- Martin O'Malley
« Announcement
Speech Transcript (prepared remarks/reactions below)
Former Gov. Martin O'Malley (D-MD)
Announcement of Candidacy
Federal Hill Park
Baltimore, Maryland
May 30, 2015
Thank you all for coming out today. Katie and the kids and I
want to thank you for being here, and we have a little announcement
we'd like to share with you.
I want to talk with you today about The American Dream, about the
American Dream we share…
its powerful history,
its current condition,
and its urgent need of rebuilding.
Our nation was founded on two self-evident truths…
That all of us are created equal.
And that we are endowed by our Creator with certain rights, to life, to liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
And with these words, the American dream began.
No fine print. No expiration date.
All of us are included.
Women and men.
Black people and white people.
Native Americans, Irish Americans, Asian Americans, Latino Americans, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Americans.
Young and old. Rich and poor. Workers and business owners. Gay,
Lesbian, Transgender and straight Americans. All of us are needed.
For in our idea of country, there is no such thing as a spare American.
There is, however, a growing gap of injustice in our country today.
It is the gap between the strong, just nation our children need for us to be,… and the nation we are in danger of becoming.
For today in America, seventy percent of us are earning the same or less than we were 12 years ago, and this is the first time that has happened this side of World War II.
Today in America, family owned businesses and farms are struggling to compete with ever larger concentrations of corporate power.
Fifty years ago, the nation’s largest employer was GM, and the average GM employee could send his kid to college on two weeks’ wages.
Today in America, with dreams of college and a decent paying job, and a secure retirement slipping beyond the reach of so very many, the American Dream seems for so many of us to be hanging by a thread.
And yet, for America there is always a yet.
And the final thread that holds us just might be the strongest.
It is the thread of the generosity, compassion, and love that brings us together as One American People.
For over 200 years we have been the architects of our own future. And now we must build anew.
My father and mother, Tom and Barbara O’Malley, were born to the Great Depression and they grew up to be part of that great generation of Americans that won the Second World War. My dad flew 33 missions over Japan in a B-24 Liberator, and went on to college only because of the GI Bill.
And my mom herself flew in the Civil Air Patrol at the age of seventeen.
They raised their children — the six of us —... to a secure middle class future because of the sacrifices and the better choices of their generation.
But they would never accept the notion that somehow theirs was the “greatest generation.” For they believed and they taught us that every generation of Americans has the ability — and the sacred responsibility — to make themselves great for their country.
And so we must. And so we will. No matter the odds, no matter how tough the fight, no matter how big the challenge, and that is the urgent calling for us today: to rebuild the American Dream now in our time.
Last month, television sets around the world were filled with the anger and the rage, and the flames of some of the humblest and hardest hit neighborhoods in Baltimore.
For all of us who have given so much of our energies to making our
city a safer, fairer, and more prosperous place, that was a
heartbreaking night for all of us. For us Baltimore is our
country, and our country is Baltimore.
And there is something to be learned from that night; there is something to be offered to our country from those flames.
For what took place here was not only about race, not only about policing in America; it was about everything it is supposed to mean to be an American.
The scourge of hopelessness that happened to ignite here that evening, transcends race, it transcends geography.
Witness the record numbers of young white kids killing themselves on heroin in suburbs and small towns across our country.
The hard truth of our shared reality is this: Unemployment in many cities and in many small towns across the United States of America is higher now than it was eight years ago.
Conditions of extreme poverty breed conditions of extreme violence.
We have work to do.
Our economic and political system is upside down and backwards and it is time to turn it around.
Understanding precedes action, and we must understand that what happened to our economy — the damage done to the American Dream we share— did not happen by chance.
Nor was it merely the result of global forces somehow beyond our reach.
Powerful, wealthy special interests here at home have used our government to create in our own country an economy that is leaving a majority of our people behind.
An economy that has so concentrated wealth and power in the hands of the very few that it has taken opportunity out of the homes of the many.
An economy where a majority of our people are unheard, unseen,
un-needed, and left to conclude that their lives and labors are worth
less today than they were yesterday and will be worth
less stillin the future.
We are allowing our land of opportunity to become a land of inequality.
Main Street struggles, while Wall Street soars.
Tell me how it is, tell me how it is that not a single Wall Street CEO was convicted of a crime related to the 2008 economic meltdown. Not. A. Single. One.
Tell me how it is, that you can get pulled over in this country for having a broken tail light, but if you wreck the nation’s economy you're absolutely untouchable.
You know and I know this is not how our economy is supposed to work.
