2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumO'Malley: "Debate first time that 99.9% of Americans ever tuned in or saw what I had to offer.”
Martin O'Malley ?@MartinOMalley Oct 19Front page of @ConMonitorNews: OMalley touts plans for gun control, Social Security expansion, debt-free college. http://omly.us/1Xf5SSP
Days after the first Democratic debate which he considers a turning point for his campaign the former governor of Maryland spoke about his policies, his experience and his competition for the Democratic nomination, while in Concord.
Honestly, it feels like our presidential campaign really began two days ago with that debate, he said. From my own candidacy, that was the first time that . . . 99.9 percent of Americans ever tuned in or saw what I had to offer.
In terms of speaking time during the debate, OMalley was in the middle of the pack, with less time than former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders but with more time than former Virginia senator Jim Webb and former Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee.
OMalley, the former mayor of Baltimore and former governor of Maryland, said that his 15 years of executive experience set him apart from the other candidates, among other differences.
Gun reform, Social Security expansion and debt-free college are a few issues he hopes to focus on. Universal background checks with fingerprinting and licensing and a ban on combat assault weapons are pieces of his proposal to improve gun safety in the U.S. Though he hopes the discussion and consensus on gun safety will evolve during the primary, some states may work on gun reform before the federal government does, he said.
I think theres a growing awareness and a growing anger about the carnage that goes on in our country, he said. Though he respects the right for law-abiding citizens to own firearms, he said, that does not mean we, as a developed nation, should be the nation where its easiest to buy 4,000 rounds of ammunition online, no questions asked, like that jerk that shot the theater in Aurora or that combat assault weapons should be for sale in this country. . . . Why do we need combat assault weapons to be sold in our country?
In addition to forming a plan to address gun control, OMalley has proposed a plan to make debt-free college possible, as well as improve youth unemployment by making universal national service an option, which would allow young adults to earn Pell grants.
Thats nothing that the younger generation can do on their own. Theyre going to need all of us to do that for those that are that stage of life, and all of us are going to have to do what we must for those of us heading into the Social Security stage of life. Its about a common good.
OMalley said it is possible to make Social Security work through expanding the program. According to his plan, he would not raise the age of retirement, as other politicians have proposed, and would strengthen the finances of Social Security by removing the cap on payroll taxes for workers who earn more than $250,000.
Theres a lot of fear throughout our country right now because for the first time since World War II, weve gone through a whole decade where wages have gone flat or declined for 70 percent of us. So in times of scarcity, it becomes easy to scapegoat the other, especially if the other is going to keep us from holding on to what we have. And youve seen Donald Trump scapegoat the other when it comes to immigrants, he said. Theres a danger that our children will look on things like Social Security and give in to this sort of scarcity mentality.
Social Security does work, and we can make it more solvent and we can extend its life, he said.
He also spoke in favor of reinstating the Glass-Steagall banking act, a policy that was discussed during the debate. He called his stance on this a fundamental difference between him and Clinton.
I believe our role in the world is to lead by example the cause of a rising global middle class, free from want, free from oppression, free from fear, he said. We do that first and foremost by making ourselves stronger here at home, but we need a new foreign policy of engagement and collaboration against the common enemies of humanity, first among them being climate change, and we need a new national security strategy that identifies threats before they rise to a level where were backed into a military boots on the ground or not kind of corner and instead creates new alliances to reduce those threats with actions sooner rather than later.
The nation, OMalley said, is looking for a change. The two phrases I keep hearing are new leadership and getting things done.
read: https://politics.concordmonitor.com/2015/10/gov-federal/omalley-touts-plans-for-gun-control-social-security-expansion-debt-free-college/
watch:
elleng
(130,126 posts)I believe our role in the world is to lead by example the cause of a rising global middle class, free from want, free from oppression, free from fear."
bigtree
(85,915 posts)elleng
(130,126 posts)Thank goodness!
elleng
(130,126 posts)OMalley has proposed a plan to make debt-free college possible, as well as improve youth unemployment by making universal national service an option, which would allow young adults to earn Pell grants.'
NCTraveler
(30,481 posts)"I think theres a growing awareness and a growing anger about the carnage that goes on in our country, he said. Though he respects the right for law-abiding citizens to own firearms, he said, that does not mean we, as a developed nation, should be the nation where its easiest to buy 4,000 rounds of ammunition online, no questions asked, like that jerk that shot the theater in Aurora or that combat assault weapons should be for sale in this country. . . . Why do we need combat assault weapons to be sold in our country?
elleng
(130,126 posts)According to his plan, he would not raise the age of retirement, as other politicians have proposed, and would strengthen the finances of Social Security by removing the cap on payroll taxes for workers who earn more than $250,000.
Theres a lot of fear throughout our country right now because for the first time since World War II, weve gone through a whole decade where wages have gone flat or declined for 70 percent of us. So in times of scarcity, it becomes easy to scapegoat the other, especially if the other is going to keep us from holding on to what we have. And youve seen Donald Trump scapegoat the other when it comes to immigrants, he said. Theres a danger that our children will look on things like Social Security and give in to this sort of scarcity mentality.
Social Security does work, and we can make it more solvent and we can extend its life, he said.'
Luminous Animal
(27,310 posts)to Bernie's team re immigration reform.
elleng
(130,126 posts)a policy that was discussed during the debate. He called his stance on this a fundamental difference between him and Clinton.'
Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)a populist backlash this time around, so the gop clown car is pitted against an extremely conservative female, everyone else is cut off from the corporate media, and we get to choose between two members of the bfee. Mrs Clinton's vapid, no-answer debate performance is declared a success, polls are created out of whole cloth, and all is well on wall street.
DemocratSinceBirth
(99,704 posts)eom
elleng
(130,126 posts)DemocratSinceBirth
(99,704 posts)brooklynite
(93,845 posts)bigtree
(85,915 posts)...he's made a significant difference in this race, encouraging a more progressive response to the issues of the day with his advocacy and proposals.
Todays_Illusion
(1,209 posts)brooklynite
(93,845 posts)FSogol
(45,356 posts)askew
(1,464 posts)I really feel like O'Malley is hitting his stride and is finally getting some media attention. Seeing a real uptick in positive comments about him on Facebook, blogs, twitter.