During Iowa blizzard on Monday, "Martin O'Malley was the only one who kept all his appointments"”

[bigtree]

Last edited Tue Dec 29, 2015, 02:25 PM - Edit history (2)

Bruce W Kaesser talks with Martin O'Malley about gun control reform after the unavailing of his field office Monday, Dec. 28, 2015, in Waterloo, Iowa.

from WCFCourier:

WATERLOO | Out of all the presidential candidates with scheduled events in Iowa during Monday's winter storm, Martin O'Malley was the only one who kept all his appointments.

Even though he drove from Iowa Falls to officially open his new downtown Waterloo campaign headquarters, his fifth in Black Hawk County, he figured not many would meet him there because of the weather.

"On the way here I was saying, 'Nobody's gonna be there on a snowy night,'" the former Maryland governor told the crowd of about a dozen, packed into the corner office on East Fourth Street.

O'Malley leads his Democratic rivals -- and many of the Republican candidates, too -- in total events held in Iowa, according to the Des Moines Register's Candidate Tracker...

But O'Malley remains convinced that opening offices and meeting with Iowans is the way to voters' hearts.


Lou McDonald ?@LouisNMcDonald 1h1 hour ago
@MartinOMalley didn't cancel due to the snow but campaigns the Iowa way: #IACaucus

read more: http://wcfcourier.com/elections/caucuses/martin-o-malley-hopes-for-a-blizzard-of-voters-come/article_71610c26-9b0f-5785-8572-31917bca496c.html


The Hill ?@thehill 7m7 minutes ago
O'Malley spends time with Iowan who braved snowstorm to attend event:

from Sarah Beckman on Tumblr:

A 24-hour-plus winter weather warning, snow covered roads, white-out conditions, and a nearly-doubled commute all seem like justified reasons to cancel the last campaign stop of the day for Martin O’Malley on Monday night. Who in their right mind would brave the awful weather to see him in small-town Tama, Iowa?

Kenneth did, and I did too.

After counting 13 cars in the ditch along I-80, closing my eyes a few times while a semi zoomed past me, and arriving nearly 20 minutes late, I walked in on a man named Kenneth sitting down with O’Malley in Tama’s civic center. Behind them was a white board with the words, “Tama Welcomes Gov. Martin O’Malley!” A few campaign staffers made the trek out to Tama and brought some signs and literature for the gathering, though they weren’t necessary. O’Malley was in his element: practicing retail politics and having a one-on-one conversation with an Iowa caucus-goer, about everything from the Syrian refugee crisis to reducing incarceration rates, both topics that sparked Kenneth’s interest...

After the hour began to wane and the conversation started to slow, Kenneth got more personal and praised O’Malley for following through with the event despite the treacherous weather.

“I give you a lot of credit for coming out here,” said Kenneth. “I’m glad you took the time.”

“Yeah, you know, once we were out here we just kept going,” said O’Malley. “Up in Waterloo, we had a good turnout for our campaign office opening, like 20 people…we even had a family of O’Malley’s.”

It was the first time Kenneth had met O’Malley in person, and he said numerous times that he enjoyed the governor’s message...

Driving to Tama and experiencing this intimate setting with a presidential candidate and an Iowa caucus-goer exemplifies what the Iowa caucuses are all about: meeting with voters on a personal basis to have meaningful conversations about issues they hold dear and introducing one’s message to one voter at a time. Personalities and authenticity shine through in those moments, on both sides of the conversation, and it’s likely a night that neither O’Malley nor Kenneth with forget. It’s hard to imagine any other type of voter taking the time (and risk) to meet with a politician, but Kenneth did it, and many Iowans will in the coming weeks as February 1st draws near.

readmore (nice post) : http://sarahbeckman.tumblr.com/post/136187052552/braving-a-snow-storm-in-the-name-of-the-iowa

Martin O'Malley talks with Bob Fuller of Iowa Falls, Iowa after speaking at the Hardin County New Leadership Forum, Monday, Dec. 28, 2015, in Iowa Falls, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

[cali]

1. Way to spin!

Martin was the only candidate who encouraged people to drive in unsafe conditions- the others cancelled as the dept of transportation and police were warning people not to drive.

[bigtree]

3. wow. You took the time to post this nasty nonsense

...in response to this nice little post about a candidate pressing forward against tough odds and harsh weather. I just don't know what motivates people here to display such nastiness. You really couldn't find an inch of room for this post without the confrontational nonsense?

Good for the other candidates cancelling their events, for whatever reason. O'Malley showed up, though, ready to listen to the folks in Iowa who felt they could safely attend. That's to his credit, I think.

[cali]

7. I'm following your example.

[bigtree]

8. what example?

...where have I come onto a Sanders thread with such defensive nastiness? I have not.

[HoneychildMooseMoss]

32. Bernie was in the Las Vegas area on Monday

https://go.berniesanders.com/page/event/detail/rally/4vt2j

[bigtree]

35. a little meet and greet and an endorsement

https://twitter.com/ABCPolitics

3000+ at a later rally. Nice.

[FSogol]

18. SSDD.

[bigtree]

25. my fault

...I shouldn't have looked to see who was behind the block - I obviously put it there for a reason. I should trust and respect the few decisions I made, so far, to leave some here to their own debates.

