Maryland: State Sponsor of Terror?

True, maybe that is too harsh of a question, but after reading the remarks by Baltimore's Mayor, I'm not so sure:

Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley yesterday compared President Bush's proposed budget cuts to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, saying that Bush, like the al Qaeda hijackers who crashed planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, has launched an assault on America's cities.

"These cuts, ladies and gentlemen, are sad. Irresponsible. They are also dishonest," O'Malley (D) told a packed news conference at the National Press Club, where mayors and area officials had gathered to decry Bush's plan to slash spending on community development programs by $2 billion.

Cutting community development programs is analogous to a terrorist attack??

Well sure, the attacks on Sept 11 sure put a hamper on community development, at least in New York, but I still don't think the two are even remotely similar. Mayor O'Malley is entering Michael Moore territory by being the latest liberal to liken President Bush to a terrorist.

"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."

Those present appeared to be a bit stunned by the comparison.

Yeah, no kidding.
Does the Mayor really think that by making these "cuts" the President is trying to attack us at our "core"? Or is he running for office or something?

Ahh...yes...

Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) said O'Malley's remarks "went way too far."

"The president of the United States is fighting terrorism. It hurts our cause when people say things like that," said Duncan, who, like O'Malley, is expected to seek the Democratic nomination in the 2006 race against Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R).

So not only is O'Malley imitating Michael Moore, he seems to be trying to identify with the Howard Dean wing of the Democratic Party.
He certainly seems to be heading towards some kind of wild scream of his own:

"Martin O'Malley is truly beginning to spin out of control. His rhetoric is beginning to border on the bizarre," Maryland GOP Chairman John Kane said in a written statement. "His own counterparts, including Washington, D.C., Mayor Anthony Williams, do not support Martin O'Malley's divisive, inflammatory and reckless attempt to grab national headlines."

Additionally, O'Malley seems versed in the fine political art of backtracking:

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

Is he kidding? Does he not realize that the purpose of said interview was to follow up on his comments, and therefore, any write-up of the interview would include his quote?

Bizarre indeed.

(Thanks to The Ranger who tipped me off to this article, seems the Maryland GOP sent it out to their email-list.)