O'Malley: Running for president at 1% name rec is a 'fine line between delusion and imagination'

[bigtree]

O'Malley for NH ?@omalleyfornh 23h23 hours ago
@MartinOMalley: "I love The North Country" #nhpolitics

BERLIN – Greeting a small group of patrons at the Eastern Depot Restaurant Monday morning, Democratic presidential hopeful Martin O'Malley recalled campaigning in Berlin in 1983 for Gary Hart. At the time, Hart was a little known U.S. Senator registering about one percent in the polls and O'Malley was a college student.

"I stood on that corner for 20 minutes trying to knock on my first door because I was so shy. And now I think back I've lost count how many doors I've done, said the former governor of Maryland and mayor of Baltimore.

O'Malley noted his polling numbers were similar when he launched his campaign for president. "When somebody runs for president at one percent name recognition it's a fine line between delusion and imagination," he joked.

Making an argument that the American Dream - that with hard work any American can get ahead – is in peril, O'Malley said new leadership is required to get the country back on track...

read more: http://www.berlindailysun.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=54585


Martin O'Malley ?@MartinOMalley 21h21 hours ago
Taking questions from every reporter, big and small. #nhpolitics @omalleyfornh

[Stellar]

1. Perhaps he should have taken a page from Obama...start early, real early.

When did Obama start running for president?

One reporter pieces together some clues and suggests the candidate may have made first moves toward a run before being elected to the Senate.
ALEX KOPPELMAN

Kudos to the Politico’s Ben Smith for apparently piecing together an interesting puzzle and reporting that Barack Obama may have begun to make early moves toward a presidential campaign as early as 2004, before he was elected to the Senate.

Smith noticed this sentence from a story that ran in the Wall Street Journal last week: “By the end of the [2004] campaign, his aides were sending workers into Iowa, the first Presidential caucus state, to begin developing contacts among Democrats there, according to Al Kindle, an Obama campaign aide at the time...”http://www.salon.com/2008/04/29/obama_run/

[Vattel]

2. It's hard to imagine him winning. But you never know.

[BainsBane]

3. You've helped to raise his profile here

Most of what i know about him, I know from you. He seems like he has good credentials and strong positions. I especially like his tough stand on gun control. This may not be his time. That remains to be seen, but he is still young and could mount a future campaign as well.

[ibegurpard]

4. here's my problem with OMalley

And it's alluded to in the first line of your linked article...he's been a lifetime political staffer. I will readily admit to a bias against political staffers and what I call the "consultant class." I usually find them to be more about playing the political game than fighting for deeply held values. Maybe he's different but that puts him back from the starting block for me. Thank you to the OMALLEY supporters for trying to get the word out about him without trashing anyone else.

[elleng]

5. It appears that you have missed his ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

1. Ended death penalty in Maryland
2. Prevented fracking in Maryland and put regulations in the way to prevent next GOP Gov Hogan fom easily allowing fracking.
3. Provided health insurance for 380,000
4. Reduced infant mortality to an all time low.
5. Provided meals to thousands of hungry children and moved toward a goal for eradicating childhood hunger.
6. Enacted a $10.10 living wage and a $11. minimum wage for State workers.
7. Supporter the Dream Act
8. Cut income taxes for 86% of Marylanders (raised taxes on the rich).
9. Reformed Maryland’s tax code to make it more progressive.
10. Enacted some of the nation’s most comprehensive reforms to protect homeowners from foreclosure.

Mother Jones magazine called him the best candidate on environmental issues.
Article here:
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/12/martin-omalley-longshot-presidential-candidate-and-real-climate-hawk

More here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1281

[ibegurpard]

6. here's what I'd like to star hearing from him

Instead of detailed policy positions...what are the values Tha he holds that cause him to support those positions. WHY does he support them? Trust comes from the gut...people often complain about voters deciding based on who they'd "rather have a beer with." That's an oversimplification of that level of communication. We keep throwing detailed policy arguments at people who are looking for authenticity. Hillary is trying but people don't believe her because she's been in the public arena for so long and the narrative she's trying to push doesn't match up with her record, her past persona, or the people she's surrounded with? What motivates O Malley? What does he believe instead of what he thinks?

[elleng]

7. Assault on hopelessness:

[ibegurpard]

10. thanks

Can't watch it at the moment but I think you understand where I'm coming from. If he's right on the policy then communicate to people WHY he supports what he does. More of that and less detailed policy proposals. Most people aren't policy wonks and will trust someone they can authentically relate to.

[bigtree]

8. well, you're just not listening to his talks and speeches

...the points you raised are where he's actually excelled other candidates, imo, in the ways he's expressed his reasons for advocating the issues he's representing in this campaign.

Impossible to gather the statements and remarks all together for your perusal and critique - and highly unfair to the candidate for me to cherry-pick some and have you stand back on this thread and judge them- but this isn't something on which I think he can fairly be criticized. Start paying closer attention to him if that's what you want to hear.

Making like his presenting specific and detailed plans for what he wants to accomplish as president so that we might hold him accountable for his rhetoric isn't something which I think is some fault. It's actually a baffling criticism.

[ibegurpard]

9. take it for what it's worth

And keep hitting brick walls with all the policy details. It's a mistake Democrats continue to make while Republicans have perfected the art of values based messaging. We should be able to do that as well...the difference is our policy matches the values we say we have. When someone isn't getting the message you want to send you don't berate them for it...you figure out a way to speak in a way that reaches them where they are.

[bigtree]

11. what? 'brick walls' at a site that's overwhelmingly in support of other candidates?

