TIME: Martin O’Malley’s campaign plans to organize debates outside the six-debate framework

[gobears10]

Martin O’Malley’s campaign plans to organize debates outside the six-debate framework announced by the Democratic National Committee, a move that flouts Democratic party rules and risks excluding the former Maryland governor from sanctioned debates.

Link: http://time.com/3987454/democratic-debates-hillary-clinton-martin-omalley/

Awesome!! Good for O'Malley, I definitely have respect for him, and this revolt takes guts. Let's see if Bernie Sanders, Jim Webb, and Lincoln Chafee join in. Fuck the DNC and the Democratic Party establishment for their Hillary Clinton favoritism.

In my view, Bernie should follow after Joe Biden finalizes his decision. The whole point of Bernie's campaign was for more debates and not letting big money/power censor politics.

[artislife]

1. He is getting better by the day!

This is no Om move, this is a O'M move!

Wouldn't that be great if everyone else decided to meet and have their own debates, without the silliness of the rules that make the debates so rigged and staccato?

[elleng]

2. 'At issue is how much time Hillary Clinton's challengers will have on stage with the frontrunner.'

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12812150

[HereSince1628]

20. True, sharing the debate stage makes people look like peers

The meme "prohibitive favorite" is destroyed by just acknowledging the other candidates exist.

Allowing candidates in the celebrity glow of that political grow-light will be strictly limited.

[askew]

3. Webb and Chafee seem fine with debate schedule.

I don't think they jump to do another one. The question is Sanders. I hope he'll do the right thing and commit to debates. O'Malley is the only one who seems geniunely pissed off and he is the only one calling out the DNC for tilting the playing field for Hillary.

Biden isn't going to decide until sometime in September. I don't think the Dems can wait that long. We need debates before then.

I still think it would be worthwhile to have the rejects from the GOP debate be included. It would be guaranteed watching to see Perry, Sanders, O'Malley and Jindhal square off.

[kenfrequed]

9. Webb and Chafee are hoping for the Veep

They both are more conservative than O'Malley and Sanders and both of them are far closer to Hillary on most of the issues. They will stick with the debate schedule, even if it hurts them, in the hopes that Sanders and O'Malley will get banned and that they will be able to sponge up any voters that make up their mind by way of Wasserman-Schultz ridiculous little circus.

[sabrina 1]

68. I would be careful with this, if I were Sanders. Unless both Webb and Chafee join O'Malley

in this, Bernie should not do so. IF he does it will ensure the debates the DNC is setting up, do not include him.

It could be a political trick to keep him off the stage since so long as Chafee and Webb agree, the debates will go on. O'Malley has nothing much to lose by not being in the debates, Bernie has a lot to lose.

[PoliticAverse]

4. So who will join him and risk being excluded from the main debates? n/t

[winter is coming]

5. Bernie might. I hope he does. n/t

[Adrahil]

21. It would be a bad idea to be excluded from the main debates....

But I think the exclusivity rule is silly.

[stone space]

27. Has anybody ever been excluded from a debate on account of debating?

What is the actual history of enforcement here?

This seems like a much easier rule to write than to enforce out in the open with the voters watching.

If push comes to shove, I'm not sure how any political party could seriously hope to explain to the voters why they excluded somebody whose only "crime" is engaging in debate.

This strikes me as one of those rules whose only real enforcement mechanism is the willingness of the candidates to conform.

Once that willingness to conform is shattered, enforcement is nearly impossible.

[djean111]

35. I believe Debbie Dino is on a mission this time.

She had no qualms backing her GOP buddies in Florida, or not supporting Dems who were running against her buddies. This is the epitome of Third Way arrogance.

[Agschmid]

51. Yup.

[jwirr]

53. The Democratic Party has NEVER before had an exclusivity rule. We have never tried to limit

speech. This is not something we want if we are really interested in a democracy. I am very angry about this because it is not what we believe in. Enough as Bernie says.

[Zorra]

6. O'Malley is a decoy Third Way Centrist posing as a progressive. Check it out:

He's a fake progressive alternative to Clinton. Don't buy into this game. Both Clinton and O'Malley signed on to this Third Way manifesto below. Please look carefully at the names on the list below. They are not our progressive friends.

This page contains excerpts from government reports, signed by elected officials.

http://www.issues2000.org/Notebook/Note_00-DLC0.htm

00-DLC0 on Aug 1, 2000
Report: the manifesto, "A New Politics for a New America":
Source: The Hyde Park Declaration

As New Democrats, we believe in a Third Way that rejects the old left-right debate and affirms America’s basic bargain: opportunity for all, responsibility from all, and community of all.

We believe:
that government’s proper role in the New Economy is to equip working Americans with new tools for economic success and security.
in expanding trade and investment because we must be a party of economic progress, not economic reaction.
that fiscal discipline is fundamental to sustained economic growth as well as responsible government.
that a progressive tax system is the only fair way to pay for government.
the Democratic Party’s mission is to expand opportunity, not government.
that education must be America’s great equalizer, and we will not abandon our public schools or tolerate their failure.
that all Americans must have access to health insurance.
in preventing crime and punishing criminals.
in a new social compact that requires and rewards work in exchange for public assistance and that ensures that no family with a full-time worker will live in poverty.
that public policies should reinforce marriage, promote family, demand parental responsibility, and discourage out-of-wedlock births.
in enhancing the role that civic entrepreneurs, voluntary groups, and religious institutions play in tackling America’s social ills.
in strengthening environmental protection by giving communities the flexibility to tackle new challenges that cannot be solved with top-down mandates.
government must combat discrimination on the basis of race, creed, gender, or sexual orientation; defend civil liberties; and stay out of our private lives.
that abortion should be safe, legal, and rare.
in progressive internationalism -- the bold exercise of US leadership to foster peace, prosperity, and democracy.
that the US must maintain a strong, technologically superior defense to protect our interests and values.

Democrats participating in 00-DLC0

Brian Baird s1a Washington Democrat (until 2010)

Max Baucus s1a MT Democratic Sr Senator (retiring 2014)

Evan Bayh s1s IN Former Democratic Senator

Shelley Berkley s1a Nevada Democrat (Senate run 2012)

John Breaux s1s LA Former Democratic incumbent; retired 2004

Maria Cantwell s1a WA Democratic Jr Senator

Lois Capps s1a California Democrat

Russ Carnahan s1a Missouri Democrat

Tom Carper s1a DE Democratic Sr Senator

Ed Case s1a Hawaii Democrat

Ben Chandler s1a Kentucky Democrat

Bill Clinton s1a POTUS Democrat

Hillary Clinton s1a NY Former Democratic Senator (NY); now Secretary of State

Kent Conrad s1a ND Democrat Sr Senator (Retiring)

Bud Cramer s1a Alabama Democrat (Retired 2008)

Joseph Crowley s1a New York Democrat

Artur Davis s1a Alabama Former Democrat (until 2010)

Jim Davis s1s Florida Democrat

Susan Davis s1a California Democrat

Cal Dooley s1s California Democrat (Until 2004)

Byron Dorgan s1a ND Democratic Jr Senator (retiring 2010)

John Edwards s1a NC Former Democrat Senator; retired to run for President, 2004

Rahm Emanuel s1a Illinois Former Democrat (until 2009)

Eliot Engel s1a New York Democrat/Liberal

Bob Etheridge s1a North Carolina Democrat (Unseated 2010)

Dianne Feinstein s1a CA Democratic Sr Senator

Dick Gephardt s1a Missouri Democrat (Until 2004)

Al Gore s1a POTUS Democrat

Bob Graham s1a FL Former Democratic Senator; retired 2004

Jane Harman s1a California Democrat (Resigned 2011)

Brian Higgins s1a New York Democrat

Rush Holt s1a New Jersey Democrat

Darlene Hooley s1a Oregon Democrat (Retiring 2008)

Jay Inslee s1a WA Democratic Governor

Steve Israel s1a New York Democrat

Tim Johnson s1a SD Democratic Sr Senator (retiring 2014)

Bob Kerrey s1a NE Democratic Challenger (previously Senator)