This is not how our country is supposed to work.
This is not the American Dream.
It does not have to be this way.
This generation of Americans still has time to become great.
We have saved our country before and we must save our country now – and we will do that by rebuilding the Dream.
As I look out here today over this original “land of the free and the home of the brave,” I see the faces of so very many who have helped so many people in the life of our City and the life of our State.
Together, we made our City a safer, healthier and better place for kids.
Together, we made our city Believe again, and we invented a new and better way of governing called CitiStat, and we got things done.
Together, we made our State’s public schools the best in the nation.
We made college more affordable for more families. Let's hear it
from the teachers back there.
We led our people forward through a devastating recession, and we took greater care to protect the land, the air, and the waters of our Chesapeake Bay.
And we passed the DREAM Act and we passed Marriage Equality.
Together, we raised the minimum wage and we maintained the highest median income of any state in the nation. We achieved top rankings in innovation, entrepreneurship, and women and minority business ownership and participation.
And yes, it took new leadership, it took new perspectives, and it took new approaches.
But together we believed in the American Dream, we took action to make it real, and that is exactly what our nation needs to do today.
You see, our economy isn’t money, our economy is people — all of our people.
We measure success by the growing prosperity and security of our people — all of our people.
A stronger middle class is not the consequence of economic growth — a stronger middle class is the cause of economic growth.
And together, as one people we must build an American economy that works again for all of us.
This means good jobs and wage policies, wage policies that allow families to earn more as they work harder and harder. And that means a higher minimum wage, that means overtime pay for overtime work, and that means making it easier rather than harder for workers to organize and bargain collectively for better wages.
And if together we take these actions…the American Dream will live again.
Climate change is real, and it also happens to be the greatest business opportunity to come to our country for a hundred years. So we must create an American jobs agenda for America's renewable energy future.
And we must also launch a new agenda to rebuild American cities as places of Hope, Opportunity and Justice for all.
And if we take these actions… the dream will live again.
For the sake of our country’s security, our country’s well-being, and our country’s economic growth, we must also bring 11 million of our neighbors out of the shadows by passing comprehensive immigration reform.
Because the enduring symbol of our nation is not the barbed wire fence,… it is the Statue of Liberty.
Yes, yes, yes. We are a nation of immigrants. We are a compassionate and generous people. And if we act according to our principles — and the better angels of our nature — if we return in other words to our true selves, the dream will live again.
Make no mistake about it — our ability to lead the world, our ability to be safe in the world depends on the strength of the American Dream here at home. The challenges we face in this world today are not the challenges that we faced in the 1990’s.
So together, we must construct a New National Security Strategy and build new alliances that are forward-seeing and forward-acting.
And the center of this new security strategy must be the reduction of threats. Fast-evolving threats — from violent extremism, pandemic, cyber attacks, nuclear proliferation, nation-state failures, to the drought, famine, and floods of climate change.
We must also craft a New Foreign Policy of Engagement and Collaboration. We must join with like-minded people all around the world — and especially right here in our own hemisphere — for the cause we share of a rising global middle class.
And we must put our national interest first, we must put America first.
And we cannot and will not rebuild the American Dream here at home though by catering to the voices of the privileged and the powerful.
Let’s be honest. They were the ones who turned our economy upside-down in the first place. And they're the only ones who are benefiting from that.
We need to prosecute cheats, we need to reinstate Glass-Steagall, and if a bank is too big to fail without wrecking our nation’s economy, then we need to break it up before it breaks us up again.
True story. Goldman Sachs is one of the biggest repeat investment banks in America. Recently, the CEO of Goldman Sachs let his employees know that he’d be just fine with either Bush or Clinton.
I bet he would.
Well, I’ve got news for the bullies of Wall Street —
The presidency is not a crown to be passed back and forth by you between two royal families.
It is a sacred trust to be earned from the American people, and exercised on behalf of the people of these United States.
The only way we are going to rebuild the American Dream is if we re-take control of our own American government.
The poet laureate of the American Dream, Bruce Springsteen, once asked:
Is a dream a lie, if it don’t come true?…
Or is it something worse?
Whether the American Dream becomes a lie, or becomes an ongoing truth that our children can enjoy, that our children can live, that our children can build upon, is really up to you and to me.
It is up to all of us.
It’s not about Wall Street, it's not about the big five banks, it’s not even about big money trying to buy our elections.
It’s about us.
It's about whether, together, We the People still have the will to become great Americans.
I believe that we do.
And my decision is made.
Now you will all have a vital choice to make next year, for the good
of your families, and for the good of the country you love and the
country that you carry in
your hearts.
