O'Malley:Unlike Some Candidates, I Don't Consider Republicans My Enemies.

[elleng]

Last edited Thu Nov 5, 2015, 08:41 PM - Edit history (1)

'In the first Democratic primary debate, each candidate was asked to name an enemy they were proud to have made during their political careers. Hillary Clinton, the current frontrunner, named roughly half the country as her "enemy" when she replied " probably the Republicans."

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, who is currently polling within the margin of error in nearly every national poll, thinks that Clinton's answer to that question is a sign that she is far too partisan and is unwilling to work with others on Capitol Hill. In a new piece published today on Yahoo! News, O'Malley tries to parlay himself as a middle-of-the-road Democrat, not an overly partisan or "ideologically extreme" candidate.

“How can you pull people together when you declare up front that all Republicans are your enemies?” he asked me, referring to Clinton’s striking comment in the first debate. “Or when you hem and haw about whether or not you believe in capitalism?

“I don’t believe that all Republicans are my enemy. They’re my neighbors. And I actually do believe in capitalism when it’s practiced in ways that encourage and defend fair competition and push back against the concentration of monopoly power as the big banks now enjoy it.”

While it's all good and dandy that O'Malley doesn't see himself as being as "extreme" as his opponents, and that he's at least on paper open to working across the aisle, this rhetoric isn't resonating well with voters at all. It's rather telling that Clinton's comments regarding Republicans as her enemies barely made a blip on the national media compared to (the now dropped out) Jim Webb's remarks that he killed the Vietnamese soldier who threw a grenade at him.

As the second Democratic primary debate is on November 14, O'Malley had better hope that he is able to convey some kind of message to the voters--or else he'll become even more irrelevant than he already is.'

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/christinerousselle/2015/11/05/martin-omalley-unlike-some-candidates-i-dont-consider-republicans-my-enemies-n2076295

[FSogol]

1. K & R. n/t

[NurseJackie]

2. I really do like O'Malley, but I think he's being far too generous, and

offering much more courtesy than Republican politicians actually deserve. But, his attitude is a notable difference, and perhaps it will help him.

"or else he'll become even more irrelevant than he already is." He's hardly "irrelevant". That's a cheap shot.

All things considered, I think he's doing extremely well. I'm confident that he's not going to the be the Democratic nominee, THIS TIME. But, I'm equally confident that with what he learns this time, and with being a possible VP contender, he's definitely going to be a major player in the future.

This is just the beginning for Martin O'Malley.

[elleng]

3. Cheap shot indeed.

If I used twitter, I'd give her a piece of my mind.

[valerief]

4. He needs to qualify Republican, because the party steals from the poor to give to the rich.

That's their mission. Maybe there are some average (and stupid) voters who vote Republican and aren't aware of the party's mission. But a Republican dedicated to the Republican mission is the enemy of the people.

[Dawgs]

5. And some act like she will be best at getting support from the Republicans.

It's getting ridiculous.

[elleng]

6. I agree,

pretty foolish.

[MohRokTah]

7. And with that, O'Malley drops from my second choice to my third choice.

Oh well. Sanders moves up to my second choice.

[leftofcool]

14. That and now absolutely no chance for the VP spot.

[whatchamacallit]

8. Hillary doesn't either

that statement was red meat. The moment she's sworn in she'll be working with them to enact their mutual master's agenda.

[frylock]

15. Undoubtedly.

[riderinthestorm]

9. O'Malley has demonstrable results working with Republicans as governor

His record is actually darn near flawless.

Here's just a small sample of his record (and he got it done by working with Republicans.)

https://martinomalley.com/bio/record/

Strengthened Maryland’s Economy
Under Governor O’Malley Maryland ranked #1 for innovation and entrepreneurship for three years in a row, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Maryland also ranked as one of the top three states for economic mobility based on workers’ ability to move up the earnings ladder, according to the Pew Center on the States. And Maryland achieved a faster rate of job creation than its neighbors Virginia or Pennsylvania, who tried to cut their way to prosperity.

Raised Maryland’s Minimum Wage to $10.10
Governor O’Malley brought people together, forged consensus, and raised Maryland’s minimum wage to $10.10. Hundreds of thousands of Maryland workers will receive a raise, creating stronger customers for local businesses and good-paying, family-supporting jobs.

Protected Working Families
Governor O’Malley twice led the effort to expand Maryland’s refundable earned income credit, which puts more money in the pockets of working families. He also made Maryland the first state in America to pass a “living wage” for contractors working on state contracts.

Made the Tax Code More Progressive
In the midst of the worst economic downturn in history, Governor O’Malley reformed Maryland’s income tax. Today, 86% of Marylanders pay less in state income taxes than they did before Governor O’Malley took office.

[elleng]

10. rider, this is SO GOOD!

[Fumesucker]

11. But what about Hillary's Warm Purple Place?

[frylock]

16. This my warm, purple place..

[delrem]

33. Is that what this squishy place is?

For the love of God, man, do you know the way to the exit??

[Nonhlanhla]

12. Wait until he's been persecuted

Wait until he's been persecuted by the Republicans for 20+ years, called all kinds of names, endured witch hunt after witch hunt, had his spouse impeached by them for nonsense...

