Maryland Government: corruption is business as usual

Maryland Government: corruption is business as usual

Reported today the Democratic Governors Association has recently received 100,000 dollar donation from Caesar’s Entertainment Company. This sum is in addition to the 50,000 they received last year. Why was this largesse dumped into this specific Association’s coffers, Martin O’Malley is top dog for this group. Caesar’s would like a piece of the casino action in Maryland. Governor O’Malley appoints the so- called independent Board that determines who receives casino licenses. An O’Malley spokesperson noted that the Governor keeps Association business separate from his duties as our head of state. After a long period of nausea, I regained some semblance of reality concerning O’Malley’s spokesperson’s contention. Does this mean the Governor will recuse himself on any decision for Caesar’s license issues? Perhaps it means he will not try to influence the other Board members. Don’t hold your breath for either event to occur.  Buying and selling influence in Maryland is not new, this type of blatant cronyism is. Baltimore Sun, unquestionably a left wing rag, gave very little space to this egregious story. A question that remains unanswered: Did O’Malley receive any funds from Caesar Entertainment or is employees in the last two election cycles?  In the event this was Bob Ehrlich on the take, Baltimore Sun would have run a banner headline, “Corruption in Annapolis can it get any worse.” This type of quid pro quo scheme has bought many politicians time in Federal Slammers. Governor O’Malley should renounce these funds for what they are, inducements to obtain casino licenses. If he had the inner strength and appropriate moral compass he would have these funds back to their owner’s hands immediately. Why have an ethics commission when the politicians absolve themselves from the wrongs they perpetrate. Cronyism, deception and fraudulent conveyance, it could not get any worse. Remember when Maryland is in Bankruptcy it was the democrats not George Bush who put us there. Mark Davis MD author of Demons of Democracy.  Platomd@gmail.com