John Kerry s1s MA Democratic Sr Senator

Ron Kind s1a WI Former Democratic challenger (2012)

Herbert Kohl s1a WI Democratic Sr Senator (Retiring)

Mary Landrieu s1s LA Democratic Sr Senator

Rick Larsen s1a Washington Democrat

John Larson s1a Connecticut Democrat

Blanche Lambert Lincoln s1s AR Former Democratic Senator

Zoe Lofgren s1a California Democrat

Terry McAuliffe s1a VA Democratic Challenger

Carolyn McCarthy s1a New York Dem./Ind./Working-Families

Mike McIntyre s1a North Carolina Democrat

Gregory Meeks s1a New York Dem./Working-Families

Juanita Millender-McDonald s1a California Democrat

Dennis Moore s1a Kansas Democrat (until 2010)

James Moran s1s Virginia Democrat

Ben Nelson s1a NE Democratic Sr Senator (Retiring)

Bill Nelson s1a FL Democratic Sr Senator

Sam Nunn s1a GA Democratic Senator (Former)

Martin O`Malley s1a MD Democratic Governor

David Eugene Price s1a North Carolina Democrat

Mark Pryor s1a AR Democratic Sr Senator

Charles Robb s1s VA Democratic Senator (Former)

Tim Roemer s1s Indiana Democrat

Loretta Sanchez s1a California Democrat

Adam Schiff s1a California Democrat

Allyson Schwartz s1a Pennsylvania Democratic Governor Challenger

David Scott s1a Georgia Democrat

Kathleen Sebelius s1a KS Former Democratic Governor (1994-2002); Cabinet Sec'y (HHS)

David Adam Smith s1a Washington Democrat

Debbie Stabenow s1a MI Democratic Jr Senator

John Tanner s1a Tennessee Democrat (until 2010)

Ellen Tauscher s1s California Former Democrat (until 2009)

Tom Udall s1a New Mexico Democrat (Senate 2008)

Tom Vilsack s1s IA Former Democratic Governor (1994-2002); Cabinet Sec'y (USDA)

David Wu s1a Oregon Democrat (Resigned 2011)

Independents participating in 00-DLC0
Harold Ford s1a NY 2010 Democratic Primary Challenger; previously US Rep (TN)
Joseph Lieberman s1s CT Independent Sr Senator; Gore's VP nominee (Retiring)
Janet Napolitano s1a US Cabinet
Gavin Newsom s1a 0CA00 S.F. Mayor; former Gov. candidate (2000)
Mike Thurmond s1a GA 2010 Democratic Challenger
Anthony Williams s1a DC00 Washington Mayor

[elleng]

7. Martin O'Malley:

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

[Zorra]

8. "Our Chance to Capture the Center" By Martin O'Malley and Harold Ford

Nearly seven years after Bush succeeded Clinton in the White House, America is facing challenges as great as we've ever seen -- a war against Islamist radicals who would destroy our way of life; global economic competition that demands we raise our game; and a quest for energy independence and efficiency that Al Gore has shown us could make or break our planet. To conquer such enduring problems, Democrats will need a broad, enduring majority -- and a centrist agenda that sustains it by making steady progress.

Most Americans don't care much about partisan politics; they just want practical answers to the problems they face every day. So far, our leading presidential candidates seem to understand that the proof of the pudding is in the eating. That's why they have begun putting forward smart, New Democrat plans to cap and trade carbon emissions, give more Americans the chance to earn their way through college, achieve universal health care through shared responsibility, increase national security by rebuilding our embattled military and enable all Americans who work full time to lift themselves out of poverty.

Martin O'Malley, a Democrat, is governor of Maryland. Harold Ford Jr. is a former Democratic representative from Tennessee and chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/06/AR2007080601158.html

It’s no surprise that among the Hart alumni who are now advising O’Malley, at least two were prominent DLCers (Doug Wilson was the group’s political director for a while; Phil Noble long headed up its South Carolina chapter). More to the point, O’Malley himself spent a long time in the DLC orbit, immediately after his election as mayor of Baltimore.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/martin-omalley-gary-hart-redux

I'm not buying into O'Malley. He's a centrist, a DLC/ThirdWay New Democrat.

We don't need any more centrist DLC/Third Way New Democrat presidents.

[bigtree]

12. let's see, Zorra doesn't support O'Malley

...that vote is already canceled out by mine.

Sorry, Zorra.

[dreamnightwind]

23. Thanks for this info

We should all know who the Third Way people are, even the ones who don't want to be seen that way. If O'Malley no longer identifies with it, let him come out and say so, looks to me like he has some 'splainin to do.

My impression is he is slightly to the left of Hillary and Biden, but still a slick politician with a corporate "New Democrat" core. For some, that is not a problem, for me it is.

[Jim Lane]

49. This "info" is all about labels, not substance.

O'Malley and Sanders both came out forcefully against TPA and TPP, to take just one example. What policies of his justify the charge that he has "a corporate 'New Democrat' core"?

For that matter, what are the policy differences between O'Malley and Sanders? I think O'Malley is to Sanders's left on gun control. Offhand I don't know of any issues were O'Malley is to Sanders's right.

[dreamnightwind]

58. Looks substantial to me

It means a lot to me that he was signing on the DLC policies and hanging out with people like Harold Ford. Perhaps his current policies are more recent and lack the life-long track record of Bernie's. There are others here who can do a better job of contrasting their policy differences so I won't attempt it.

I'm not an O'Malley hater by any means, I'd prefer him to Hillary, but I have my candidate, I've never been so happy with a candidate.

I'd love to go get everyone's guns, but image the RW backlash to that, is that the wisest strategy right now? Sounds like a good way to stoke an armed insurrection to me. Addressing the core problems of why people feel so betrayed and disenfrachised would help with the gun violence, also Bernie does support some common-sense increase of gun regulations. But I think we have more important issues, and Bernie is all over them.

[Jim Lane]

64. You and I have different ideas about what's substantial

You charge that O'Malley "was signing on the DLC policies...." That manifesto quoted in #6 isn’t policies, it’s vague aspirations of the Mom-and-apple-pie variety. Are you suspicious of O’Malley because he joined those in favor of preventing crime, strengthening environmental protection, etc.? Some of the items are buzzwords that are more likely to be favored by conservative Democrats than by liberals, but even those of us on the left can favor “fiscal discipline” in the abstract. I don’t see a call for a federal balanced-budget amendment or the like.

You also charge that he was “hanging out with people like Harold Ford.” This is as meritless as the attacks the Clintonistas are lobbing at Sanders for agreeing to speak at Liberty University. I don’t believe in guilt by association.

O’Malley has an extensive record through eight years as Mayor and eight years as Governor. In this campaign he’s added a considerable body of specific policy pronouncements, as opposed to the lowest-common-denominator bromides of a multi-signer manifesto. (He still favors preventing crime and strengthening environmental protection. I’m not aware of any change he’s made to run for President. Certainly, there’s nothing comparable to Clinton’s belated and half-hearted expressions of concern about the trade deal she once hailed as the "gold standard”.) What I mean by “substantial” is an analysis of that information – record in office and specific positions.

You’re under no obligation to come forward with that kind of comparison of O’Malley and Sanders, but I hope others will take up your implicit suggestion that they do so. At this point I’m undecided between the two candidates.

[dreamnightwind]

69. Wow

The Washington Post article, penned by O'Malley and Ford, starts with this:

Our Chance to Capture the Center

By Martin O'Malley and Harold Ford Jr.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007

With President Bush and the Republican Party on the rocks, many Democrats think the 2008 election will be, to borrow a favorite GOP phrase, a cakewalk. Some liberals are so confident about Democratic prospects that they contend the centrism that vaulted Democrats to victory in the 1990s no longer matters.

The temptation to ignore the vital center is nothing new. Every four years, in the heat of the nominating process, liberals and conservatives alike dream of a world in which swing voters don't exist. Some on the left would love to pretend that groups such as the Democratic Leadership Council, the party's leading centrist voice, aren't needed anymore.

