2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumO’Malley Attacks Big Banks, Political Dynasties In Launching Uphill 2016 Bid
By John Wagner May 30 at 7:30 PM
DAVENPORT, Iowa Former Maryland governor Martin OMalley launched his long-shot White House bid Saturday with populist attacks on corporate giants, big banks and political dynasties, offering himself as a younger, more progressive alternative to Hillary Rodham Clinton.
We cannot rebuild the American dream here at home by catering to the voices of the privileged and the powerful, OMalley told a sweaty crowd at Baltimores Federal Hill Park before coming here to campaign in the nations first presidential nominating state. Lets 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.
Even as a few protesters at the park sought to link OMalleys time as Baltimore mayor to recent unrest in the city, he said the rioting there underscored an urgent need to invest in struggling communities.
The scourge of hopelessness that happened to ignite here that evening transcends race or geography, he said. 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.
OMalley will visit New Hampshire, another early nominating state, on Sunday. Creating a base of support there and in Iowa is crucial to his upstart strategy. He is banking on the prospect that Clintons dominant popularity will crater as more voters assess the baggage she brings to the race, and that he will emerge as the most credible alternative.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/omalley-to-launch-improbable-bid-for-democratic-presidential-nomination/2015/05/29/2f73bc34-dd53-11e4-acfe-cd057abefa9a_story.html