The Gelding Makes a Threat

O’Malley Watch mentioned last week that the strong arm was being put on Democrats who were seen as being unreliable votes for the O’Malley taxfest.

Democrat legislators that oppose Martin O’Malley’s tax plan without “permission” will be punished according to sources in the legislature. You might say, that if a Montgomery County pol decides that they do not like the fact that 81% of the higher income tax comes from their county and votes against that component, then that legislator might have a howitzer or another squadron kick them off their coveted committee assignment.

Now we hear that the gelded Senate President Mike Miller is making threatening noises in the general direction of Democrat Senator James Brochin who had taken a courageous stand on behalf of his constituents.

Brochin, who has long had a rocky relationship with the Democratic leadership in Annapolis, said he would rather see the elimination of annual inflation adjustments to education spending, cuts in aid to local governments, the elimination of state support for private colleges, and other cuts.

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Republicans hold 14 seats in the Senate but need 19 votes to maintain a filibuster. With Brochin on their side, they would need to hold ranks and recruit four more Democrats, a difficult proposition. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said he isn’t worried.

“You’ve got to have core values in this business, and I think it’s certainly a major mistake on his part,” Miller said. “The tax increases are going to pass, so I assume it’s mostly for show.”

The irony of hearing Mike Miller talking about “core values” (with a hat tip to O’Malley Watch) is just too much to bear.