People like Clinton and the DLC, perhaps even Ford, like to call themselves progressive, but they are primarily corporatists who will also supporrt some socially liberal positions that don't cost the corporate monied interests anything.

If that's who you want to support, be my guest, your views probably are different than mine, sorry I don't know your posting history though I recognize your handle. And I'm not claiming that it's necessarily who O'Malley is, or all that he is, but he wrote that, and not so very long ago. You can claim Ford wrote it, perhaps he did, but O'Malley's name is first on the byline, not Ford's, so he owns it.

I'll stick with my candidate, nobody writing things like that even gets my consideration. If he want to disavow it and explain how wrong he was, I'll listen, happy with Sanders though so, as I said earlier I have never had a candidate who so consistently and genuinely represented my views.

I think the criticism of Bernie making the Liberty speech is messed up, I support him going there, as I support him reaching out to people in long-forsaken red states, those people have been lied to forever by both parties, and Bernie telling them where he comes from, honestly and with conviction, will reach some of them and start to deprogram others. They mostly hear conservative propaganda that can't hold up when questioned. People on both sides of the fence have been screwed over for far too long by the corporate forces behind groups like ALEC, the Tea Party (Koch version), and the DLC.

[bigtree]

11. all this proves is that you can cut and past nonsense

[AtomicKitten]

18. I really have to say something on Zorra's behalf.

You are mocking a well documented, fact based POV. I have told Ellen who is a wonderful advocate for O'M BTW that there is just something about him that isn't quite right.

My first thought reading this OP was of Cecil. A lion lured out of a sanctuary and killed. If Bernie takes the bait and debates outside the DNC, he won't debate Hillary. And maybe that's exactly what they want.
.
Less mocking, more substance please.

[bigtree]

30. she's listing a 'manifesto which is not O'Malley's

...and isn't accurate to his actual record of accomplishments in office.

It's a false and misleading portrait of O'Malley. It's little more than labeling for the sake of labeling. It tells us nothing substantive about the man, himself. It's basically a smear.

But, I think you know all of that. If not, who cares? This sort of nonsense is popular among a small group here at DU and isn't taken seriously out in the real world. Most observers look at what these candidates have actually done in office, how they've performed. That's the true measure of the candidate, not a cut-and-past list of priorities from an interest group. This is a gotcha post meant to denigrate O'Malley based on little more than innuendo. It's cheap politics and it makes the poster look foolish.

Further more, there's little on that list that should be disagreed with. If there is, it would be important to match that item to something O'Malley has actually said or done. Just posting the agenda of this interest group is a guide for the brain-dead and not something which serious people use to gauge the record and substance of these candidates.

...here's his actual record of progressive accomplishments (notice that these are actual actions taken by O'Mally, not someone else's list of priorities, but his own) :

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 on the 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.

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.


___The third person to receive the America’s Greatest Education Governor Award from the National Education Association in 2010, Martin O'Malley significantly increased school funding of K-12 public schools in Maryland and expanded school programs, overseeing a rise in Hispanic and African American student test scores with his insistence that underprivileged and minority students be taught by teachers as highly qualified as those who teach economically advantaged students in his state.

O'Malley not only implemented a four-year freeze on tuition for Maryland institutions of higher learning, making higher education more affordable for Marylanders, from 2008-10, he increased college appropriations to offset the freezes, and authorized more than $220 million in state capital funds to community colleges. He also budgeted more than $333 million for grants and scholarships, and in 2011, signed legislation extending in-state tuition to undocumented students. O'Malley also oversaw the reinvigoration of Maryland’s Career and Technology Education and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs statewide, and the launching of the comprehensive Maryland STEM Innovation Network to promote the delivery of high quality STEM education at all levels throughout the state.

Those accomplishments in education in Maryland are reflected in the detailed education plan he offered in this campaign to make higher education affordable, accessible & accountable. His proposals that, as a national goal, all students have access to a high-quality, debt-free college education within 5 years, attainable at any in-state public college or university; increasing college completion rates by 25 percentage points within 10 years, and eliminating discrepancies in graduation rates based on race and income; are matched by a detailed plan to:

•Refinance Student Loans:
•Tie Minimum Payments to Incomes:
•Freeze Public Tuition Rates:
•Restore State Higher Education Funding:
•Increase Pell Grants:
•Expand and Modernize Work-Study:
•Match federal grant programs and obtain additional aid dollars to encourage colleges to increase on-time graduation rates, improve education quality, and direct aid toward students who need it most:
•Develop new incentives to encourage colleges and universities to help ensure students graduate on time:
•Make Childcare Affordable on Campus:
•Reduce Time to Graduation: Expand Access to Early College Credit: and
•Require colleges to meet accountability targets in recruitment, completion, and risk-sharing.

____________________________

Martin O'Malley signed a 2009 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act in Maryland; far ahead of most other states, & the EPA, which set a statewide goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent below 2006 levels by 2020. By 2012, Maryland had driven down greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 10 percent compared to 2006, and by 20 percent compared to "business as usual" projections

In 2011, Maryland League of Conservation Voters gave Gov. O'Malley a B+ overall in their Governor's Report Card (and an A for climate change). In addition to the 2008 Climate Action Plan and the new GGRA Plan, Gov. O’Malley’s key accomplishments include:

•(2008) Amendment to the Maryland Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard doubled the existing standard to require that 20% of Maryland's energy be created by renewable resources by 2022, including 2% from solar energy;
•(2008) EmPOWER Maryland Act set an energy efficiency target and peak demand reduction target of 15% by 2015;
•(2008) Maryland Strategic Energy Investment Program was created using revenues from the Northeast RGGI to offset ratepayers’ electricity bills and invest in energy efficiency programs;
•(2009) Maryland Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act requires Maryland to cut greenhouse gas emissions 25% below 2006 levels by 2020; and
•(2013) Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2013 created a fund to build 200 megawatts of wind energy, which Gov. O’Malley intends to use to construct one of the nation’s first offshore wind energy farms off the coast of Ocean City.

Martin O'Malley has made a bold environmental stand in this campaign, marking the first time a Pres-level candidate has committed to zeroing-out carbon fuels. As president, O'Malley is promising in this campaign to:

•Direct the Environmental Protection Agency to take aggressive action to limit greenhouse gases, expanding rules to other large sources of emissions beyond power plants.
•Direct the Environmental Protection Agency to adopt a zero-tolerance policy for methane leaks from current oil and gas production.
•Reject projects like Keystone XL that exacerbate climate change and extend our reliance on fossil fuels.
•Deny new permits for drilling in Alaska, Antarctica, and off our coasts.
•Increase royalties and emissions fees for fossil fuel companies currently drilling on federal lands.
•Set a national, cross-sector Renewable Electricity Standard so our nation is powered by 100% clean energy by 2050.
•Fight for federal legislation for a cap on carbon emissions from all sources, with proceeds from permits returned to lower-and middle-class families and invested in job transition assistance and the Clean Energy Corps.
•Set a national goal of doubling our energy productivity within 15 years.
•End all subsidies for fossil fuels, while extending production and investment tax credits for renewable energy for the long term.

________________________

In 2012, Martin O'Malley signed a bill legalizing same sex marriage in Maryland, joining seven other states in enacting marriage equality. The law survived a statewide referendum held later that year, which marked the first time marriage rights in the U.S. were extended to same-sex couples by a popular vote.

Gov. O'Malley signed into law the Fairness for All Marylanders Act, extending housing, public accommodations, and employment protections to transgender citizens and visitors of the state.

"We are closer today to creating an open, respectful, inclusive world that we want for all of our children," O'Malley said prior to signing that bill. "This bill gives us another step closer to that vision and to that reality."
read: http://www.advocate.com/politics/transgender/2014/05/15/md-gov-signs-trans-nondiscrimination-bill-law

As Mayor of Baltimore, O'Malley helped the City become the first jurisdiction in Maryland to prohibit discrimination against transgender individuals in 2002. In one of his first acts as Governor, he signed an Executive Order prohibiting discrimination against transgender state employees in 2007.

