Gov. O'Malley Living in a Fantasy Land, Says Carroll's Delegate Ready

In his last State of the State Address, Gov. Martin O’Malley touted his administration’s achievements and explained his vision for how the state’s economy will prosper in the future. Some of Carroll's representatives weighed in after the address, suggesting O'Malley is living in a fantasy land. 

Delegate Justin Ready (R-Carroll) said “Governor O’Malley’s State of the State Address was more a state of Fantasy Island."  

Ready said that in spite of what O'Malley said about his successes with the economy, that he believes O'Malley's economic policies have negatively impacted citizens and businesses. 

“The Governor talks about helping the middle class and improving the economy but 80 tax and fee hikes and a 32 percent increase in state spending during his administration are actions that are inconsistent with that goal,” Ready said in a statement.

O'Malley admitted the state’s glitch-filled health care exchange website has failed to live up to expectations.

“The health care website failed to perform as designed when it was launched—a source of great frustration—especially for those who were trying to obtain health care for the first time,” O’Malley said.

Senate Minority Leader David Brinkley (R-Carroll) and Ready agree that the "botched" rollout of the state's health care exchange has cost Marylanders millions.

"Governor O’Malley and Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown had hoped their crowning achievement would be Maryland’s implementation of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare," Brinkley said in a statement. "Instead, it is the model of governmental and bureaucratic malpractice. Additional information is coming out about the colossal failure of this initiative every day." 

O’Malley also used his speech to talk about his administration’s fiscal discipline in cutting the state budget $9.1 billion, nearly eliminating a $1.7 billion structural deficit and building the state’s Rainy Day Fund to $800 million.  

Brinkley said that he disagrees with O'Malley's math.

"But the reality is this: his first budget was just over $29.5 billion; the budget he submitted to the Legislature last week is nearly $39.5 billion," Brinkley said.  That’s almost 33 percent more spending over the course of their two terms."

Ready and Brinkley also spoke out against the "burdensome rain tax," Maryland's dependance on the federal government and policies that they say hurt small business.

Want more? Watch O’Malley’s address.  

What do you think? Has Maryland fared well under O'Malley's reign? 

Patch editor Deb Belt contributed to this article.