Martin O'Malley: Why You Should Help

Martin O'Malley: The Candidate For You

Why Martin O'Malley?

Before I answer the question of why you should volunteer your time to help Martin O'Malley in the 2016 elections, I want to encourage everyone reading this blog to go out there and research all the candidates for yourself. In doing that, I'm sure you will understand why supporting Martin O'Malley is the best choice. 

It's not a secret that something has to change in Washington. With big names like Rand Paul, Jeb Bush, Hillary Clinton, ect. that change will never come. It's time that we vote for someone with a fresh outlook on Washington politics, and who has a political record that shows progress and strength. That person is Martin O'Malley. 

His Record

• Maryland's schools were named the best public schools in the nation 5 years in a row while O'Malley was Governor
• Under O'Malley, Maryland kept its AAA bond rating during the recession 
• The state was number one in the nation in STEM jobs and in Innovation and Entrepreneurship while O'Malley was Governor 
• He cut state spending by $9.7 billion 
• He raised the minimum wage to $10.10/hour 
• With the DREAM Act he was able to expand college opportunities to Maryland students 

Issues

Higher Education - O'Malley wants to bring back the American dream and he knows that starts with education. How can people live the dream if they are drowning in student debt for the rest of their lives? O'Malley's website reveals his two proposal plan to help students who already have debt, and how to ensure that every American has the opportunity to pursue higher education. In an op-ed to the Washington Post he wrote, "Our ultimate goal must be for every student, most especially low-income and middle-class students, to be able to go to college debt-free. But making sure our students get a far better deal on their loans is a crucial first step."

Wallstreet Reform - "Structural reforms aren’t enough. We must bring fundamental change to the culture of Wall Street, beginning with real accountability." O'Malley believes in holding people accountable for their actions. We can't expect things to get better if CEO's and other big names on Wallstreet aren't being punished for their fraudulent behavior. O'Malley wants to make sure that the federal government is working for all Americans, not just the one percent. 

The Environment - O'Malley believes in respecting and restoring our planets' environment. The science is overwhelming, global warming is happening and it's something we should all care about. O'Malley knows that we need to take steps towards environmental responsibility, and that starts with environmental regulations. I know the word "regulation" can scare a lot of people, but if we don't take steps to save our planet generations to come will pay the price for our irresponsibility. 

Fighting For Women - O'Malley knows the value of women in the workforce. He worked hard as Governor of Maryland to ensure that businesses gave fair health care and maternity leave for their female employees. He gave low-income women free pregnancy counseling, contraception, cancer and STI screenings. O'Malley has listened to doctors and scientist that show the importance of these services for all women, not just those who can afford it. While Governor, Maryland had the lowest wage gap between genders and he plans on bringing that to the White House. 

The Candidate For You

America is the land of opportunity. However, lately we've seen less and less opportunities for the middle and low-class families to succeed. America needs a leader who brings back those opportunities because when the middle-class is thriving, America is thriving. Martin O'Malley is that leader. 

Besides his ability to rock an American flag pin, O'Malley has both the ideas and the leadership skills to get America back on track. He knows that the problem lies within Washington, but so does the solution. If Americans vote in another big name Washington politician nothing will change, and we need change.

America needs a leader who will work hard for families. A leader who recognizes that women make up over half of the technical and professional workforce, and they deserve fair health coverage and equal pay. A leader who knows the value of education and the importance of making higher education affordable to all of America's students. Martin O'Malley will be that leader.

So today I am calling on you to volunteer your time and help get O'Malley elected in 2016. It's time that America gets the leader that it deserves. In a time where Washington desperately needs a change, we can't allow for the same leaders to be in charge. O'Malley will bring the change that we need and ensure that America remains truly the land of opportunity. 

   

 

Martin O'Malley: Press Coverage

Press Coverage 

When you Google "Martin O'Malley" you unsurprisingly get an overwhelming amount of news articles about his potential bid for the 2016 presidential race. Because he hasn't officially announced his bid, this is to be expected. Although almost all of the articles talk about his potential bid, they don't all focus on the same thing. From what I can tell there are various news sources that putting out this media, not his campaign team. 

There are two main types of coverage that O'Malley is currently getting. They are either talking about his potential to give Hillary a run for her money, or they are talking about him getting ready to make his official bid. Both are good for O'Malley at this time because both add to his name recognition. 

