Bill Clinton on Martin O'Malley in 2014: 'Terrific Governor,' 'Best Run State'

     As former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley emerges as perhaps the most significant threat to Hillary Clinton in her quest for the Democratic nomination for president, the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation may be trying to downplay O'Malley's connections to the organization. At the annual meeting in June 2014 for the Clinton Global Initiative, O'Malley appeared on stage with Bill Clinton to announce O'Malley's involvement with a project of CGI called the Mid-Atlantic Infrastructure Exchange (MAX). Clinton praised O'Malley as "a terrific governor of Maryland" and noted his education reforms in particular [remarks related to O'Malley begin around 5:00 in the video]:

    Clinton went on to note that "Maryland at least twice during [O'Malley's] two-term tenure has been voted the best run state in the country". The former president was optimistic about O'Malley and the Democratic Party's future in Maryland, predicting, "his lieutenant governor who he endorsed... I think will succeed him [as governor in November 2014 election,] showing that the people of Maryland like where they're going and believe in what they're doing." Republican Larry Hogan actually went on to beat O'Malley's lieutenant governor Anthony Brown in a shocking upset in the 2014 race.
    But despite Bill Clinton's warm welcome and praise for O'Malley, the former governor's appearance is difficult to find in the Clinton Foundation's recap of the 2014 CGI meeting. O'Malley's name appears only once on the foundation's website, pictured below [highlight added]:

    However, the link provided takes users to "CGIA 2014 Commitment Announcement: Scaling Community Advantage Capital for Small Business" rather than O'Malley's announcement. Video of his appearance with Bill Clinton is on the Clinton Global Initiative's YouTube channel, but is listed as "CGIA 2014 Commitment Annoucement [sic]: AFL-CIO and MAX"; O'Malley's name is not mentioned in the description. O'Malley is not listed as as a participant in the Clinton Global Initiative's agenda for the 2014 meeting, either.
    The fate of the Mid-Atlantic Infrastructure Exchange that O'Malley announced is something of a mystery as well. It is not mentioned on the Clinton Foundation website, and does not appear to have a website of its own, either. Emails to the Clinton Foundation and to Martin O'Malley's office inquiring about the Mid-Atlantic Infrastructure Exchange and O'Malley's involvement have gone unanswered.


Note: A version of this post first appeared at The Weekly Standard.

Maryland Postpones All Obamacare Small Business Forums

    The State of Maryland has been front and center on the launch of open enrollment through the new Obamacare insurance marketplaces on October 1.  The week before the launch, President Obama joined Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley in Largo, MD to boost public awareness of the marketplaces, and he said that if "every governor were working as hard as Governor O’Malley to make the Affordable Care Act work," even more Americans would reap its benefits.
    In the intervening weeks, however, the Maryland Health Connection has had its share of problems.  From concerns about the privacy policy on the site to functions not yet available to low numbers of enrollees, the launch has been anything but smooth.  Governor O'Malley finally acknowledged it could be six weeks before the "glitches in the portal" might be worked out.
    But even as the state concentrates on working on the problems of signing up Marylanders for individual policies, another deadline is approaching.  The Small Business Health Option Program (SHOP) is scheduled to kick off January 1, 2014 with coverage to start as early as March.  And in the case of businesses, not only will the marketplace function as a place to select coverage, but will be responsible for billing employers and collecting payments on an ongoing basis; the money will then be remitted to the various insurers by SHOP.  (Individuals can choose to pay the initial payment through the marketplace or directly to the insurer, but all future billings and payments are between the individual and the insurer.)  Elizabeth Charlow, communications manager for SHOP in Maryland, confirmed this in a September email to THE WEEKLY STANDARD:

All employer bills get handled by Maryland Health Connection (federal requirement) regardless of whether it's employee choice or employer choice.  Individuals who purchase can make their first premium payment on Maryland Health Connection or they can elect to pay the carrier directly. For all subsequent bills, the carriers would send these to individuals directly.

 According to Tequila Terry, director of plan and partner management, the employer would not get multiple bills. The SHOP would aggregate all carrier bills so the employer can make one payment. The Maryland Health Benefit Exchange would then distribute payment to the appropriate carriers on behalf of the employer.