And it is a choice that people will ask you about for years to come.
And so, when a child with a world of learning ahead asks who you voted for, I want you to be able to tell that child, “I voted for you.”
When you see a dad sweating through another long shift in order to give his daughter a better future, I want you to be able to tell that dad, “I voted for you.”
When you see a mom working long hours at two jobs for the dream of being able to send her only son to college, I want you to be able to tell her, “I voted for you.”
And when you see a young father who hungers for a decent job to support his family, I want you to be able to tell him, “I voted for you.”
For the story of our country’s best days is not found in a history book, because this generation of Americans is about to write it.
And that is why today, to you — and to all who can hear my voice — I declare that I am a candidate for President of the United States….and I am running for YOU.
May God Bless you and may God Bless the United States of
America. Thank you.
###
[Speech length: 21min.]
Former Gov. Martin O'Malley (D-MD)
Announcement of Candidacy
Federal Hill Park
Baltimore, Maryland
May 30, 2015
1. Introduction
My fellow Americans.
I want to talk with you today about The American Dream we share…
its powerful history,
its current condition, and most importantly,
its urgent need for rebuilding.
Our nation was founded on two self-evident truths…
That All of us are created equal.
And that we are endowed by our Creator with the rights to Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
With these words, the American dream began.
No fine print. No expiration date.
All of us are included.
Women and men.
Black and white people.
Irish Americans, Asian Americans, Latino Americans, Native Americans. Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Americans.
Young and old. Rich and poor. Workers and Business owners. Gay, Lesbian, Transgender and straight Americans.
Every person is important, each of us is needed.
In our idea of country, there is no such thing as a spare American.
There is, however, a growing injustice in our country today.
It is the gap between the strong and just country our children need for us to be,… and the country we are in danger of becoming.
For today in America, seventy percent of us are earning the same or less than they were 12 years ago. This is the first time that has happened this side of World War II.
Today in America, family owned businesses and farms are struggling to compete with ever larger concentrations of corporate power,…
Fifty years ago, the nation’s largest employer was GM. An average GM employee could pay for a year’s tuition at a state university with two weeks’ wages.
Today in America, with dreams of college, a decent paying job, and a secure retirement slipping beyond the reach of so very many,… the American Dream seems to be hanging by a thread.
And yet, for America there is always a yet.
The final thread that holds us just might be the strongest.
It is the thread of the generosity, the compassion, and the love of one another that brings us together as One American People.
For over 200 years we’ve been the architects of our own future. And now we must build anew today.
My father and mother, Tom and Barbara O’Malley, were born to the Great Depression and grew up as part of that great generation that won the Second World War. My dad flew 33 missions over Japan in a B-24 Liberator, and went on to college only because of the GI Bill.
My mom, herself, flew in the Civil Air Patrol at the age of seventeen.
They raised their children — the six of us — to a middle class future secured largely by the sacrifices and better choices of their generation.
But they would never accept the notion that somehow theirs was the “greatest generation.” For they believed and they taught us that every generation of Americans has the ability — and the sacred responsibility — to become great.
And so we must. No matter how long the odds, no matter how large the challenge, and no matter how tough the fight.
This is the urgent work calling us forward today: to rebuild the truth of the American Dream for ALL Americans. And to begin right now!
2. Baltimore/Economy
Last month, television sets around the world were filled with the anger and the rage, and the flames of some of the humblest and hardest hit neighborhoods of Baltimore.
For all of us who have given so much of our energies to making our city a safer, fairer, more just and more prosperous place, it was a heartbreaking night in the life of our City.
But there is something to be learned from that night, and there is something to be offered to our country from those flames.
For what took place here was not only about race…not only about policing in America.
It’s about everything it is supposed to mean to be an American.
The scourge of hopelessness that happened to ignite here that evening, transcends race or geography.
Witness the record numbers of young white kids killing themselves with heroin in suburbs and small towns across America.
The hard truth of our shared reality is this: Unemployment in many American cities and in many small towns across the United States is higher now than it was eight years ago.
Conditions of extreme and growing poverty, create conditions for extreme violence.
We have work to do…
Our economic and political system is upside down and backwards and it is time to turn it around.
What happened to our economy — what happened to the American Dream — did not happen by chance.
Nor was it merely the result of global forces somehow beyond our control.
Powerful, wealthy special interests here at home have used our government to create — in our own country — an economy that is leaving a majority of our people behind.
An economy that has so concentrated wealth in the hands of the very few that it has taken opportunity from the homes of the many.