O'Malley vs. Hillary 

One way that the press is covering O'Malley's potential bid is by talking about what it means for Hillary Clinton. There is a variety of coverage about this subject. Some think that he has a good shot at making Hillary work for the Democratic nomination, and others talk about how he doesn't have a chance. This is definitely setting him up well for the 2016 campaign. He's not getting nearly as much press coverage as Hillary, but he's getting more than any other Democrat and that's important. He needs as much press coverage as possible to gain name recognition before he officially announces his bid. 

Launching His Campaign

Another way the press is covering O'Malley is by talking about when they think he will announce his official bid. Most of the articles that I have read predict his announcement to be in late May in Baltimore. This coverage is important. It talks about interviews he has been giving where he talks about other candidates who have already put in their bid. This article talks about O'Malley's recent comments about Marco Rubio's economic view as, "bullshit." Although this statement could have backfired, most of the coverage of that comment has been about how it's made him look bold. Bold can be a very positive thing, especially coming from a candidate who's a rather new face to national politics. 

Conclusion 

Press coverage can be a candidate's best friend, or their worst enemy. As of right now, O'Malley really needs all the coverage he can get. His name recognition still isn't very good compared to other candidates who have already announced their bid. I think if he can keep getting this much coverage that it will be highly beneficial to his campaign. The fact that they are talking about him as Hillary's best competition is a really positive thing. It's also positive that they are talking about his campaign as if it is definitely going to happen. To me, that looks like he has gained enough support to feel confident about announcing his bid for President. 

Martin O'Malley: Media Stories

Martin O'Malley: Fox News vs. MSNBC

Fox News

Fox News did a segment on weather or not they thought Martin O'Malley could actually challenge Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. This particular media story was very interesting to me. The two guest commentators started out by saying that O'Malley has a good record as Governor of Maryland and has good qualities in a leader. It's not very often that Fox News compliments a Democrat. It then turns into them bashing Hillary. They talked about why she wouldn't be a good president and even went into a discussion about the email "scandal." It was clear that Fox News doesn't see O'Malley as big of a threat as Hillary so they much rather see him take the nomination. 

MSNBC

This MSNBC media source talks about O'Malley's recent trip to Iowa. O'Malley has not officially announced that he is going to be running for president, but he has an increasing number of campaign style YouTube videos and has made little jabs about Hillary Clinton on certain issues. Because MSNBC is a liberal news source, they highlight O'Malley's strengths and talk about his position stances. They do bring up Hillary and talk about him as a challenger to her Democratic nomination. 

Comparing The Two Sources

Unsurprisingly, both of these stories talk a great deal about Hillary. Because MSNBC is liberal, they never directly say anything bad about either politicians, but they simply highlight the differences between them. MSNBC spent the majority of the article talking about O'Malley and his stances on the economy and social issues. They even talk about how he just looks like a good politician, highlighting that his physical features are appealing. I think that MSNBC did a good job of balancing the discussion about his past accomplishments with what he's currently saying to campaign himself. They didn't make it all about him as just a challenger to Hillary, rather they compared the two and highlighted some of O'Malley's critiques of Hillary. If someone were to read this, they would leave knowing about O'Malley's stance on a lot of issues. They would also know how he differs from Hillary in issues that will be important to the presidential campaign. 

Fox News spent the first minute of this media story talking about O'Malley's record. They highlighted his accomplishments and had nothing but positive things to say about him. Then it takes a turn. They bring up him as a contender to Hillary and if they think he could potentially be a good challenger. They bring up the fact that he isn't polling well at all compared to Hillary, but then they put a positive spin on it saying that he has nowhere to go but up. As someone who has been studying O'Malley, this story tells you absolutely nothing about him except that Fox News much rather him get the nomination than Hillary. If someone were to watch this story they would get no information about O'Malley. 

These two stories don't surprise me at all. MSNBC highlights him as a potential candidate and has a light-hearted tone that they support both him and Hillary. Fox News took this time as a way to say that  they much rather have O'Malley be the nominee than Hillary. This is not surprising considering Fox News has never been to keen about Hillary. MSNBC definitely did a better job of highlighting actual facts and issues rather than making purely opinion based comments. 

Media, Pop Culture and Politics

Martin O'Malley: Media, Pop Culture & Politics

The American Spectator's George Neumayr wrote an opinion piece about why he thinks Martin O'Malley will not be America's next president. In the article, Neumayr criticizes O'Malley's political record, his character, and his strength as a leader. All in all, it was not a flattering piece for O'Malley.

There has been a lot of question about who will be able to seriously challenge Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, and it's clear that Neumayr does not think that O'Malley is up for the challenge. 