At a National Conference on LGBT Equality in 2012, Martin remarked:

“The dignity of a free and diverse people who at the end of the day, all want the same thing for their children: to live in a loving and caring home that is protected equally under the law.”

The governor added that “discrimination based on gender identity is wrong...Passing a law to protect transgender Marylanders from employment, credit and housing discrimination is the right thing to do.”

On the final day of the 24th National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change in Baltimore, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley expressed hopes that Maryland would soon become the seventh state with marriage equality. The governor also talked about his support for efforts to secure gender identity nondiscrimination protections in the state.

____In this campaign, Martin O’Malley called for the addition of LGBT employment and housing protections in federal law following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in favor of marriage equality.

“Last week the Supreme Court affirmed that marriage is a human right, and now gay and lesbian couples will be able to marry in every state in our country,” O’Malley said. “While this is a major step forward, our fight for equality continues. In a majority of states, gay and lesbian employees can still be denied job opportunities or fired solely based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Twenty-eight states also lack laws banning discrimination in housing.”

To enshrine into federal law employment protections for LGBT people, O’Malley said Congress should pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. The measure hasn’t yet been introduced in 114th Congress, but in years past it has prohibited employment discrimination in most cases on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

“Passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to expand these protections at the federal level is a necessary next step,” O’Malley said. “We must continue to improve our laws, to more fully protect the rights of every individual — and more fully realize the vision of an open, respectful, and inclusive nation that Friday’s decision aspires us to be.”

read more: http://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/06/29/omalley-seeks-enda-passage-ban-on-housing-discrimination/

_______________________

Although there isn't yet a specific proposal from him in this campaign geared toward women, Martin O’Malley has received a “100 percent” rating from NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland

O’Malley’s high marks from NARAL are proven by his track record. In 2002, while he was serving as mayor of Baltimore, aides confirmed that O’Malley supports legal abortion and fair access without interference from the government until the point of viability. He also supports late-term abortion when the life of the mother is at risk, or when the fetus has a severe abnormality. And according to NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland, O’Malley has not infringed on abortion rights by signing any new abortion restrictions during his tenure as governor.

When it comes to birth control, O’Malley increased access to contraception and pregnancy counseling, particularly among low-income women. In 2012, O’Malley signed the Family Planning Works Act, which greatly expanded reproductive-health access by providing low-income women with free pregnancy counseling and Medicaid-funded contraception, STI testing and cancer screenings. According to RH Reality Check, the act would provide these subsidized medical services to an additional 33,000 women in the state.

O’Malley has also promoted increased support for new mothers (and fathers) by signing the Maryland Parental Leave Act in 2014. The law expands parental leave for working parents, requiring Maryland small businesses to provide at least six weeks of unpaid leave for the birth of an employee’s child. Prior to the law, small businesses were exempted from providing unpaid family leave.

read: http://plannedparenthoodaction.org/elections-politics/newsroom/press-releases/planned-parenthood-action-fund-welcomes-martin-omalley-presidential-field/

Maryland, under Martin O'Malley, tied for having the lowest wage gap between our working men and women of any state in the nation...Maryland currently has the third-lowest poverty rate for women in the nation. Maryland is the No. 1 state in the nation for women-owned businesses -- one-third of Maryland businesses are women-owned. Maryland also ranks third in the nation in percentage of managerial jobs held by women at 42.4 percent. Here's the report, well worth the read-thru: https://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/StateOfWomenReport.pdf

____________________________

Martin O'Malley wrote an op-ed in March highlighting his opposition to Wall Street excesses and the tyranny of big banks held unaccountable for crimes and abuses of our financial system:

____"We were forced to save our economy by bailing out big banks," he wrote. "Now, we have a responsibility to correct the mistakes of our more recent past to prevent another crash...

Structural reforms aren’t enough. We must bring fundamental change to the culture of Wall Street, beginning with real accountability. To this day, the Justice Department and financial regulators have done virtually nothing to bring criminal charges or hold leadership accountable. Legal deterrents are critical for improving the culture of Wall Street and showing that fraudulent behavior will be punished.

We can solve this problem in a few ways. The first is to replace the leadership at banks that are repeat offenders. CEOs should not remain in charge of institutions that they have failed to manage properly.

Second, we must appoint people to positions — attorney general and SEC chair for starters — who will prosecute those who commit or permit crimes. Thus far, settlements have been nothing more than CEOs using shareholder money to buy their way out of jail.

Third, we must end the days of “neither admit nor deny,” and force law-breaking banks to publicly admit it. We have allowed big banks to avoid admitting guilt due to claims that it will cause them too much harm — it’s time to end that game and let banks face the legal consequences and harm to their reputation."

____That same sentiment was echoed in this campaign by O'Malley in a scathing open letter to Wall St., stating,: 'I Will Not Let Up On You'

"I know that many of you have tried to dismiss and undermine my calls for stronger reforms as 'anti-capitalist.' Let me be clear- the ongoing reckless behavior of your megabanks isn’t capitalism—it’s the antithesis of it," O'Malley wrote. "True capitalism requires a level playing field on which everyone plays by the same set of rules. True capitalism requires competition. True capitalism means that just as businesses and banks can succeed—they can also fail."

"Today, your—too-big-to-fail, too-big-to-manage, and too-big-to-jail—megabanks pose an enormous risk to the financial system, the economy, and American families. They are so big and so interconnected with the entire financial system that the failure of one or more of them could cause the collapse of the entire U.S. economy," O'Malley wrote.

In typical O'Malley fashion, those strong words were immediately backed up by a solid, detailed 10-page plan to 'Protect the American Dream From Another Wall St. Crash.' The plan proposes to:

•Ensure Key Political Appointees Are Independent of Wall Street
•Appoint to Key Positions—Attorney General, Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, SEC Chair—Individuals Committed to Pursuing Criminal Cases.
•Require the SEC Director of the Division of Enforcement to be a Presidential Appointee, Subject to Senate Confirmation
•Institute a Three-Year Revolving Door Ban
•Institute an Additional Three-Year Mandatory Disclosure Rule
•Require the General Counsel at the Fed to be a Presidential Appointee
•Require the President of the New York Fed to be a Presidential Appointee
•Require the Board of Governors to Vote on All Major Decisions, Including Those Regarding Financial Reform
•Immediately Double Funding for CFTC and SEC to Police Bad Behavior on Wall St. (Double CFTC Funding from $322 million to $644 million. Double SEC Funding from $1.7 billion to $3.4 billion.)
•Create a Standalone Economic Crimes Division Within DOJ
•Implement Points Accrual System to Crack Down on Recidivist Banks
•End Days of “Neither Admit Nor Deny.” If an institution commits a major crime or violation of a law, they should be required to admit their guilt, so that they face the full ramifications of parallel civil and criminal proceedings
• Require Transparency Around Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPA’s) and Non Prosecution Agreements (NPA’S).
•Crack Down on SEC’s Use of Waivers By Requiring Public Votes, Statements on Them
•Separate Risky Investment Banking from Ordinary Commercial Banking
• Immediately Reinstate Glass-Steagall
•End “Too Big to Fail”
•Mandate Higher Capital Requirements for Big Banks
•Implement a Financial Transaction Tax to Limit High-Frequency Trading
•Create a Fiduciary Standard for Loan Brokers

_______________________

Kim Propeack, chief of political communication for CASA de Maryland - Maryland's largest immigrants services and rights organization - and director of its political arm says Martin O'Malley has been “a real hero for the immigrant community.”

•As governor, O'Malley signed a bill allowing young immigrants illegally in the U.S. to pay in-state college tuition and to a bill to get driver's licenses.
•He was the first governor to meet with Latino leaders last year and sign up to push House Republicans to bring immigration reform legislation to a vote, which they never did
•He has shown respect that many in the immigrant community say is lacking in debates on immigration by using the term new Americans to refer to immigrants, whether here legally or not. He also established a state council to focus on integrating immigrants.
•He opposed White House proposals to return young Central American children and families who crossed the U.S-Mexico border last summer, saying they would face "certain death."
•On deportations - an issue that still vexes the current administration - O'Malley stopped Baltimore's City Detention Center from holding immigrants without criminal records for deportation by the federal government.

