In face of default, Martin O'Malley makes Puerto Rico a priority: 'We Can’t Let Puerto Rico Fail'

[bigtree]

Huffington Post ?@HuffingtonPost 1h1 hour ago
In the face of default, Martin O'Malley makes Puerto Rico a priority http://huff.to/1DhIcr4



The Maryland Democrat calls for swift action in the face of the island’s potential default.

____In an interview published Saturday in conjunction with a scheduled campaign stop on the island, the former Maryland governor addressed the escalating financial crisis with Puerto Rican daily newspaper El Nuevo Dia, stressing “the obligation to help and fight injustice” through aggressive policy change.

“The main thing we need to do is extend the same bankruptcy protections that we have on the federal level to Puerto Rico,” O’Malley said.

“We need to level the playing field in terms of healthcare, specifically normalizing low Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates to equal those stateside,” O’Malley said. “Those two things, Chapter 9 and healthcare reform, can do a lot to help Puerto Rico solve this debt crisis.”

“Puerto Rico does send delegates to the Democratic National Convention, and there is a significant number of Puerto Ricans that live in and across the country, not just Florida,” O’Malley said. “[Puerto Rico’s] people have been part of the United States for more than 100 years. We have an obligation to help."

“For the good of the country and for the sake of our credibility in the hemisphere, we have the obligation to act and help our fellow citizens, whose sons and daughters have fought on the battlefield to defend our country,” he said. “We can’t let Puerto Rico fail.”





read: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cant-let-puerto-rico-fail-2016-omalley_55bd2c40e4b06363d5a2709c?ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000067

related:

O'Malley 'On the Road' to Puerto Rico
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251487167

[FSogol]

1. K&R. n/t

[haikugal]

2. It's nice to see someone paying attention to this horrible situation...why aren't they a state?

[MADem]

3. PR has something like 55 convention delegates. They help pick the nominee, even though they can't

vote in the general.

That's a political aside, outside of the obvious issues of bankruptcy and drought that are ravaging that lovely island.

[FSogol]

4. NY and the mid-atlantic states are filled with PR voters who live and work here.

They are listening as are other Latino voters. Politics aside, saving PR is the right thing to do. Notice how O'Malley seems to be on the right side of every issue?

[bigtree]

5. wife and I were just wondering at the silence today from the other candidates

...on this day of their default.

Silence...

[elleng]

6. and from others here too, bigtree.

My frustration's building.

[MADem]

7. I have family there--of course it's the right thing to do.

That said, if he doesn't have those delegates in mind, I'd be shocked as hell. He's a politician and he's not stupid.

He can create some warm feelings, maybe, but he's got a ways to go before he tips the PR vote in NY or NJ. He has no ability to actually effect change at this stage of the game.

Just don't see a huge groundswell of PR voters stateside coming out for him off one visit and a few nods of concern. It was absolutely an astute move on his part. You get delegates by ASKING for their votes, after all--not by keeping "above the fray."

Truth to tell, I just haven't been paying much attention to O'Malley. I don't dislike him, he just doesn't appeal to me. It might be the Baltimore thing that troubles me.

If he gets the nomination I would vote for him. Wouldn't hesitate.

Any old Dem is better than the best Republican, after all.

[bigtree]

8. this is a strange charge, given that ALL the candidates have delegates in mind

...what would be ripe for criticism would be an election season conversion or sudden interest which is unrelated to any earlier support.

In O'Malley's case, he has a long and rich record of support for the Latino community in my state and has a string of successful measures enacted in office which have benefited Latino community members.


statement released by CASA (MD. Immigrants Rights Org.) Executive Director, Gustavo Torres:

“I applaud Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley for stressing that children fleeing violence and abandonment in Central America should be treated as children that deserve our support. In stark contrast to other public figures that have called for their quick deportation, Governor O’Malley has urged that arriving migrant children receive fair, humane treatment and, above all, a fair legal review of whether they should be allowed to stay. We have heard from our colleagues across the country that they are relieved to hear the Governor become an indispensable voice for the immigrant community. We have let these colleagues know that this is hardly the first time the Governor has served as a hero for immigrant communities. Across his governorship, he has been a true friend of New Marylanders and addressing the abominable treatment of children at the border is only the most recent example of his leadership.

CASA de Maryland and CASA de Virginia are their state’s largest immigrant rights organizations. Our almost 60,000 members work with CASA to create a more just society by building power and improving the quality of life in low-income immigrant communities.

from Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA):

Maryland's Governor Martin O’Malley is the first leader to respond to our call of action. Maryland has a significant Latino and immigrant population. Latinos make up about 9 percent of the state’s population with rapid growth in Maryland’s DC suburbs. In 2011, Governor O’Malley signed into law the Maryland DREAM Act granting in-state tuition to undocumented youth with significant ties to the state, a victory he was later successful in defending at a voter referendum. And, last year, with the help of legislators, Governor O’Malley made Maryland the first state this side of the Mississippi River to permit undocumented residents to obtain driver’s licenses.

“We thank Governor O’Malley for meeting with our coalition at such critical juncture of the immigration reform debate,” said Hector E. Sanchez, Executive Director of LCLAA. “Collectively our organizations have mobilized our members all over the nation to reinforce the urgency of getting a vote on immigration reform in the House of Representatives. LCLAA looks forward to working with Governor O’Malley to complement our efforts and get immigration reform legislation with a path to citizenship on President Obama’s desk.”