In a previous post, I discussed that O'Malley's record as Governor of Maryland will be the strength that he wants to play off of. He accomplished a lot while Governor and for most campaigns that would be a strong card to play. However, Neumayr points out a flaw in this strength, Marylanders don't see O'Malley as a good, solid presidential candidate. This is most definitely not the image that O'Malley wants for his campaign. Marylanders criticize him heavily for taxes and that has out shined all the positive things he has done for the state. It doesn't reflect positively on a candidate when their home state isn't giving them strong support. 

Neumayr also plays up O'Malley's weaknesses and even points out others. At one point in the article he refers to O'Malley as a potential substitute for Elizabeth Warren. That's not the image that O'Malley wants. O'Malley needs to be able to separate himself from all the big name politicians so that way he can offer something fresh and new. Being referred to as a substitute for another candidate really devalues his campaign.   

Neumayr brings up O'Malley's religion and how they don't match up with his political values. 

After reading this section it is very clear that Neumayr is rather conservative. His word choice of, "violations of religious freedom" make that clear. Catholicism is a religion that is practiced by about 25% of Americans, and marriage equality and pro-choice values don't tend to be associated with the religion. We have also only had one Catholic president, and that was JFK. Even though Neumayr hits O'Malley's religious values pretty hard, I don't think that this is going to cause a huge image problem for O'Malley. Especially in the primaries. It might be a bigger deal if O'Malley goes on to win the Democratic nomination, but I don't think it's very harmful for his candidate image. 

I picked this article because it's written by someone who is obviously conservative, and those are going to be some of O'Malley's hardest critics. I think that his name and lack of name recognition will be his hardest thing to over come, especially in the primaries. He can't go into the primary being thought of as just a substitute for Elizabeth Warren, no one would take his campaign seriously. I do think that this article could definitely change how people look at O'Malley, but I don't think this article is going to reach a lot of people. Neumayr brings up plenty of solid points about O'Malley and after reading the article it is clear that Martin O'Malley has a lot of work to do on his candidate image.  

Political Ads

Martin O'Malley: Political Ads

The Ads that I have chosen to talk about are all from Martin O'Malley's 2005 campaign for Governor of Maryland. He was the incumbent and he won the election.

This ad is an image ad. It doesn't focus on just one issue, but rather all the positive things O'Malley has done as governor.

Strategies: In the background of the ad you can hear light and happy music playing softly which adds to the notion that this is a positive ad, not an attack ad. The narrator has a deep, strong, manly voice, but it's not too loud or harsh. It's masculine but not aggressive. The imagery is O'Malley working in his office and working within the community. This shows that O'Malley is hard working both in the office but also takes the time to go into the community. Because he is the incumbent, they talk about the positive record that he has as governor and also mention that Time Magazine named him one of the best governors  in America.

I have noticed that incumbent's opponents usually put out more attack ads because they have more to go off, and I think that's a large reason why O'Malley decided to go with a light hearted positive ad. Instead of talking about what the other candidate lacks he was able to talk about all the positive things he has done as governor of Maryland.

This ad is also an image ad. No real one issue or statistic is brought up, but instead it's former President Bill Clinton talking up O'Malley as a person and a candidate. 

Strategies: Traditionally Maryland has always leaned blue as a state, so it was definitely a strategy to have Bill Clinton tell people to vote for,  "his good friend" Martin O'Malley. Another strategy is that it wasn't an ad where someone was just throwing a bunch of statistics and numbers at you, rather it was a former president building up a candidates' character. Clinton keeps the language vague but that allows him to say more positive things in a 30 second ad. They show images of O'Malley and Clinton together as a way of validating his, "good friend" statement. 

Bill Clinton uses words like "dedication" and "making a difference" throughout this ad to  emphasis that Martin O'Malley has done positive things for Maryland. Again, there is light hearted and soft music playing in the background which keeps the ad positive and not aggressive. We can start to see a pattern in O'Malley's ads as an incumbent that he is focussing on highlighting his positive records rather than attacking his opponent. Because of how light hearted this ad is it doesn't ever feel like he is trying to defend his record, but simply just talk about it. 

This ad is more of an issue ad because it focusses on what Martin O'Malley has done to reduce crime in Maryland as governor.

Strategies: This ad opens with a quote from a newspaper that highlights the fact that Maryland has become safer since Martin O'Malley took office. It then goes into a diverse group of individuals talking about how they have noticed a difference. They have a range of people who talk including everyday citizens, executives, and even a police officer. They don't attack his opponent, but they do defend O'Malley from an attack ad that his opponent produced.