And of course, being a white man, in a certain sense the GOP is not his enemy the way it is the enemy of people of color and of women.

O'Malley lost me here. It's just a cheap shot against Hillary, as some of you already remarked. She is not SAYING the GOP are her enemies. They ARE.

[frylock]

17. So how does she get anything done with them?

Especially the progressive stuff that progressives like her get done?

[Nonhlanhla]

18. How does any Democrat?

No Democrat can get much done as long as the majority in Congress consists of Tea Party type Republicans. As long as Congress remains in their hands, the best we can realistically hope for is to have a Democratic president who can veto their BS.

[frylock]

19. Like Obama has vetoed their BS?

[Nonhlanhla]

20. On occasion, yes.

But he unfortunately still naive enough in the beginning to think the Republicans are his friends. Hillary at least knows that they are not.

[Art_from_Ark]

21. Obama has vetoed only 5 bills in his nearly 7 years in office

That's less than one veto a year.

http://www.senate.gov/reference/Legislation/Vetoes/vetoCounts.htm

[Nonhlanhla]

23. That just underscores my point

My point was that that the best we can hope for as long as Congress is in the hands of the GOP, is to have a president who can veto crucial stuff if needed. Whether Obama used that sufficiently is not the point.

And my original point was even simpler: that it's easy for O'Malley to say that he does not view the Republicans as his enemies. They have not targeted him like they have targeted Hillary (or like they have targeted Obama, for that matter). Hillary is not the one who decided that the Republicans should be her enemies: THEY decided that, long ago, when this strong woman who did not fit the stereotype of the submissive woman first moved into the White House. And they have continued doing it, in all kinds of ways. like we recently saw with the Benghazi with trial. So yes, they are indeed her enemies. They hate her guts. They don't have a similar track record when it comes to O'Malley, so it's easy for him to take cheap shots at her and tell us he gets along with the Republicans. That will only last until 1 minute after he steps into the White House if he were to win. The moment they perceive him as a threat, they will become his enemies too, and then he would know what Hillary meant.

[Art_from_Ark]

24. Hillary likes to call people "enemies"

Not only Republicans, but also "the Iranians".

And when she was First Lady of Arkansas, she referred to people who were opposed to her "education reform" as "enemies"-- and that included my history teacher, who didn't like her version of "No Child Left Behind" being forced upon him and my former school, which had been one of the top public schools in the state.

[Nonhlanhla]

28. But in this case she was ASKED

She was ASKED. It was not merely a case of "fondness" for calling people enemies.

Arkansas stuff is ancient history, but yes, it would be unfortunate if she's too fond of calling people enemies.

The point still stands. It's easy for O'Malley to talk. He's not been persecuted by the GOP. He will be if he ever becomes president.

[Art_from_Ark]

29. Arkansas stuff might be "ancient history" to you

but as someone who lived in the state at the time, it is not ancient history to me. It personally affected someone I had deep respect for, someone who was a dyed-in-the-wool yellow dog Democrat, who took me to my first Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner. And he was livid about "Hillary's meddling" as he put it. Not to mention being called an "enemy".

[paul ofnoclique]

13. Yeah

Unfortunately, the Republicans DO consider all us Dems as enemies. Mortal ones, at that.

[bigtree]

22. good for him, saying so

...I'm not there yet, but that's pretty much an imperative remark for someone looking to make a legislative imprint.

[tabasco]

25. Then you're a goddamn imbecile

and not getting my vote, unless by some act of god you get nominated.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

26. Hem and haw?

. “Or when you hem and haw about whether or not you believe in capitalism?

“I don’t believe that all Republicans are my enemy. They’re my neighbors. And I actually do believe in capitalism when it’s practiced in ways that encourage and defend fair competition and push back against the concentration of monopoly power as the big banks now enjoy it.”

Gee, that explanation of how you believe in capitalism sounds an awful lot like how Bernie Sanders believes in capitalism. Why not just say you don't believe in 'casino capitalism', O'Malley? Maybe it's not resonating with voters, because voters can see that you're not really all that different than the next guy when it comes to capitalism, even if he uses 'socialist' as part of his description of himself.

[Scootaloo]

27. Is Townhall the only source?

[Todays_Illusion]

30. O'Malley, you ought to at least acknowledge the Republicans are the enemy of ordinary

non billionaire U.S. citizens. Or do you have a long list of the wonderful things they have done for the U.S.A. and the people of the U.S.A.?

[Jim Lane]

31. At least one Republican considers HIM an enemy

O'Malley earns the coveted Reverse Freeper Seal of Approval, from poster baltiless on Free Republic:

I’m from Maryland. I’m from Baltimore. I know this guy all too well as a mayor and as a governor. I understand fully that this is hard to believe and I get it if you don’t believe it, but he’s worse than Hillary and worse than Bernie. This guy can’t ever be anywhere near the levers of power nationally.

Hear that, Clinton and Sanders campaigns? A certifiable RWNJ prefers either of you over O'Malley. That's gonna leave a mark.

Incidentally, I usually provide links to support my assertions, but I'm making an exception here. Go search FR yourself if you want to read their thread about O'Malley's comment.

[Bluenorthwest]

34. Martin, people who oppose my equal rights are acting as my enemies.

Nice to know that to you they are good friends and allies. Little by little Martin shows his cards.