"Governor O'Malley has been a vocal supporter and advocate for immigration reform for some time. Today we met with him - asking him to escalate his involvement in urging Congress to finally take action on the issue and for the White House to follow through on its evaluation of the current deportation process. We need the increased leadership of people like Governor O'Malley - the current system is broken and it is destroying Latino families nationwide,’ said Matthew McClellan, Executive Director of NCLR Action Fund.

“There is broad consensus among the American people that our immigration system is deeply broken and failing our families, workers, business and economy. Governor O’Malley understands the need for immigration reform and has supported pro-immigrant state measures such as the Maryland DREAM Act and driver licenses for undocumented residents. Today we met with him to urge he increase his leadership in moving Congress forward and work with the President to end the needless pain too many families feel from the separation that comes from Congressional inaction,” said Jose Calderon, President of the Hispanic Federation.

http://lulac.org/news/pr/national-latino-groups-meet-with-maryland-governor-omalley-on-immigration-reform/


from Daily Kos:

Maryland took in more child refugees than any other state per capita. He made sure the children weren't housed in abandoned warehouses but placed in foster care or small group homes. This was done by bringing together faith leaders and social service groups to come up with a comprehensive solution that would be most beneficial to the children.

This is not the only immigration issue he has led on. Immigration is definitely something O'Malley feels passionately about.

Over the past few years, O’Malley has enacted what reads like an activist’s wish list. He passed the DREAM Act in 2011 (now 36,000 undocumented immigrants have access to in-state tuition); the state gave driver’s licenses to tax-paying undocumented immigrants in 2013; and in April of this year, O’Malley informed the Department of Homeland Security that Maryland would no longer comply with the Secure Communities program that facilitates the deportation of undocumented immigrants.

Gustavo Torres, the executive director of CASA de Maryland, has worked extensively with O’Malley. He was effusive in his praise, noting it comes down to a simple but powerful feeling: O’Malley treats immigrants with respect.

At a recent speech at a Casa de Maryland awards reception, O’Malley was in his element. He talked about starting the Maryland Council for New Americans in 2008, an initiative to help immigrants with English proficiency, job training, and “starting on the path to becoming a citizen,” to whoops and applause from the crowd.

In 2014, O'Malley ACLU and CASA de Maryland:

Today, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Maryland and CASA de Maryland hailed an announcement by Governor Martin O’Malley that the Baltimore City Detention Center, which is run by the state, will stop honoring most Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers. The reform significantly expands a policy enacted earlier this year, in light of Fourth Amendment and due process concerns raised by the groups.

"We applaud this news from the Governor recognizing the fundamental constitutional rights of all Marylanders," said Gustavo Torres, Executive Director of CASA de Maryland. "Under Governor O’Malley’s leadership, Maryland has knit together a community and we look forward to counties across the state following suit."

read: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/04/19/1378776/-O-Malley-s-Progressive-Record-on-Immigration


from Buzzfeed:

Over the past few years, O’Malley has enacted what reads like an activist’s wish list. He passed the DREAM Act in 2011 (now 36,000 undocumented immigrants have access to in-state tuition); the state gave driver’s licenses to tax-paying undocumented immigrants in 2013; and in April of this year, O’Malley informed the Department of Homeland Security that Maryland would no longer comply with the Secure Communities program that facilitates the deportation of undocumented immigrants.

The legislative push has also coincided with rapid population growth among Latinos in Maryland, up 48% from 2000 to 2006 and an additional 51% from 2006 to 2012. Among the statistics O’Malley is glad to publicize: Maryland has the lowest Hispanic unemployment rate at 5.1% (compared with 9.1% nationally), and the state has more than doubled contracts to Latino-owned businesses during his time as governor.

What O’Malley doesn’t do, though, prominent Latinos say, is make immigration an exclusively Latino issue or think that Latino issues begin and end with immigration. And this has not gone unnoticed.

Gustavo Torres, the executive director of CASA de Maryland, has worked extensively with O’Malley. He was effusive in his praise, noting it comes down to a simple but powerful feeling: O’Malley treats immigrants with respect.

“He’s very clearly the most pro-Latino and pro-immigrant governor in the country,” Torres said. “He believes we are all immigrants, for centuries we are immigrants. He calls us new Americans because he believes it is a really good way to describe the contribution of the immigrant community.”

read: http://www.buzzfeed.com/adriancarrasquillo/maryland-gov-martin-omalley-has-been-busy-building-a-record#.mcLPg5YKQ


Martin O'Malley taking action on behalf of immigrant children
http://upload.democraticunderground.com/10026628573

[elleng]

11. You SHOULD pay attention to him.

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

[tritsofme]

9. I have a good friend with family in metro San Juan

Apparently they are on 24 hours with water service and then 48 hours without. The situation there is just incomprehensible.

[Snotcicles]

10. I'll K&R this .nt

[Turchinsky]

12. One of the bravest thing O'Malley has done...

was to recognize that a nation that is under U.S. control is in trouble. We have to provide assistance if we can.

How many times was Marinara Islands bailed out thanks to Tom DeLay and Jack Abramoff?

[bigtree]

13. »

[oasis]

14. Kick