[Skidmore]

24. Agree with cali.

It was unsafe to be on the roads. Many counties had tow bans which means that if you got in trouble, no one would come to get you out. The winds were high and this mess stared with sleet or icy rain. It continued to snow throughout the night. We have six inches here on top of an inch of icy stuff. I'm not impressed.

[bigtree]

26. the folks who bothered to show up appreciated him being there

...and I'm sure they were impressed, as I am, by his resilience and persistence. No one forced them to attend.

[Hortensis]

33. It's a nice story, thanks, Bigtree.

As for the bernista-wing attack machine, O'Malley may have inadvertently turned it on, but somehow I doubt he's sorry. The more they invoke his name, after all, the better for O'Malley!

(They really don't care to learn from their mistakes, do they? It's apparently all about the joy of attack. Actually winning...just the cherry on their bomb?)

[Sanity Claws]

2. That means he is highly qualified to be

A U S postal service worker.
I don't see how that relates to his Presidential campaign.

[bigtree]

4. it's not earthshattering

...but it certainly 'relates' to the campaign.

I'm not understanding the defensiveness expressed towards this post. Pull up the 'Bernie plays bongos' post and it'll make you feel better.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

5. Persistence

[yeoman6987]

29. I find it amazing that there were OPs galore about a few kids sticking their heads out of a sunroof

Looking at Christmas lights yelling "well what if they die?" And now some are applauding O'Malley for endangering many lives way more dangerous then the sunroof situation. Amazing!

[MeNMyVolt]

6. K&R from me Bigtree.

If only to counteract some of the acid flowing from the first two replies.

[bigtree]

11. it's par for the course here, I guess

...it's amazing to me, with the overwhelming number of Sanders supporters here, that some would feel a need to be defensive toward a post about this effort by O'Malley. Not an inch of room...

[Eric J in MN]

9. Bernie Sanders did events in Las Vegas yesterday. NT

NT

[HoneychildMooseMoss]

31. You are correct

Bernie was in the Las Vegas area on December 28.

https://go.berniesanders.com/page/event/detail/rally/4vt2j

[demmiblue]

10. FYI: You are violating DU's ToS regarding copyrights.

Also, you are not giving proper attribution for some of the material that you posted.

Don't willfully and habitually infringe on others' copyrights.

To simplify compliance and enforcement of copyrights here on Democratic Underground, we ask that excerpts from other sources posted on Democratic Underground be limited to a maximum of four paragraphs, and we ask that the source of the content be clearly identified. Those who make a good-faith effort to respect the rights of copyright holders are unlikely to have any problems. But individuals who willfully and habitually infringe on others' copyrights risk being in violation of our Terms of Service.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=termsofservice

[bigtree]

12. it's full on attack mode today

...must be after Christmas blues.

[demmiblue]

14. Huh?

I was just giving you the heads up. Go Scrooge on Skinner if you don't like the rules here, FFS.

P.S. I actually found the story to be rather interesting and uplifting. I like O'Malley.

[bigtree]

16. given the tone of replies

...it just feels like piling on.

You'd think I posted something controversial, rather than these nice accounts from the campaign trail.

[FSogol]

19. tumblr posts are copyrighted? He did attribute the author. n/t

[demmiblue]

21. I would probably defer to the admins on that.

However, he did post the entire article from a news source (he also gave the wrong attribution)... hence my comment to him. You can see that in the edits.

No biggie since he has since edited his post.

[catnhatnh]

13. For the love of Christ

The word is unveiling-Not "unavailing"

[bigtree]

15. it's someone's twitter post

...likely an unnoticed auto-correct.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

17. Some of these responses to an innocuous post ...

[FSogol]

20. K & R. Thanks for posting, Bigtree. Ignore all the angry folks. n/t

[bigtree]

22. thanks, FSogol. n/t

[DemocratSinceBirth]

23. MOM is okay with me.

[bigtree]

39. .

[CoffeeCat]

27. I'm in Iowa...

...and they were warning about this storm for quite a while. A sheet of ice, combined with several inches of snow and 40 mph winds--depending on where you were in the state.

Travel was not advised. Schools cancelled activities. It was the worst storm of the winter season, thus far.

With that said, I think it's cool that O'Malley toughed it out. That does show his persistence and his willingness to meet his obligations. Good for him. Nice that some people showed up for him.

If Bernie cancelled events, that's cool too. I can understand erring on the side of safety. Depending on where he was when the storm hit (Iowa or out of state) it may have been nearly impossible for him to get into Iowa or to travel around the state. There was a huge 30-car pile-up on one of the main arteries in central Iowa.

Clinton hasn't had any scheduled Iowa events since 12/22.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

28. I suppose I should be heartened certain people have decided.....

.....to acknowledge his existence, even with their nastiness. Up to now, Martin has been merely an annoying minor distraction for them.

[stevil]

30. K&R

O'Malley has heart. Proud that he is a candidate.

[Motown_Johnny]

36. Good practice for 2024.

Since it is reasonable to assume than neither Hillary nor Bernie will run again, unless he/she is the incumbent seeking reelection in 2020, Martin will be the most experienced in running a campaign come 2024.


I don't think his run this time around can be seen as anything other than that.


He may end up being President someday, but not in the near future.

[Freddie Stubbs]

37. Desperation is not an attractive quality

[bigtree]

38. wrong 'D'

...dogged, diligent, dedicated, determined.