Martin O'Malley is first candidate in this campaign to commit to addressing immigration within first 100 days if elected. That promise was followed by a detailed and comprehensive plan which has been cheered by Latino activists and immigration advocates. From the O'Malley campaign:

"To give Congress a running start on advancing a lasting legislative solution, Governor O’Malley is committed to providing that relief his first year in office. From expanding the use of deferred action and exercising discretion to keep families together; to rewriting punitive regulations and ending harmful law enforcement policies; to greatly limiting detention and restoring due process to our immigration system; an O’Malley Administration will use all legal and executive authorities to safeguard and welcome New Americans and restore greatness and justice to America’s immigration system."

As president, Martin O’Malley proposes to act immediately to:

•Extend Administrative Relief to Millions of New American Families
•Provide Deferred Action to the Greatest Possible Number of New Americans
•Expand Access to Waivers to the Three- or Ten-Year Bar
•Grant Broad Waivers to the Three- or Ten-Year Bar
•Issue guidance expanding parole-in-place to benefit all spouses, children, and parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents
•Expand Access to Naturalization for New Americans
•Undertake significant outreach and educational programs to promote naturalization, including U.S. agency, media, and community outreach: directing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to identify and encourage lawful permanent residents who are eligible for citizenship to naturalize, while also expanding access to naturalization by lowering fees as appropriate
•Rescind the Regulations Restricting Health Care for DACA and DAPA-Recipients
•Use Detention Only as a Last Resort
•Limit Detention to Only Those Who Pose a Clear Threat to Public Safety
•End the 34,000 Bed Quota
•Close Inhumane Detention Facilities
•Restore Due Process Safeguards and Basic Fairness to Immigration Enforcement
•Expand Due Process Protections in the Detention and Immigration System
•Prevent Racial and Religious Profiling
•Direct immigration enforcement agents to obtain warrants from a judge, like any other law enforcement agency, in order to detain immigrants: also direct immigration enforcement agents to stop the routine issuance of U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE) notification requests under the new Priority Enforcement Program, which may lead to unlawful detentions and transfers
•End 287(g) Agreements.
•Respect the Autonomy of States and Localities in Immigration Enforcement
•End the Coercion of Local Law Enforcement through Civil Immigration Warrants
•Create an Independent Agency to Set U.S. Immigration Policy
•Address Employment Barriers for Foreign Professionals
•Ensure that any future immigration legislation contains robust waiver provisions that restore the discretion of law enforcement and judges to consider individual factors—such as family and community ties; the nature, seriousness, and other circumstances of past criminal charges; passage of time; medical conditions; and contributions to community and family

___________________________

THIS is the type of campaign I want to see from our Democrats running for president; not merely shouting out a recitation of complaints about our political system and the problems Americans face from a podium; not merely patronizing voters with promises to take care of the challenges we face when they get into office; but solid, specific plans to transform those words into action or law if elected.

More importantly, I want there to be some demonstrated experience in making those words a reality for actual people; some demonstrated experience in transforming lives through their actions on the promises they're making in this campaign.

That's the reason Martin O'Malley stands tall, in my estimation, in this campaign, over the other announced candidates. He has a demonstrated experience in not only advocating for the progressive changes we need, but actually doing something about them and succeeding. No angry scolding; no charismatic cajoling can substitute for a substantive record of progressive accomplishments as a guide to what a future president holds in store for America.

There is only one candidate in this campaign with the breadth and depth of experience in getting things done; and only one candidate with detailed, comprehensive plans on the table ready to enact in office.

[FSogol]

32. Awesome post.

[Zorra]

37. Blahblahblah. I don't care. A rose by any other name still smells like a rose.

Martin O'Malley Worked With Lobbyists to Recruit Pro-Business Democrats
Aug. 5 2015, 11:26 a.m.

As he campaigns for the presidency this year, Martin O’Malley has cast himself as a populist “public enemy” of Wall Street and a champion of the working class against America’s moneyed elite.

But only a year ago, O’Malley was working with corporate lobbyists to recruit business-friendly politicians into the Democratic Party.

In 2011, O’Malley co-founded a group called The NewDEAL, a nonprofit described as an effort to highlight the work of “pro-business progressives.” Rather than championing anti-bank populists, the group worked to promote moderate Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, now an attorney who counts Walmart as a client.
snip---
Gonzalez’s lobbying firm, Peck Madigan Jones, represents the very Wall Street interests O’Malley now decries. The firm recently lobbied on behalf of a trade group that represents Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan Chase, among other banks, on efforts to slow down Dodd-Frank reforms through cost-benefit analysis reports.

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/08/05/martin-omalley-just-prior-populist-presidential-bid-steered-democrats-pro-business/

If Governor O'Malley publicly disavows his signing and support for the Hyde Park Declaration, and publicly disavows DLC/Third Way/New Democrat Centrism, I'll take him seriously. Otherwise, meh. It's just talk. His record as governor is

Long experience shows that DLC/ThirdWay/New Democrat Centrists will do or say anything to get elected, and then, when elected, make little or no attempt to actually do what they said they were going to do when campaigning.

Third Way/DLC/New Democrat Centrists have all but destroyed the Democratic party. Because of DLC/ThirdWay/New Democrat Centrists, in a few short years we went from having huge majorities in both Houses, and in the White House, to getting slaughtered in elections by Republicans, who now have huge majorities in both Houses ans a good shot at putting another one of their puppet clowns in the WH.

We have rampant economic inequality, and Americans have had to take to the streets several times because police are allowed to kill and incarcerate them with impunity. Banksters who destroyed the economy have not been prosecuted, and our President is fervently promoting a Trade Deal that will guarantee serfdom for American workers. Labor is in the worst shape since the New Deal, and wages are stagnant. Privatization is increasing year by year.

Why? Because Americans continue to elect DLC/Third Way/New Democrat politicians who make little or no attempt to solve the problems that need to be addressed because when all is said and done, their loyalty lies with corporations and oligarchs, and the 99% gets lip service and trickle on economic spew down our backs while being told it's only rain, nothing to worry about. Business worshiping centrist Democrats, along with republicans, have allowed wealthy private interests to exploit workers and fuck up our country and planet just about beyond repair.

So when Governor O'Malley disavows publicly disavows DLC/ThirdWay/NewDemocrat centirsm, I'll start believing he actually might be real.

Read:

This page contains excerpts from government reports, signed by elected officials.

http://www.issues2000.org/Notebook/Note_00-DLC0.htm

00-DLC0 on Aug 1, 2000
Report: the manifesto, "A New Politics for a New America":
Source: The Hyde Park Declaration

As New Democrats, we believe in a Third Way that rejects the old left-right debate and affirms America’s basic bargain: opportunity for all, responsibility from all, and community of all.

We believe:
that government’s proper role in the New Economy is to equip working Americans with new tools for economic success and security.
in expanding trade and investment because we must be a party of economic progress, not economic reaction.
that fiscal discipline is fundamental to sustained economic growth as well as responsible government.
that a progressive tax system is the only fair way to pay for government.
the Democratic Party’s mission is to expand opportunity, not government.
that education must be America’s great equalizer, and we will not abandon our public schools or tolerate their failure.
that all Americans must have access to health insurance.
in preventing crime and punishing criminals.
in a new social compact that requires and rewards work in exchange for public assistance and that ensures that no family with a full-time worker will live in poverty.
that public policies should reinforce marriage, promote family, demand parental responsibility, and discourage out-of-wedlock births.
in enhancing the role that civic entrepreneurs, voluntary groups, and religious institutions play in tackling America’s social ills.
in strengthening environmental protection by giving communities the flexibility to tackle new challenges that cannot be solved with top-down mandates.
government must combat discrimination on the basis of race, creed, gender, or sexual orientation; defend civil liberties; and stay out of our private lives.
that abortion should be safe, legal, and rare.
in progressive internationalism -- the bold exercise of US leadership to foster peace, prosperity, and democracy.
that the US must maintain a strong, technologically superior defense to protect our interests and values.

