Soccer Dad

O'Malley in the news

Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley is in the news. And it's not all good. First of all there's the matter of unfounded rumors that he's had an affair with a television reporter and separated from his wife. Understandably he's quite indignant:

Rumors about O'Malley's marriage have been widespread, but he spoke about them publicly for the first time yesterday. The mayor, who has been married for 14 years and is the father of four children, said in an interview that he has never cheated on his wife.

"I have always been faithful to my wife, from our first date to this date," O'Malley said.

The rumors appeared to have no effect last fall when O'Malley handily won a second term as mayor. But over time, O'Malley said he came to believe that the rumors were spread to thwart his gubernatorial ambitions. About 18 months ago, he said he first caught wind of a story circulating about how he had fathered a child with a local television news reporter and separated from his wife. Initially, the mayor said, he believed the story would "be a strange phenomenon that would just sort of blow through."

However I think he's being a bit cynical when he blames Governor Ehrlich for having anything to do with the rumor. Ehrlich fired the aide who was associated with spreading the rumor.
Yet O'Malley's gambit appears to be working:

Sen. Brian E. Frosh (D-Montgomery) said he will ask top lawmakers to grant him subpoena power to conduct hearings into what he called "the Watergate-style dirty tricks" used to smear O'Malley, a Democrat who is laying the groundwork to run for governor in 2006.

"I really think people ought to be hauled in here, put under oath and asked to explain what went on," Frosh said.

He doesn't need to prove that Governor Ehrlich is responsible for the rumor in anyway. He just needs to have people make the association. The Democratic leadership in Maryland will do the dirty work and no doubt the Washington Post and Baltimore Sun will play along.
The Sun helpfully chimed in with a disgraceful editorial today:

This much is certain: Mr. Ehrlich knows when it's time to distance himself from a blown campaign operative. He disavowed the actions of longtime aide Joseph "NCPAC" Steffen as soon as the press got wind of them. Mr. Steffen repeatedly posted messages on a popular political Web site detailing some salacious (and untrue, but why would that stop a zealot?) rumors about the mayor. When confronted by a reporter, Mr. Steffen promptly resigned. Mr. Ehrlich now says he was fired.

But does anyone believe that the smear campaign against the popular Mr. O'Malley, a potential candidate for governor in 2006, isn't politically motivated? Here's what Mr. Steffen told The Washington Post when asked if his postings were part of an organized effort to keep anti-O'Malley rumors afloat: "No comment." What does this mean? Probably this: Mr. Steffen is willing to admit to his libelous postings; he's not ready to rat out others.

Or as Steffen (or someone claiming to be Steffen) posted on FreeRepublic (via the Washington Post):

"I didn't start any rumor, I was commenting on rumors that were out there," NCPAC wrote Tuesday night. "Given the volatility of the situation -- and knowing the blowback potential on the Governor -- I opted out rather than letting him bleed further at the hands of O'Malley."

In another posting, NCPAC said that by "inadvertently opening up the Governor as a target," he had made "a mistake, one for which I am willing to take full blame and consequence."

Steffen shouldn't talk to reporters. There may be legal action so his silence is understandable. (The Washington Post still seems to report that Ehrlich fired Steffen and that Steffen didn't voluntarily leave when confronted by a reporter.)

I realize that O'Malley is concerned with his run for Governor next year. But he might well be Governor now. The reason he isn't is because all of Maryland's leading Democrats prevailed upon him three years ago to sit out the race. Ehrlich beat the uncharismatic Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, but not by much. A more charismatic candidate, such as Mayor O'Malley may well have kept the State House in Democratic hands. He really should show more bitterness toward his fellow Democrats. But bashing Ehrlich could be a very good strategy.

Of course this isn't the only issue that has O'Malley in the news.

Nope he's not just taking on the Governor. He's taking on the President. He compared President Bush to terrorists for his budget:

"Back on September 11, terrorists attacked our metropolitan cores, two of America's great cities. They did that because they knew that was where they could do the most damage and weaken us the most," O'Malley said. "Years later, we are given a budget proposal by our commander in chief, the president of the United States. And with a budget ax, he is attacking America's cities. He is attacking our metropolitan core."

O'Malley seemed to be aware that he'd gone too far so he backed off a bit:

In an interview, O'Malley said he "in no way intended to equate these budget cuts, however bad, to a terrorist attack."

"The point I am trying to make is, for America to be strong, we have to strengthen our cities. Because we're in the middle of a war, we need to be strengthening and protecting our cities, not weakening our cities. Two of our cities have already been attacked in this war."

However as Jim Geraghty points out, this wasn't the first time that the Mayor made this comparison:

"I remember after the attacks of September 11, as mayor of the city, I was very, very worried about al-Qaeda and still am. But I'm even more worried about the actions and inactions of the Bush administration." (Doug Donovan, "O'Malley Takes The Heat For Remarks About Bush," The Baltimore Sun, 7/1/04)

(Thanks to Powerline and Michelle Malkin for their background.)
The Baltimore Sun had no editorial condemning O'Malley's remark.
I've had the opportunity to see O'Malley twice in person and he seems like a nice enough guy. However his accomplishments in Baltimore have been modest. The murder rate has fallen slightly from the level it was at under Kurt Schmoke's mismanagement of the city, but it is still way too high. He also was an early supporter of Howard Dean, falling for the fake hype surrounding that candidate. It doesn't say much for his political judgment.

Posted by SoccerDad at February 10, 2005 06:02 AM | TrackBack