has to preside over giving Obamacare back to the federal government. As I noted earlier this month… between this, underage twerking, and quixotic pot crusades, the Democratic primary is going to be insane.

Via: Red State

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Opinion: What Maryland does better than Texas

Martin O’Malley, a Democrat, is governor of Maryland.

With gridlock and partisanship having all but paralyzed Washington, governors are at the forefront of our country’s policy divide. On the No. 1 issue facing our nation — how to ensure that Americans are winners, not losers, in the 21st-century economy — two divergent approaches frame the debate. Texas Gov. Rick Perry is highlighting this debate with his trip to Maryland on Wednesday.

The contrast is clear: Should we slash taxes on the wealthiest Americans — crippling our ability to invest in schools, job training, infrastructure and health care — because we believe that even lower taxes for our wealthiest will magically lead to jobs and robust economic growth? Or should we make tough choices together that provide the resources to invest in schools, bolster growing industries and create quality middle-class jobs?

Perry and like-minded Republican governors subscribe to the slash-and-burn economic philosophy — a belief that “less” will somehow become “more.” In Texas, he has implemented this vision with gusto, cutting taxes and slashing funding for critical middle-class priorities such as public schools, higher education, health care and infrastructure. The results? Texas ranks 49th in high school graduation, 10th in the rate of poverty and 50th in the percent of residents with even basic health insurance.

And while Perry likes to promote the job creation in Texas during his time in office, he leaves out a critical point: The jobs “miracle” he touts is driven by low-paying, non-sustainable jobs. This year, Texas — tied with Mississippi — leads the nation for the percentage of hourly paid workers earning equal to or less than the minimum wage. More than one in 10 workers nationwide earning at or below the minimum wage works in Texas.

Via: Washington Post

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[VIDEO] MD GOVERNOR: LIVES OF 'PEOPLE OF COLOR' VALUED LESS THAN WHITES

On Wednesday, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, a Democrat who will likely run for president in 2016, said the lives of "people of color" are valued less than those of whites in America. 

Speaking on the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington, O'Malley said there is "too much apathy" in America "when the lives of people of color are too often valued less than the lives of white people."

He called for a variety of actions that included "abolishing the death penalty," helping immigrants, and raising the minimum wage. 

Via: Breitbart

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DNC SPEAKERS: THE USUAL ANGRY, LEFTIST SUSPECTS

They can’t help themselves; the Democrats are angry, frustrated and scared, and the list of speakers they are trotting out reveals that they are more desperate than ever. Let’s take a look at these attack dogs (with a brief example of their gentle demeanors):

John Kerry, attacking the United States:

Each day to facilitate the process by which the United States washes her hands of Vietnam, someone has to give up his life so that the United States doesn’t have to admit something that the entire world already knows … so that we can't say that we’ve made a mistake.

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, insinuating Republicans are racist:

When you have a party that says coded things, that makes totally false ads up, falsely saying the president is trying to undo welfare reform, I think you're going to see a lot of heavily and not-so-subtly coded messages from the Romney-Ryan campaign.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, 1996, referring to people who had betrayed his boss Bill Clinton in 1992:

Suddenly Emanuel grabbed his steak knife and, as those who were there remember it, shouted out the name of another enemy, lifted the knife, then brought it down with full force into the table. 'Dead!' he screamed. The group immediately joined in the cathartic release: ''Nat Landow! Dead! Cliff Jackson! Dead! Bill Schaefer! Dead!'

Nancy Pelosi, speaking of enforcing immigration laws: “I think it’s un-American.”

Via: Breitbart

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