Democrats participating in 00-DLC0

Brian Baird s1a Washington Democrat (until 2010)

Max Baucus s1a MT Democratic Sr Senator (retiring 2014)

Evan Bayh s1s IN Former Democratic Senator

Shelley Berkley s1a Nevada Democrat (Senate run 2012)

John Breaux s1s LA Former Democratic incumbent; retired 2004

Maria Cantwell s1a WA Democratic Jr Senator

Lois Capps s1a California Democrat

Russ Carnahan s1a Missouri Democrat

Tom Carper s1a DE Democratic Sr Senator

Ed Case s1a Hawaii Democrat

Ben Chandler s1a Kentucky Democrat

Bill Clinton s1a POTUS Democrat

Hillary Clinton s1a NY Former Democratic Senator (NY); now Secretary of State

Kent Conrad s1a ND Democrat Sr Senator (Retiring)

Bud Cramer s1a Alabama Democrat (Retired 2008)

Joseph Crowley s1a New York Democrat

Artur Davis s1a Alabama Former Democrat (until 2010)

Jim Davis s1s Florida Democrat

Susan Davis s1a California Democrat

Cal Dooley s1s California Democrat (Until 2004)

Byron Dorgan s1a ND Democratic Jr Senator (retiring 2010)

John Edwards s1a NC Former Democrat Senator; retired to run for President, 2004

Rahm Emanuel s1a Illinois Former Democrat (until 2009)

Eliot Engel s1a New York Democrat/Liberal

Bob Etheridge s1a North Carolina Democrat (Unseated 2010)

Dianne Feinstein s1a CA Democratic Sr Senator

Dick Gephardt s1a Missouri Democrat (Until 2004)

Al Gore s1a POTUS Democrat

Bob Graham s1a FL Former Democratic Senator; retired 2004

Jane Harman s1a California Democrat (Resigned 2011)

Brian Higgins s1a New York Democrat

Rush Holt s1a New Jersey Democrat

Darlene Hooley s1a Oregon Democrat (Retiring 2008)

Jay Inslee s1a WA Democratic Governor

Steve Israel s1a New York Democrat

Tim Johnson s1a SD Democratic Sr Senator (retiring 2014)

Bob Kerrey s1a NE Democratic Challenger (previously Senator)

John Kerry s1s MA Democratic Sr Senator

Ron Kind s1a WI Former Democratic challenger (2012)

Herbert Kohl s1a WI Democratic Sr Senator (Retiring)

Mary Landrieu s1s LA Democratic Sr Senator

Rick Larsen s1a Washington Democrat

John Larson s1a Connecticut Democrat

Blanche Lambert Lincoln s1s AR Former Democratic Senator

Zoe Lofgren s1a California Democrat

Terry McAuliffe s1a VA Democratic Challenger

Carolyn McCarthy s1a New York Dem./Ind./Working-Families

Mike McIntyre s1a North Carolina Democrat

Gregory Meeks s1a New York Dem./Working-Families

Juanita Millender-McDonald s1a California Democrat

Dennis Moore s1a Kansas Democrat (until 2010)

James Moran s1s Virginia Democrat

Ben Nelson s1a NE Democratic Sr Senator (Retiring)

Bill Nelson s1a FL Democratic Sr Senator

Sam Nunn s1a GA Democratic Senator (Former)

Martin O`Malley s1a MD Democratic Governor

David Eugene Price s1a North Carolina Democrat

Mark Pryor s1a AR Democratic Sr Senator

Charles Robb s1s VA Democratic Senator (Former)

Tim Roemer s1s Indiana Democrat

Loretta Sanchez s1a California Democrat

Adam Schiff s1a California Democrat

Allyson Schwartz s1a Pennsylvania Democratic Governor Challenger

David Scott s1a Georgia Democrat

Kathleen Sebelius s1a KS Former Democratic Governor (1994-2002); Cabinet Sec'y (HHS)

David Adam Smith s1a Washington Democrat

Debbie Stabenow s1a MI Democratic Jr Senator

John Tanner s1a Tennessee Democrat (until 2010)

Ellen Tauscher s1s California Former Democrat (until 2009)

Tom Udall s1a New Mexico Democrat (Senate 2008)

Tom Vilsack s1s IA Former Democratic Governor (1994-2002); Cabinet Sec'y (USDA)

David Wu s1a Oregon Democrat (Resigned 2011)

Independents participating in 00-DLC0
Harold Ford s1a NY 2010 Democratic Primary Challenger; previously US Rep (TN)
Joseph Lieberman s1s CT Independent Sr Senator; Gore's VP nominee (Retiring)
Janet Napolitano s1a US Cabinet
Gavin Newsom s1a 0CA00 S.F. Mayor; former Gov. candidate (2000)
Mike Thurmond s1a GA 2010 Democratic Challenger
Anthony Williams s1a DC00 Washington Mayor

[bigtree]

47. blah blah - real lives actually impacted by real policies- blah blah blah

...any time you want to have a serious conversation about actual policies the governor supported and enacted, I'll be here. Until then, you're just wasting my time with this cheap, political name game.

[AtomicKitten]

39. Zorra posted factual information.

There is much to consider regarding his candidacy, pros and cons. As much as the info I've already read posted by Ellen deserves consideration, so does that posted by Zorra. It is the latter that I am uneasy about because that is precisely the crowd I do not want at the helm of government. There is a weird symbiosis between O'M and the Clintons that deserves scrutiny.

O'M DID sign on to the New Democrats Manifesto, documented in the government record. He DID co-write the published piece with Harold Ford touting centrism. The fact that you don't like that information does not make it a smear.

[bigtree]

44. Zorra posted information which was misleading, incomplete, and unrepresentative

...of the actual record and stances of O'Malley.

...but I repeat myself. I posted actual accomplishments and views of O'Malley for anyone who really cares. This is pure DU nonsense. Have fun with it.

[Zorra]

42. BTW, bigtree, would you mind terribly using the correct pronoun

in your subject line? It appears that you have made an error with the pronoun that begins the subject line of your post, and left off the s in she.

I feel that this must be an oversight on your part; you've been here since 2003, as have I. I'm just so very surprised that you have failed to edit this error for so long! Maybe you are not aware of how to use the edit function for your personal posts?

I also feel this has to be an error and oversight on your part, because, generally, when long term posters are unsure of another posters gender, they check the profile of that poster to see if they listed their gender in their profile, or sometimes use s/he if the gender is not listed in their profile. In my case, my gender is listed.

Zorra is a Spanish word for a female fox, sometimes used as a slur against women, in which the "a" denotes gender at the end of a noun:

The idea that nouns have gender seems perfectly natural when the noun stands for a living creature. This is because in English, living creatures often have different names, depending upon whether they are male or female.

The following Spanish nouns all denote living creatures.

el gato
male cat
la gata
female cat
el perro
male dog
la perra
female dog
el chico
boy
la chica
girl
el abuelo
grandfather
la abuela
grandmother

http://www.studyspanish.com/lessons/genoun1.htm

I know many folks who have no idea of Spanish language grammar are often unaware of this fact.


You see, in the past, conservatives on DU have used the wrong pronoun when addressing other DU posters as a way to try to insult them. Sometimes homophobes, both on the internet, and in "real life" and call some lesbians "he" in order to try to insult them. I know you would never do anything like this.

Perhaps your oversight has not been corrected because you never use the edit function out of principle?


Anyway, please, if you wouldn't mind, I would sincerely appreciate you editing your post. Again, over the course of our lifetimes, many of we lesbians, gays, and transgender persons have been, individually and collectively, subjected to being called the wrong pronoun by malicious homophobes, who use this ignorant ploy as an intentional insult toward us.

Natually, some of us are hyperaware of, and sensitive, to this, even when the wrong pronoun is clearly used unintentionally.

So I know that your failure to use the correct pronoun when referring to me just has to be unintentional, and that your failure to edit your subject line even after it has been up since 7:50 AM MST this morning is because you simply haven't noticed it.