     To help businesses in Maryland prepare for their more complex relationships with the marketplace, the Maryland Health Connection had scheduled multiple public forums on SHOP throughout the state.  On October 4, the Maryland Chamber Action Network published the following on its website:

Maryland Health Connection Holding Small Business Forums 

The Maryland Health Connection will hold a series of small business forums around the state to educate small business owners about the new Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP), which enables small businesses and their employees to compare and select from a variety of qualified health plans that suit their needs and budgets. SHOP is a program of Maryland Health Connection, the state’s new online health insurance marketplace. 

Attend one of the upcoming forums to learn more about:

• Background of the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange.
• Implementation and timeline.
• Plan levels of coverage.
• Health care tax credits for small business.

    However, on October 16, the notice was deleted and the following was posted:

Maryland Health Connection Small Business Forums Postponed 

The Maryland Health Connection has postponed the Small Business Forums, which were scheduled to begin later this month have been postponed. We will let you know if they are rescheduled for a later date. More information about the Maryland Health Connection is available on its website.

    When contacted via email, William Burns, Director of Communications for the Chamber Action Network, a state-wide alliance of Maryland chambers of commerce, said he didn't know why the forums were postponed, but he expected "to reconnect with them in the next couple weeks about rescheduling."  An email to the Maryland Health Connection from THE WEEKLY STANDARD inquiring about the postponements has so far gone unanswered.
    However, the announcement from the Chamber Action Network is not the only indication of the postponements.  Multiple scheduled forums that had at one time appeared on the Maryland Health Connection's calendar of events have been deleted without comment.  Events had been listed for Salisbury, Hagerstown, Baltimore (2), Takoma Park, Waldorf (2), Largo, Elkton, and Wye Mills. (All the event links provided here are from cached versions of the pages.)  Now, all the events have vanished from the site and are met with "Oops. Page Not Found." messages.  Below are screen captures of some of the event listings:

    In addition, the extended calendar used to reflect the upcoming SHOP forums:

    The same calendar view is now missing all the SHOP events:

    One event that is still on the schedule of the Maryland Health Exchange Board, the group that runs the Maryland Health Connection marketplace (including SHOP), is scheduled for October 31 in Beltsville, MD, and states that "Manager of Producer Operations Rebecca Bayne will present an overview of where the Exchange is going, as well as provide a SHOP overview."  In light of recent events, as well as in light of recently cancelled events, there may indeed be increased interest in what the board has to say about "where the Exchange is going."

Note: A version of this article first appeared at The Weekly Standard.

The Outrageous Use of "Courageous"

   Matt Lee, AP reporter and resident burr-under-the-saddle at State Department briefings, broke through the haze of Syria news with his blunt, even for him, question to State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki, "Was there some kind of group spine removal procedure at the White House over the weekend?"  Lee was responding to Psaki calling the president's decision to go to Congress for authorization of military action against Syria "courageous."  The president's supporters have often been accused of using over-the-top rhetoric to describe him, and as it happens, Psaki is far from the first to use "courageous":

• Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) - President Obama’s Support for Gay Marriage A Courageous Stand
• Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) - "Thanks to President Obama’s courageous action" on the budget and immigration reform
• James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence - On Pres. Obama's decision to order the raid that killed Osama bin Laden - "[T]hanks must go to the President, our Commander-in-Chief ... for making perhaps the most courageous decision I’ve witnessed in almost 48 years in intelligence. "
• Martin O'Malley, Dem. Gov. of Maryland - "[W]e were able to keep making progress on health care because of a courageous president named Barack Obama who also stepped up, with your help, to pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act."
• Joe Biden, Vice President - "This guy's got a backbone like a ramrod," Biden said, of Mr. Obama's decision, according to a White House pool report. "He said, 'Go,' knowing his presidency was on the line. Had he failed in that audacious mission, he would've been a one-term president." [OK, he didn't literally use the word "courageous," unless you apply Biden's own standard for "literally."]

    To his credit, President Obama's own use of the word "courageous" is often absolutely appropriate: a man who saved Jews from the Holocaust; those who mounted the Berlin Wall in the ultimately successful effort to bring it down; members of the military; and civil rights leaders in the 50s and 60s.  In this case, the president's supporters would do well to follow the example of the man on whom they too often bestow their hyperbolic adjectives.