An economy where a majority of our people are unheard, unseen, un-needed, and left to conclude that their lives and labors are literally worth less today than they were yesterday,… And will be worth less still tomorrow…
We are allowing our land of opportunity to be turned into a land of inequality.
Main Street struggles, while Wall Street soars.
Tell me how it is, that not a single Wall Street CEO was convicted of a crime related to the 2008 economic meltdown. Not. A. Single. One.
Tell me how it is, that you can get pulled over for a broken tail light in our country, but if you wreck the nation’s economy you are untouchable.
This is not how our economy is supposed to work!
This is not how our country is supposed to work!
This is not the American Dream!
And it does not have to be this way!
This generation still has time to become great.
We have saved the world before and we must save our country now – and we will do that by rebuilding the American Dream!
3. The Agenda
As I look out here this morning over the original “land of the free and the home of the brave,” I see the faces of people who have done so much for so many in our City and our State.
Together, we made our City a safer, healthier and better place for kids.
Together, we made our city Believe again. We invented a new and better way of governing called CitiStat, and we got things done.
Together, we made our State’s public schools the best in the United States. We made college more affordable for more families.
We led our people forward through a devastating national recession. We took greater care to protect our land, our air, and the waters of the Chesapeake Bay.
We passed Marriage Equality and we passed the DREAM Act.
Together, we raised the minimum wage and we sustained the highest median income in America. We achieved top rankings for innovation, entrepreneurship, and minority and women’s business development.
Yes, understanding precedes action.
And it took new leadership. New perspectives. And new approaches.
But we believed in the dream,…together we took action to make it real,… and that is exactly what we must do as a nation today.
Our economy isn’t money, our economy is people—all of our people.
We measure success by the growing prosperity and security of our people–all of our people.
A stronger middle class is not the consequence of economic growth — a stronger middle class is the cause of economic growth.
Together, as one nation we must build an American economy that works again for all of us.
That means good jobs and wage policies that allow hardworking families to actually get ahead. That means a higher minimum wage, overtime pay for overtime work, and respect for the rights of all workers to organize and collectively bargain for better wages.
If we take these actions…the dream will live again.
Climate change is real. We must create an American jobs agenda to build a new renewable energy future.
We must launch a new agenda to rebuild America’s cities as places of Justice and Opportunity for all.
And if we take these actions… the dream will live again.
For the sake of our country’s security, and our country’s well-being, and our country’s economic growth, we must also bring 11 million of our neighbors out of the shadows by passing comprehensive immigration reform.
Because the enduring symbol of our nation is not the barbed wire fence,… it is the Statue of Liberty.
We are a nation of immigrants. We are a compassionate and generous people. And if we act according to our principles–and the better angels of our nature—if we return to our true selves, the dream will live again.
Make no mistake about it — our ability to lead the world and be safe in this world depends on the strength of the American Dream here at home. The challenges we face in the world today are different from the challenges we faced in the 1990’s.
Together, we must construct a New National Security Strategy and build new alliances that are forward-seeing and forward-acting.
The center of this new strategy must be the reduction of threats. Fast-evolving threats — from violent extremism, pandemic, cyber attacks, nuclear proliferation, nation-state failures, to the drought, famine, and floods of climate change.
Together, we must craft a New Foreign Policy of Engagement and Collaboration. We must join with like-minded people around the world — especially with nations here in our own hemisphere — for the cause we share of a rising global middle class.
We must put our national interest first, we must put America first.
But we cannot rebuild the American Dream here at home by catering to the voices of the privileged and the powerful.
Let’s be honest. They were the ones who turned our economy upside-down in the first place. And they are the only ones who are benefiting from it.
We need to prosecute cheats, we need to reinstate Glass-Steagall, and if a bank is too big to fail without wrecking our nation’s economy…then it needs to be broken up before it breaks us…again.
Goldman Sachs is one of the biggest repeat-offending investment banks in America. Recently, the CEO of Goldman Sachs let his employees know that he’d be just fine with either Bush or Clinton.
I bet he would…
Well, I’ve got news for the bullies of Wall Street —
The presidency is not a crown to be passed back and forth by you between two royal families.
It is a sacred trust to be earned from the people of the United States, and exercised on behalf of the people of the United States.
The only way we are going to rebuild the American Dream is if we re-take control of our own American government!
4. Conclusion
The poet laureate of the American Dream, Bruce Springsteen, once asked:
Is a dream a lie, if it don’t come true?…
Or is it something worse?
