May 3, 2015

Email Just Now from O'Malley

Wake Up Call

This week in Baltimore should be a wake-up call for our entire nation.

The problem is that we have built an economy that's leaving whole parts of Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York - so many people - behind. People are not being heard – they are frustrated; they are angry; and they feel like they are not needed in our economy. Extreme poverty breeds conditions for extreme violence.

We need an agenda for American cities. We need to stop ignoring people of color and we need to stop acting like they are disposable citizens in this nation. That's not how our economy is supposed to work or how our country works.

I’ve spent my whole life on criminal justice issues. My very first job out of law school was as a prosecutor on the West Side of Baltimore, a place now familiar from the images of these last sad several days. When I was mayor, we cut down violent crime, but we also improved how we train and police the police, and we made investments in drug treatment programs to strengthen the community.

In Maryland, as Governor, I worked to reduce incarceration to 20-year lows. We were able to reduce our recidivism by 15%, and also at the same time reduce violent crime down to 35-year lows. I signed legislation to decriminalize marijuana possession and other minor charges.

This is constant work. It is not done. We still have a lot of work left to do.

I am more inclined and more deeply motivated now to address what's wrong with our country and what needs to be healed and what needs to be fixed.

In Baltimore, we are not defeated as a city, and we are not about to throw in the towel on our country.

Martin O'Malley

PS. I talked about this on Meet the Press today – I want to hear from you. Let me know what you think and share this so we can make this work a priority.

http://action.martinomalley.com/page/m/302289d7/4c037376/2e9194af/50a48e50/138478769/VEsH/

May 3, 2015

Returned to Baltimore

O'Malley had a lot to lose by appearing on the streets of Baltimore. He was heckled by passers-by. He was trashed by a fiction-writer who made money by trashing Baltimore in a sensationalized TV caricature of that city and its mayor. But O'Malley did return to Baltimore and he took the heat, not for photo-ops, but because he genuinely loves the city he has lived in most of his life and that loved him enough in return to give him 91% of their votes. His interview on MTP this morning was quite stirring and emotional. I believe he has honesty and courage, and I respect him more every time I see or hear him. He is not flashy, but he is a decent and logical man who reads Thomas Merton and theology in the morning. And I believe his executive experience, including the things that went terribly wrong, has taught him how to govern with compassion and nuance.

I'm not sure he will enter the race. I think he would like to, because he thinks that he has something to contribute in these very troubled times. I think that, as president, he would not be as confrontational as Bernie, but perhaps more effective. Bernie is like a prophet in the wilderness. He tells us why these are hard times, and he shows us exactly who is to blame. But prophets usually have only a handful of followers, and their job is to clear the way for those able to do the hard work of incremental change. Many people here, like myself, would do anything to get Bernie nominated and elected. But is he the right person to be president? Leading the country is not the same as leading a protest march.

Having said that, IMHO, either Bernie or O'Malley would easily defeat any of the republicans now in the field. They would simply tell the truth in their own way, and the truth would burn through the republicans' shabby veil of "patently BS" absurdities and contradictions.

May 2, 2015

O'Malley

I really think O'Malley deserves a place in this primary race. He has character traits that would make him an excellent president.