Thank you for your consideration, and have a wonderful day!

[Zorra]

43. Thank you.

[bigtree]

46. terribly sorry. I should have taken the time to check and recognized the 'a' in Zorra

...as feminine.

It was a stupid and careless oversight and I do apologize.

[Zorra]

48. No worries. nt

[Agschmid]

55. I'm glad I don't see conspiracy in everything...

[Cheese Sandwich]

15. I think you might be on to something.

Still I hope he does revolt and help stage debates with Sanders outside the DNC rules.

If he does that then I will be convinced he is a swell guy.

As of now it seems like a fake display of outrage from someone looking to building a progressive image.

[FSogol]

19. Here's the Hyde Park Declaration. What exactly do you disagree with?

We believe:
that government’s proper role in the New Economy is to equip working Americans with new tools for economic success and security.
in expanding trade and investment because we must be a party of economic progress, not economic reaction.
that fiscal discipline is fundamental to sustained economic growth as well as responsible government.
that a progressive tax system is the only fair way to pay for government.
the Democratic Party’s mission is to expand opportunity, not government.
that education must be America’s great equalizer, and we will not abandon our public schools or tolerate their failure.
that all Americans must have access to health insurance.
in preventing crime and punishing criminals.
in a new social compact that requires and rewards work in exchange for public assistance and that ensures that no family with a full-time worker will live in poverty.
that public policies should reinforce marriage, promote family, demand parental responsibility, and discourage out-of-wedlock births.
in enhancing the role that civic entrepreneurs, voluntary groups, and religious institutions play in tackling America’s social ills.
in strengthening environmental protection by giving communities the flexibility to tackle new challenges that cannot be solved with top-down mandates.
government must combat discrimination on the basis of race, creed, gender, or sexual orientation; defend civil liberties; and stay out of our private lives.
that abortion should be safe, legal, and rare.
in progressive internationalism -- the bold exercise of US leadership to foster peace, prosperity, and democracy.
that the US must maintain a strong, technologically superior defense to protect our interests and values.

Is there any difference between this and the Democratic Party Platform circa 2000?

[Adrahil]

22. I was thinking the same thing....

I think Martin would make a fine Veep for HRC, setting him up to be the President after her.

[elleng]

29. This is the best response!

As to 3rd way, do these characters remember who started it???

See ya later; off to Amtrak!

[FSogol]

31. Have a good weekend. n/t

[bigtree]

33. and if there is disageement with the declaration, where does O'Malley actually stand on the issue?

...posting a list of someone else's priorities is misleading and inaccurate as to the intention and actual record of these candidates. It's a broad outline of agreement, at best.

Still, as you say, there's very little on that list which is objectionable on its face, if not in practice.

[Zorra]

40. Same old DLC/ThirdWay/New Democrat republican lite centrist weasel speak.

Allow some gains on social issues, while imperialist wealthy private interests and their multi-national corporations be free to do whatever they want around the globe. Promotion of globalist economic policies take precedence over social issues. Social issues are dealt with when expedient, but the foremost business of DLC/ThirdWay/NewDemocrat centrists, is business.

They can't very well come out and plainly say,

"We support some social change and environmental protections, as long as oligarchy is protected, maintained and free to expand and exploit globally, at will and with impunity."

They don't even get all the social issues down correctly:

"that abortion should be safe, legal, and rare."

Abortion Safe and Legal? Yes. Make it Rare? Not. The. Point.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1152484

"in expanding trade and investment because we must be a party of economic progress, not economic reaction." "in progressive internationalism -- the bold exercise of US leadership to foster peace, prosperity, and democracy"
that the US must maintain a strong, technologically superior defense to protect our interests and values."

DLC's PNAC Document - Hillary Clinton On America's Strategy
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=495072

"in a new social compact that requires and rewards work in exchange for public assistance and that ensures that no family with a full-time worker will live in poverty."

read: Welfare reform and cutting what they love to refer to as "entitlements" like social security

that education must be America’s great equalizer, and we will not abandon our public schools or tolerate their failure.

"that all Americans must have access to health insurance."

Read: Create a corporate boondoggle designed to put money in the pockets of health insurance corporations, instead of creating a "medicare for all" type system like the rest of the non Third World countries have

Read: Dumb down the kids, and ensure that only the wealthy few can afford to send their children to college without going into a lifetime of debt, or ensure that working and middle class students who take out loans for higher education are saddled with a lifetime of crushing debt and wage slavery.

"in strengthening environmental protection by giving communities the flexibility to tackle new challenges that cannot be solved with top-down mandates"

Read: Let the states allow businesses to do pretty much whatever they want to the environment.

"that fiscal discipline is fundamental to sustained economic growth as well as responsible government."
"the Democratic Party’s mission is to expand opportunity, not government"

Read: Ensure that privatization, austerity, wage stagnation, quashing labor, and making sure the financial industry remains unregulated, continue as policy.

That's all I have time for now, and there are a few important social issues that they are sincere about, which they will address as long as addressing these issues does not conflict with the needs of wealthy private economic interests.

[FSogol]

45. None of that (or how the 3rd way group turned out) has anything to do with O'Malley.

O'Malley froze tuition increases in Maryland and invested heavily in education during the recession when everyone else was cutting education funds.

He banned the death penalty and prevented fracking in the state. He even raised taxes on the rich, making Maryland's taxes more progressive.

If you took a honest look at his policies and actual accomplishments in the last 15 years, you'd see that he has no ideological connection to the DLC or 3rd Way. Those are two groups that he declined membership in.

[Cheese Sandwich]

62. He definitely rose to power as a "New Democrat" centrist

Third-way, DLC whatever you call it, it's all the same bunch, the "pro-business" corporatists that took over the party.

But you don't have to look back all the way to 2000.

In 2011 O'Malley spoke at Third Way think thank: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251425668

They liked him enough to invite him back in back in 2012 for a private press conference, and promoted the event calling him a hot prospect for president: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251425696

O'Malley defenders have said this means nothing, to which I can only say that not every kind of politician gets invited to do this. For example Liz Warren has not spoken there, and Bernie Sanders would certainly not get that invitation. Only those willing to "play ball".

He is already plugged in to the Wall St. fundraising connections and ready to go. He raised a ton of money there during his time as chairman of the Democratic Governors Association: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/martin-o-malley-wall-st-ties-big-banks-article-1.2246630

His liberal progressive posturing strikes me as just that. Posturing in order to shape an image, a certain liberal brand that will help him get elected. But he has all the signs of someone who will talk big, but when it comes down to it he will make only cosmetic reforms and only pretend to push on deeper reforms, letting them fail. Kind of like how Pres. Obama was going to renegotiate NAFTA, except really he never was going to. O'Malley has every sign of being in the same Wall Street model as the Clintons and Pres. Obama. I understand many are OK with that.

He says now that he opposes TPP. But back in 2011 he was writing to the President asking for TPP to include stronger protections for drug companies: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1701535-sevengovernors05272011.html#document/p1

Now he wants criminal justice reform, but as mayor he was posturing as tough on crime. He had a policy of mass arresting thousands of innocent black men. They were often held for days and released without charges. Many thousands of others were charged with dumb shit and had their lives destroyed.

That time when the NAACP and ACLU sued Martin O'Malley over thousands of illegal arrests:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251419371

The ACLU and NAACP had to file a joint lawsuit against him to get him to stop arresting black people for no reason:

Calling the Baltimore City Police Department’s pattern and practice of illegally arresting tens of
thousands of individuals each year who are not and cannot be prosecuted a gross violation of rights, the
American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland and the NAACP today filed a class-action lawsuit
challenging the practice and offering concrete proposals for reform. The lawsuit, filed in Baltimore City
Circuit Court, targets both city and state officials for their roles in making illegal arrests and mistreating
arrestees taken into custody at Central Booking

http://www.aclu-md.org/uploaded_files/0000/0199/pr-_naacp_v_bcpd.pdf

Some O'Malley supporter on here actually told me that only 14 people were affected by this policy because only 14 were named on the lawsuit, and they seemed to debate aggressively about it. Even though I repeatedly was showing them statements by the NAACP and ACLU indicating the case was motivated by the false arrest of tens of thousands, and O'Malley's policies were directly to blame.