Whether the American dream becomes a lie, or becomes an ongoing truth that our children can enjoy,…can build upon,… can live,… is really up to you and me.
It is up to all of us.
It’s not about Wall Street, not about the big five banks, it’s not even about big money trying to buy our elections.
It’s about U.S.
It is about whether, together, We the People still have the will to become great Americans.
I believe we do.
My decision is made.
Now you will all have a vital choice to make next year, for the good of your families, and for the good of the country you love and carry in your hearts.
It is a choice that people will ask you about for years to come.
And so, when a child with a world of learning ahead asks who you voted for, I want you to be able to tell that child, “I voted for you.”
When you see a dad sweating through another long shift in order to give his daughter a better future, I want you to be able to tell him, “I voted for you.”
When you see a mom working long hours at two jobs for the dream of sending her son to college, I want you to be able to tell her, “I voted for you.”
When you see a young father who hungers for a decent job to support his family, I want you to be able to tell him, “I voted for you.”
The story of our country’s best days is not found in a history book, because this generation of Americans is about to write it!
And that is why today,… to you — and to all who can hear my voice — I declare that I am a candidate for President of the United States….and I’m running for YOU.
May God Bless you and may God Bless the United States of America.
Prior to Governor O'Malley's announcement this morning, the following people will be offering remarks about their experiences with Governor O'Malley and his leadership over the years.
Jonathan was born in Panama and has been living in Maryland with his family since the age of 13. He proudly embraces his Afro-Latino heritage due to his Jamaican and Panamanian roots and is grateful to have received Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status. He received his associate’s degree from Montgomery College where Governor Martin O’Malley appointed him to serve as the student member of the College’s Board of Trustees. He recently graduated with honors from Goucher College receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology.
While a student at Goucher, Governor O’Malley appointed him as a member of the Governor’s Commission on Hispanic Affairs, with the task of advising him on how to best serve Latinos in the State. In 2014, the Governor hired him to lead both the Commissions on Hispanic and Caribbean Affairs as the Administrator. While in the Governor’s office, Jonathan took very active roles in the Governor’s response to the humanitarian crisis with Central American children fleeing violence, working through the rollout of the Governor’s executive actions limiting the state’s relationship with ICE, working and mentoring immigrant youth around the state and organizing and attending dozens of community meetings.
Jonathan has been very involved as community advocate around immigration, human rights and higher education. He was very involved in passing the Maryland Dream Act as an immigrant youth activist testifying in the Maryland General Assembly in favor of the bill, garnering support from legislators and educating the general public.
Once the Governor signed the Dream Act into law and it was put to referendum, Jonathan joined a diverse coalition of faith, community and immigrant organizations ensuring voters upheld the measure at the ballot box. He also worked closely with Equality Maryland defending marriage equality during the referendum campaign, honing in on the
intersectionality of LGBTQ Dreamers.
Jonathan is humbled to have received numerous awards and recognition at the national, state and local level such as the Public Service Award by Telemundo, the Youth in Public Service recognition by the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, serving as a “Hispanic Hero” for the Hispanic Scholarship Fund’s Hispanic Youth Institute, receiving the Immigrant Youth Achievement Award by the American Immigration Council and a Public Service Award from Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).
Joseph Weinstein-Avery
Joe is a life long resident of Baltimore. He graduated from Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, a public high school in Baltimore, where he played varsity soccer and baseball. He was named Outstanding Senior Male Athlete.
Joe received a Baltimore Scholars scholarship to attend Johns Hopkins University in the City of Baltimore. He is rising senior at JHU where he is studying political science.
Rosa Abraha
Rosa Abraha is a 22-year-old resident of Silver Spring, Maryland. She graduated in May 2014 with a Bachelors of Science degree in Community Health from the University of Maryland (UMD), College Park School of Public Health. While at UMD, Rosa served as the secretary for the African Student Association Executive Board 2011-2012, as well as the Student Government Association’s School of Public Health Liaison and Recruitment and Retention Chair. Rosa also became a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Theta Nu Chapter.
Upon graduation, she joined IQ Solutions as a bilingual health resource specialist on an NIH National Institute of Neurological Disorders contract. Prior to joining IQ Solutions, Rosa became a Certified Nursing Assistant in her senior year of high school and worked in several units throughout Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, MD. For four summers, she was an Anderson and Commonweal Fellow at the National Academy of Science, assisting on a variety of projects including obesity and sustainability awareness campaigns. She was also a student intern at the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, where she created a searchable database of medical devices used by women in the areas of cardiovascular and musculoskeletal health.
