Iowa Daily Democrat GUEST OPINION: O’Malley in the middle
Martin O'Malley visiting with voters at Tim Urban's home Friday evening. Credit: Tim Urban
http://iowadailydemocrat.com/news/2015/11/guest-opinion-omalley-in-the-middle/
By Tim Urban11/03/15
Des Moines, Iowa – Martin O’Malley met with the Des Moines Register Editorial Board last Thursday. An article about the interview covered his position on water quality, college debt, gun regulation, and trade. A separate article titled “O’Malley hits Clinton on Death Penalty View” focused on a contrast he has with the frontrunner over abolition of the death penalty. He sees it as a moral failing and she sees as a States rights issue. He’s channeling the Pope and she is channeling Jeb Bush.
Martin O’Malley is a native of Maryland, growing up in the Washington, DC, suburbs, graduating from Catholic University, and securing a law degree from the University of Maryland. He has a long record of political activism and public service, starting out as an Iowa field volunteer for Gary Hart at the age of 20 with work for Democrats Barbara Mikulski, a Maryland Senator, and Nebraskan Bob Kerry, who was seeking the presidency in 1992.
His political career started as a city councilor in Baltimore in 1991 for eight years and he also served as an assistant state attorney in Baltimore, learning how difficult it was to “drain the swamp” of drugs and crime. He was elected as Baltimore’s mayor in 1999 in a tough race with 53% of the vote in what remains a majority African-American city. Plagued by gun violence and poverty, Baltimore voters rewarded him with 87% of the vote for re-election in 2004 after he crafted a careful balance between law enforcement, police accountability, community relations, drug treatment, interdiction, and criminal justice reform. He also instituted “Citistat,” an innovative method of tracking municipal service delivery that allowed substantial cost savings and improved services to Baltimore residents.
Elected as Maryland’s governor in 2007, he served eight years during the same period as President Obama and faced many of the same fiscal challenges that almost overwhelmed our economy. He elevated Citistat to Statestat, pushing it through a wide range of State programs including the clean-up of Chesapeake Bay, and brought the Maryland budget under control. Incredibly, he mustered support for major Progressive initiatives including enlisting Maryland as one of the first states to commit to a national popular vote, Maryland’s version of the DREAM ACT granting rights to children of undocumented immigrants, leading bi-partisan legislative approval for same sex marriage and then seeing it through with 52% Maryland voter approval, abolishing the death penalty, and, most remarkably, securing gun control registration and a ban on assault weapon sales!
FULL story at link.
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'Besides standard 2016 campaign issues embraced by all three contenders such a $15/hour minimum wage, climate change, student debt, and immigration reform, his proposals are nuanced, based on his successes as a mayor and governor. . . Governor O’Malley brings a vigorous and positive message to the 2016 campaign to “rebuild the American Dream of Equal Rights and Opportunity for all.” His optimism and inspirational achievements are not the current flavor of the month. . . Governor O’Malley is somewhere “in between.” In the debate he had the passion of Sanders, touting how he has succeeded addressing the issues shouted out by the Senator. He cited his experience in governing and problem-solving dead issues on the Republican side where governing is a dirty word. His contrast with Secretary Clinton has been on veracity and in a few cases oppositional politics. . .
But, like a middle child in a family, this may only be a passing phase for O’Malley. While Marco Rubio is complaining that the recent focus on his candidacy by the media is too soon – his strategists were hoping he would peak at caucus time – we are reminded at this time four years ago we had candidates who fell as quickly as they rose in the polls. Voters seem to be very fickle and unpredictable at this stage of our national media circus. Like Brer Rabbit, O’Malley may eventually be thrown in the briar patch at a time when the briar patch may be his path to success. Being in the middle may not be a bad thing.'
...thanks for posting, Steve. 