A lot of people credit O'Malley's policing policies with escalating the atmosphere of police terror that led up to the killing of Freddie Gray and the Baltimore riots.

As Baltimore mayor, critics say, O’Malley’s police tactics sowed distrust

Although prosecutors declined to bring many of the cases, activists contend that those who were arrested often could not get their records expunged, making it harder for them to get jobs.

“We still have men who are suffering from it today,” said Marvin “Doc” Cheathem, a past president of the Baltimore branch of the NAACP, which won a court settlement stemming from the city’s policing policies. “The guy is good at talking, but a lot of us know the real story of the harm he brought to our city.”

Bishop Douglas Miles, a community leader, said O’Malley’s department “set the tone for how the police department in Baltimore has reacted to poor and African American communities since then.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/as-mayor-of-baltimore-omalleys-policing-strategy-sowed-mistrust/2015/04/25/af81178a-ea9d-11e4-9767-6276fc9b0ada_story.html

His policing policies have been called "savage":
Maryland delegate: Martin O’Malley 'savagely wrong' on crime

West Baltimore rep. Jill Carter discusses the roots of her city’s troubled history with police violence.

I always say it wasn’t just a zero tolerance policy, it was a failed zero tolerance policy. It was a rogue zero tolerance policy. It was commonplace for law enforcement officers to plant a van at the top of a block and conduct a street sweep of everyone they saw outside. And the theory was the more people we arrest, the less crime because no one will be on the street. But what happened is that, at the same time that people were being arrested for virtually nothing, violent crime was able to continue and to expand because the real criminals knew there was no one there to pursue them. The police officers were rated on the number of arrests they made, and everything was stats-driven not people-driven. That really in large part created the culture that exists today.

There were a lot of people in the community, older people especially, who believed that, “Well, it's a good thing. We need to lock up these criminals.” But over time I've noticed a complete change because of the devastation that it's had on people. It's destroyed the ability of many young people to even lead productive lives. Because once that arrest record is there, many people believe, “Oh, it's just a conviction.” But actually no, it's an arrest record, as well, that employers don't really wait to see what the result is. They just say, “OK, you're charged with this crime, and we can find someone else.” The problem is that in Baltimore City, it's becoming more and more difficult to find anyone whatsoever under certain ages and zip codes that doesn't have a criminal record.

Martin O'Malley was not just wrong, but savagely wrong on criminal justice issues.

http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/fault-lines/articles/2015/6/12/maryland-delegate-martin-omalley-savagely-wrong-on-criminal-justice.html

The former head of the Baltimore NAACP gave us the best warning anyone could ever give us about Martin O'Malley: “The guy is good at talking, but a lot of us know the real story of the harm he brought to our city.”

He talks a good game, but he can't be trusted.

The fake outrage over the debates fits the same pattern. The time for outrage was a month ago before the debate schedule was finalized. Outrage after the fact is for show when someone is trying to build credibility for their progressive image.

If O'Malley revolts and schedules debates outside the DNC process, I will eat all these words and say sorry.

###
(this was opinion)

[FlatBaroque]

66. That is a fairly complete list of those politicians who I revile

His being on that list is a "case closed" as far as I am concerned.

[ericson00]

13. they gotta stop being crybabies. It's Hillary's nomination

no clown car, like the GOP's, needed.

[peacebird]

16. You forgot the <sarcasm> thingy..... Obviously, as no one is OWED the nomination

Democracy and all....

[ericson00]

17. No one is saying owed, but its tribute and respect

For what the Clintons have done for the party. It's only right. Most popular votes in 5 of the 6 last elections. That was the GOP's record from 1968-1988. Our electoral vote average from 1992-now is nearly triple what it was from 1968-1988. Not to mention, the GOP appears to be in as bad or worse shape today than late '80s Dems. Trump makes Jackson '88 look viable. Aside from Kasich and Cruz, who is kind of this years Gary Hart, I think their other guys may lose by a bigger margin than Dukakis did (7.5%)

[winter is coming]

24. Great satire.

[peacebird]

38. Exactly!

[jeff47]

25. Uh...you are saying it is owed.

Right here:

For what the Clintons have done for the party. It's only right.

That is another way of saying Clinton is owed the presidency.

[tularetom]

34. Respect for what "the Clintons" have done for the party?

You're really funny.

"The Clintons" aren't on the ballot.

And what "the Clintons" have done for the party is to fragment it.

[stone space]

26. Good! I hope the other candidates follow his lead. (nt)

[cascadiance]

28. As I noted in another thread, also talk to the League of Women Voters to help with this..

They would be a good ally to help set up a different debate track, give it legitimacy, and also avoid misguided propaganda that this strategy is a mechanism to "shut down the woman candidate". I would love to have more women presidents in the future, but I would rather have someone like Elizabeth Warren to be the initial template of woman presidents to help us elect far more of them later when people are happier with that outcome than I think they will be with Hillary in charge. We need to nominate a candidate based on people's analysis of heavily debated and important issues of today, not just who's most popular and known.

[restorefreedom]

36. it will only work if all four agree to it

because then if all four of the non hillary candidates are banned from the debates, that will just leave Hillary standing there by herself. But if it's only say O'Malley Bernie and Chafee, then that leaves Hillary in a very easy debate against Jim Webb, and that doesn't help either Bernie or O'Malley, they both have to confront Hillary. And as much as I think that this exclusivity rule is bullshit and probably can't be enforced, Bernie has to debate Hillary. Any schedule that doesn't allow that Bernie can't participate in. He's running against the establishment and she is it.

[RichVRichV]

61. I'm really beginning to think Biden is the DNC's enforcer here.

If Bernie, O'Malley and the rest drop out of the DNC debates to do their own then Biden steps in. The other candidates get shunned by the media and the narrative becomes a "two horse race" between Hillary and Biden with "official" debates to make it so.


The DNC may be many things but they're not stupid. They wouldn't have placed this obviously undemocratic rule if they didn't have some means to make it stick.

[restorefreedom]

63. it makes sense

but i like to think after such a long career, joe would not want to wrap things up doing the heavy lifting of the dnc to try and get hillary on the ticket.

not a good way for him to go out of politics imo.

maybe i am just a sucker to thing he wants more....

[winter is coming]

65. I don't think it's that convoluted.

I think the DNC believes it's covered both sides of the bet.

Option 1: none of the candidates bolt, which means the DNC has a stranglehold on the debates. HRC doesn't have to debate any of the other candidates before mid-October, postponing the boost that in name recognition and fundraising the non-HRC candidates would receive from a national debate.

Option 2: some of the candidates bolt, which means the DNC excludes them and HRC doesn't have to fact them at all, and the bolting candidates are deprived of the visibility that would accrue from participating in a debate.

The risk to the DNC is that enough people will cry foul and expose their manuever as corrupt.

[Left coast liberal]

41. Hillary might rather do fundraisers than debate? Just askin'

[jwirr]

50. Define debate. The Rs had a forum. We could do that also or maybe we could just set down

and have a discussion between the candidates without a moderator. I love what Bernie did when he debated the Rs while they were having their debate. There must be a lot of ways around this ban of free speech that the DNC has put in place.

[winter is coming]

52. Instead of sending us to prison on Friday nights, MSNBC could air an hour of

a candidates' roundtable. See how long it takes the viewers to notice the difference.

[jwirr]

54. Very good idea.

[winter is coming]

56. But only every other week.

On alternate weeks, it's the GOP's turn. With the twist that one of them actually goes to prison when the show's over.

[jwirr]

57. LOL

[aspirant]

59. Is the "Exclusivity Clause" unconstutional?

[winter is coming]

60. No; just stupid and short-sighted. n/t

[Adrahil]

67. No. You don't have a right to be in the DNC debate...

... and the DNC can decide to include who it wants.

However, the clause IS silly, IMO. More evidence that Wasserman-Schultz has to go IMO.