Rosa’s unrelenting passion for health education and health equity serves as her driving force to pursue a medical degree in anesthesiology in the future.
Robert Nowlin
Mr. Robert Nowlin is a community activist in Baltimore City. Mr. Nowlin currently serves as Vice President of the Pen Lucy Neighborhood Association, and he has served as President or Vice President of the association since 1992. While most news stories note that the fact that he is blind, what has made him an inspiration for the people of Baltimore has been his unwavering commitment to making the city safer.
In the 1990’s, when crime, drug dealing, and hopelessness gripped the city of Baltimore, he took a stand to rid the Pen Lucy neighborhood and city of the rampant violence that had become all too commonplace. His house was shot up, his car’s tires were slashed, and he faced regular harassment from drug dealers, but he never backed down from the cause of making Baltimore a safer and better place to live.
After being the target of several intimidation attempts, he erected a now famous cross in his yard with a message to the drug dealers who had tried to intimidate him: “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
In 1996, he was awarded the “Achievement Against All Odds” national award from the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise and the Allstate Foundation for his fearless campaigning against senseless violence in the city.
He continues to be an outspoken advocate for making Baltimore safer, and a hero for the selfless stand he took against crime in some of Baltimore’s darkest days.
He is accompanied today by his wife, Erlene Nowlin.
May 30, 2015
Today Governor Martin O’Malley Launched His Campaign for the Democratic Nomination for President of the United States of America.
Here’s What People Are Saying about Him: “New Generation Leader,” “Powerful Campaign Kick-Off,” “Forceful Message,” Performance a “Ringing Calling Card,” “Strongest Rival,” "True Progressive," “Best Manager Working in Government Today”
Bloomberg Headline: Martin O'Malley Delivers Powerful Campaign Kickoff Speech
The Washington Post Headline: "O’Malley’s challenge to Clinton: Ideological or generational? Or both?"
New York Times Headline: Martin O’Malley Announces Presidential Campaign, Pushing Image of Vitality
CNN Headline: O'Malley jumps into presidential race, offers progressive alternative to Clinton
Reuters Headline: The Democratic Party's newest presidential contender has 'got news for the bullies of Wall Street
Wall Street Journal Headline: Bucking Odds, Martin O’Malley Tilts at Hillary Clinton
The Hill Headline: O’Malley pledges ‘new leadership’ as he launches 2016 bid
Newsweek Headline: "Attacking Clinton and Wall Street, O’Malley Launches Presidential Bid"
The Nation Headline: "Martin O’Malley Attempts a Politics of Moral Duty"
NBC: "Immigration As 2016 Issue Upped With Martin O'Malley's Candidacy"
Bloomberg: “Overall: Smartly written speech powerfully delivered by one of the best orators in American politics. Far from running from his Baltimore record, he embraced it, along with what he did as Maryland's governor. Contrasted himself with Hillary Clinton as more left, more populist, and more of a leader. Saturday morning might not be the best time to make an introduction to America, but O'Malley demonstrated why Bill Clinton tagged him long ago as one of the Democratic Party's biggest stars. If the nomination fight didn't have an overwhelming frontrunner, O'Malley's performance would have been a game changer; instead, it is ringing calling card… A- overall.”
New York Times: “His argument was both economic and, in a clear contrast with his significantly older Democratic rivals, generational. ‘Today, the American dream seems for so many of us to be hanging by a thread,” he said in formally announcing his candidacy…“This is not the American dream,” he added. “It does not have to be this way. This generation of Americans still has time to become great. We must save our country now. And we will do that by rebuilding the dream.’”
Reuters: “Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) blasted social injustice and Wall Street excesses on Saturday as he announced he will seek the Democratic Party's 2016 presidential nomination as an alternative to frontrunner Hillary Clinton. ‘We cannot rebuild the American Dream here at home by catering to the voices of the privileged and the powerful,’ said O'Malley, who has aggressively courted the Democratic Party's liberal wing. He launched his 2016 White House campaign at a waterfront park in downtown Baltimore, where he began his political career first as a member of city council and then as mayor. ‘Powerful, wealthy special interests here at home have used our government to create, in our own country, an economy that is leaving a majority of our people behind,’ he said.”
Associated Press: "Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley entered the Democratic presidential race on Saturday… casting himself as a new generation leader who would rebuild the economy and reform Wall Street. "I'm running for you," he told a crowd of about 1,000 people in a populist message at Federal Hill Park in Baltimore, where he served as mayor before two terms as governor. O'Malley said was drawn into the campaign "to rebuild the truth of the American dream for all Americans." …O'Malley has presented himself to voters as a next-generation figure in the party, pointing to his record as governor on issues such as gay marriage, immigration, economic issues and the death penalty.
