Martin O’Malley Brilliantly Rages Against Tea Party Idiots Paul Ryan and Scott Walker

Have you heard of Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley? In 2002 he was named by Esquire “The Best Young Mayor in the Country,” and in 2005 one of America’s “Top 5 Big City Mayors” by TIME. Still, even though he’s publicly considering a run for the Democratic nomination in 2016 (if Hillary doesn’t make up her mind soon), he’s not exactly a first-name figure for most. That just changed, at least in Wisconsin.

As the keynote speaker for 2014′s Democratic Founders Day Gala, O’Malley absolutely skewered several prominent Republican figures; most notably, Paul Ryan. He said of Ryan’s budget, which narrowly passed the House Budget Committee chamber this week:

“When Pope Francis urged American Catholics to fight poverty, Congressman Ryan thought he said, ‘Fight the poor.’ ” 

Ryan’s budget, which comes by its supposed “$5 trillion over ten years” in “savings” primarily by cutting everything that might in any way benefit the poor. And, of course, that includes repealing Obamacare. However, Ryan wasn’t afraid to count on the taxes or Medicare cost shifting that is part of Obamacare, but wouldn’t exist under his plan. One Kentucky Republican (who was one of the 12 who voted against it) said of Ryan’s numbers fudging ”I’m not sure that’s honest accounting.”

O’Malley reserved some of his harshest words for hometown boy Wisconson Gov. Scott Walker. Walker has consistently opposed wage increases in Wisconsin, which i was a cause championed by O’Malley in Maryland. He called Walker a “devoted follower of trickle-down economics if ever there was one,” and dropped the K-Bomb with:

“If your goal is to hold down wages and turn Wisconsin into a subsidiary of Koch Industries, then Governor Walker’s your guy.”

You might be wondering why O’Malley chose to target Walker, right on his home soil; or even why he was in Wisconsin in the first place. Lots of Wisconsonites have probably asked themselves the same question. But O’Malley wasn’t there for the beer and cheese: He was there for Walker. Walker has expressed some intent to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2016…he already has some name recognition, after all.

Unfortunately, that recognition came from a series of massively racist emails circulated around his office, which were uncovered during a previous criminal probe. And he’s still under investigation for a second criminal charge. He’s also not only refused $11 billion from the Fed to expand Medicaid, he actually CUT $500 million from the state’s Medicaid budget.

He’s passed the usual battery of voter ID laws, and more recently, broadened Wisconson’s gun laws, two days later shelling out $175,000 to pay for a new “ShotSpotter” system for the police. ShotSpotter is an acoustic system that helps military and police personnel to pinpoint the location of gunfire and calculate the trajectory of bullets…which is probably a little more important after you throw open the door to residents purchasing out-of-state rifles.

So, pretty standard Republican.