The use of a police officer was a good strategy for this ad. When talking about public safety and crime rates, who better to have the discussion with than a police officer? Especially a police officer from Baltimore which has had safety issues in the past. It also features people who say that O'Malley worked directly with them to improve public safety which gives them validation. One strategy that stood out to me was the lady who said, "Things aren't perfect, but they are getting better." I think this was effective. A lot of political ads try to make candidates sound like they have created a perfect state and this acknowledges that it's not perfect, but O'Malley has made it better and will continue to make it better if he gets reelected. It gives a sense of hope that if O'Malley is reelected that Maryland will keep getting closer to perfection.

Personal Side Note

On a more personal note, I got the opportunity to meet former Governor Martin O'Malley a couple of weeks ago in Topeka, KS. He was the keynote speaker at the Kansas Democrats annual convention, Washington Days. Unfortunately I wasn't able to see his speech, but I was able to shake his hand and get a picture with him. It was a pretty cool experience to meet someone who could potentially be a very serious candidate for president in 2016. 

Polling

Polling

Even though the presidential race is a ways away, the media is buzzing about politicians that are expected to run. All of the major news outlets and polling data point to pretty much the same candidates. However, some candidates look more promising than others. The Republican Party is predicted to have more bids for president than the Democratic Party. Hillary Clinton is dominating the media buzz when it comes to the Democrats, which could potentially discourage other Democrats from running. However, there are about 5-6 Democrats that are continuously being talked about when it comes to presidential candidates and Martin O'Malley is one of them. 

Below is a poll taken by CNN asking Democrats and Independents who lean to the left which Democratic candidate they would most likely vote for.

Because Hillary Clinton is the clear frontrunner in this survey, they asked Clinton supporters who their second choice would be. 

What The Polls Mean For Martin O'Malley

These polls are helpful in many ways because they show who has the most support within the Democratic Party, however it's too early to put a lot of emphasis on these polls. Martin O'Malley is definitely in the conversation about the 2016 presidential race, but these polls show that he has a lot of work ahead of him. In previous blog posts I have discussed the issue of the other potential candidates being more nationally known, and these polls highlight that weakness. Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Elizabeth Warren are the most well known Democrats who could potentially run for president, but Clinton is proving to be the most well known name. 

What these polls mean for O'Malley is that he is going to have to work. It's a positive that he is being talked about as a potential candidate and he should use that momentum to begin building his candidate image. Because he is not as well known he's not being criticized as much as some of the other potential candidates, but it also means that he is not being talked about as much. 

Ballotpedia gave a slight bio on all the potential 2016 presidential candidates, and this is what they said about O'Malley:

This quote was given about two months ago which leads me to believe that he will most likely run in 2016. His campaign team needs to study the polls and begin working on a plan to get his name and his political accomplishments out into the public. O'Malley definitely has a mountain to climb based on these polls, but it's still very early and it can be done. 

Because Clinton has been dominating the media buzz for the Democrats, there were rumors that O'Malley might consider running for Senator instead of presidential bid. However, politico just confirmed that these rumors are untrue.  

Conclusions

There are many things that people can take away from political polls, but they can be hard to rely on so early into the race. It is clear that O'Malley has a lot of work ahead of him, but he's already started climbing the mountain. He's giving speeches at Democratic events, he's amping up his social media and he's building up his candidate image. I expect these polls to change quite a bit throughout the race and I think we will start to see O'Malley be more prominent. 

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/martin-omalley-barbara-mikulski-senate-seat-115691.html

http://www.pollingreport.com/wh16dem.htm

http://ballotpedia.org/Possible_presidential_candidates,_2016

Martin O'Malley: DNC 2012

2012 Democratic National Convention 

Read his speech here.

In 2012, President Barack Obama was up for re-election and was facing Mitt Romney in a tight race. The Democratic National Convention was being held in Charlotte, North Carolina. Although Martin O'Malley wasn't the keynote speaker, this speech was important for his potential 2016 presidential campaign. He was there to support President Obama and help get him re-elected, but he was also there to show fellow Democrats that he was a serious contender for the 2016 presidential bid. 

Political Language 

Speakers at the DNC are usually politicians that are already well known and have great political accomplishments, or they're up and coming politicians. In 2004, Obama was the keynote speaker at the DNC and delivered the speech that put him on the map. People were blown away. That's what the DNC can do for a Democratic politicians' career. For these reasons, Martin O'Malley's DNC speech in 2012 was greatly important. In this speech he could show support for fellow Democrats while also promoting himself as a potential candidate in 2016. 

