O'Malley Strums, Economy Burns

Well at least he now we know why Martin O'Malley fell asleep at the switch while Maryland's economy faltered: he was too busy playing rock star.

The semi-retired Celtic rock band fronted by Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) is about to become a little less retired.

An email sent recently to fans of O'Malley's March advertises a March 14 CD release party in Baltimore, meaning new music will be arriving just in time for St. Patrick's Day.

O'Malley spokesman Rick Abbruzzese could provide few details about the band's plans this morning but confirmed that the CD is the same one that O'Malley said he was working on during a summer 2007 interview.

At the time, O'Malley said that the disc had been in the works for months, with the tentative title of "Banished to the Basement." That, he said, referred to "the fact that political realities have banished us to the basement and that we don't play out anymore."

Good to know that O'Malley was able to work on his side project while Maryland's working and middle class families has to work harder just to make ends meet. But it's a sad commentary that the same O'Malley who criticized Governor Ehrlich for playing golf find no harm in putting time aside to record a new album. Maybe if O'Malley spent a little more time fine tuning his economic policy and a little less time tuning his strings, the people of Maryland wouldn't have to suffer the consequences of his reckless fiscal policy.

Then again, maybe O'Malley is living vicariously through Val Kilmer's portrayal of Doc Holliday in Tombstone: "It appears my hypocrisy knows no bounds."