…
“It was a forceful message that O'Malley will focus on overhauling the financial system, a priority for liberals opposed to the bailouts of Wall Street banks. "Tell me how it is, that not a single Wall Street CEO was convicted of a crime related to the 2008 economic meltdown? Not a single one," O'Malley said. "Tell me how it is, that you can get pulled over for a broken tail light, but if you wreck the nation's economy you are untouchable?""
Washington Post: "O’Malley compiled a record of progressive achievement as governor. He readily cites a series of statistics and successes, from raising the minimum wage to the passage of marriage equality to higher spending on schools, to job growth better than in Virginia or Pennsylvania (though not better than states like Ohio, Michigan, Illinois or Wisconsin)."
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"He has spent months seeking to carve out space to Clinton’s left, offering a populist message attacking big banks and corporations, decrying the wealth gap, calling for a higher minimum wage and more rights for workers and parting company with President Obama — and implicitly with Clinton — on an Asian trade pact. He sees her, though without saying so directly, as too cozy with Wall Street and big money and unwilling to get tough with those he says helped wreck the economy in 2008. “Wall Street will not police itself,” he said. “We need our federal government to do what people expected us to do when they voted for us eight years ago, and that is to take on Wall Street.”
ABC (WMUR): “O'Malley has presented himself to voters as a next-generation leader for the party, pointing to his record as governor on issues such as gay marriage, immigration, economic issues and the death penalty.”
CBS: “O'Malley has positioned himself as the true progressive in the race - the counterpoint to the frontrunner, who has been running as a populist, but has had her centrist moments.”’
Pittsburgh Tribune: “A work ethic and values learned from his father's blue-collar Pittsburgh upbringing will bolster former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley in his run for the presidency, he told the Tribune-Review.”
WBAL: “O'Malley, 52, presents himself as a next-generation leader who built a progressive record in Maryland on gay marriage, immigration and the minimum wage.”
The Baltimore Sun: “With Baltimore's skyline as his backdrop, the 52-year-old Democrat and former mayor framed next year's election in dire terms, suggesting his administration would serve as a bulwark against GOP efforts to cut the federal government and social programs.”
CBS: “In a similar populist vein, O'Malley lobbed shots at Clinton and likely Republican candidate Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida. ‘Recently, the CEO of Goldman Sachs let his employees know that he'd be just fine with either Bush or Clinton," the former Maryland governor said. ‘The presidency is not a crown to be passed back and forth by you between two royal families.’ ‘We cannot rebuild the American Dream here at home by catering to the voices of the privileged and the powerful,’ he added. ‘Let's be honest. They were the ones who turned our economy upside-down in the first place. And they are the only ones who are benefiting from it.’”
CNN: “Speaking in rolled-up sleeves, O'Malley began with a call for economic fairness and closing the gap between rich and poor in America. ‘This is the urgent work calling us forward today: to rebuild the truth of the American Dream for all Americans,’ O'Malley said. ‘And to begin right now.’’
Mother Jones: “...what makes O'Malley unique as a politician is...he is arguably the best manager working in government today.”
Wall Street Journal: “He has tried to position himself to Mrs. Clinton’s left. He opposes a pending Pacific Rim trade deal and the Keystone XL pipeline, and favors expanding Social Security benefits. Mrs. Clinton has either sidestepped these issues or remained silent.”
MSNBC: “I’m running for you,” O’Malley said as U2’s “In the Name of Love” swelled and several hundred friends and supporters cheered at Baltimore’s Federal Hill Park. He was joined by his wife, a local judge, and children, along with some local officials and longtime supporters. O’Malley came out swinging at the former secretary of state, suggesting she’s part of a ruling elite that needs to be overthrown. “True story, Goldman Sachs is one of the biggest repeat-offending investment banks in America. Recently, the CEO of Goldman Sachs let his employees know that he’d be just fine with either Bush or Clinton,” O’Malley said, adding that Americans need to “retake control of our own American government!” He went on to call for reinstating Glass-Steagall, the Depression-era financial law, and prosecuting Wall Street banks involved in the 2008 meltdown. “Tell me how it is that you can get pulled over for a broken tail light in our country, but if you wreck the nation’s economy you are untouchable,” he said of the banks. "
The Hill: “The agenda O’Malley laid out was liberal across the issues. He touted his signing as governor of bills legalizing gay marriage and giving in-state tuition to students in the country illegally. During the surge of unaccompanied children at the border last summer, he argued against deporting them, and he has criticized Clinton as being late to the party on immigration issues. He called for a higher minimum wage and respecting the right for workers to form unions. Saying climate change is real, he called for spurring American jobs in renewable energy. But economic inequality was at the core of the speech.”