Generating Political Support

Political language can be used to help politicians in many ways. One way that the political language in this speech helped Martin O'Malley was by generating political support. Before a candidate can become the Democratic nominee for president, they have to go through the primary election and run against fellow Democrats. That makes the DNC the perfect time and place to gain political support from the Party. Martin O'Malley did just that in 2012. Not only does he discuss the many accomplishments of Obama and give the audience many reasons to re-elect him, but he also talks about the many accomplishments he has had while governor of Maryland. He gives examples of how he has moved Maryland forward and hasn't looked back. He speaks of the progress that Maryland has seen in its schools and economy. He hits on issues of safety, job creation, medicare, poverty, education, ect. O'Malley's main theme was progress and moving forward, which is a very large theme within the Democratic Party. 

Political Symbols

When I think of Democrats there are many words that come to mind, but one of the most prominent is "progress." In almost any speech given by a Democrat, I would bet you would hear the word "progress" multiple times. "Progress" is a significant symbol within the Democratic Party. When it is used by a Democrat for a Democratic audience, "progress" has a common meaning. It was smart for Martin O'Malley to make progress and moving forward his over arching theme for the speech. It showed that he shares common values with the Party and it helps promote him as a potential 2016 candidate. 

Another way we see O'Malley use political symbols is when he tells the story of the 400 Marylanders who "saved the American army" in the Revolutionary War. The Revolutionary War is a symbol of America itself. Using this war in his speech, O'Malley was able to remind people of how great this country is. The Revolutionary War is a symbol a freedom and triumph, it's a story of overcoming the impossible and defending democracy. These were all important feelings that O'Malley was trying to invoke in his audience. To remind his audience of why this is a great country, and why we need leaders who plan to keep our country strong. 

O'Malley's story also has another important meaning - it was Maryland who saved America back then, and in 2016 it will be a Marylander who saves America again. Our country is in trillions of dollars of debt and we are facing a partisan stand off that is preventing our government from getting anything done. The fact is, D.C. politics have to change if we are going to restore America to its true glory. Martin O'Malley uses the symbol of the 400 Marylanders in the Revolutionary War as a way to get the message across that he is the leader (from Maryland) that can restore America.  

Functions

Agenda setting is a function of political language that O'Malley uses during this speech. He hits the issues of education, job creation, and safety rather hard. Now that he is a politician that people are speculating will make a serious run for president in 2016, his website reveals that his main platforms are indeed education, job creation, and safety. He used this speech to set up his agenda for his campaign in 2016. 

Interpretation and Linkage are another function of political language that we see Martin O'Malley use in this speech. He was able to define education, job creation, and safety the way that he wanted to. This manipulates how the audience perceives those issues. People vote for candidates that have the same perceptions of major issues as they do. This is why it was important for O'Malley to define education, job creation, and safety, and get the audience to perceive those issues as he does.  

Reflecting on the past and predicting the future is an important function in O'Malley's speech. He talks about the war that gave America its freedom and is the very foundation of this country. It allowed the audience to remember what it truly means to be an American. Putting that together with a prediction of the future was very powerful. His predictions were that with a Republican leader our country would move backwards instead of forwards, and that would be detrimental to our country. Since his audience was just Democrats, this was an effective use of this function. No Democrat wants to see this county go backwards. O'Malley was playing off of that when talking about the future. In contrast to his predictions of the future with Republican leaders, he discussed how Democratic leaders will keep moving America forward, and provide our country with progress.  

Action stimulation is the last function of political language, but it is perhaps one of the most important. The whole reason Martin O'Malley was giving this speech at the DNC was to try and help get President Obama re-elected. This goal was accomplished. However, action stimulation doesn't just refer to a physical action like voting, but it also refers to the stimulation of public discussion. Not only did this speech introduce O'Malley as a serious politician in America, it also got the public talking about him as a serious candidate in 2016. 

Conclusion 

Political language is important to every politician, whether they are running for office or not. It is how politicians get their messages to public and how the public perceives those messages. Martin O'Malley's 2012 DNC speech was his introduction to the country. Marylanders know him as one of the most accomplished governors, and this speech was his chance for Democrats nationwide to get to know him as a competent leader as well. Since other potential candidates have big political names like Clinton and Bush, it's important that he introduced himself to Democrats as someone who may not have a well known name but is a leader they can count on. He did that by using his political language to create common meanings and talk about shared values to fellow Democrats. Martin O'Malley's 2012 DNC speech was the beginning point of his bid for the 2016 presidential campaign. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/dnc-2012-maryland-governor-martin-omalleys-speech-full-text/2012/09/04/71a527a8-f6f8-11e1-8253-3f495ae70650_story.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWynt87PaJ0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRhCP50h8bM

http://martinomalley.com/