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.