OMalleyWatch.com, the bane of Government House, turned a year-old this week. On whether it has left the ubiquitous ‘Martin Watcher’ the wiser, 'the more astonished' is probably more appropriate, as the wide number of people interested in his perspective never ceases to amaze him.

I had expected that my primary audience would be the political insiders that were part of the former Ehrlich administration, or the lobbyists and folks that surround Annapolis political circles. But instead, the audience is really more of the grassroots folks, political club members, and folks like that. It's a better audience to have because they take more out of it.

But he’s proven himself to be influential at shaping the argument in Annapolis, too. First with reporters as an oppo-warehouse on patronage and the business-as-usual goings-on in government, and mostly now as a talking points disseminator for Republicans inside and beyond State Circle.

When the media attention subsided and papers weren’t picking up on his stories as much, ‘Martin’ says, “It wasn't that what I was reporting on wasn't as controversial, but how much ‘Martin bashing’ could a reporter cover.”

He credits his success to those who dislike him the most, saying the mistakes (real or perceived) made by Democrats are not only his source of material, but what boosted his audience in the first place.

The television coverage was because Rick Abbruzzese thought he would pull a fast one, but if he had just ignored me I wouldn't have gotten on TV and spread the message more. The Democrat Party press release led to a huge explosion of publicity for me. They wanted to play "gotcha" and I was able to play it into a larger audience base.

In the end, he hopes his posts will lead “the media [to] question shady deals more closely, or do basic research and get counterpoints to what is going on in Annapolis. My biggest annoyance is when any newspaper would use someone like Don Fry to say that O'Malley is being backed by a business group, or someone like Tom Schaller or Mathew Crenson as a political expert to talk about how great O'Malley is doing.”

But don’t expect talk show appearances anytime soon.