Gov. Martin O’Malley’s proposed budget might have an easy passage through the General Assembly this year, according to Senate Budget and Taxation Chairman Ulysses Currie. He said at a legislative function Monday that he won’t have to cut O’Malley’s budget because it is below spending limits set by lawmakers earlier this month.
What O’Malley needs now is support from the public and from lawmakers, Currie said.
An interesting story written Monday by Tom LoBianco of The Washington Times examines how O’Malley sold his proposed solution for a $1.5 billion budget deficit to the public. He compares it to former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner’s quest to fix his state’s finances in 2004.
Here’s an excerpt from what Tom wrote.
Mr. Warner was hailed in national Democratic circles for doing the near-impossible: increasing taxes and improving his approval rating.
But after Maryland’s special session closed in November, Mr. O’Malley’s public-approval rating dropped — not the outcome called for in the Warner playbook.
An analysis by The Washington Times and interviews with key Virginia leaders shows Mr. O’Malley, a Democrat, followed a more abbreviated version of the Warner plan, and suffered politically as a result.