...imo, the way O'Malley has butressed his campaign rhetoric with actual positions is a reflection of his sincerity in actually DOING something about the concerns and interests he advocates. That's something which I think is lacking in the other candidate's recitations of problems (not at all any more detailed than O'Malley's recitations of problems and concerns and how he feels about them, despite your own unawareness of all of that).

What we need from these candidates isn't more rhetoric, we need actual solutions to the problems we face, not just feel-good oratory which stirs passions, but leave Americans in the cold when it comes to actually DOING something to solve those problems. I'm fed up with 'trust me' politics which center on belief, rather than verifiable policy positions we can hold these politicians to when the actual negotiating takes place.

So much slipperiness has occurred over the years with pronouncements from candidates to do something or the other which falls well short of progressive expectations and settles for the less-than-progressive props and calling it true reform. So you go on looking for sweet-sounding pablum to highlight or cheer you on, and I'll keep looking for and demanding specifics to back up all of the podium-pounding rhetoric.

[ibegurpard]

14. the difference is when someone has the chops

To back up the "sweet pablum" which you apparently believe O Malley does. You can continue to talk AT people in a way you think they should be communicating or you can figure out why they aren't getting the message you're trying to send and tailor your message accordingly. T

[bigtree]

17. right now, the problem is coverage and name rec against two career Washingtonians

...not a dearth of feelings in his oratory.

[ibegurpard]

18. And how's he going to get coverage

The current tactic of releasing detailed policy proposals isn't going anywhere.

[bigtree]

20. you've raised a false premise

...he's actually doing both; he offers both prose and policy. Your own failure to recognize that isn't a fault of his, nor is that a fault in his campaign. It's actually been to his benefit, despite the odds against him running opposed to two more recognizable, national D.C. politicians.

[ibegurpard]

23. OK carry on then

Makes no difference to me. I am indifferent to him.

[bigtree]

25. 'indifferent to him'

...explains your misrepresentation of his actual efforts in this campaign and his career.

Not a very inspiring basis for criticism of this candidate.

[askew]

12. He's been doing that.

He's actually running the most hopeful campaign of the bunch. He talks about American ideals, his faith, etc.

It's most evident when he talks about immigration/refugee issues and the death penalty. He talks with real sense of purpose on why he holds his beliefs.

[bigtree]

13. exactly

...read ANY of his op-eds and articles and you'll find some of the most unique and heartfelt perspective offered in this campaign. It's not offered in an angry, slashing fashion, but in a compelling and engaging dialogue which challenges Americans to remember their better selves and aspire to the greatness we strive for in our personal and professional experiences in this country. That inspiring oratory has been an enduring factor in my appreciation and support for this man.

I hope the poster will take more time to actually experience this for themselves. When posting excerpts from events, I often focus on the substance here because I think that's what we need to differentiate between the views of these candidates. The specificity in O'Malley's appeal is what I believe separates him from his rivals and distinguishes his campaign as one of substance and not merely an ephemeral, political pursuit.

[ibegurpard]

15. That's what he needs to do more of

And what people supporting him need to be highlighting in my opinion. The policy details are there for people who want to delve deeper. I haven't formed a solid opinion about him yet. I view him with suspicion because of his political staffer history but I'm certainly not writing him off. Clinton will never win me over however.

[elleng]

16. MAYOR and GOVERNOR are NOT political 'staffer' positions.

They are EXECUTIVE positions, and it's JUST THAT EXPERIENCE that we NEED in a president.

[bigtree]

19. I don't know where you're getting the 'staffer' stuff from

Martin O'Malley isn't just talking about the problems and challenges facing America - he's offering substantive and detailed plans for resolving them. That's a reflection of how he conducted himself in public office in Maryland, beginning with his service as an assistant State's Attorney for the City of Baltimore in 1988 to 1990; serving as a Baltimore City Councilor from 1991 to 1999 with the responsibility as Chairman of the Legislative Investigations Committee and Chairman of the Taxation and Finance Committee; two terms as Mayor of Baltimore: and two terms as Governor of his state of Maryland.

O'Malley served as the Chair of the Democratic Governors Association from 2011 to 2013.

On almost every progressive issue that has gained prominence in this campaign, Martin O'Malley has led with concrete action in his state which is matched by solid plans and proposals in this campaign.

[ibegurpard]

21. Go back and read the OP article with the anecdotes

From 1983. And stop taking advice so defensively. You sound exactly the Sanders people who keep throwing his civil rights record at people who aren't hearing what they need to hear from him. If your message is not getting through you figure out why and tailor it accordingly.

[bigtree]

22. you're characterizations of him running as a former 'staffer' are demeaning

...and not reflected in the article's mentions of his recounting that experience in his younger days. You completely distorted his point and ignored a distinguished and accomplished career. I'll get 'defensive' from now until sundown on that point. His record and experience is substantially more than anecdotes about marching with civil rights protesters and includes real and concrete production and accomplishment on the progressive ideals he's expressed in this campaign. I think that's appreciated by those folks looking for someone prepared and experienced in making real differences and actually delivering on promises made in campaigns.

[ibegurpard]

24. I'll leave it you to figure out why he's gain no traction then

Good luck.

[bigtree]

26. it's clear that he's struggling for recognition and coverage against two well-known D.C. politicians

...and his relative anonymity to many of those polled on their choices in this primary. It's an uphill challenge which he's fighting on all fronts with style and substance, for anyone here actually interested in looking more closely at his candidacy.

[oasis]

27. Political staffers often have more contact with ordinary citizens

than their bosses. This puts them in the position of having a finger the pulse of the constituency.