NBC News: "The heat that immigration has brought to the 2016 presidential campaigns could intensify Saturday with the addition of former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley to the Democratic field. All expectations are that on Saturday in Baltimore, O'Malley will announce his bid to be the Democrats' 2016 presidential nominee. When he does, supporters say he'll bring with him a record of work on issues of concern to Latinos and immigrants that rivals that of his fiercest Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. Though he's considered an underdog with a big gap to overcome to win the Democratic primary, several Latino leaders consider him a stronger ally on immigration and support of the Latino community."
Al Jazeera: “O’Malley adds to...a wing of the Democratic party that has been increasingly energized and vocal in demands for a more progressive candidate championing issues like income inequality…. He championed a solidly liberal agenda, ending the death penalty, legalizing same-sex marriage, offering in-state tuition to the children of undocumented immigrants and pushing through tighter gun control measures.”
The Nation: "So what does Martin O’Malley have to offer? More, perhaps, than those who seek to police the 2016 presidential competition care to acknowledge…O'Malley recognizes that claiming that moral high ground involves taking risks and doing the right thing even when it is not necessarily popular."
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"On immigration, O’Malley created a national stir last summer by speaking about immigration policy in smart, reasonable and moral terms that put him at odds not merely with many other presidential contenders but with the Obama administration….O'Malley never lost sight of the most important fact: the children who were entering the United States were children.….O’Malley was right. And he was impressive. Impressive enough to justify his entry into the 2016 race? Absolutely."
Maggie Haberman @maggieNYT The four people who introduced O'Malley didn't give speeches about him being great so much as him impacting their lives
David Lightman @LightmanDavid: O'Malley starts speech protesting injustice in America, protests growing income gap
Walter Deleon @WalterDeleonDC: Excite
Rush Baker @RushernIV: @
Oscar T Ramirez @OscarTRamirez: The fight for the future begins today! Let's go @GovernorOMalley! #
Ruby Cramer @rubycramer: O'Malley hits on urban renewal, poverty: Baltimore riots showed a "scourge of hopelessness" that transcends race and geography, he says.
Ben Jacobs @Bencjacobs: Martin O'Malley: "In our idea of country, there is no such thing as a spare American"
Olivia Nuzzi @Olivianuzzi: Is this the first announcement speech to include the word "transgender"?
Peter Nicholas @PeterNicholas3: Story of country's "best days" is not written in the "history books," O'Malley says. Underscoring the generational gap on Democratic side.
David Lightman @LightmanDavid: Biggest applause line yet for O'Malley comes when he says presidency not a crown to be passed around
Zeke Miller @ZekeJMiller O'Malley calls Climate Change "The greatest business opportunity to come to our country in at least 100 years"
Peter Nicholas @PeterNicholas3: .@GovernorOMalley calls for reinstating Glass-Steagall, Wall Street regs that were repealed under former Pres Bill Clinton.
Ivan Butina @ivanbutina: A candidate with clear stands and a clear vision @GovernorOMalley for President!#NewLeadership pic.
BoldProgressives.org @
Linda Ge @lindazge:
YES to new leadership, YES to earning a nomination rather than coronation. So glad you're here @GovernorOMalley!youtu.
Cecile Richards @CecileRichards Love seeing another women's health champion throw their hat in the ring! Welcome to the 2016 race, @GovernorOMalley!
Democratic National Committee
May 30, 2015
DNC Chair Statement on Martin O’Malley’s 2016 Announcement
Washington, D.C. – In response to Martin O’Malley’s announcement that he will run for president in 2016, DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz released the following statement:"I welcome Martin O’Malley to the field of candidates seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination for President in 2016. As Maryland’s Governor, Martin O’Malley demonstrated his solid commitment to social justice and economic opportunity.
"Governor O’Malley has been a leader on fighting for equal pay for women, increasing access to quality health care and expanding voting rights. On issues from college affordability to increasing the state’s minimum wage, Governor O’Malley exemplifies the Democratic Party’s middle-class economics, highlighting the significant differences between the priorities of the Democratic and Republican parties, regardless of who emerges as each party’s nominee.
"I look forward to Governor O’Malley joining Secretary Clinton and Senator Sanders on the campaign trail as they make the case to the American people that the Democratic Party is on their side."
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